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Abstracts of Papers Presented at the The 7th European Conference on Games Based Learning Hosted by Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP) Porto, Portugal 3-4 October 2013 Edited by Dr Paula Escudeiro Programme Chair and Carlos Vaz de Carvalho Conference Chair
Copyright The Authors, 2013. All Rights Reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual authors. Papers have been double-blind peer reviewed before final submission to the conference. Initially, paper abstracts were read and selected by the conference panel for submission as possible papers for the conference. Many thanks to the reviewers who helped ensure the quality of the full papers. These Conference Proceedings have been submitted to Thomson ISI for indexing. Please note that the process of indexing can take up to a year to complete. Further copies of this book and previous year’s proceedings can be purchased from http://academic-bookshop.com E-Book ISBN: 978-1-909507-65-4 E-Book ISSN: 2049-100X Book version ISBN: 978-1-909507-63-0 Book Version ISSN: 2049-0992 CD Version ISBN: 978-1-909507-66-1 CD Version ISSN: 2049-1018 The Electronic version of the Proceedings is available to download at ISSUU.com. You will need to sign up to become an ISSUU user (no cost involved) and follow the link to http://issuu.com Published by Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited Reading UK 44-118-972-4148 www.academic-publishing.org
Contents Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
Preface
xvii
vii
Committee
xix
viii
Biographys
xxiii
x
Teachers’ Beliefs About Game Based Learning: A Comparative Study of Pedagogy, Curriculum and Practice in Italy, Turkey and the UK
Yasemin Allsop, Ebru Yeniman Yildirim and Marina Screpanti
1
1
Using Gamification to Animate a Virtual Community
António Andrade and Carlos Vaz de Carvalho
2
11
SIMaging the CITY: The Educational use of Simulation Video Games for Disadvantaged Youth
Massimiliano Andreoletti and Gianna Cappello
3
19
“The Chest That Longs to be Moved”: A Serious Game for the Greek Muslim Minority Children
Alexandra Androussou, Evangelia Kourti and Nelly Askouni
3
27
Transformational Play; Using 3D Game-Based Narratives to Immerse Students in Literacy Learning
Anna Arici and Sasha Barab
4
35
Approaches to Collaborative Game-Making for Fostering 21st Century Skills
Susan Bermingham, Nathalie Charlier, Francesca Dagnino, James Duggan, Jeffrey 3 Earp , Kristian Kiili, Evelien Luts, Lien van der Stock and Nicola Whitton
6
45
Best Practices for Deploying Digital Games for Personal Empowerment and Social Inclusion
Lizzy Bleumers, Ilse Mariën, Jan Van Looy, James Stewart, Dana Schurmans and Anissa All
7
53
i
Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
Investigating the Relationship Between School Performance and the Abilities to Play Mind Games
Rosa Maria Bottino, Michela Ott and Mauro Tavella
8
62
Experience With Digital GameBased Embodied Learning: The Road to Create a Framework for Physically Interactive Digital Games
Carsten Busch, Florian Conrad, Robert Meyer and Martin Steinicke
9
72
Toward Improvement of Serious Game Reliability
Thibault Carron, Fabrice Kordon, Jean-Marc Labat, Isabelle Mounier and Amel Yessad
10
80
The Effects of Gamification on Student Attendance and Team Performance in a Third-Year Undergraduate Game Production Module
Hope Caton and Darrel Greenhill
11
88
Game-Based Learning in Health Sciences Education
Nathalie Charlier, Evelien Luts and Lien Van Der Stock
12
97
Specification and Design of a Generalized Assessment Engine for GBL Applications
Yaëlle Chaudy, Thomas Connolly and Thomas Hainey
12
105
Safer Internet: Enhancing Good Practices on the Internet Through Games Based Learning for Greek Elementary School Students
Vasiliki Choleva, Loukas Koutsikos Simeon Zourelidis, Vlassios Filis, Dimitris Metafas and Charalampos Patrikakis
13
115
Using Game Mechanics to Measure What Students Learn
Jill Denner, Linda Werner, Shannon Campe and Eloy Ortiz
14
123
ii
Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
Combining Game Based Learning With Content and Language Integrated Learning Approaches: A Case Study Utilizing QR Codes and Google Earth in a Geography-Based Game
Kyriaki Dourda, Tharrenos Bratitsis, Eleni Griva and Penelope Papadopoulou
15
130
The Design and Evaluation of a Multiplayer Serious Game for Pharmacy Students
Maciej Dudzinski , Darrel Greenhill , Reem Kayyali , Shereen Nabhani , Nada Philip , Hope Caton , Sonya Ishtiaq and Francis Gatsinzi
16
140
Cheating and Creativity in Pervasive Games in Learning Contexts
Stine Ejsing-Duun, Thorkild Hanghøj and Helle Skovbjerg Karoff
17
149
Supporting Teachers in the Process of Adoption of Game Based Learning Pedagogy
Valérie Emin-Martinez and Muriel Ney
17
156
Cognitive Walkthrough for Learning Through Game Mechanics
David Farrell and David Moffat
18
163
Global Math: Development of Online Platform for Mathematical Thinking Games
Toru Fujimoto, Keiichi Nishimura, Kaoru Takahashi, Masahiro Yachi, Kiyoshi Takahashi and Yuhei Yamauchi
19
172
What Can Play Theory Tell us About Computer Games for Young Children?
Georgy Gerkushenko and Svetlana Sokolova
20
179
Role Game Playing as a Platform for Creative and Collaborative Learning
Lisa Gjedde
21
190
iii
Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
Development and Evaluation of a Generic E-CLIL Web2.0 Games Engine
Thomas Hainey and Thomas Connolly
22
198
Designing Games to Disseminate Research Findings
Claire Hamshire, Rachel Forsyth and Nicola Whitton
22
208
Facilitating Teacher Students’ Innovation Competence through Problem-Based Game Design Processes
Thorkild Hanghøj and Sia Hovmand Sørensen
23
216
Deploying Serious Games for Management in Higher Education: Lessons Learned and Good Practices
Jannicke Baalsrud Hauge, Francesco Bellotti, Rob Nadolski, Michael Kickmeier-Rust, Riccardo Berta and Maira Carvalho
24
225
Neuroeducational Research in the Design and use of GamesBased Teaching
Wayne Holmes, Paul Howard-Jones, Erico Tanimoto, Carol Jones, Skevi Demetriou, Owen Morgan, Philip Perkins and Neil Davies
25
235
Playing and Learning: An iPad Game Development Case Study
Jennifer Jenson and Rachel Muehrer
26
244
An Overview of Game Console Motion Sensor Technologies Exploited for Education
Marina Kandroudi and Tharrenos Bratitsis
26
252
Picking the Right Interface for Engaging Physical Activity Into Game Based Learning
Helle Skovbjerg Karoff, Gunver Majgaard, Lars Elbæk and Mona Have Sørensen
27
261
Playing and Gaming – Studied in an Informal Learning Setting
Helle Skovbjerg Karoff, Stine Ejsing-Duun and Thorkild Hanghøj
28
268
iv
Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
Game Based Learning in Mathematics: Teachers' Support by a Flexible Tool
Aikaterini Katmada, Apostolos Mavridis, Thrasyvoulos Tsiatsos
29
275
Learning Analytics with Games Based Learning
Harri Ketamo
30
284
Gamification and Intelligent Feedback Mechanisms for a Division Learning Tool
Michael Kickmeier-Rust and Dietrich Albert
30
290
Developing Games for Health Impact: Case Brains vs Zombies
Kristian Kiili, Manuel Ninaus, Mikko Koskela, M Tuomi and Antero Lindstedt
31
297
Meleon - a Casual Mobile Game Supporting Immersion and Reflection in Learning
Luise Klein
32
305
The Literature Race - NFC Based Mixed Reality Game
Antti Koivisto, Harri Ketamo, Eero Hammais and Juho Salli
33
314
Bringing Game Achievements and Community Achievements Together
Johannes Konert, Nico Gerwien, Stefan Göbel and Ralf Steinmetz
33
319
Modeling the Player, Learner and Personality: Independency of the Models of Bartle, Kolb and NEO-FFI (Big5) and the Implications for Game Based Learning
Johannes Konert, Stefan Göbel and Ralf Steinmetz
34
329
Raising Awareness on Archaeology: A Multiplayer Game-Based Approach With Mixed Reality
Mathieu Loiseau, Élise Lavoué, Jean-Charles Marty and Sébastien George
35
336
v
Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
Scientific Discovery Games for Authentic Science Education
Rikke Magnussen, Sidse Damgaard Hansen, Tilo Planke, Jacob Friis Sherson
36
344
Creating Games in the Classroom – From Native Gamers to Reflective Designers
Gunver Majgaard
37
352
A Holistic Framework for the Development of an Educational Game Aiming to Teach Computer Programming
Christos Malliarakis, Maya Satratzemi and Stelios Xinogalos
38
359
Examining Early Childhood Education Students’ Attitudes Toward Educational Computer Games in Kindergarten
Dionissios Manessis
39
369
Integrating Non-Virtual Electronic Activities in GameBased Learning Environments
Jean-Charles Marty, Thibault Carron, Stéphane Talbot, Gregory Houzet and Philippe Pernelle
41
378
From « Haute-Couture » to « Ready-to-Wear »: Typology of Serious Games Implementation Strategies in Higher Education
Hélène Michel
41
386
Motivation and Manipulation: A Gamification Approach to Influencing Undergraduate Attitudes in Computing
Nicholas Mitchell, Nicky Danino and Lesley May
42
394
vi
Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
Sit Down to Table and Confess who you are! Design of an Epistemic Game for Nutritional Education at Secondary School
Réjane Monod-Ansaldi, Eric Sanchez, Daniel Devallois, Thomas Abad, Pierre Bénech, Anne Brondex, Isabelle Mazzella, Sandrine Miranda, Claudie Richet and Céline Recurt
43
401
Learning in Context Through Games: Towards a new Typology
Alex Moseley
44
409
Let the Students Construct Their own fun And Knowledge Learning to Program by Building Computer Games
Peter Mozelius, Olga Shabalina, Christos Malliarakis, Florica To, mos, Chris Miller and David Turner
45
418
Towards Understanding the Instructional Value of Real-Time Continuous Feedback From the use of Simulation Games
Mathews Nkhoma, Jaime Calbeto, Narumon Sriratanaviriyakul, Thu Yein Win, Quyen Ha Tran and Thanh Kim Cao
46
427
Learning Math as you Play: Comparing Arithmetic Performance Enhancement Induced by Game Play and Paper Exercises
Elena Patricia Nuñez Castellar, Anissa All and Jan Van Looy
47
434
Serious Game Adaptive Learning Systems
Chinedu Obikwelu and Janet Read
47
442
Combatting Social Isolation and Cognitive Decline: Play a Physical or Digital Game?
Daire Ó Broin and Ross Palmer
48
450
Sports Games’ Role for Learning Health Knowledge
Kelly O’Hara, Dulce Esteves, Rui Brás, Ricardo Rodrigues, Paulo Pinheiro and Marco Rodrigues
49
458
vii
Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
A Multi-Agent Architecture for Collaborative Serious Game Applied to Crisis Management Training: Improving Adaptability of non Played Characters
M’hammed Ali Oulhaci, Erwan Tranvouez, Sébastien Fournier and Bernard Espinasse
50
465
Nuclear Mayhem – a Pervasive Game Designed to Support Learning
Trygve Pløhn
51
475
StartUp_EU: Using Game-Based Learning and Web 2.0 Technologies to Teach Entrepreneurship to Secondary Education Students
Aristidis Protopsaltis, Thomas Hainey, Spiros Borosis, Thomas Connolly, Jesus Copado and Sonia Hezner
52
484
Measuring Effects of Reflection on Learning: A Physiological Study
Wen Qi, Dominique Verpoorten and Wim Westera
53
495
Evaluation of Adaptive Serious Games using Playtraces and Aggregated Play Data
Christian Reuter, Florian Mehm, Stefan Göbel and Ralf Steinmetz
53
504
Learning Effectiveness of Management Simulation Game Manahra
Petr Smutný, Jakub Procházka and Martin Vaculík
54
512
Using the Master Copy - Adding Educational Content to Commercial Video Games
Heinrich Söbke, Thomas Bröker and Oliver Kornadt
55
521
An Application of Adaptive Games-Based Learning Based on Learning Style to Teach SQL
Mario Soflano, Thomas Connolly and Thomas Hainey
56
531
Can Moral Sensitivity be Enhanced by Game Play?
