Stars, Sparkles and Praise: Motivation in Kids' Apps?

Stars, Sparkles and Praise: Motivation in Kids' Apps?:

Teacher and education director Carolina Nugent looks at the assumptions and realities about educational apps and software for children.

These last few weeks I have read some enlightening blogs and articles about game design, motivation and praise in children's apps. As the education director at KinderTown, I have looked at a tremendous number of apps that use stars, stickers and praise as the method of keeping kids engaged and active on the app. In contrast, as a teacher, I see more value in educational apps modeling lesson design, content and activities that are engaging with leveling for decreased frustration. The challenge for me has been to find apps and games which develop any kind of intrinsic (internal) motivation.
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