Part I. Description Name / Title of intervention 1. Abstract An abstract of a maximum of 300 words is useful to provide a summary description of the practice Ekapeli (in Finnish), GraphoGame (internationally) Ekapeli is a learning game for Finnish children learning to read and it the literacy element of LukiMat, a web-based service for learning difficulties in reading and mathematics. Users receive information on reading skills and mathematical development and learning difficulties that occur in the early years of school. In addition, there are computer assisted instruction methods available for reading (Ekapeli) and for mathematics (Number Race, Ekapeli-Matikka and Neure). Ekapeli is based on Finnish methods of literacy teaching. Teachers are encouraged to use phonemes instead of the letter names (eg. /k/ instead of letter name "koo"). Using letter names in spelling has been found to be confusing. After the children have learnt to master all the letter-sound connections, they are taught to put the sounds together to make syllables (blending), and then finally syllables are put together into words. Teaching starts with the smallest and easiest things and children learn to read and write longer and more complicated words over time (synthetic approach). LukiMat is a Finnish public web-based information service for educators, other school personnel and parents that provides information on children s reading and mathematical learning, and learning difficulties associated with literacy and mathematical development. The service focuses on the development of the skills of children aged five to eight years. LukiMat is funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and was created in collaboration with researchers from the Niilo Mäki Institute and University of Jyväskylä. The web service has two parts, one for reading (Luki) and the other for mathematics (Mat) and is available in Finnish and Swedish To use the service you need a computer with an Internet connection. You can use the service for free, but to be able to use the assessment or practice environments registration is needed. There is also a collaboration project Graphogame that has developed several research-based versions of the game in different languages (currently over 20 language versions). The connection between the written and spoken language units is taken into account in the development of different language versions. For example, for the transparent orthographies on grapheme-phoneme level (such as Finnish) the connection between letters and letter sounds is used in GraphoGame training. For the more nontrasparent orthographies such as English, the approach is to start with the rime units. The 1
starting point is to provide reading support in the strongest spoken language of the learner before moving on to reading in the second language. 2. Nation Finland 3. Website www.lukimat.fi; (English and Finnish) https://graphogame.com/ (English) 4. Lead organisation University of Jyväskylä and the Niilo Mäki Institute 5. Main partners 6. Period of activity From 2004 onwards (LukiMat from 2006 onwards) 7. Language(s) Ekapeli: Finnish and Finnish Swedish 8. Conceptual basis of the good practice examples Please give a short description, and references or links to important documents. GraphoGame: By playing the game, children learn first the basic letters and their sounds. Through a series of levels, they gradually move on to short and increasingly longer words. GraphoGame dynamically adapts the difficulty level to the child s individual ability level. Positive feedback sustains the child s engagement in playing for sufficient time for learning to be established. Learning to read with GraphoGame is fun and easy, so that the child is able to play it alone. It is like an additional teacher who helps children to learn important letter sounds correspondences, which are the building blocks of reading. GraphoWorld: GraphoWorld is the Working Group on Reading and Language Development Network of Excellence (NoE). It was established in Helsinki, Finland in November 2010. The aim of the Network is to provide technology-enhanced support for spoken and written language development among typical and atypical learners. This includes both research and implementation of new knowledge and technology providing the support. Their vision is a network among universities with the best informed experts in spoken and written language acquisition working towards the overall aim of the network. The objective of the GraphoWorld NoE is to provide non-profit 2
technology-enhanced support as widely as possible to all learners globally, but with a special emphasis on countries where access to literacy education is limited. See GraphoWorld s Declaration. The members of the Steering Committee of GraphoWorld NoE are the following: Professor Usha Goswami (University of Cambridge, UK), Elena Grigorenko (Yale University, US & Moscow State University, Russia), Malt Joshi (Texas A&M University, US), Heikki Lyytinen (University of Jyväskylä) and Ken Pugh (Haskins laboratories, US). 9. Objectives Provide game-based, on-line literacy support for developing readers Develop research-led, technology-enhanced literacy support for different languages Provide information on children's literacy development for educators and parents Target children who struggle with basic reading skills Provide technology-enhanced support for spoken and written language development among typical and atypical learners. 10. Target group(s) (Please indicate which age groups or school grades are specifically targeted by the intervention) 11. Number of people involved (e.g. % of the total population of the country or of the total target population, if a specific target has been set) From kindergarten just prior entering official school at the age of seven upwards. The main target group is from 6-10 years of age learners who need extra support in learning both accuracy and fluency (speed) in reading. Also older struggling learners use the learning environment including individuals with dyslexia and other learning difficulties, and also learners of second language. The most recent statistics based on the gamelogs show that in Finland 269,108 players played Ekapeli during the year 2014. On average 6,000 players play the game during one day (the game can be played in schools and at home). There are altogether 300,873 children between 5-9 years of age in Finland, and 291,142 children between 10-14 years. The target group is the children who struggle with basic reading skills (max. 15%). Thus, this intervention method reaches 100% of the total target population. Currently the game is free for everyone in Finland, but outside Finland the game is only available for restricted number of users participating in research projects in order to investigate the efficacy of playing the different language versions of the game. 12. Methods for The game is available for free from the website (www.lukimat.fi). The 3
