EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE-RISKY AND THE SAFETY GANG

THE AIM OF THE PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A PROTOTYPE OF A GAME FORMATTED EDUCATIONAL COMPUTER SOFTWARE, TENTATIVELY ENTITLED RISKY AND THE SAFETY GANG. IN ENTERTAINING AND CHALLENGING SI,ULATION ACTIVITIES, CHILDREN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 5 AND 11 WILL BE MADE AWARE OF HAZARDS AND WAYS TO AVOID THEM IN ORDER TO PREVENT INJURY. THE SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WILL FEATURE COGNITIVE PRE-AND POST TESTS, AND RECORD KEEPING OF CHILDREN'S RESPONSES TO THE SIMULATIONS. FEEDBACK FROM A FOCUS GROUP OF CHILDREN WILL BE ANALYZED DURING THE FORMATIVE PHASE I PROJECT AND THE RESULTS WILL BE USED TO ADJUST THE PROGRAM WITH RESPECT TO LEARNING OBJECTIVS AND AUDIENCE CHARACTERISTICS. IN PHASE II OF THE PROJECT, THE COMPLETE SOFTWARE WILL BE DESIGNED, DEVELOPED, PROGRAMMED, TESTED, EVALUATED AND PUBLISHED. A MAJOR EVALUATION OBJECTIVE IN PHASE II WILL BE TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE PROGRAM CAN ALTER KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES OR BELIEFS IN WAYS THAT OUGHT TO MAKE FOR GREATER SAFETY. FOLLOW-UP STUDIES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER CHILDREN ARE OBSERVING AND RETAINING THE LEARNED SAFETY PRECAUTIONS IN REAL LIFE SITUATIONS. THE SOFTWARE WILL RESPOND TO THE SAFETY RELATED NEEDS OF SCHOOLS, COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVIES, PEDIATRICIANS, HOMES AND DAY CARE FACILITIES.