Gunilla Svingby
57
539
viii
Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
Digital Educational Games: Adopting Pedagogical Agent to Infer Leaner‘s Motivation and Emotional State
Ogar Ofut Tumenayu and Olga Shabalina
58
546
Adapting the Complexity Level of a Serious Game to the Proficiency of Players
Herre van Oostendorp, Erik van der Spek and Jeroen Linssen
59
553
Designing Casual Serious Games in Science
Ayelet Weizman
59
561
Designing a Collaborative Serious Game for Team Building Using Minecraft
Viktor Wendel, Michael Gutjahr, Philipp Battenberg, Roman Ness, Sebastian Fahnenschreiber, Stefan Göbel and Ralf Steinmetz
60
569
Application of the Principles of Gamification to Facilitate Acquisition of Self-Management Skills in Young People With LongTerm Medical Conditions
Andrew Wilson and Janet McDonagh
61
579
Development of an Implementation Framework for Games-Based Construction Learning Using Scratch in Primary Education
Amanda Wilson, Thomas Hainey and Thomas Connolly
63
587
PHD papers
65
Game Literacy Revisited: Developing Critical Play in Schools
Rafael Marques de Albuquerque and Shaaron Ainsworth
67
599
A Systematic Literature Review of Methodology Used to Measure Effectiveness in Digital Game-Based Learning
Anissa All, Elena Patricia Nuñez Castellar and Jan Van Looy
68
607
ix
Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
Investigating Collaborative Games to Teach MathematicsBased Problem Solving in the Classroom
Reem Al-Washmi, Gail Hopkins and Peter Blanchfield
69
617
Training Flexible and Adaptive Arithmetic Problem Solving Skills Through Exploration With Numbers: The Development of NumberNavigation Game
Boglárka Brezovszky, Erno Lehtinen, Jake McMullen, Gabriela Rodriguez and Koen Veermans
70
626
Trials to Assess Team-Based Mixed-reality (TBMR) Games in HE
John Denholm and Sara de Freitas
71
635
Understanding ‘Game-Ness’ ® Within the SCRABBLE Family of English Word Games
Paridhi Gupta
72
645
Interactive Story as a Motivator Element in an Educational Video Game
José Rafael López-Arcos, Francisco Luis Gutiérrez Vela, Natalia Padilla-Zea and Patricia Paderewski
72
656
A Domain Ontology of Game Theory Applied to Game Based Learning
Yemna Mejbri, Maha Khemaja and Rafik Braham
73
666
Puzzle-Based Games as a Metaphor for Designing in Situ Learning Activities
Javier Melero, Patricia Santos, Davinia Hernández-Leo and Josep Blat
73
674
Supporting and Facilitating Collaborative Learning in Serious Games
Kimmo Oksanen and Raija Hämäläinen
74
683
Playing for the Future Examining Gameplay, Narrative and fun in Games-Based Training
Mark O’Rourke
75
691
x
Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
Towards Game Based Learning Design Process Based on Semantic Service Oriented Architecture (SSOA)
Kaouther Raies, Maha Khemaja and Rafik Brahamm
76
698
Using Games for Learning, From the Students’ Perspectives
Aishah Abdul Razak and Thomas Connolly
77
706
Incidental Learning in a World of Warcraft Guild, a Case Study
Gabriela Rodríguez
77
714
In Search for the Right Measure: Assessing Types of Developed Knowledge While Using a Gamified Web Toolkit
Martin Ruskov, Paul Ekblom and Angela Sasse
78
722
The Influence of Digital Games on Learning Reading: A Closer Look
Mas Idayu Md Sabri, Peter Blanchfield and Gail Hopkins
79
730
The Mediatization of Digital Games for Learning – a Dual Rub-Off Effect
Helga Sigurdardottir and Robin Munkvold
80
740
Efficacy of Reward Allotment on Children’s Motivation and Learning
Zhenhua Xu, Earl Woodruff and Bodong Chen
81
748
Applying Ideas From Intelligent Tutoring Systems for Teaching Programming in Game Based Learning
Matej Zapušek and Jože Rugelj
82
756
Masters papers
85
Cultivating Preschoolers Creativity Using Guided Interaction With Problem Solving Computer Games
Georgios Fessakis and Dimitrios Lappas
87
763
Haptic Physics Simulation
Luciano Santos and Carlos Vaz de Carvalho
87
771
xi
Paper Title Evaluating the Embedding of Games Based Learning in a Computing Subject at University
Author(s) Emilia Todorova and David Moffat
WIP Papers
Guide
Page
Page
No.
88
776
89
A Design Approach for Implementing 3D Educational Collaborative Virtual Environments on Virtual World Platforms
Rosa Reis, Benjamin Fonsecaand Paula Escudeiro
91
785
EMOTE: Embodied-Perceptive Tutors for Empathy-Based Learning in a Game Environment
Sofia Serholt, Wolmet Barendregt, Tiago Ribeiro, Ginevra Castellano, Ana Paiva, Arvid Kappas, Ruth Aylett and Fernando Nabais
92
790
Exploring Learning Effects During Virtual Sports Through Biomechanical Analysis (a Work in Progress)
Pooya Soltani and João Paulo Vilas-Boas
92
793
siLang: Culturally Oriented Language Skill Development in Line With Workplace Needs
Hariklia Tsalapatas, Olivier Heidmann, Rene Alimisi and Elias Houstis
93
797
Developing Ethical Decision Making Skill of Novice Volunteers in Natural Disaster Response
Didin Wahyudin, Shinobu Hasegawa and Tina Dahlan
94
800
Abstracts only To Become a Digital Citizen; a Role-Play Game on Digital Literacy
95 Wilfried Admiraal
xii
97
Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
GBL in Practice; Supporting an Effective Integration of Serious Games in Educational Contexts
Jannicke: Baalsrud Hauge, Francesco Bellotti, Michael Kickmeier-Rust and Rob Nadolski
98
Personalized Messages in Simulations and Games; are They Really Beneficial?
Cyril Brom, Edita Bromova and Michalea Buchtova
99
Back to the Future; Building Resilience in Young People Through Board Games
Robyn Hromek
100
Sociology Does the Apprentice; Livening up Research Methods Teaching Through Using Games
Daren Nixon and Natalia Gerodetti
101
A Serious Game for Romanic Bathhouse; the Combination of Learning and fun for Cultural Heritage
Wen Qi
102
Games descriptions
105
Couch Potatoes Defense
Weizman Ayelet, Moshe Servatka, Ivan Chernykh and Rotem Aharon
107
Mystery of Taiga River: Scientific Investigation Game
Sasha Barab and Anna Arici
109
A Team Game for Innovation and Business Strategy
John Denholm
114
The e-Bug Platform Game
David Farrell, Patty Kostkova, Cliodna McNulty and Donna Lecky
120
xiii
Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
Hong Kong on Wheels: An educational game for meaningful learning/teaching of vocabulary and specific language focus through collaborativeparallel play within Hong Kong Primary5 English Classrooms
Paridhi Gupta
121
Staying the Course – A Game to Facilitate Students’ Transitions to Higher Education
Claire Hamshire
129
Zondle Team Play: Grounded in neuroeducational research, facilitating whole‐class game‐based teaching.
Wayne Holmes, Paul Howard‐Jones
135
ChemNerd - a gamified learning process in chemistry
Jakob Thomas Holm
139
蛇年(Shénián) : Game from Monkey Grange Academy for learning Chinese Characters and words.
Claudia Igbrude and Paul Doyle
145
Siren: A Social Learning Game for Conflict Resolution
Kostas Karpouzis
149
Basketball Trouble: A GameBased Assessment of Science Inquiry and Content Knowledge
Diane Jass Ketelhut and Brian Nelson
156
Interactive Games Environment of the Multimedia Learning Package "A Letter - A Story"
Sophia Madouvalou and Aristarchos Papadaniel
163
The White Card Game playing your way to competency
Mark O'Rourke
164
xiv
Paper Title
Author(s)
Guide
Page
Page
No.
Ato s Adventure Eeducational Video Game for Graphmotor Learning with a Narrative Content
Jos Rafael L pez-Arcos, Ana Abad-Arranz, Francisco Luis Guti rrez and Natalia Padilla-Zea
169
A Game to Train Speech Recognition for Affective Computing Treatments of ADHD
Martin Porcheron, Kyle Arch, Steven D. Luland, Peter Blanchfield, Michel F. Valstar and Andry Chowanda
173
Dr. Zdravko Dren and his adventures
Joe Rugelj, Sandra Vatovec, Pela Ravnik and Luka Jurkovi
179
Knowledge Porridge: A commercial game framework to accommodate varied curriculum content.
