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Chapter 1
Problem and Its Background
Introduction
The technology is rapidly changing. It will be a great help to people if it is
put into good use. However, technology nowadays has a lot of disadvantages to
people whenever it is being used for a bad purpose, one of which is that the
person is being addicted to computer games that arent educational, spending
more time using or surfing the internet rather than reading the books or studying
lessons and sometimes, users even discover unusual things in the internet. One
of the good examples in using the technology is for educational purposes.
According to Dr. Lazar Stoi, Educational technology is a systematic and
organized process of applying modern technology to improve the quality of
education.
Education is one of the important aspects in a persons life. Education can
be attained in many different ways. As what people always say Learning starts
at home, parents are the first teacher of their kids and guide them in learning the
basics. Learning is situated in physical, social, and interactive contexts, and is
best achieved when learners have varied and multiple opportunities to engage in
inquiry at many different levels (Henderson & Antencio, 2007).
Advances in mobile technology have enabled a wide range of
applications to be developed that can be used by people on the move (Harrison
et al, 2013). From desktop computers to touch screen mobile phones, tablets and
anything that is more portable to use. And along with these changes, is that the
application in the computer was being enhanced to be used as a mobile
application. A mobile application is a software program that runs on a mobile

phone (Cambridge Dictionary). With mobile application, the user can access
anything, everywhere and every time. The usefulness of mobile devices has
increased greatly in recent years allowing users to perform more tasks in a
mobile context (Harrison et al, 2013). And with mobile and mobile applications,
programmers will be able to come up with the idea of combining technology with
education. Education Technology (also known as EdTech) refers to an area of
technology devoted to the development and application of tools (including
software, hardware, and processes) intended to promote education (Lazaro,
2014).
The principle known as the multimedia principle states that people learn
more deeply from words and pictures than from words alone. However, simply
adding words to pictures is not an effective way to achieve multimedia learning.
The goal is to instructional media in the light of how human mind works (Mayer,
2002). The idea of using games to engage students in the process of active
learning is not new. Over the past several years, educators have been
increasingly incorporating various games into their teaching curriculum in an
effort to create a fun and engaging learning environment for students (Pannesse
& Carlesi, 2007). Regardless of the format of the game, students can
simultaneously build their problem solving skills while having fun throughout the
process if an instructional game is well-designed (MacKenty, 2006, Harris, 2009).
The idea of using game as a method of learning is not new. There are a lot
of educational online game applications in the internet nowadays. The only
difference of this game application from the others is that you can use it without
using any internet connection and its very portable since you can use it in your

mobile phones or android phones. This system will be favoured by kids because
they will enjoy while learning.
Moreover, the researchers come about with a study entitled Android
Educational Game with Voice Recognition for Kids, educational software that
focuses on helping the kids ages from 3 and above to enhance their
pronunciation and help them in their first step in learning.
Project Context
The technology is changing fast and is almost taking the field of education.
Relative to the proposed educational game, from traditional learning like using
flash cards and charts to modern learning using the technology is like an
amusement to kids. There are some who are already exposed to technology at
an early age regarding of playing games. By the changes, this helps the kids in
easily learning the basics even when on the go.
The researchers are developing an educational game for the Integrated
Learning School (ILS). The game uses voice recognition and click to know
function to interact with kids ages ranging from 3 and above, at this state the
give-and-take-process will occur. The system gives information base on the
kids commands through voice-recognition and clicking process while the
accuracy of the output information is based on the kids grammar and diction.
This proposed system is intended for kids ages ranging from 3 and above
from the pupils of LNU-ILS. This system will be written in Java language using
Eclipse and it will only be accessed offline and will be in an android app.
Purpose and Description
Reminiscing about the good old days, children used to play outside all
day, riding bikes, playing sports and building forts. Masters of imaginary games,