recruiting participants (target group) (if applicable) 13. Professionals involved (e.g. teachers, librarians, volunteers, health care professionals, social workers, artists, I) 14. Role of each professional service providers from the Niilo Mäki Institute have arranged several workshops and seminars about the intervention method for teachers around the country during the past seven years. Also several national journals and newspapers have published articles about the service and related research. The programming of the game environment has been done by ITexperts at the Niilo Mäki Institute and Agora Centre (University of Jyväskylä). The core group of programmers consists of four programmers. The learning content of the game has been developed in a similar collaboration. Linguists, psychologists and special education and education experts have participated in the content design. Two part-time artists have produced the artwork together with two of the programmers. The information service regarding specific reading and maths learning disabilities are provided by the above mentioned experts. One person takes care of the technical user support. See above. Describe briefly 15. Implementation process Please describe any phases of implementation related to progressive scalingup or addressing different topics 16. Resources and materials List / describe the main resources used in your programme, and give links for accessing them, if applicable When new language versions of the game are developed, it takes on average about six months to create the learning content and to implement it in the game if there are no new requirements for the basic programming and the adaptation system of training content. For more challenging language environments, such as Mandarin Chinese or languages with deep orthographies, the design and implementation work can take up to a year. www.lukimat.fi; (English and Finnisch) https://graphogame.com/ (English) 4
17. Financing - Where do the funds for the intervention come from? How much per year / for the whole time? The Finnish Ekapeli is supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture. This is on average about 200,000 Euros per year for the maintenance of the Ekapeli service. Including the Maths and skill assessments, the yearly budget is around 400,000 Euros. The heads of the Service decide the allocation of the budget. - Who makes decisions about budget allocation? 18. Evaluation - Is there currently an evaluation of the ongoing intervention? Who is conducting it (external or internal entity)? Which methodology is being used? (Indicators, periodicity, design, sample / control group, quantitative and qualitative methods, I etc.) 19. Results of the evaluation Report data and give a brief statement summarising the results of the evaluation; provide references if published results are available The efficacy of the intervention has been investigated by several researchers and research groups internationally. Thus far, internal organisations have conducted the investigations. However, a new project has just started in the UK in which an external group will investigate the efficacy of the UK English GraphoGame Rime used in about 10 different schools. This project is funded by the Welcome Trust and Education Endowment Foundation. The University of Cambridge, with Professor Usha Goswami leading the project, is running the project. The evaluation is conducted by NFER. More information, see: http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects/graphogamerime/ Several scientific publications on the efficacy of Ekapeli/GraphoGame have been published internationally. For the list of publication see http://info.graphogame.com/research/publications/ 5
Part 2: Strengths/weaknesses 20. SWOT analyses Indicate strengths and weaknesses (usually internal), and opportunities and threats (usually external) of the programme 21. Political impact and policies - Has the intervention led to concrete changes in policies or government plans, legislation, funding? Briefly describe. Has it produced any crosssector/departmental policy-making and programme development? Strengths: Based on learning theories and findings, and the efficacy has been shown in controlled intervention studies. Before the method is used outside research contexts, it is tested in the language and culture context. The research conducted so far has shown that the method works in different language and culture contexts. Weaknesses: it takes a relatively long time to develop and test the new language versions mainly due to the limited resources. Opportunities: It seems that the method can be used worldwide to support reading skill development. Threats: the development work needs resources from the user contexts in order to provide technical user support locally, and also for development of the different language versions of the game. In Finland the ministry of Education and Culture supports the method. The plan is to get similar support from different countries where the method will be implemented. - Transferability: Has the programme / intervention been transferred to another region/nation? Has it been modified during this transfer? 22. Your personal evaluation By what criteria do you consider the intervention to be good practice? In which respects do you consider the intervention to be in need of further improvements / developments? This is a cost-effective way of supporting all who want to learn to read, both typically developing as well as struggling learners. 6