Antura and the Letters App
USABILITY/STATUS: In Use
INNOVATOR: Video Games Without Borders, Cologne Game Lab
GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS: Global, MENA
SOLUTION TYPE: Game App
Summary
Learning becomes an adventure with Antura, the fun-loving dog. Users catch living letters hidden around the world, while solving puzzles and earning rewards along the way. With Antura, children easily develop language skills as they progress through the game one step at a time. Internet access is not required to play, so children can learn anywhere! Antura and the Letters was originally developed for the EduApp4Syria competition coordinated by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) in cooperation with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU); All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development (ACR GCD)—a partnership of the United States Agency of International development (USAID), World Vision, and the Australian Government; mobile operator Orange; and the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE).
Usability/Features
- Operating system: Android/iOS
- Hardware: Smartphone, tablet
- Connectivity: Online/offline
- Accessories needed for use: Charger/solar charger, HDMI connector cable, speakers, headphones
- Other features: Socio-emotional learning
How it supports learning: Antura was used to support Early Grade Education in the Azraq Camp with limited or no Wi-Fi/Internet access. Children in Azraq Camp used Antura on their parents’ phones up to five or six times per week, for up to 30 hours.
Costs: Free to use
Other cost considerations: Devices to access the app and Internet to download, but no Internet required to use after download; advertising to target populations
Setting/Context
Settings: School, home, informal learning spaces, community
Target Populations: Parents, children, NGOs
Current Language(s): 10+
Geography (locations): Global
Research
Supporting Research
- Assessing the Impact of Literacy Learning Games for Syrian Refugee Children: An Executive Overview of Antura and the Letters and Feed the Monster Impact Evaluations (English)
- Assessing the Impact of Literacy Learning Games for Syrian Refugee Children: An Executive Overview of Antura and the Letters and Feed the Monster Impact Evaluations (Arabic)
- Antura and the Letters Impact and Technical Evaluation: Overall, the game effectively introduces children to the basics of Arabic literacy and has resulted in positive learning outcomes across all age groups and genders with a relatively low dosage of 27 hours. Absolute gains tended to concentrate in foundational Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) subtasks (letter, syllable, and oral reading fluency [ORF]), with learners gaining an additional two to three letters/syllables/words on average. Zero scores also decreased across all subtasks. The findings of the evaluation were very encouraging, because they showed that the game did indeed introduce players to basic Arabic literacy concepts, and improved learning outcomes across all age and gender groups with a short, 27-hour program. Students in the treatment group showed substantial improvements compared to the control group, for example, in decoding rare words (81 percent vs. -11 percent), oral reading fluency (71 percent vs. 0 percent), syllable reading (51 percent vs. 8 percent) and letter sound knowledge (34 percent vs. 0 percent).
Use Case
Since its inception, Antura has evolved to support Ukrainian Refugee Children and expanded to nine other languages. Profuturo is using Antura and the Letters in humanitarian contexts where it works, including in Jordan, where it reaches 1,007 children, 53 teachers, and two schools serving Syrian refugees.
Related Training Materials, Toolkits, and Resources
Resources
GitHub Code
Guides and Toolkits