Is edutainment software really educational? A feature analysis of Dutch edutainment software for young children

justified checklist is presented, based on literature about characteristics of powerful learning environments. The checklist can be used to evaluate characteristics of edutainment (online) games for children in order to obtain an overview of the power of educational software as a powerful learning environment. eight Dutch edutainment games for young children were selected based on two criteria: the educational aspect of the game and the child’s recommended age. This article suggests that current Dutch edutainment software does not seem to meet the theoretical requirements for powerful learning environments. The current checklist can help designers of new edutainment games to improve the educational quality of edutainment software. Where: netherlands Journal of psychology, volume 66, 50-67

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