Project report

Steam Upgrade I group members:

Eli Sepp

Kristina Maria Morozov

Birgit Mägi

Arturs Simanovskis

Marju Mik

Our group took part in the STEAM Upgrade project. Our focus was on testing and developing materials for “Astronomy in Early Childhood Education: Solar System and outer space” by E. Peribanez and C. Garre from GHAME-Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain.

First, we translated the English materials to Estonian, therefore we understood them better and we could later share the materials with other kindergarten teachers. We decided to create a board game “Solar system and outer space” for preschool children between ages of 3-7. We created digital assets and physical materials for the game. We introduced the topic of the Solar System to children and tested the game with them in kindergartens, where our group members work.

After the testing process we added some suggestions on how to play our game in different ways according to children's age and knowledge. Also we shared our game with our colleagues to get their feedback on this game.

Nowadays, the transition to digital culture in our society is inevitable and will continue to influence education in the future. Using digital technologies in the learning process supports children's non-linear thinking, provides new experiences, teaches new ways of thinking and is related to student-centered learning. There is no doubt that digital technologies are important tools for teachers and their integration into teaching is considered important in all levels of education (Swan, Lin & Van’t Hooft, 2008).

According to this, we agreed that dealing with the implementation of digital assets in Estonian kindergartens is definitely a necessary process.

So, we decided to test and improve the educational game “Solar system and outer space” which involves using digital technologies such as augmented reality cards and educational robots.

As the result of the project we created digital and physical game materials and descriptions of the game. We tested the game in 3 kindergartens with kids in different age groups and improved our game. Then we created a poster and shared it on social media with other early childhood teachers in Estonia.

Sustainability

The primary goal of the project is to be incorporated into the SteamUpgrade project, our materials will be added to their repository for classroom materials that aim to improve the digital competencies of pre-school teachers. We created a set of instructions in addition to the digital files of the game so it can be tried and tested by other people. Additionally we shared the materials with other pre-school teachers on social media to increase accessibility even more.