Learning through arcade games? Engineering students build ‘Aral-cade’

Have you ever imagined learning while playing an arcade video game? A group of engineering students has turned that idea into reality by developing a fun and interactive way to help improve children’s reading literacy.

In the latest “Game Changer” feature aired on 24 Oras on Monday, three engineering students from Laguna State Polytechnic University–San Pablo City Campus introduced “Aral-cade,” an educational arcade-style game machine designed for young learners.

One of the developers, Jericho Castillo, said the Aral-cade unit is made up of a mini PC, an Arduino that controls the buttons, a speaker, and a monitor.

The machine is built at a child-friendly height and mimics the look and feel of traditional arcade games. Fellow developer Crystal Mae Tolentino said it features color-coded buttons: red for “play,” green for volume control, and blue for video viewing.

Among the games available is “Letter Link Up,” which challenges players to match uppercase letters with their lowercase counterparts.

Another game, “Syllable Splash,” tests listening skills, requiring learners to select the correct word based on what they hear.

The third game, “Spellcraft Puzzle,” asks players to complete words by filling in missing letters.

Staying true to the arcade experience, young players can also earn tickets and prizes based on their scores.

“Kung ano po yung makuhang score ng mga bata, iyon po mismo ang lalabas sa ticket. Pinapalitan po namin ito ng candies o toys,” said developer Diana Mhae Celis.

(Whatever score the children get appears on the ticket, which we exchange for candies or toys.)

Aral-cade is already being used in several schools in San Pablo, Laguna, and the developers plan to deploy more units in other schools.

“Based po sa observation ng teachers, talagang nag-improve po ang mga students,” Celis said.

(Based on teachers’ observations, the students have shown real improvement.)

She added that the team plans to expand the educational content and introduce higher difficulty levels to the games.—Vince Angelo Ferreras/MCG, GMA Integrated News