children of the past created their own form of play that didnt require costly
equipment or parental supervision. On the 21st century technology really has a
big impact in every ones lives. Entertainment technology (such as TV, Internet,
video games, iPads, and cellphones) has advanced so rapidly, that families have
scarcely noticed the significant impact and changes to their family structure and
lifestyles. (Rowan, 2013)
Since that technology nowadays is rapidly changing, the researcher came
up with this system Android Educational Game with Voice Recognition for Kids.
It is because in this generation kids ages three and above tends to stay at home
play computer or any android gadgets rather than playing outside the house. This
system will not just for kids to be entertained but also to teach and give them
knowledge at a young age.
This study aims to improve the learning process of the ILS students that
will enhance their ability in terms of their pronunciation, describing and will also
be beneficial in learning on how to distinguish common animals to another,
colours, letters, counting numbers and shapes and this will also help the kids in
their first step of learning by using an application with voice recognition
simulation and command from the user by clicking.
Framework of the Study
The theory of VAK or multisensory learning reminds us that all
students are different and have different ways of taking in and processing new
ideas, but we also know that the best materials will fail if theyre presented to
someone at the wrong time, regardless of how well theyve been designed (Tuck,
2014).

The study is related on the theory of VAK (visual, auditory and

kinaesthetic) or Multi-sensory learning for the proposed system will be intended
for kids. And by this theory we can understand at what age does the children can
easily retain the information they can get through visualization or by auditory. It is
important that individuals receive education in areas suitable for their learning
styles. The field of games-based learning show significant promise for
overcoming some of the barriers to effective learning for particular groups of
learners or particular learning styles (Connolly, Stansfield, Boyle, 2009).
The theory of learning styles is ubiquitous throughout educational
systems, from kindergarten to post-graduate studies. Learning styles theory is
that we differ from each other in learning abilities and preferences, and that
matching these preferences with instructional methods and learning
environments will greatly improve students learning (Arbuthnott, Krtzig, 2015).
Visual Learning. It engages the use of visual aids like video to deliver
educational content even more effectively. It greatly benefits and enhances the
learning process as interactive effects are used to reinforce the material being
studied. Visual learning is a great way of learning as it aids to increase a
learners interest in a certain subject, makes the learning process more
enjoyable, and retains the students interest for longer periods (Zane Education
2001 - 2016). Seventy-five percent of all information processed by the brain is
derived from visual formats (Williams, 2009).
Auditory Learning. Those who learn best through hearing things. Auditory
Learners Can Benefit from Using word association to remember facts and lines,
Recording lectures, Watching videos, Repeating facts with eyes closed,

Participating in group discussions, Using audiotapes for language practice,

taping notes after writing them (Colorado State University, 2008).
Kinaesthetic Learning. Those who learn through experiencing/doing
things. Kinaesthetic Learners Can Benefit from, Studying in short blocks, Taking
lab classes, Role playing, Taking field trips, visiting museums, Studying with
others, Using memory games, Using flash cards to memorize.
According to a theory The Four Stages of Cognitive Development by
Jean Piagets, children progress through a series of four critical stages of
cognitive development. Each stage is marked by shifts in how kids understand
the world. Early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions
and later progresses to changes in mental operations.
The Sensorimotor Stage: During this stage, (from birth to 2
years old) infants and toddlers acquire knowledge through sensory
experiences and manipulating objects. A child's intelligence
consists of their basic motor and sensory explorations of the world.
Piaget believed that developing object permanence or object
constancy, the understanding that objects continue to exist even
when they cannot be seen, was an important element at this point
of development (Cherry, 2016).
The Preoperational Stage: At this stage (ages 2 to 7 years
old), kids learn through pretend play but still struggle with logic and
taking the point of view of other people. They also often struggle
with understanding the ideal of constancy. Children begin to think
symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to represent

objects. While they are getting better with language and thinking,
they still tend to think about things in very concrete terms (Cherry,
2016).
The Concrete Operational Stage: (Ages 9 to 11 years old)
Kids at this point of development begin to think more logically, but
their thinking can also be very rigid. They tend to struggle with
abstract and hypothetical concepts (Cherry, 2016).
The Formal Operational Stage: The final stage of Piaget's
theory (Ages 12 and above) involves an increase in logic, the ability
to use deductive reasoning, and an understanding of abstract
ideas. At this point, people become capable of seeing multiple
potential solutions to problems and think more scientifically about
the world around them (Cherry, 2016).
The proposed system will be a great help to those who are visual learners
and auditory learners. For visual learners, they can learn faster through seeing
and visualizing objects while auditory learners tend to learn faster through
listening and verbalizing.
Conceptual Framework

INPUT

Objectives
Hardware
Resources
Software
Resources
Respondents

PROCESS

OUTPUT

Planning
Android Educational Game
Data Gathering
with Voice Recognition for
Data Analysis
Figure1.0Design
Conceptual Framework Diagram
Kids
Testing
Implementation

