SENSORY MOTOR INTERACTION IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT TO PROMOTE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS

Abstract

"So far the school has been structured on the book, on the laborious acquisition of knowledge formulated in verbal language. Nowadays, thanks to the computer and its ability to simulate reality, it is possible to learn more naturally and without effort using our faculties of perception" (Antinucci, 2011). The statement by Antinucci, as well as the studies on many scientific domains supporting the idea of the involvement of sensory-motor integration in the development of intelligence and learning (Piaget, 1952; Vereecken, 1961), suggest to investigate in the didactics methodologies and instruments able to foster this integration ability. These studies also justify the current full attention in the field of movement teaching for new technologies, therefore the present research aims at testing a “shapes game” module that uses Microsoft Kinect System as an input device for the acquisition of data related to the movement of the body segments of the user. The possibility to identify the movement of specific body segments allows to develop teaching methodologies designed to foster the achievement of visual-motor abilities useful to the process of learning in school, through immersive modes of interaction, typical of “exergames” based on a full body involvement (Coshott, 2009). The present study shows the results of the pre-test software, built on a sample of pupils (aged 8 to 10) attending the fifth year of Italian primary school. Key words: edutainment, exergame, kinect, sensory-motor coordination, videogame.