Andy Sandham
183
Lost in Space : A puzzle game to teach XML
Angel Serrano-Laguna and Baltasar FernandezManjin
186
cMinds: Programming Games towards Building Analytical Thinking Skills in Primary Education
Hariklia Tsalapatas, Olivier Heidmann, Rene Alimisi, Elias Houstis
192
The Design and Development of the Math Game Zeldenrust
Herre Van Oostendorp
193
JuraShooter StGB: On the hunt for the cat king - mobile drill & exercise with fun appeal
Raban von Buttlar, Heinrich Söbke, Jessica Große-Wortmann, Danny Pannicke
200
Ludwig: A Physics Adventure
Thomas Wernbacher, Jorg Hofstotter and Alexander Pfeiffer
205
xv
Preface These proceedings represent the work of researchers participating in the 7th European Conference on Games-Based Learning, which is being organised and hosted this year by the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Porto, Portugal. The Conference Chair is Dr Carlos Vaz de Carvalho and the Programme Chair is Dr Paula Escudeiro, both from the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Porto, Portugal. The conference will be opened with a keynote from Dr. Baltasar Fernández-Manjón, from Complutense University of Madrid, Spain, on the topic of Learning Analytics Applied to Serious Games. The opening keynote address on the second day is by Paulo Gomes, Game Director and Producer at BIGMOON STUDIOS. The Conference is a valuable platform for individuals to present their research findings, display their work in progress and discuss conceptual advances in many different areas and specialties within Games-Based Learning. It also offers the opportunity for like minded individuals to meet, discuss and share knowledge. ECGBL continues to evolve and develop, and the wide range of papers and topics will ensure an interesting two-day confercence. In addition to the main streams of the conference, there are mini tracks focusing on the areas of Multi-User Virtual Environments, Content and Assessment Integration, User Profiling and Barriers and Opportunities for the introduction of GBL in Educational Settings. In addition to the presentations of research the conference this year has introduced a competition to provide an opportunity for educational game designers and creators to participate in the conference and demonstrate their game design and development skills in an international competition. This competition has been sponsored by SEGAN – Serious Games Network. With an initial submission of more than 50 games, 24 finalists will present their games at the conference. Prizes will be awarded to the three games judged to demonstrate the best quality and originality of game play itself and the positioning and articulation of the game’s contribution to the educational domain. xvi
With an initial submission of 179 abstracts, after the double blind peer review process, there are 71 research papers, 18 PhD research papers, 3 Masters research papers and 5 work-in-progress paperspublished in these Conference Proceedings. These papers represent research more than 30 countries, including Algeria, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands Norway, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, UK, USA and Vietnam. We hope that you have an enjoyable conference. Dr Paula Escudeiro Programme Chair and Carlos Vaz de Carvalho Conference Chair October 2013
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Conference Committee ECGBL Conference Director Professor Thomas M Connolly, University of the West of Scotland, UK Conference Executive: Dr Carlos Vaz de Carvalho, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Portugal Dr Paula Escudeiro, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Portugal Dulce Mota, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Porto, Portugal Isabel Azevedo, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Porto, Portugal António Castro, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Porto, Portugal Ana Barata, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Porto, Portugal Bertil Marques, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Porto, Portugal Rosa Reis, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Porto, Portugal Mini Track Chairs Prof. Dr Wilfried Admiraal, Leiden University, The Netherlands Dr Kristian Kiili, Tampere University of Technology, Finland Prof Konstantinos Kalemis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Dr Thomas Hainey, University of the West of Scotland, UK Dr Jordi Sánchez-Navarro, Open University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain Dr Daniel Aranda, Open University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain Dr Stefan Göbel, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany Viktor Wendel, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany Johannes Konert, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany Committee Members The 2013 conference programme committee consists of key people in the games based learning community, both from the UK and overseas. The following people have confirmed their participation: Dr Wilfried Admiraal (Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands); Dr. Minoo Alemi (Sharif University of Technology, Iran); Anissa All (iMinds-MICT-Ghent University, Belgi); Daniel Aranda (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain); Nikolaos Avouris (University of Patras, Greece); Isabel Azevedo ( Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Portugal); Ana Barata ( Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Portugal);Dr. Wolmet Barendregt (Gothenburg University, department of applied IT, Sweden); Francesco Bellotti (University of Genoa, Italy,); Mary Bendixen-Noe (Ohio State University, USA);Dr Tobias Bevc (University of Augsburg, Germany);Dr Bani Bhattacharya (IIT Kharagpur, India); Dr Peter Blanchxviii
field (School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, UK); Natasha Boskic (The University of British Columbia, Canada);Dr. Rosa Maria Bottino (Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche - Consiglio nazionale Ricerche, Italy); Hadya Boufera (University Of Mascara, Algeria); Philip Bourke (LIT-Tipperary, Ireland);Dr Liz Boyle (University of the West of Scotland, UK); Dr Tharrenos Bratitsis (University of Western Macedonia, Greece);Prof Anthony Brooks (Aalborg University, Denmark);Prof David Brown (Nottingham Trent University, UK);Prof. Dr.-Ing. Carsten Busch (University of Applied Sciences HTW-Berlin, Germany,); Dr George Caridakis (University of the Aegean / NTUA, Greece,); Dr Thibault Carron (Université de Savoie, Chambéry, France); Rommert Casimir (Tilburg University, The Netherlands); António Castro ( Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Portugal);Dr Erik Champion (Massey University, New Zealand);Prof Maiga Chang (Athabasca University, Canada); Dimitris Charalambis ( University of Athens, Greece);Dr Darryl Charles (University of Ulster, UK); Nathalie Charlier (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium);Dr Yam San Chee (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore);Dr. Ming-Puu Chen (National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan,); Satyadhyan Chickerur (M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology, India);Professor Thomas Connolly (University of West of Scotland, UK); Tamer Darwish (Brunel University, UK); Ioannis Darzentas (University of Aegean, Greece);Dr Sara De Freitas (Birkbeck College University of london, UK);Dr Sophia Delidaki (Hellenic American Educational Foundation, Greece,);Dr Ioannis Deliyannis (Ionian University, Greece,);Dr. Muhammet Demirbilek (Suleyman Demirel University, Turkey);Dr David Edgar (Glasgow Caledonian University, UK); Patrick Felicia (Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland); Georgios Fesakis (University of the Aegean, Greece);Dr. Brynjar Foss (University of Stavanger, Norway);Dr Christos Gatzidis (Bournemouth University, UK); Dr Sebastien George (INSA Lyon, France); Panagiotis Georgiadis (University of Athens, Greece); Andreas Giannakoulopoulos (Ionian University, Greece);Dr Stefan Goebel (Technical University Darmstadt, Germany); Pedro Pablo Gomez-Martin (Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain); Cleo Gougoulis (Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation, Greece);Dr Dimitris Gouscos (University of Athens, Greece); Maria Grigoriadou ( University of Athens, Greece);Dr David Guralnick (Kaleidoscope Learning, New York, USA);Dr Thomas Hainey (University of the West of Scotland, UK); Paul Hollins (The University of Bolton, United Kingdom);Dr Birgitte Holm Sorensen (Aalborg University, Copenhagen, Denmark);Professor Rozhan Idrus (Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia);Dr Jose Ignacio Imaz (University of the Basque Country, UPV-EHU, Spain); Jeffrey Jacobson (Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA); Ruben Jans (Limburg Catholic University College, Belgium); Runa Jesmin (Global Heart Forum, UK);Dr Larry Jones Esan (London Academy Business School, UK); Alexandros Kakouris (University of Athens, Greece); Fragiskos Kalavassis (University of the Aegean, Greece);Prof Konstantinos Kalemis (National Centre of Local Government and Administration, Greece); Dr Michail xix
Kalogiannakis (University of Crete, Faculty of Education, Crete); Dr Anastasios Karakostas (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece); Dr Elisabeth KatzlingerFelhofer (Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria);Dr Harri Ketamo (Satakunta University of Applied Sciences, Finland);Dr Kristian Kiili (Tampere University of Technology, Pori, Finland); Evangelia Kourti (University of Athens, Greece); Rolf Kretschmann (University of stuttgart, Germany);Dr Timo Lainema (University of Turku, Finland);Prof Miguel Leitao (ISEP, Portugal);Dr. Ximena Lopez Campino (Initium, Italy,); Carrie Lui (James Cook University, Australia);Dr Hamish Macleod (University of Edinburgh, UK);Dr. Rikke Magnussen (Danish school of education, Aarhus university/Steno Health Promotion Center, Denmark); Emanuela Marchetti (Aalborg University Esbjerg, Denmark,); Bertil Marques (Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Portugal);Dr Jean-Charles Marty (LIRIS lab, Lyon, France); Stephanos Mavromoustakos (European University Cyprus, Cyprus); Florian Mehm (Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany); Michail Meimaris (University of Athens, Greece); Bente Meyer (The Danish University of Education, Denmark); Prof Florence Michau (Grenoble Institute of Technology, France);Dr Christine Michel (INSA-Lyon, France);Dr Jonathan Moizer (University of Plymouth, UK); Assoc Prof Begona Montero-Feta Universitat Politecnica de Valencia Dr Adam Moore (Trinity College, Ireland); Alexander Moseley (University of Leicester, UK); Dulce Mota ( Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Portugal); Constantinos Mourlas (University of Athens, Greece); Peter Mozelius (Stockholm University, Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Sweden); Karen Neville (University College Cork, Ireland);Dr Piotr Nowakowski (John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland); Kimmo Oksanen (Finnish Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyväskylä, Finland);Dr John O'Mullane (University College Cork, Ireland);Dr. Michela Ott (Institute Educational Technology, Italy); Dimitra Panagouli (Hellenic American Educational Foundation, Greece); George Papakonstantinou (University of Thessaly, Greece); Agis Papantoniou (Multimedia Laboratory of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). , Greece);Dr Marina Papastergiou (University of Thessaly, Greece); Paul Peachey (University of Glamorgan, Treforest, UK); Gilbert Peffer (CIMNE, Spain);Dr Neil Peirce (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland);Dr Eva Petersson Brooks (Aalborg University Esbjerg, Denmark); Elias Pimenidis (University of East London, UK);Professor Selwyn Piramuthu (University of Florida, Gainesville, USA);Prof. Dr. Maja Pivec (FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences, Austria); Angeliki Poylymenakou (Athens University of Economics & Business, Greece); Dr Aristidis Protopsaltis (Institut für Lern-Innovation FriedrichAlexander-Universität, Germany); Rosa Reis ( Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Portugal);Prof Dr Bernd Remmele (WHL Graduate School of Business and Economics Lahr, Germany); Vyzantinos Repantis (Psychico College, HellenicAmerican Educational Foundation, Greece,); Simos Retalis (University of Piraeus, xx
Greece);Dr Pauline Rooney (Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland);Dr Eleni Rossiou (University of Macedonia,Thessaloniki, Greece);Dr Maria Roussou (makebelieve design & consulting, Greece);Dr Florin Salajan (North Dakota State University , Canada); Jordi Sanchez Navarro (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain); Manthos Santorineos (School of Fine Arts in Athens, Greece);Dr Olga Shabalina (Volograd State Technical University, Russia); Samir Shah (Penn State University, USA);Dr Markus Siepermann (Technische Universität Dortmund, Germany); Helga Sigurdardottir (Nord Trøndelag University College and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway);Dr Gavin Sim (University of Central Lancashire, England);Dr. Julie-Ann Sime (Lancaster University, UK);Dr Chrysanthi Skoumpourdi (University of the Aegean, Greece,);Prof Venustiano Soancatl (Universidad del Istmo, Mexico); Elsebeth Sorensen (University of Aarhus, Denmark);Dr Mark Stansfield (University of West of Scotland, UK); Martin Steinicke (University of Applied Sciences HTW Berlin, Germany);Dr. Arnab Sylvester (Coventry University, UK);Dr Sabin Tabirca (University College Cork, Ireland, ); Uday Trivedi (R.C. Technical Institute, India);Dr. Thrasyvoulos Tsiatsos (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece,);Dr Chuang Tsung-Yen (National University of Tainan, Taiwan); Richard Tunstall (University of Leeds, UK);Dr Andrea Valente (Aalborg University Esbjerg, Denmark);Dr Peter Van Rosmalen (CELSTEC / Open University of the Netherlands, The Netherlands);Dr Linda Van Ryneveld (Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa);Dr Carlos Vaz de Carvalho ( Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Portugal);Dr Ayelet Weizman (Snunit center for the advancement of web-based learning, the Hebrew University, Israel); Viktor Wendel (Technical University Darmstadt, Germany); Nicola Whitton (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK); Dorothy Williams (Robert Gordon University , UK); Andrew Wilson (Birmingham City University, United Kingdom); Amanda Wilson (University of the West of Scotland, Scotland);Dr. Aljona Zorina (ESCP Europe, France)
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Biographies Conference Director Professor Thomas M Connolly is the original instigator of this conference in 2007, Thomas Connolly is a Professor in the School of Computing at the University of the West of Scotland, having managed the Department of Computing and Information Systems for several years. Thomas worked for over 15 years in industry as a Manager and Technical Director in international software houses before entering academia. His specialisms are games-based learning, online learning and database systems. He has developed three fully online MSc programmes and developed and leads the undergraduate BSc Computer Games Technology programme. He is co-author of the highly successful academic textbooks Database Systems (now in its 4th edition) and Database Solutions (in its 2nd edition). He is a reviewer for several international journals and has been on the committee for various international conferences. He is a member of CPHC (Council of Professors and Heads of Computing) and member of the Higher Education Academy.
Conference Chair Dr Carlos Vaz de Carvalho has a PhD in Information Systems and Technology. He is a Professor at the Engineering School of the Porto Polytechnic (ISEP) and the Director of the R&D group GILT (Graphics, Interaction and Learning Technologies). He was e-Learning Director (2001-2005) of ISEP and Director of the Distance Learning Unit of the Porto Polytechnic (1997-2000). He has published over 100 references on the subject including several books.
Programme Chair
Dr Paula Escudeiro is a Professor at IPP-ISEP with vast experience in project supervision and evaluation, accumulated for the past 21 years. She has a PhD on Informatics/Information Systems on Education and prior experience on software industry related to the development of educational software. She is the director of the Multimedia Laboratory at ISEP and belongs to the Graphics, Interaction and Learning Technologies research center (GILT). xxii
Keynote Speakers Dr Baltasar Fernández-Manjón is a full professor in the Facultad de Informatica at the Complutense University of Madrid (2001-2006) and the Vice Dean of Research and Foreign Relationships at the Computer Science School at UCM (2006-2010). He is IEEE Senior Member and in 20102011 he has been Visiting Associate Professor at Harvard University and Visiting Scientist at LCS-MGH. He received a Bachelor in Physics (major in Computer Science) and a PhD in Physics from the UCM. He is member of the IFIP Working Group 3.3 "Research on the Educational uses of Communication and Information Tecnlogies" and of the Spanish Technical Committee for E-learning Standarization (AENOR CTN71/SC36 "Tecnologías de la información para el aprendizaje"). His main research interests are e-learning technologies, educational uses of serious games, application of educational standards, and user-modelling. Dr Paulo J. Gomes is the Game Director and Producer at BIGMOON STUDIOS and he produced games such ‘WRC3’, ‘MotoGP13’, ‘Jagged Alliance: Back in Action’, ‘Trapped Dead Lockdown’ and many others. Has more than 20 years of experience in software development and project management. He’s credited in more them 15 videogames published worldwide on PS3, Xbox360, Wii, PC, Linux, Mac and Mobile. Paulo has a PhD in Computer Science, MBA and he is a Multimedia Professor at Portucalense University.
