COMPUTERS IN SCHOOL. A CASE STUDY WITH CHILDREN 6 TO 12 YEARS OLD

For more than thirty years computers in schools has been a challenging research topic. Starting with Computer Aided Learning (CAL), Computer Aided Training and Instruction (CAT and CAI) and up to present e-Learning, the research main goals were to improve learning and teaching in schools, to adapt teaching and learning to individual needs through personalized software, and last but not least, to provide the necessary learning resources at a lower cost. With the same aims in mind, we have carried out several experiments in order to better understand how educational software has to be designed and developed to better answer teachers and students expectations, to enhanced e-learning usability. In our paper we are presenting some of the experiments concerning school children 6 to 12 years old. Children were introduced to a virtual environment – a library (the virtual image of the central university library) and their behaviour was observed. Children participating in the study were computer literate. We were interested in identifying key factors that can motivate children to read books from the library. The study started in 2009. Based on our observations the virtual library application was modified several times in order to obtain better answers to educational aims and a higher degree of satisfaction from the young user.