Statement of the Problem

This study was conducted by the researchers to be able to help the kids in
their first step in learning through technology by using the Android Educational
Game with Voice Recognition for Kids. This study aims to answer the following
questions:
1. What is the current status of the LNU-ILS Grades 1, 2 and 3 in terms of
the categories (animals, colours, letters, numbers and shapes) :
2.1 Knowledge
2.2 Pronunciation
2.3 Describing
2.4 Distinguishing
2. What features will be embedded in the system?
3. How will the proposed system help the kids in their first step of
learning?
Scope and Limitations
The proposed study focuses only in categories such as Common Animals,
Colours, Letters, Counting Numbers and Shapes. This system has two options:
The first option is that the user can view through voice recognition. The system
recognizes what the user says on the microphone and displays it on the screen
while the second option is that the user will choose on the categories by clicking
the icon and the system will be the one to describe or say what is being clicked
by the user.
However, the first option on this system will not cover the colours that are
having two words, on the letters category the researchers will not include the
Filipino alphabets, on the number category the researchers will not include
numbers that are above one hundred and in the animal category the researchers

will not include all the animals while on the second option it has the same
limitations as to the first option but on the colour category, the researchers will
not include the colours that are not found in the colour wheel. However, the game
is intended for kids ages ranging from 3 years old and above and this is an
offline application.

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Chapter II
Review of Related Literatures and Systems
This chapter deals with the review of related literature and systems which
are interrelated to the present study which have provided some perceptions
about the present study.
Related Literature
The advent of technology and digital games has created a completely new
dimension in the world of education. While some educationists are concerned
about the side effects of involvement of too much technology in education, some
mentors are thinking of innovative ideas to utilize the digital phenomenon to
engage students and enhance the learning experience. (Jahan & Deeba, 2014).
New developments in the technology have driven innovation in many familiar
customer service industry applications. The European Commission
Communication Rethinking Education22 states that technology offers
unprecedented opportunities to improve quality, access, and equity in education
and training. It is a key lever for more effective learning and reducing barriers to
education. In particular, social barriers play a large role. Individuals can learn
anywhere, at any time, following flexible and individualized pathways.
The beginning of technology made an impact to education. Technologies
are now being used as one of the instruments in teaching; the students engaged
to technologies will enhance their learning experience. Educationists are
concerned about the side effects of too much technology in education but if put to
really good use then the effect will be worthy. Technology being used for
education has a good effect for with technology the students can learn anywhere
and anytime by just accessing the technology and internet. Students can also

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learn through technology even when they dont have internet for some app are
made offline, meaning the app can be used even without internet right after the
student finish downloading a certain app.
Recently, there has been growing interest in the use of games in
education. Educational games have been found to stimulate learners by
increasing their motivation and engagement (Khenissi et al, 2015).
Constructivism, or learning by doing, is a classic approach to educational
instruction that has generated renewed interest in the digital era. Constructivist
practices such as apprenticeships have a long history, but in contemporary
classrooms they and other hands-on programs often take a back seat to teachers
telling students what they need to know rather than facilitating each persons
natural curiosity and learning style. Digital learning tools have the potential of
being customized to fit the abilities of individual students and can engage them
with interactive tasks and simulate real-life situations (Weigel, 2013).
Education being joined to technology as a game excites the students as
well as the kids. It gives curiosity to students on how is it possible for the
education to be in a game. It gives the students motivation to learn on how to
manipulate the technology and be able to learn.
ASR (Automatic Voice Recognition) is a technology that converts a
speech signal, captured by a microphone, to a sequence of words. After a
several decades of intensive research and with the help of increasing processing
power of computers, the state-of-the art speech recognition technology has
already reached a level which enables the user to control computers using
speech commands, to conduct dialogues with computers and to accurately
dictate text (even when using a large vocabulary continuous speech), mostly in