Mini Track Chairs Prof. Dr Wilfried Admiraal is a full professor of Educational Sciences and chair of the research program Teaching and Teacher Learning of Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching. His research interest combines Educational Sciences, Social Psychology and technology. He published journal articles on mobile game-based learning and game creation by students. Dr Daniel Aranda is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Information and Communication Studies at the Open University of Catalonia. He is researching on how young people use digital technologies. He works in the research group SPIDER (Smarter People through Interactive Digital Entertainment Resources), Communication & New Media (at the Internet xxiii
Interdisciplinary Institute / IN3) and eCo (research and innovation in e-learning, information and communication), at the eLearn Center (UOC). Dr Stefan Göbel holds a PhD in computer science from TUD and has long-term experience in Graphic Information Systems, Interactive Digital Storytelling, Edutainment applications and Serious Games. After five years work as researcher at Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics, from 2002 to 2008 he was heading the Digital Storytelling group at the Computer Graphics Center in Darmstadt. In late 2008 he moved to TUD and is heading the prospering Serious Gaming group at the Multimedia Communications Lab. Dr. Göbel is author of numerous papers and member of different program committees such as ACM Multimedia, ICME, Edutainment, Foundations on Digital Games, Serious Games Conference and serves as jury member of the Serious Games Award. Dr. Thomas Hainey is a Lecturer in Computer Games Technology and Serious Games Researcher at the University of the West of Scotland. He teachers an honours level course in serious games and is primarily interested in the empirical evaluation of games-based learning applications and how to integrate assessment into games-based learning applications. He has a number of publications in this area. Dr Kristian Kiili works as a Senior Research Fellow and an Adjunct Professor at the Tampere University of Technology in which he heads the Advanced MultimediaCenter research laboratory. His current research focuses on gamebased learning, user generated game content, game design, and educational exertion games. He is presently involved in two European initiatives: the Game and Learning Alliance (GALA NoE) and Making Games in Collaboration for Learning (MAGICAL). Results received from his research has been published in several scientific publications as well as applied in commercial products Johannes Konert finished his diploma in Computer Science and accompanying studies in cultural studies at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) with a thesis proposing a web-based knowledge management system for the integration of workflow and learnflow. After three years working on the foundation and development of the online social network friendcafe as CEO and senior developer he joined the research group at Multimedia Communication xxiv
Lab (KOM) at Technische Universität Darmstadt to focus on Serious Games and Social Networks. He became a Ph.D. student of the DFG Research Training Group “Feedback-based Quality Management in E-learning”. In his research he focusses on the development of solutions to use Social Media concepts for knowledge transfer between peers in Serious Games. Prof Konstantinos Kalemis is an Instructor at the National Centre for Public Administration and Local Government (E.K.D.D.A.) in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning and assigned at the Dept of Primary Education in National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He has authored a large number of scientific articles, studies and papers in Educational Congress and Seminars. His interests focus on the introduction of New Technologies as an alternative teaching process and the design of new curriculum plans for the open and d-Learning. His research interests also include the education of immigrant ethnic minorities focusing on the gifted and talented students and aim to advance the theory and technology of natural language and knowledge processing, especially semantic analysis that bridges the gap between language and knowledge, by the novel use of both machine learning and inference methods. Dr Jordi Sánchez-Navarro is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Information and Communication Studies at the Open University of Catalonia (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya).His research revolves around innovation in entertainment and how this interacts with the new practices of cultural consumption in the contemporary media landscape, and how they impact on education. Dr Thrasyvoulos Tsiatsos is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Informatics of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He obtained his Diploma, his Master's Degree and his PhD from the Computer Engineering and Informatics Department of Patras University (Greece). His research interests include Networked Virtual Learning Environments, Computer Uses in Education, Evaluation methods of Internet Learning Environments and Open and Distance Education using Multimedia and Internet Technologies. He has published more than 120 papers in Journals and in well-known refereed conferences and he is co-author in 3 books. He has been a PC member and referee in various international journals and conferences and participated in more than 20 R&D projects. Also he is member Technical Chamber of Greece. xxv
Viktor Wendel received his degree in Computer Science from the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg in 2009. Since November 2009, he is working as a research assistant at the Multimedia-Communications-Lab at the Technical University of Darmstadt. Research topics are Game Mastering in Multiplayer Serious Games, and Collaborative Learning. Further, he is an editor for ACM SIGMM Records.
Biographies of Presenting Authors Aishah Abdul Razak received her MSc. in Information Technology from Multimedia University, Malaysia. She is now pursuing her PhD in the School of Computing at the University of the West of Scotland. Her research interest is in games-based learning for primary school children. Wilfried Admiraal is full professor of Educational Sciences and chair of the research program Teaching and Teacher Learning of Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching. His research interest combines Educational Sciences, Social Psychology and technology. He published journal articles on mobile game-based learning and game creation by students Rafael Marques de Albuquerque graduated as Bachelor (2008) and Master (2011) in Graphic Design in the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil) and is currently carrying out his PhD in Education in the Learning Sciences Research Institute of the University of Nottingham (UK). His research interests are digital games, learning and school, especially game literacy. Rene Alimisi has a rich engineering background and thorough knowledge of the field of Information Communication Technology in Education. She holds a master with distinction in ICT in Education (IOE, University of London). She has more than 4 years experience within the area of Lifelong Learning European Projects and teaching experience in well- known institutions in Greece and UK. Anissa All works as a junior researcher at IBBT-MICT (Ghent University) since July 2011. Since January 2013, Anissa is working on a PhD through a IWT grant (Flemish agency for Innovation by Science and Technology). In this PhD research, she will develop a standard procedure to measure effectiveness of serious games aimed at cognitive learning outcomes. xxvi
Yasemin Allsop has been working as an ICT coordinator in primary Schools across London for almost 10 years. MPhil/PhD student at Goldsmiths, University of London. Focus is on children’s learning and cognitive development through digital game making activities. Interested in the role of teachers when teaching with digital games and game design. Reem Al-Washmi is a second-year PhD student at the University of Nottingham, in the School of Computer Science. Her PhD is entitled “Collaborative gamesbased learning to support problem solving in UK KS2 Mathematics”. Her long term interests include the study of problems that children face in mathematics and the use of technology to overcome these. António Andrade has a Degree in Communication Design from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto. Currently he is working on his Computer Science MSc at the School of Engineering of the Porto Polytechnic (ISEP), researching on Virtual Communities of Practice. Massimiliano Andreoletti Professor of Educational gaming and animation at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan. Researcher and author of several essays and articles in the Media Education and Educational Technologies (internet, video games, mobile, tablet/pad, cloud). He’s still a videogamer and father of a child of five years. Alexandra Androussou is a Associate Professor in Teaching Methodology at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. Her research and writing focus on teaching practices, teacher education and education of minority groups. She also deals with the development of educational materials for children in electronic and conventional form and she produces educational materials for teachers such as the website www.kleidiakaiantikleidia.net Anna Arici is a Learning Scientist with the Center for Games & Impact, at Arizona State University, where she designs and researches game-based learning environments for educational and social challenges, change, and sustainable impact. Additionally, as director of Quest2Teach, she creates game-infused learning curricula and gamification systems for pre-service teachers to prepare and support highly effective educators. Jannicke Baalsrud Hauge is research scientist at Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik(BIBA). She is teaching decision making in SC at the University of Bremen and Jacobs University. Main interest: Serious games, TEL, use of ICT in
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logistics. Responsible for many WPs in EU and national projects on ICT applications, logistics and TEL. Authored 100+ papers. Sasha Barab is a Professor in the Teachers College at Arizona State University where he co-founded and serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Games & Impact. Dr. Barab is an internationally recognized learning scientist who has researched, designed, and published extensively on the challenges and opportunities of using games for impact. Lizzy Bleumers graduated as a Master in Psychology and obtained a postgraduate degree in user-centered design. She now conducts user research at iMinds-SMIT (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) within the area of play, learning and participation. She was recently involved in a European project, which explored how digital games can be part of empowerment and inclusion initiatives. Dr. Rosa Maria Bottino Director of the Institute for Educational Technology of the Italian National Research Centre (ITD-CNR). Author of more than 100 scientific publications both in national and international journals, books and conference proceedings. Dr. Bottino participated in both national and European projects and Networks of Exellence in Technology Enhanced Learning, including GALA NoE on serious games Cyril Brom is an assistant professor at Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University in Prague. His research interest is in serious games, modelling behaviour and episodic memory of virtual human-like characters, in level of detail AI, and in computational biology. Hope Caton lectures Game Creation Processes at Kingston University, London, where she also leads inKUbator, a multi-disciplinary games development studio Hope founded in 2010 with Dr Darrel Greenhill. In addition to investigating the effects of introducing gamification in the classroom, Hope’s areas of research include developing serious games for health and education. Nathalie Charlier is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and co-ordinator of the Teacher Training in Health Sciences Education at the KU Leuven, Belgium. She obtained a BSc and MSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences and her PhD in Medical Sciences. Her current research interests are (i) gamebased learning in health science education and (ii) the use of new technologies in education.
