Implementation and evaluation of a French version of Graphogame for personal computers and tactile android tablets – Graphogame

The development of training sequences requires a fundamental research in linguistics to take account of the specificity of the French language and orthography (the role of morphology, silent letters, complex graphemes ...) and the progression of the linguistic material in terms of difficulty (complexity, regularity, frequency ...). This ambitious goal is achieved with our partners from linguistics.

The efficacy and specificity of this software will be tested in three environments: 1 / primary school, 2 / home environment, and 3 / speech theraphy. The first two tracks seem particularly important and innovative because the education system in France does not provide a sufficient adaptive and individualized therapeutic response within the school and home settings.

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There are currently in France, in primary school, about 250,000 children with problems in learning-to-read (dyslexia, poor readers, poor comprehenders). The consequences of these problems are dramatic: risk of school drop-out, psycho-social distress and professional compromise. Since reading is the backbone of all learning, it is essential to intervene quickly in primary school before the children in need enter a vicious circle that compromises their academic performances and reduces their potential for happiness and success.

The objective of this project is to propose a new way and a new computer-assisted learning tool to help children with learning difficulties. The tool should allow an adaptive and individualized therapeutic response, an “initial” intervention response within the school and home setting for children in need. The current responses of the French educational system are inadequate, as it is regularly shown by the very average ranking of France in terms of reading performance (PISA). Compared to other countries, France lags behind in the field of "computer-assisted learning" or "e-learning".

The goal of this project is to develop and evaluate a computer tool for learning-to-read developed for android touch-screen tablets, smart-phones, and regular mobile computers. The originality of this project is based on an existing partnership with the international leader in computer-assisted learning, the Professor Heikki Lyytinen, inventor of "Graphogame." Initially conceived as a simple program for automatising the mapping between letters and sounds, Graphogame is today a unique, comprehensive IT environment (see graphogame.com) that is based on solid scientific principles and research in this field. It includes both exercises to develop reading fluency (speed) as well as diagnostic tests or mathematical training. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated through various studies in Finland, Sweden and recently in England. This software is now available to all children in primary school in Finland.

This international collaboration therefore guarantees not only the feasibility of the project but also allows rapid technology transfer at very low cost. The second originality of this project lies in the fact that Graphogame is implemented to run on android tablets and smart-phones. This can revolutionize intervention and training within the school setting because this tool can be used in small support groups and does not require a fully equipped computer room. This technology allows for an easy, frequent, intense, adaptive and playful use within the school or the child's home.

The development of training sequences requires a fundamental research in linguistics to take account of the specificity of the French language and orthography (the role of morphology, silent letters, complex graphemes ...) and the progression of the linguistic material in terms of difficulty (complexity, regularity, frequency ...). This ambitious goal is achieved with our partners from linguistics.

The efficacy and specificity of this software will be tested in three environments: 1 / primary school, 2 / home environment, and 3 / speech theraphy. The first two tracks seem particularly important and innovative because the education system in France does not provide a sufficient adaptive and individualized therapeutic response within the school and home settings.

Finally, this project should lead to the development of a high-quality IT product and not just a research prototype. In accordance with the charter of our international partner, Graphogame should be free and will remain so. However, we propose to create a "start-up" at the end of the project which will offer cheap graphics tablets (~ 100 euros) with a pre-installation of all Graphogame-related related features.