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controlled situations (Tan & Lindberg, 2010). According to Luppi et al. (2009) the
adoption of the SR (Speech Recognition) technology in traditional learning
environment has several benefits. One of them is to improve teaching methods
and to enhance learning opportunities. For example, by using the STR, teachers
can take a proactive, rather than a reactive approach to teach students with
different learning styles. It provides educators with a practical means of making
their teaching accessible and improves the quality of instruction in the process.
In educational games, speech production offers a significant benefit for
learning because it is a central component of vocabulary acquisition. Second
language acquisition (SLA) research has shown that spoken output is as much a
channel for acquiring vocabulary as it is the result of learning a language.
Speaking out loud strengthens memory by providing learners with phonological
input back to the mind, thereby strengthening word knowledge. Over the last
decade, automatic speech recognition (ASR) and Voice over IP (VoIP) have
made it possible to develop systems for computer assisted language learning
(CALL) and computer assisted vocabulary learning (CAVL) (Cai, 2008).
Some of the above mentioned literature gives importance to the Auditory
learners (Auditory learners in the Multi-sensory Learning, mentioned in the
Framework of the Study) for with Voice Recognition the students using the
application will strengthen his/her knowledge when speaking and listening. The
process will be a give and take for when the students speaks, the computer will
speak back the words spoken by the student. The knowledge of the student will
retain. This will enhance the student knowledge as well as the learning
strategies.

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Related System
No stranger to rolling out services in extended beta and temporary
projects, Google today unveiled its latest experiment for Chrome: Spell Up, a
browser-based game that uses voice recognition and speech synthesis to help
people learn to spell English better. Users can start at any level they want and
the point is to build towers of words (hence the Up of Spell Up). The browser
speaks words to the user, and he or she must spell it back to the voice. There are
variations around this, such as word guessing games, unscrambling words, filling
in missing letter blanks and pronouncing things correctly (and from where I
played the game, correctly seemed to be the Queens English). In other words,
this is as much an interesting project in how to use nifty Google tools for
education (and games!) as it is a way to show off innovations in browser
technology and just how far it has come compared to, say, native app
environments. Its also an interesting idea in terms of who it targets: younger
people, and possibly more international users (Lunden, 2014).
Learn English Podcast is an English learning application issued by the
British Council. The learning method in this application is likely to train users to
read and listen to a conversation of a group of people as well as between two
people. To find out how far the user understands the conversation, user is able to
access exercise feature that have some multiple choice questions. Disadvantage
of this application is that the user must be connected to the Internet network to
access the material users. In addition, the exercise feature doesnt show the
results summary, so it makes difficult to determine the capability level of learning
outcomes.

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According to the article Implementation of Voice Recognition Technology

on English Learning Application by Self-learning based on Android Device,
Suhartono, et al, improved the applications mentioned in there article --- This app
is an English learning application that provides excellence innovation content
according to user requirements; they are listening, and speaking, can improve
the user's ability to learn Business English, Voice recognition feature which is
embedded inside the application allows users to practice the pronunciation of
English words well and correctly.
The system Implementation of Voice Recognition Technology on English
Learning Application by Self-learning based on Android Device has similarities on
the proposed system by the researchers. It has both listening and speaking
content which user can choose freely what they want to use in learning. The
above mentioned related system helps enhance the pronunciation of English
words well and correctly, while on the proposed system it will also help the
students with their pronunciation, the researchers will include images, once the
student says an object an image will appear on the screen.
English Learning System Using Speech Recognition for Visual Impaired
User (ELSRVI) is a prototype which is embedded with speech recognition and
aimed at Visual impaired user that have the speaking and hearing ability. This
system is user friendly since user do not need to navigate the computer by using
normal keyboard. Besides that, this system is also created to fulfil all the
objectives of the system. The objectives are to develop a prototype to determine
English learning system using speech recognition engine for visual impaired user
to get accessed to computer through speech and to identify the suitable

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techniques and software to create the English learning system using speech
recognition engine for visual impaired user. So, the interaction between humans
and computers will be more natural if computers are able to understand the
speech and recognize it (European Union, 2015).
The English Learning System Using Speech Recognition for Visual
Impaired User (ELSRVI) prototype gave importance to those with speaking and
hearing ability while the proposed system came up with a second option in
accessing the system to give importance to the kids for they cannot speak the
words clearly at a young age --- named as Click to Know, it will give importance
to those kids for some kids cannot speak clearly yet. That is where the two
options of the proposed system were acquired --- The Voice Recognition and the
second option named as Click to Know. This kind of option came up because
some users learn fast through listening while others are on visualizing.
Monkey Thinks-Free --- This app has a really super simple premise.
There is a monkey on screen with a thought bubble and the user has to say what
it is. The voice recognition analyzes it and tells you if youre correct or incorrect.
MonkeyThinks uses the CMU Pocketsphinx library, and Politepixs OpenEar.
Upon your first incorrect response and written cue will pop up on the screen. The
voice recognition software is actually fairly sensitive and isnt based on accept
any vocalization. Its not perfect though as it will accept bee for key and some
other differences like that. This app would work best for a child working on word
retrieval and expressive vocabulary and not for a child working on articulation
(Jeremy, 2012).
A smart phone based voice recognition system can be developed to
operate an app with simple voice commands. This technology can be

