DEVELOPING AND EVALUATING AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE FOR SCIENCE IN KINDERGARTEN: A CASE STUDY IN THE GREEK CONTEXT

This paper aims to present the step-by-step development of an educational simulating software for Science in Kindergarten, relating to Soluble and Non-Soluble Materials, as well as to the Thermal Effects of Melting and Freezing. The lack of educational software on the discipline of Science, as far as the Greek context is concerned, and the desire of contemporary learners to interact with digital content, served as a fact. During this process, we took into account in order to design the software the relative Learning Theories, the specific characteristics of preschool age children, the nature of Science as a learning discipline, as well as usability rules. The named software, titled "Let's Play with the Materials", was designed and implemented within this framework, using the Adobe Flash Professional developing tool. The paper describes all the factors taken into account during the development, as well as the usability evaluation held through the Think Aloud Protocol. After the evaluation, the software was improved and integrated into the kindergarten's school practice, aiming to amend children's pre-existing knowledge on the natural phenomena into knowledge that is more consistent with the scientific cognition.