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Yaëlle Chaudy researcher at the University of the West of Scotland. She obtained an MSc in computing from INSA Lyon (Institut National des Sciences Appliquées) and a bachelor in French as a Second Language from Stendhal University in Grenoble. Interested in both computing and education, she is now studying the integration of assessment in GBL applications. John Denholm In final stages of PhD at Serious Games Institute, Coventry, researching into value of educational games. MSc from Imperial College, London and held several senior positions in major UK companies, mainly corporate planning and development of strategic business models. He has lectured on Business, Project Management and Finance courses at Birmingham City and Coventry Universities and supervises Master’s students at Warwick and Manchester Universities. Jill Denner, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist at Education, Training, Research, a non-profit organization in California where she studies how students learn while creating computer games. She has written numerous peer-reviewed articles, and co-edited: “Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat: New Perspectives on Gender and Gaming,” published by MIT Press in 2008. Kyriaki Dourda is a post-graduate student at the Early Childhood Education Department, at the University of Western Macedonia, Greece. She has graduated from the School of English Language and Literature at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Her research interests include: Learning and Teaching Modern languages, GBL, CLIL, Language learning strategies. Ronald Dyer has held senior positions in the area of technology strategy, transformation and change management for performance improvement in the US & Trinidad & Tobago. He is a final year candidate for the Doctorate in Business Administration at Grenoble Ecole de Management, France, focused on research on serious game. Stine Ejsing-Duun is interested in the relation between technology, perception and cognition. Her ambition is to describe how technologies allow us to transcend ourselves. Her research has been connected to games, play and playful processes in various areas. Her present studies are within the fields of learning and art. Lars Elbæk (Ph.D.) is associate professor at University of Southern Denmark, and director of the research group ‘PE Pedagogy and Sports Psychology’. He has worked with interaction design and use of IT in children and youth sport and physical education through a number of years. Lars Elbæk is currently working xxix
partly at the Play and Learning – Kids n’ Tweens Lifestyle EU founded project. www.kidsntweens.dk Valérie Emin, PhD, is a researcher at the Institut Français de l'Éducation, member of S2HEP Laboratory. She coordinates since 2008 a research project on pedagogical scenario design in science and technique discipline. Her current research topics are "Pedagogical scenarios design" and "Game based learning". She's an associate member of GALA european network of excellence. David Farrell is a lecturer in game design at Glasgow Caledonian University with interests in player centric design and Serious Games. He was the lead designer and developer of the e-Bug Serious Games and his research focuses on improving the integration of good game design practice with well grounded pedagogy. Toru Fujimoto is an assistant professor at the Center for Research and Development of Higher Education, The University of Tokyo. He completed his graduate study at the Pennsylvania State University (Ph.D. in Instructional Systems). His research focus is on the design of learning environments using digital games and social media. Georgy Gerkushenko conducts research in the area of social informatics and elearning since 2000. He gained PhD degree on creating electronic educational resources in 2004 and MBA degree on “Chief Information Officer” in 2009. Currently he is a senior lecturer of CAD department at Technical University in Volgograd, Russia. Main research interests are personal learning environment, education social networking and electronic educational resources. Dr. Lisa Gjedde is Professor with special responsibilities at Aalborg University in Copenhagen at the Dept. for Learning and Philosophy, director of the Research Center for Creative and Immersive Learning Environments: reCreate. Dr. Stefan Göbel holds a PhD in computer science from TUD and has long-term experience in Graphic Information Systems, Interactive Digital Storytelling, Edutainment applications and Serious Games. Since 2008 he is heading the Serious Gaming group at the Multimedia Communications Lab of Technische Universität Darmstadt. Paridhi Gupta is a PhD research student in the department of School of Design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong). Her research investigation focuses on interactive play and games within English Language subject classrooms
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in Hong Kong local Primary schools. She has a Master’s Degree in visual communication from IDC, IIT Mumbai. Dr. Thomas Hainey is a Lecturer in Computer Games Technology and Serious Games Researcher at the University of the West of Scotland. He teachers an honours level course in serious games and is primarily interested in the empirical evaluation of games-based learning applications and how to integrate assessment into games-based learning applications. He has a number of publications in this area. Claire Hamshire has worked at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) since 2003; initially as a Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy and from 2008 as a Senior Learning and Teaching Fellow. This role combines faculty teaching with a cross institutional contribution to technology and games-based innovation. She was awarded a Higher Education Academy National Teaching Fellowship in 2012 Thorkild Hanghøj is an Associate Professor at the ResearchLab: IT, Learning and Design (ILD), Aalborg University, Copenhagen. He holds a PhD on the playful knowledge in educational gaming. Research areas include: game-based teaching, games and Mother Tongue Education, and problem-based game design. Shinobu Hasegawa received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in systems science from Osaka University in 1998, 2000, and 2002. He is now an associate professor in Center for Graduate Education Initiative, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. His research areas include support for Web-based learning, game-based learning, language learning, and community based learning. Wayne Holmes is currently Head of Education for the games-based learning company zondle. Previously, he was a teacher and the Head of Research for an education charity. He has an MA in Philosophy, an MSc (Oxon) in Education, and is completing his DPhil (doctorate) in Education (researching games-based learning) at the University of Oxford. Robyn Hromek is a practicing educational psychologist working in Australian schools and an Honorary Associate of the The University of Sydney, Australia. She has created a set of 15 board games to teach social and emotional skills to children and young people and has spoken at numerous international conferences on games-based learning.
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Jennifer Jenson is Professor and Director for the Institute of Research on Learning Technologies at York University, Canada. She has published on games, game design, gender and game play and digital games in education Helle Skovbjerg Karoff (PhD) is Assistant Professor at Aalborg University/Copenhagen and a member of ILD: IT and Learning Design. Helle´s main research field is play and interaction with technology, especially questions of the dynamics of play, for example through danger, movement and sociality. Harri Ketamo, PhD founder/chief scientist, Eedu ltd. and Adjunct Professor, Tampere University of Technology. Specialized in Complex Adaptive Systems, Cognitive Psychology of Learning, Neural Computing and Educational Technology. Was Director of Education, Satakunta University of Applied Sciences and CEO & founder GameMiner ltd, company focusing on Data Mining/game AI. Published international/peer-reviewed research articles; presentations on studies in international forums. Several awards and nominations related to R&D activities. Michael Kickmeier-Rust holds a PhD in cognitive psychology and he is an experienced project manager and software developer. His research and development activities focus primarily on technology-enhanced learning, in particular intelligent, adaptive educational systems and human-computer interaction. Since 2010 Michael is with the Knowledge Management Institute at Graz University of Technology. Kristian Kiili works as an adjunct professor at Tampere University of Technology. His research focuses on game based learning, exergaming, and game design issues. Results received from his studies has been published in several scientific publications as well as applied in commercial e-learning products. Luise Klein obtained a MSc. degree in Digital Media from the University of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven. Her interests are in enabling learning with and about media and technology, especially in informal playful settings. She also develops her game-based learning and mobile learning applications. Antti Koivisto is a Ph.D. student at the Tampere University of Technology in Pori, Finland. He currently works at Satakunta University of Applied Sciences as a researcher and at Eedu Ltd as a game developer. His research interests are exergames. He is currently researching how games suit for elderly and mentally disabled people.
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Johannes Konert finished his diploma in Computer Science at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). After three years work on the foundation and development of the online social network friendcafe, in June 2010 he joined the research group at Multimedia Communication Lab (KOM) at Technische Universität Darmstadt to focus on Serious Games and Social Networks. Evangelia Kourti is an associate Professor of Social Psychology specializing in communication at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. Her research interests cover the scientific fields of communication, media and children and the psychology of cyberspace. Loukas Koutsikos holds a Master Degree (MSc) in "ICT for Education", from the National Kapodistrian University of Athens. He holds a Bsc of Electrical Engineering Educator from the Higher School of Pedagogical and Technological Education. He works in Secondary Vocational Education and has participated in various programs dealing with the implementation of Educational Technology. Dimitrios Lappas has graduated from the Hellenic Military Academy in 2005. He also has a Bachelor's Degree from Pre-school Education and Educational Design Department of the University of the Aegean. He is currently a postgraduate student in “Models of Designing and Planning Educational Units”, Master's and PhD Degree program at the University of the Aegean. José Rafael López-Arcos Member of the GEDES research group in the Department of Computer Languages and Systems at the University of Granada. His research focuses on the integration of storytelling into educational video games. Rikke Magnussen associate professor at ResearchLab: ICT and Design for Learning, Aalborg University Copenhagen. Main research interest is how game-based technology can open for innovation in science education. Part of numerous national and international learning game development and research projects for over ten years and published extensively on subject of game's potentials in science education. Gunver Majgaard (PhD) is Associate Professor at The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, University of Southern Denmark. Her research interests are design of digital educational tools; human computer interaction; participatory design processes; learning processes; didactical design; program and curriculum development. She has developed the engineering program "Learning and Experience Technology".
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Christos Malliarakis is a teacher of Computer Science in Mandoulides Schools, a large private primary/secondary school in Thessaloniki, Greece. He holds a BSc and an MSc in Informatics from the Computer Science Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and he is undergoing his PhD research in Game Based Learning on Computer Programming since May 2011. Dionissios M. Manessis holds a M.Sc. in ICT for education, from the University of Athens, Greece. He is now a Ph.D. student at the department of Early Childhood Education of the University of Athens. His research interests include the use of digital games in Early Childhood Education and students’ attitudes towards Statistics. Jean-Charles Marty associate professor at LIRIS lab in Lyon (France). Research interests are in observation of collaborative activities, through traces of these activities. Research results are applied to Technology Enhanced Learning, and in particular to learning game environments. Participates to several projects in this field (Learning Adventure, Learning Games Factory, Serious Lab for Innovation, Pegase). Organized an international school on Game-Based Learning in June 2011. Apostolos Mavridis is a PhD candidate on the subject of “Game Based Learning” in the Department of Informatics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He holds a BSc in Computer Science and an MSc in ICTE (Information and Communication Technology in Education). Mas Idayu Md Sabri is a PhD student at the University of Nottingham. She is currently on study leave from her employment as a lecturer at the University of Malaya, Malaysia. She obtained her BComp Science from University of Malaya, majoring in Software Engineering and obtained her MSc Multimedia Technology from the University of Bath. Her research interests are multimedia technology, edutainment, and interactive learning. Emna Mejbri She obtained the master degree in computer sciences, from the University of Kairouan, Tunisia in 2011. Currently, she is a phD student at the National School of Computer Sciences of Mannouba, Tunisia. Her main research interest is in the area of Learning and Games development. Javier Melero received both his Engineering degree in Computer Science (2008) and Master in Information, Communication and Audiovisual Media Technologies (2009) from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Spain. Since 2006, he has been involved in European and National projects in the field of TEL. His main research focus is about designing technology-supported puzzle-based games. xxxiv
Hélène Michel is a Senior Professor in Grenoble Ecole de Management (France). With a specialization in Innovation Management, she started working on Serious Games in 2003. Her research focuses on the strategic approach of serious games and on their performance’s evaluation. Alex Moseley is an Educational Designer and University Teaching Fellow at the University of Leicester, with long experience of course design and development in higher education. His research areas are in games-based learning, student engagement and effective research skills, and he designs games for education and museum contexts. Peter Mozelius has since 1999 been employed as a teacher for the Stockholm University and the Royal Institute of Technology at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV) in Kista, Sweden. He is currently working as an ITPedagogue and researcher. His research interests are in the fields of ICT4D, gamebased learning and software engineering. Robin Munkvold has been teaching software design at Nord-Trondelag University College (Norway) since 1999. The last five years he has been Program Director within the field of Digital Games and Media Technology. He has published several papers on subjects regarding online learning and ICT as a tool for supporting different pedagogical approaches. Rob Nadolski is assistant professor in TEL at CELSTEC at the Open University of the Netherlands. Main interests: competence-based education, serious games, especially enhancing learner support facilities by exploiting newest technologies. Involved in design and project management of e-learning applications for acquiring complex cognitive skills and research on such applications. Has participated in European and national projects. Elena Núñez Castellar received her degree in Psychology in 2006. In 2011 she obtained her degree of Doctor in Psychology from the Ghent University. During her PhD she got broad experience with research methods in cognitive neuroscience, namely EEG (electro-encephalography) and reaction times research. Since 2012 she joined the research group for Media & ICT (iMinds-MICT). Chinedu Obikwelu is a PhD research student with the ChiCI research group, University of Central Lancashire, he is currently researching the scaffolding mechanism in serious games with emphasis on adaptive scaffolding. He has worked in both the educational and IT sector as a teacher and an IT Support Officer respectively. xxxv
