Augmenting Early Childhood Education: The Integration of Augmented Reality in Promoting Personal Hygiene

Personal hygiene plays a significant role in supporting and safeguarding the overall development and wellbeing of 4 to 6-year-old children who are particularly at risk of health concerns. Augmented reality (AR) technology combines familiar technology with everyday environments, offering children opportunities for extended learning outside the traditional classroom setting and into their everyday experiences. AR has recently gained considerable interest as part of an educational framework due to its capacity for immersing students in real experiences. Educational games provide children with an engaging alternative way of being taught. This research aims to develop an AR-based game to facilitate children's knowledge acquisition process regarding personal hygiene. By harnessing AR technology, this initiative seeks to foster an appreciation of its importance within young minds. Data for this project was primarily collected through an online Google survey that engaged both MSU community members and members of Selangor, Malaysia's general public. With 50 responses received mostly from parents, this poll provided insight into a general understanding of personal hygiene among its respondents. Parents were found to agree on the need to instil hygiene importance from early on with their child(ren). Sixty four percent (64%) had knowledge of AR games while remaining respondents did not. While respondents were aware of AR games, most did not actively engage with them. Yet most agreed that creating games as an effective method to promote hygiene awareness among young children. Based on the target age group and survey responses, game development should aim for simplicity by including quizzes and mini games focused on specific subjects that will create an enjoyable learning experience for children. This would ensure an engaging educational journey. This project concludes that video games can indeed serve as an effective learning tool for young children, given their affinity and capacity to simultaneously enjoy and learn through gameplay. Such an approach should prove fruitful to this endeavor.