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implemented into a user friendly and compact device. By creating online voicecontrolled applications, people are free to choose which device better suits them.
Major purpose of this system was to provide a system so that the blind and
physically disabled population can easily control many functions of a smart
phone via voice. The system is very useful for the general population as well.
Users command a mobile device to do something via voice such as directly
controlling smart phones. These commands are then immediately executed
(Tarneja et al, 2015).
Therefore, the system that is stated above contains the following features
such as the browser speaks words to the user, and he or she must spell it back
to the voice, allows users to practice the pronunciation of English words well and
correctly, the user has to say what is shown on the screen and tells the user if it
is correct or wrong. In comparison of the proposed system from the systems
stated above is that our system contains the following features such as the user
can choose on what he or she will going to use whether to listen or visualize. The
proposed system has two options: first, the user will say something and it will
appear on the screen while the second option is the user will click on a particular
image and the system will say the name of the clicked image.

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Chapter III
Technical Background
Current System
The current learning process for kids is by teaching the kids using flash
cards, charts or printed images. A teacher will manually teach the kids on how to
tell the difference between the two objects, identifying objects and pronouncing a
sudden word. Some teachers use technology in teaching. Some would use a
television to teach the kids --- a computer or laptop is connected to the television
be able to produce images and sometimes even sounds if with speaker. And right
after the teacher is done teaching the kids; the teacher will have an evaluation
through hand-written exercises on their notebooks.
The current system regarding the application of games in an android app
is that some systems have only one option for learning. One of which, the
computer will be the one to speak up first and show the image and the user will
follow. Second, in a certain app, the game has images and the system will be the
one to say what the name of that certain image is. While other system has
options like a button will be clicked so that the system will say what is the name
of the certain image on the screen or the screen will only display a word and right
after the kid pronounces the word correctly then the image of the said word will
appear.
Proposed System
The proposed system is intended for kids, since the researchers are from
Leyte Normal University the researchers thought of having the ILS pupils ranging
ages from 3 and above to access the system. This system is an educational

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game on how to distinguish common animals to another, colours, letters,

counting numbers and shapes.
The process of the game has two options, the Voice Recognition and
"Click to Know". On the first option, Voice Recognition --- it shows an image base
on the user uttered word and the accuracy of the output information is based on
the user grammar and diction, give-and-take-process will occur at this state.
While the second option "Click to Know" clicking process will occur. The user will
click on a certain image depending on the categories the user chooses and it will
automatically voice out the name of the particular image that has been clicked.
The system will be accessed on android phones and is an offline based game.
Hardware
The hardware specification to be used includes a mobile device such as
an android phone for the proposed system will be made as an android app; along
with the android phones are an earphones or headset with microphone that will
be used to accept command from the user.

Software
The software that will be used in order to come up with an output Android
Educational Game with Voice Recognition for Kids is Android Studio and Sphinx
4. The researchers will use Android Studio to be able to make the game in an
android application formand the researcher will import Sphinx4 to the Android
Studio to be able to build voice recognition in the android application.
Peopleware
Since the proposed system is design for kids ages from 3 and above, the
researchers thought that it will be used by theLNU-ILS pupils. This system will be

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favoured for pupils since technology now is playing a big role in the society.
Parents and teachers is aware that most of the pupils in school have their own
android mobile phones and that they are engage in playing games using their
gadgets. This system will be easy to access by kids because they can download
it in their android mobile phone. It will not be hard for the pupils in accessing the
system since theres no need for an internet connection once it is installed. They
only need their android mobile phone and a headset to use the system
completely.
Network
The system uses its own network, since it is a stand-alone android based
application system and doesnt need internet connection on using the said
application.