Daire Ó Broin holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from TCD, which focussed on approaches to developing the conditions of flow. He has been a lecturer at IT Carlow since 2008, where he teaches on the Computer Games Development programme . His research interests include increasing engagement and intrinsic motivation in games and learning. Kelly O’Hara (Ph.D. Sport Science) is professor at Beira Interior University, Portugal, and a researcher at Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development Centre. Her research interests are develop game based-learning environments by integrating, sports and health, and tennis training. She has published several papers, book chapters, and she is reviewer in international journals. Kimmo Oksanen (Lic.Ed.) is doctoral student at the Finnish Institute for Educational Research (FIER), University of Jyväskylä. He is working on his doctoral thesis about supporting and evaluating collaborative learning in a game context. His research interests include game experience, game design and collaborative learning. Mark O'Rourke is an Educational Advisor with the Curriculum Innovation Unit at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. He has worked as a VET researcher, Multimedia Lecturer, Program Manager, Head of School, and Chair Academic Board. Mark's research activity focuses on games-based learning and he is a Fulbright Professional Scholar having undertaken research at USC in LA. M’hamme Ali Oulhaci is a PhD student at LSIS laboratory Aix-Marseille University; his works include behaviors simulation, multi-agents systems, and learners’ assessment in serious games. He got his master at Paris Dauphine Unversity. Contact him at LSIS, Domaine universitaire de Saint Jérôme Avenue Escadrille Normandie Niemen 13397 MARSEILLE Cedex 20. Trygve Pløhn works as a lecturerer and a researcher at the Nord-Trøndelag University College. He obtained his MSc in Software Development, Information Technology from the IT University of Copenhagen in 2007. He is a PhD Candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. His main research interest is within Pervasive Games and Serious Games. Jakub Procházka, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at the Department of Corporate Economy and at the Department of Psychology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. His current research focuses on psychology of leadership and leadership effectiveness. He teaches interactive courses in the field of organizational and work psychology. xxxvi
Dr Aristidis Protopsaltis is a Senior Researcher at the Institut für Lern-Innovation at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. His background is in Cognitive Science, Serious Games, ICT and Education. He is involved in a number of European projects with focus on education, e-learning and Serious Games. He has published numerous peer-reviewed conference and journal papers. Wen Qi researcher at CELSTEC Open Universiteit. PhD in Men Machine Interaction. Research interests are in Virtual Environments, Serious Games (for learning) and Human Computer Interaction. He has worked in different research projects in both academia and industry. Those research projects were sponsored by US, European and national funding agencies. He is now active in gaming based learning. Rosa Reis teaches at IPP-ISEP, Computer Engineering Department. MSc on Information Systems in Education and PhD student on Informatics at University UTADTras-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real. Researcher at GILT-Graphic Interaction & Learning Technologies. Researches application of techniques of software engineering in design of educational collaborative virtual environments. Involved in several National and European research projects, presently regular reviewer of several conferences and scientific journals. Christian Reuter studied Computer Science at TU Darmstadt and finished his Master Thesis about the “Development and Realization of Methods and Concepts for Multiplayer Adventures” in 2011 before he then joined the Multimedia Communication Lab. His research focus includes the Authoring-Platform “StoryTec”, especially its extension for multiplayer serious games. Tiago Ribeiro is an eclectic researcher seeking harmony between arts and technology. He has been collaborating internationally on research projects like LIREC and EMOTE, and also with CMU, focusing especially on non-verbal expression in robots both through animation and sound. He is currently in an early stage of obtaining his PhD, in which he pursues artist-oriented intelligent robot animation. Gabriela Rodríguez has a B.A. degree in Spanish Literature and a M.A. in Education. She is currently a PhD student at Turku University’s Faculty of Education, where she is part of a research group designing a mathematical Serious Game as a tool to develop flexible and adaptive use of arithmetic strategies amongst upper elementary children. Martin Ruskov is currently a PhD student at the UCL Deptartment of Computer Science. He has previously worked in the areas of interactive storytelling and auxxxvii
thoring tools for multimedia publishing. For his PhD Martin explores how to develop effective serious games and measure the learning happening with their use. Eric Sanchez is associate professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, head of EducTice, a research team of the French Institute for Education and adjunct professor at the University of Sherbrooke, QC (Canada). His research work concerns the uses of digital technologies for educational purposes (e-learning, simulation, serious games). Luciano Santos has a graduate degree in informatics engineering from the Engineering School of the Porto Polytechnic (ISEP) in 2011, and is currently undertaking a Master’s degree in graphics and multimedia systems at ISEP. Ángel Serrano-Laguna, MSc, works for the Complutense University of Madrid as a researcher in the e-UCM e-learning group as well as being a PhD student. His current research interests are educational video games, learning analytics and the eAdventure project. He has published 8 academic papers related to these topics. Helga Sigurdardottir is a PhD candidate at the Nord-Trøndelag University College. She is attending the PhD program in Interdisciplinary Culture Studies at The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. Helga has a bachelor degree in Social Anthropology, a Master in Education (Program Evaluation) and a Teacher Certificate from The University of Iceland. Petr Smutný is assistant professor at the Department of Corporate Economy of Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Rep. His current research focuses on managerial simulation games effectiveness and leadership effectiveness. He teaches several courses using game based approach. Currently he is vice-dean for external affairs of the faculty. Heinrich Söbke researcher in “Intelligent Learning” programme (www.intelligentes-lernen.de) at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Focuses on game based learning, where his background in computer science enables him to transfer software design principles into technical design of video games. Ws visiting scholar in Department of Curriculum & Instruction at University of Wisconsin, Madison, when worked on development of educational games at Morgridge Institute for Research. Mario Soflano is a researcher at University of the West of Scotland. His background education is in computer science. His main interests are computer games
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technology, games design, educational technology, web development, adaptive system and mobile games / software development. Pooya Soltani has a M.Sc. degree in Exercise Physiology from Shiraz University, Iran. He is now a PhD candidate of Sport Science at University of Porto. He’s interested in characterizing Exergames and their effects in three domains of physiology, biomechanics and psychology. He’s working at Porto Biomechanics Laboratory under supervision of Professor João Paulo Vilas-Boas. Narumon Sriratanaviriyakul (Cherry) is Senior Lecturer in Centre of Commerce and Management at RMIT University Vietnam and has 8 years of teaching experience in higher education in international universities. Her research interests include game-based learning, online social network, case study methods, and technology in education. Martin Steinicke earned his BSc. and MSc. in Business Informatics at University of Applied Science HTW-Berlin. He works in the research project „Innovationsdramaturgie nach dem Heldenprinzip“ headed by Professor Carsten Busch and teaches DGBL. His work centers on game based learning in the business context and information & knowledge diffusion in social networks. Gunilla Svingby is a Professor of Education, at Malmö University, Sweden. I was professor at Lund University, Gothenburg, Oslo University, and Tromso University. Some research projects: A computer game on ethics as a learning environment, Continuous assessment and dynamic examination, Professional competence with simulations in teacher education, Learning by mobile games, Mathematics for the digital generation. Emilia Todorova has recently graduated in BSc Information Systems Development from Glasgow Caledonian University. She has worked on projects involving the Bologna Process, Quality Assurance and Education Policy. Her research interests are on improving learning and teaching, using technology within higher education and quality assurance in the EHEA. Ofut, Ogar Tumenayu: obtained his bachelor degree in Computer science from Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, Nigeria. He is currently studying for his master degree in Volgograd State Technical University Volgograd, Russian Federation. His scientific research is in field of Design and implementation of adaptive Educational Games.
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Herre van Oostendorp is Associate Professor Human-Media Interaction at the Institute of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University. His research activities are on the domain of Human-Computer Interaction. He is a specialist on the areas of web navigation, hypertext comprehension, usability engineering and cognitive principles in serious game design Didin Wahyudin is a lecturer in Indonesia University of Education, Bandung. He received Master degree in Game Technology from Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia. He has experienced as a first responder in many disasters. Currently, He is a PhD student at School of Information Science JAIST Japan focusing on research of Mobile Game Based Learning. Ayelet Weizman Director of science education at Snunit center for the advancement of web-based learning, located at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Designing educational games and interactive learning and teaching materials in science on several websites. PhD in Planetary Sciences from Tel Aviv University and post doctorate studies in science education at Michigan State University. Viktor Wendel received his degree in Computer Science from the JuliusMaximilians-University of Würzburg in 2009. Since November 2009, he is working as a research assistant at the Multimedia-Communications-Lab at the Technical University of Darmstadt. Research topics are Game Mastering in Multiplayer Serious Games, and Collaborative Learning. Further, he is an editor for ACM SIGMM Records. Dr Nicola Whitton is a Research Fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University, specializing in the innovative use of learning technologies in Higher Education. Her particular interest is in the design and use of computer games with adult learners and she is the authors of Digital Games for Learning, a practical guide to educational game development. Amanda Wilson is a research student at the University of the West of Scotland. Her research focuses on how games based construction learning can be implemented into the curriculum within primary education in Scotland using Scratch. Andrew Sean Wilson worked in biomedical research for last twenty years. Interested in use of technology in medical research particularly in the management of musculoskeletal diseases. Designed and developed educational computer programs to help patients and practising doctors gain better understanding of how to manage these diseases. Sees game based learning as another way of assisting in this. xl
Amel Yessad is PhD in computer science. Currently, she is an associate professor in the team MOCAH–LIP6 of the University Pierre et Marie Curie. Her research focuses on knowledge engineering, technology enhanced learning, and serious games. Dr Yessad is involved in several serious game projects. Ebru Yeniman Yildirim is a senior lecturer and Head of Computer Technology & Programming at Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey. She has written books on computer programming and managed many large-scale EU projects on Vocational Training. She is interested in e-learning, how new technologies impact on the teacher’s role in the classroom and game based learning. Matej Zapušek is employed as teaching assistant for computer science courses at University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education. He is also a PhD student at University of Ljubljana, Faculty of computer and information science. His main field of interest is researching the possibilities for teaching introductory programming with intelligent tutoring systems. Symeon Zourelidis is a postgraduate student of the M.Sc. program "ICT in Education", in the National Kapodistrian University of Athens. He works as a director in primary school. He participates in teacher training course for the use and the application of ICT in the classroom. Research interest focuses on new technologies in education.
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Teachers’ Beliefs About Game Based Learning: A Comparative Study of Pedagogy, Curriculum and Practice in Italy, Turkey and the UK 1
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Yasemin Allsop , Ebru Yeniman Yildirim and Marina Screpanti 1 Wilbury Primary School, London, UK 2 Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey 3 Istituto comprensivo n.3 Chieti, Italy
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Abstract: Digital games are more popular than ever among children and young adults (Prensky 2001; Gee 2003; Fromme 2003; Oblinger 2004). Recent reviews show that children spend hours playing video games either on their console or digitally online. Educators started to see the power of this new medium and explore ways to use digital games to support learning within schools. Incorporating digital games into classrooms, however, has been a challenging task for many reasons; According to Jessel (2012) “Innovation arising from new technologies makes a variety of demands upon the role of the teacher”. The question is; are the teachers ready for these demands, as the new technologies transform their role continually? This study aims to give a comparative account of teachers’ views of their role when teaching using digital games in primary classrooms. Additionally it investigated the interrelation between game based learning, curriculum, pedagogy and practice. This study presents the views of teachers from Turkey, Italy and the UK. In-depth interviews and an online survey were used to find out the teachers perceptions of game based learning and how this impacts on their roles as a teacher. The research also analyzed the interview findings to understand the dynamics between curriculum design, learning culture and practice when implementing game based learning. The research found that there is a strong link between how learning is designed to incorporate digital games, the theories and strategies that have been used to deliver the curriculum and how this manifests itself in practice within the classroom. The research also showed that teachers are aware that their roles when using new technologies in education has changed, however, because of the lack of necessary training they are not clear on how to adopt these changes. In some countries the curriculum was flexible enough to accommodate game based learning, however, in some without a radical reform this would not be possible. The mass difference between country specific curriculum, pedagogy and practice highlights the need for a flexible model or approach of embedding digital games into primary classrooms. Keywords: game based learning, digital game design, teachers’ perceptions, curriculum, pedagogy, teacher’s role in GBL.
