Children of all ages are attracted to electronic technology. Accordingly, educational researchers are actively engaged in developing applications to improve cognitive and social skills. For example, in June 2018, I reviewed “Social MatchUP” for Computing Reviews [1]. The virtual reality game included wearable immersive virtual reality games, head-mounted displays, and more. The subjects were children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

This poster session is based on Kinect, a multisensory learning platform as used by two groups of children, preadolescents and kindergartners. Kinect, a Microsoft sensor, is a “high resolution (low cost) ... camera [that] is able to track hand and body gestures.” It was developed to promote “improvement in motor planning, execution skills, and hand-eye [coordination].” The authors study its usability and “impact on children’s creativity [and] motivation to learn.”

Yoga Soft is a digital yoga instructor. Mudra provides children with a fun-based learning platform by coupling physical activity with “educational games focusing on arithmetic and linguistics.” Both applications contain voice commands spoken by a digital assistant. Children follow the voiced instructions and solve problems using gestures. Their movements are tracked on a screen. The applications were developed so that there are no bad grades or failure.

The reported outcomes are positive, but not overwhelmingly so. There is still much work to be done before repeated testing. The simple Mudra games were received enthusiastically by the children. Some voice commands in the yoga applications were difficult to follow. As we move to incorporate electronic technology into learning tools, studies such as this need to be shared widely and built upon.