Designing educational experiences using ubiquitous technology

The aim of the study was to explore the design of situated educational and compelling experiences using SoundScape technology - which is a ubiquitous technology. Two experiences were designed: one that had a goal and the other that did not. Twenty six children then explored both experiences. The children found that the SoundScape with a goal was more interesting and were more likely to want to have another go than the non-goal version. They also made more positive comments concerning the goal version. Mentioning the presence of a goal as important factor in determining why they liked the game. More negative comments were made concerning the non-goal version and the children mentioned the lack of a goal as negative aspect of the non-goal version. One improvement they suggested for the non-goal version was to add a goal and to include more sensory stimulation. They overwhelmingly preferred the goal version compared to the non-goal version and when asked by far the most popular reason was the presence of a goal. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.