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Using Gamification to Animate a Virtual Community António Andrade and Carlos Vaz de Carvalho GILT - Graphics, Interaction and Learning Technologies, ISEP, Porto, Portugal Abstract: A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of individuals who willingly come together because they have common interests in a specific area and want to develop their skills and competences by collaborating with other members and sharing their experience. CoPs have been applied to diverse environments, including organizations, education, associations and the social sector, as well as the governmental institutions and international development. A community of practice may emerge from both bottom-up or top-down initiatives and it will exist as long as the members believe they have something to contribute to it, or gain from it. The widespread access to personal computers and to the internet made the virtual environment very interesting for communities of practice, providing collaboration tools and both synchronous and asynchronous forms of communication. However, some differences and drawbacks in the interaction between individuals are also registered in the translation to the virtual environment. Keeping these communities alive depends a lot on the motivation of members, on their commitment and will to participate. Those are not easy to attain and maintain, especially on the online environment. Different approaches have been implemented to animate a community (be it real or virtual) and ensure a high level of communication and experience sharing. Of course, providing a rich and valuable knowledge repository is crucial, but the question is, how to turn passive community members into active participants? In this paper we present three communities of practice with completely different domains and communities (footwear industry professionals, trainers and trainees; innovation and marketing students, teachers and experts; and serious games practitioners and researchers). We compare the approaches that were used to animate the individuals to participate and to be involved in those communities. In particular, we present the results of using gamification as a form of motivating participants. Keywords: communities of practice, gamification, serious games, collaboration, participation, motivation
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SIMaging the CITY: The Educational use of Simulation Video Games for Disadvantaged Youth 1
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Massimiliano Andreoletti and Gianna Cappello 1 Department of Pedagogy, Catholic University Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy 2 Department of Culture and Society, Palermo University, Italy Abstract. In this paper we argue that the intermediaries supporting individual and community social empowerment (families, schools, youth and health services, both public and private, cultural and social entrepreneurs) could use video games so as improve the effectiveness of their interventions. We report the initial findings of an ongoing action-research project which aims at experimenting the educational use of a simulation video game (SimCity) in a youth club (Centro Tau) located in a highly disadvantaged and mafia-bound area of Palermo (Italy). From these findings, it appears that, by SIMaging their ideal CITY, the Centro Tau youth have started to think about “civic” issues on a very concrete and practical level. Despite the strong affective ties they show towards their daily living context, they have lucidly identified its negative aspects and confronted themselves on the choices and solutions necessary for reinventing it as a better urban setting inspired by a vision for sustainable development. It also appears that gaming may represent for them an important and powerful opportunity, in a way a kind of “training ground”, for experiencing collective action, peer-based learning and selfesteem. Keywords: simulation video game, civic empowerment, disadvantaged youth
“The Chest That Longs to be Moved”: A Serious Game for the Greek Muslim Minority Children Alexandra Androussou, Evangelia Kourti and Nelly Askouni National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece Abstract: This paper refers to the creation and the use of a serious game produced within a large-scale educational project, aiming at the social inclusion of Muslim minority students in Western Thrace in Greece. The game represents an educational challenge both at political and social level as it has to meet the particular characteristics of the target population it is addressing. Muslim minority's children face massive under achievement at the primary school and high drop-out rates from compulsory education. The game was designed as a basic learning tool in educational activities outside the school in order to enhance the use of the Greek language, taking into consideration the needs of this specific population. It is intended for students between the ages of 8 and 12. It is played in group with 3
the help of specially trained teacher-animators in the 14 “Support Centers” (2 central, 8 peripheral and 4 itinerant) created for the needs of the educational project attended by 2.800 students. The socio-cultural context in which this game was created and the underlying pedagogical theories in which is grounded, concerning the content and the technical specifications of the game are presented. A specific example concerning the use of this game, in a small isolated mountain village, is analyzed in order to illustrate how the very form of the game together with its contents mobilized children’s interest and led them to produce different types of texts (written and audiovisual) and by this to improve their communication skills in Greek language. It is argued that through the game’s educational activities children became more open to the outside world but also developed a stronger identity as new ways of thinking emerged as to their identity and their position in society. It is emphasized that the political dimension of the pedagogical choices in the design of a serious game aimed at vulnerable social groups is critical for the success of the game’s goals. Keywords: serious game, language learning, empowerment, identity, Muslim minority, intercultural education
Transformational Play; Using 3D Game-Based Narratives to Immerse Students in Literacy Learning Anna Arici and Sasha Barab Center for Games & Impact, Mary Lou Fulton Teacher College, Arizona State University (ASU), USA Abstract: The philosopher and educator John Dewey (1938) supported a transactive view of schooling, where learners are active change agents rather than passive observers, and through their actions and consequences, they transform the problem into a known. Modern technologies now make his vision a reality, putting learners as active protagonists in their own learning, taking on authentic roles via avatars, and seeing the consequences of their actions played out in a 3D immersive world. The strength of this kind of game-based learning is what we call Transformational Play; a 3-fold theory that positions the person with intentionality, the content with legitimacy, and the context with consequentiality. Grounding this theory in context, we designed an educational 3D role playing game (RPG), school curriculum, and large-scale comparison study in 18 seventhgrade classrooms (N=450). This study demonstrates the positive impact of gamebased learning in a compelling population of disadvantaged students (Latino, Native American, poverty), who have new access to rich technology, as part of a 1:1 laptop initiative. These students, many of whom are second-language learners, showed significant gains in literacy, persuasive writing and engagement in 2.5 4
weeks of gameplay in a 3D immersive narrative based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In this 3D curriculum, “The Doctor’s Cure”, students take on the role of an investigative reporter via their avatar, and complete a series of missions to uncover a moral dilemma involving Dr. Frankenstein’s work. As reporters, students actively collect evidence through interviews, build logical arguments to support their theses, submit these to an in-game logic machine for evaluation, and get feedback about the alignment between their evidence and reasoning. Additional game tools and scaffolds allow students to act ‘a head above’ their current literacy capabilities (Vygotsky, 1978), while teachers play and provide feedback in their game-character role as the ‘Editor’. With the goal of having equally engaging and novel experiences for both conditions, the control condition used the graphic novel curriculum ‘Frankenstein’. Measures of engagement (based on Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow, 1996) showed both conditions rated the experiences equally engaging. Further, we designed teacher-led activities for the graphic novel to closely parallel the scaffolds in the game curriculum, and both conditions wrote and revised persuasive pieces. Despite these similarities, interesting and significant differences emerged. Students in both conditions showed significant learning gains on lower-level items identifying basic components of persuasive writing. However, the game-based students scored significantly greater on the higherlevel task, requiring students to craft and compose their own persuasive essay from the ground up. Further differences emerged in the engagement measures and observational field notes. Qualitative analyses were used to unpack the quantitative findings, which illuminated the strength of in-game tools for creating a fluency in these literary practices. The findings support the theory of Transformational Play and its potential for the classroom; that students can be scaffolded via games to engage personally and meaningfully in complex learning, that is experientially consequential and personally transformative. Keywords: 3D RPG, schools, literacy, engagement, empirical study, transformational play
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Approaches to Collaborative Game-Making for Fostering 21st Century Skills 1
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Susan Bermingham , Nathalie Charlier , Francesca Dagnino , James Duggan , 3 4 2 2 Jeffrey Earp , Kristian Kiili , Evelien Luts , Lien van der Stock and Nicola 1 Whitton 1 Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK 2 KU Leuven, Belgium 3 Istituto per le Tecnologie, CNR, Italy 4 Tampere University of Technology, Pori, Finland Abstract: Many examples exist of the effective use of digital games for learning, both in the classroom and informally, for developing subject knowledge, skills (cognitive, (psycho)motor and psychodynamic), attitudes and behaviours. However, educational games are often limited in scope to the topic of the game itself and position learners as ‘players’ in the game space, rather than giving them control over the gaming environment. In fact, the increasing body of research literature suggests that making games could better address the needs of learners than just playing existing learning games. Collaborative game-making provides a model in which learners can work together to create something that is meaningful for them, giving them input into both the process and product, and facilitating the development of a range of 21CS (21CS), such as digital literacy. Intuitive digital game-making tools have become increasingly available in recent years, allowing students to directly access game-making environments and support the growth in use of collaborative game-making learning activities in schools. Making Games in Collaboration for Learning (MAGICAL) is an EU-funded project that aims to explore the use of collaborative game-making as a pedagogic model. It seeks to establish whether, and in what ways, the approach can support collaboration, problem-solving, creativity and digital literacy skills. This paper starts by considering the literature on digital game-making, particularly highlighting the benefits, drawbacks and research gaps. It then goes on to describe the MAGICAL project in more detail, particularly focusing on the way in which the 21CS can be defined, communicated to learners, and assessed. Next, the different approaches to collaborative game-making in the classroom are discussed. The paper concludes by highlighting lessons learned from the project so far, and presenting recommendations for collaborative game-making in the classroom. Keywords: collaborative learning, 21CS, collaborative game-making, digital games
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Best Practices for Deploying Digital Games for Personal Empowerment and Social Inclusion 1
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Lizzy Bleumers , Ilse Mariën , Jan Van Looy , James Stewart , Dana Schurmans 2 and Anissa All 1 iMinds-SMIT-VUB, Brussels, Belgium 2 iMinds-MICT-UGent, Ghent, Belgium 3 JRC-IPTS, Seville, Spain
Abstract: Digital games are being increasingly used in initiatives to promote personal empowerment and social inclusion (PESI) of disadvantaged groups through learning and participation. There is a lack of knowledge regarding best practices, however. The literature on game-based learning insufficiently addresses the process and context of game-based practice and the diversity of contexts and intermediaries involved in PESI work. This paper takes an important step in addressing this knowledge gap using literature review, case studies, and expert consultation. Based on our findings, we formulate a set of best practices for different stakeholders who wish to set up a project using digital games for PESI. The seven cases in point are projects that represent various application domains of empowerment and inclusion. Case studies were conducted using documentation and interviews, covering background and business case, game format/technology, user groups, usage context, and impact assessment. They provide insight into each case’s strengths and weaknesses, allowing a meta-analysis of the important features and challenges of using digital games for PESI. This analysis was extended and validated through discussion at two expert workshops. Our study shows that a substantial challenge lies in selecting or designing a digital game that strikes a balance between enjoyment, learning and usability for the given use context. The particular needs of the target group and those that help implement the digital game require a highly specific approach. Projects benefit from letting both intermediaries and target groups contribute to the game design and use context. Furthermore, there is a need for multi-dimensional support to facilitate the use and development of game-based practice. Integrating game use in the operation of formal and informal intermediary support organisations increases the chances at reaching, teaching and empowering those at risk of exclusion. The teachers, caregivers and counsellors involved in the implementation of a game-based approach, in turn can be helped through documentation and training, in combination with structural support. Keywords: game-based learning, empowerment, inclusion, digital games, best practices
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Investigating the Relationship Between School Performance and the Abilities to Play Mind Games Rosa Maria Bottino, Michela Ott and Mauro Tavella ITD-CNR, Genova, Italy Abstract: Is there any relationship between school performance and the ability to play digital mind games? This paper tries to answer this key question and in doing so, it draws on a long-term research experiment conducted in primary schools and dealing with the use of mainstream mind games (namely those games that deeply require the enactment of thinking and reasoning skills and are almost independent from knowledge/competence in specific school subjects). It reports on an experiment involving 60 Italian primary school children, which was based on the use of the LOGIVALI Test, a game-based standardized test assessing primary school pupils reasoning abilities. The games adopted in the experiment were five digital mind games (mostly public domain products) falling into the category of “mini-games”; some of them were the computerized versions of well-known board games (e.g. battleship, master mind, domino). The main characteristic common to all the adopted games was that they do not require specific prerequisites in curricular school subjects, beyond very basic literacy and, most importantly, do not imply the possession of specific mathematical skills. During the experiment, the possible relationships between gaming and learning performance of primary school students were investigated; a strong correlation between the students’ possession of the reasoning skills necessary to successfully play with mind games and their school performance was found. These considerations corroborate the hypothesis that games exercise a set of specific reasoning abilities that are “transversal” to most curricular activities. The targeted experiment also showed that the great majority of students (including low achievers), independently from the level of their school performance, are very attentive and engaged in game-based learning tasks. These findings, together with the results of other experiments carried out by the authors in different frameworks (but with the same target population and with the same games), concretely support the idea that early interventions to support the development of reasoning abilities carried out by means of engaging and motivating game-based activities can positively impact on students school performance. In a proactive perspective, the obtained results corroborate the idea that a carefully designed, teacher-driven and well-focused use of specific mind games can contribute to sustain and foster students’ reasoning and problem solving skills and that these skills may have, in the long run, a positive impact on the students’ global school achievement. Keywords: mind games, transversal skills, game-enhanced learning, technology enhanced learning, primary education 8
