A Kinect-Based Educational Game for Embodied Activities Associated with Psychomotor Skills and Computational Thinking in Early Childhood: A Pilot Feasibility Study

Choquehuanca-Quispe W.; Gallegos-Acosta A.E.; Cardona-Reyes H.; Acra-Despradel C. · Multimodal Technologies and Interaction (2026) · DOI: 10.3390/mti10080080

Resumen

Early childhood education increasingly explores embodied learning, yet deploying markerless motion-controlled tools in real classrooms presents unverified operational and technical challenges regarding system stability and user interaction. This study evaluates the technical feasibility, system usability, and operational viability of a markerless, Kinect-based educational game designed to support embodied interaction baseline frameworks for preschool-aged children. The platform captures full-body movement in real time across four progressively challenging spatial tasks. As an exploratory pilot study, the system was deployed in a preschool setting with nine children aged 5–6 ( (Formula presented.) ). Technical performance metrics, kinematic trajectory execution data, and qualitative feedback from evaluating educators ( (Formula presented.) ) were collected to establish operational baselines. Quantitative metrics demonstrated high technical accuracy and system stability across all stages: 93.1% in spatial navigation, 81.5% in postural coordination, 92.6% in obstacle avoidance, and 96.3% in guided movements, alongside low system-calculated error rates (6.87% to 3.70%). Evaluating teachers confirmed strong student engagement, low operational overhead, and high institutional acceptance for daily classroom routines. Due to the pilot nature and small sample size, direct impacts on psychomotor or computational thinking development cannot be empirically claimed. However, these findings successfully demonstrate the technical reliability and operational feasibility of deploying markerless gesture-based interfaces within authentic early education environments, establishing a validated framework for future large-scale longitudinal learning assessments.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa