Dyslexic students will soon have an innovative tool to help them in their education: a tablet-based game specifically tailored to their learning needs.

Rilla Khaled, an associate professor at the Institute of Digital Games at the University of Malta.

Word Matters, which begins testing shortly as part of the One Tablet per Child pilot programme, was developed by Rilla Khaled, an associate professor at the Institute of Digital Games at the University of Malta.

“We wanted to make a game for nine to 11-year-old dyslexic players that would enable them to practise the kinds of activities a teacher might set them to do, while capitalising on the engagement games can provide and the ability to assemble appropriate content based on a learner’s specific strengths and weaknesses, like a virtual teacher,” Prof. Khaled said.

The game, unveiled at a seminar organised by Malta Cafe Scientifique, puts students into a world based on the Mexican ‘Day of the Dead’ festival, in which the player is the only person with literacy skills.

We wanted to make the player feel like a hero, because low self-esteem is frequently associated with dyslexia

“We wanted to make the player feel like a hero, because low self-esteem is frequently associated with dyslexia,” she said.

The game specifically targets literacy skills identified by dyslexia experts, and its activities are based on previous research on best practice teaching for dyslexia – presented in a new, more motivating context.

“We sought to arouse enough interest in players such that they would return to the activities repeatedly,” she said.

As the player completes activities in different literacy skills, their relationship with characters in the game world is strengthened.

“So the primary motivation for learning in the game becomes to form friendships and help out your friends, leveraging young people’s deep understanding of social media and social interactions.”

Prof. Khaled explained that the game’s artificial intelligence behaves as a teacher might, selecting specific activities and tailoring the playing experience to the ability levels of different students.

This, she said, makes it a valuable “tool in the learning toolbox,” not intended to teach children how to read in isolation, but able to be used in a guided way in classrooms or in more exploratory fashion at home.

Looking forward, Prof. Khaled is also confident that so-called “serious games” could have applications in many other areas of education.

“Games are an entertainment medium, an artistic medium, a learning medium, and a simulation medium. The sky is the limit.”