Experience With Digital Game-Based Embodied Learning: The Road to Create a Framework for Physically Interactive Digital Games Carsten Busch, Florian Conrad, Robert Meyer and Martin Steinicke Creative Media Research Group, University of Applied Sciences HTW-Berlin, Germany Abstract: Over the past years, we have been researching various approaches to digital game-based learning in the field of change and innovation management. Broadening the range of possible applications while consolidating methodical underpinnings, we have subsequently narrowed down our findings into the description of three specific treatments. This paper focusses on one of the applied treatments, namely to make participants go through a game sequence or interact with a digitally enhanced setup (e.g. play-acting with motion capturing and realtime rendering of a virtual character) to engage learners in embodied and experience driven learning. We present our experience starting with commercial of the shelf physically interactive digital games, followed by two examples of self-made stand-alone Kinect games that have been developed for use in team and leadership trainings. The latter will be introduced describing their goals, the resulting game design as well as lessons learned. Starting from the experience with such settings in project “HELD” as well as applications of embodied digital learning and physically interactive game-based learning by others led us to the belief that there is a need for a framework that enables educational game and interaction designers to develop digital embodied settings without the need of (re)coding the Kinect management code as well as a number of other features relevant for education and training settings (e.g. control app, QR player identification and performance tracking). To further foster the easy development of physically interactive digital games and simulations, or digital aesthetic performances the framework integrates with the Unity game engine, thus enabling both rapid prototyping and quality games. First tests seem very promising with playable game prototypes developed in less than three days. To gather more feedback on real-life applications using digital embodied learning we plan to offer the introduced framework free of charge for non-profit applications. Keywords: physically interactive digital play, embodied learning, team and leadership training, systems and core-mechanics based learning
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Toward Improvement of Serious Game Reliability Thibault Carron, Fabrice Kordon, Jean-Marc Labat, Isabelle Mounier and Amel Yessad LIP6, CNRS UMR 1606, Université Pierre & Marie Curie, Paris, France Abstract: Serious games are complex software applications resulting from a costly and complex engineering process, involving multiple stakeholders (domain experts, teachers, game designers, designers, programmers, testers, etc.). In addition, the serious games implying multiple learners-players are dynamic systems that evolve over time and implement complex interactions between objects and players. Traditionally, once a serious game is developed, testing activities are conducted by humans who explore the possible executions of the game’s scenario to detect bugs. The non-deterministic and dynamic nature of multi-player serious games enforces the complexity of testing activities. Indeed, exploring all possible execution paths manually is impracticable humanly due to their large number. Moreover, the test can detect some bugs, but cannot verify some properties of serious games such as the scenario allows a learner to acquire all the knowledge, that the winner is necessarily one who has achieved all the learning objectives or the scenario does not lead to deadlock situations between learners. This type of properties has to be verified at the design stage of serious games' development. We propose a framework enabling a formal modelling and an automatic verification of serious game's scenario at the design stage of development process. We use Symmetric Petri nets as a modelling language and choose to verify properties by means of model checking. Petri nets are a mathematical notation suitable for the modelling of concurrent and dynamic systems. Due to the dynamic nature of serious game’s scenario, we selected a particular Petri net model: Symmetric Petri net. Model checking is a powerful way to verify systems; it provides automatically a complete proof of correctness, or explains, via a counter-example, why a system’s property is not correct. This paper discusses how this framework is used to verify the serious game properties before the programming stage begins. In order to concretise our discourse, we apply our approach on a scenario of a serious game and present how design's properties are expressed and verified thanks to the formal framework. Keywords: Serious Game, software engineering, Serious Game verification, model checking, petri nets
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The Effects of Gamification on Student Attendance and Team Performance in a Third-Year Undergraduate Game Production Module Hope Caton and Darrel Greenhill School of Computing and Information Systems, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing, Kingston University, London, UK Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of a gamified awards and penalties framework on a third-year undergraduate game production module which has a predominantly male demographic. Students work in teams of three game programmers and two artists to develop a computer game prototype, applying their game-programming knowledge and game theory to complete the project. ‘Gamification’ harnesses the reward and penalty game mechanics and apply it to real-world problems, such as, the motivational challenges that can be a stumbling block to many student team projects. Achieving an award is a framework for incorporating competition-based learning into the classroom, while the issuing of penalties is a system for encouraging attendance. Penalty cards issued for absence (and other infractions) affected grades. However, the receiving of an award was not connected to the assessment. The benefits and drawbacks of students collaborating on team projects have been well studied. From the student's point of view, the main drawback of team-based learning is most commonly unequal contribution. Using game theory as a basis for establishing a system of awards and penalties, this paper offers a gamified framework to keep students equally contributing to team efforts. This paper asks three questions: 1) Does the awards/penalties framework improve attendance? 2) If yes, does improved attendance result in improved assessments? 3) Does the framework improve cohesion and performance in student teams? This paper presents quantitative evidence to answer the first two and offers speculative comments on the third. Initial results suggest that the awards and penalties framework improves attendance and increases student performance and overall grade. Speculatively, the framework appears to be effective in increasing motivation. Informal student commentary indicates that while motivation is not improved across the cohort, those that are motivated contribute significantly more time and effort to the project. Awards proved successful in improving completion of previously resisted tasks and, if timed correctly, can attract students to attend a class they would otherwise choose to miss. Keywords: gamification, class awards, attendance, free riders, team-based projects
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Game-Based Learning in Health Sciences Education Nathalie Charlier, Evelien Luts and Lien Van Der Stock Teacher training in health sciences education, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Abstract: The paper discusses the use of games specifically in the domain of health sciences, both in secondary and higher education. From a preliminary review we will present both traditional and digital games used to improve and/or assess young people’s knowledge in relation to health sciences. In addition, we will discuss three studies we have set up to investigate the effectiveness of a designed board game to teach and assess first aid competencies of secondary school and university students. Keywords: game-based learning, game-based assessment, health sciences
Specification and Design of a Generalized Assessment Engine for GBL Applications Yaëlle Chaudy, Thomas Connolly and Thomas Hainey University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Renfrewshire, UK Abstract: The interest towards the introduction of Games-Based Learning (GBL) in education is increasing. Using computer games to assist the learning process offers a wide range of possibilities inconceivable in a traditional classroom. Assessment of the learner during game-play represents a key challenge for GBL. This task is time consuming and requires both technical and educational knowledge. However, careful consideration of the integration of assessment in GBL is crucial as assessment has a very important role in teaching and learning; it is essential for teachers to assess how much their students have achieved the learning goals of a lesson and learners rely on assessment to receive feedback on their work. This paper discusses the specification of a generalized assessment engine that could be integrated into any GBL application. This paper first reviews the literature on traditional assessment and approaches to assessment in GBL. Next, the paper analyses the characteristics of a range of existing GBL applications. Using these characteristics, the literature on assessment and the outline GBL assessment model proposed by Hainey et al. (2012), a refined assessment model is presented. Finally, based on the refined assessment model this paper proposes a specification for a generalised assessment engine, provides an outline design and discusses the implementation of this design. Keywords: games-based learning, assessment, assessment integration, assessment engine, assessment model 12
Safer Internet: Enhancing Good Practices on the Internet Through Games Based Learning for Greek Elementary School Students 1
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Vasiliki Choleva , Loukas Koutsikos Simeon Zourelidis , Vlassios Filis , Dimitris 3 3 Metafas and Charalampos Patrikakis 1 ICT in Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece 2 Department of Informatics & Telecommunications, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece 3 Department of Electronics, Technological Education Institute of Piraeus, Piraeus, Greece Abstract: The Internet today has become an integral part of children’s and young people’s lives. They are the biggest user groups of online and mobile technologies all over the world. Children of Elementary School are often, because of their age, unprotected against traps on the Internet, such as cyber bullying, cyber stalking or sharing their personal information online. Today's Education and especially the Elementary School system should be considered as an ally as far as safer Internet issues are concerned. This paper, presents the implementation, by elementary school students, of a game about the ways of the Internet. The specific game was developed by the students themselves through Kodu, which is a visual programming tool especially designed for introducing children to programming principles. The aforementioned were held as part of their participation in an official innovating Educational Program entitled: “Safer Internet: Connect with Respect”. Seventeen students (eleven boys and six girls), guided by their teacher, produced a game scenario about the dangers of the Internet and ways to avoid them. This educational framework introduces children to the safety of the Internet through the excitement of creating technology. Keywords: online interaction, cyber bulling, safer Internet, visual programming
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Using Game Mechanics to Measure What Students Learn 1
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Jill Denner , Linda Werner , Shannon Campe and Eloy Ortiz 1 Research Department, ETR (Education, Training, Research), Scotts Valley, California, USA 2 Computer Science Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA Abstract: Despite the growing popularity of teaching children to program games, little is known about the benefits for learning. Making a game involves formulating complex problems, designing systems, and understanding human behavior, but these constructs have proven difficult to measure. In addition, studies of what children learn often ignore the social context in which game programming occurs. In this article, we propose that game mechanics can be used as a window into how the children are thinking and we describe a strategy for using them to analyze students’ games. We describe how the game mechanics categories were identified, and the results of the game analysis, including variation in the mechanics used by students working alone or with a partner. The study involved sixty 1014 year old students in the US who spent 10 hours learning to use the Alice programming environment, and 10 hours designing and creating their games, alone or with a partner. Forty games were coded for five game mechanics that require the programmers to think in ways that are dynamic, time dependent, or complex. The results suggest that students were most likely to include mechanics that engage the player and programmer in thinking about dynamic systems, and least likely to include reasoning that resulted in a conditional change in game state based on time. Working with a partner resulted in a broader range of mechanics, which suggests a deeper understanding of how to formulate problems, design systems to represent them, and consider the interaction of the player with that system. The findings contribute to efforts to assess what novice programmers learn by creating games, and suggest that the analysis of game mechanics is a useful strategy for assessing the range of complex problem solving during game design and programming. The findings can also contribute to efforts to create developmentally appropriate instructional approaches that engage students in complex problem solving. Keywords: creating games, children, assessment, complex problem solving, game mechanics
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Combining Game Based Learning With Content and Language Integrated Learning Approaches: A Case Study Utilizing QR Codes and Google Earth in a Geography-Based Game Kyriaki Dourda, Tharrenos Bratitsis, Eleni Griva and Penelope Papadopoulou Early Childhood Education Department, University of Western Macedonia, Florina, Greece Abstract: In this paper the GBL educational approach is combined with that of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) within the context of an educational geography computer game, utilizing QR Codes and Google Earth for teaching English Language to Greek Primary School students. This integration provides a motivational and cognitive basis for language learning, since it represents a meaningful, contextualized activity and on the other hand, gives students the chance to expand their cognitive skills and use more sophisticated language. The proposed game was utilized in the context of a pilot case study which immersed 11 to 12-year-old students in problem solving challenges regarding the use of geography in realistic contexts. Its purpose is not only to develop content knowledge but also to observe and enhance the learning strategies that students use while learning a foreign language. In attempting to solve these problems, students were engaged in eight-week collaborative work, involving six levels of gameplay by following hints, provided by QR codes images. The findings of this case study suggest how foreign language learning can successfully take place within a geography game-based learning environment, and they underscore the efficacy of approaching GBL in terms of performance. Students’ performance was evaluated through knowledge tests and various complex tasks throughout the game play, involving writing, reading and oral skills. In general, students showed positive attitudes towards the game and the post-test results have significant differences compared to those of the pre-test, in terms of vocabulary acquisition in the foreign language and geography knowledge. The results also showed that the collaboration required by this game, allowed the students to interact in a controlled environment, where they undertook roles and responsibilities. To this end, the findings will make an important contribution to the empirical evidence of GBL particularly with regards to its application in primary education. Keywords: QR codes, Google Earth, CLIL, language learning, GBL
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The Design and Evaluation of a Multiplayer Serious Game for Pharmacy Students 2
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Maciej Dudzinski , Darrel Greenhill , Reem Kayyali , Shereen Nabhani , Nada 2 2 1 1 Philip , Hope Caton , Sonya Ishtiaq and Francis Gatsinzi 1 School of Pharmacy and Chemistry, Faculty of Science, London, UK 2 School of Computing and Information Systems, Faculty of Science, London, UK Abstract: Educational computer games are increasingly being used in higher education and offer the potential of greater engagement, improved results and simpler, centralised updating of teaching material. However the evidence for the usefulness of such technologies is not yet conclusive. Consequently there is a need for improved design and evaluation of educational games. The aim of this study is to identify a successful game design for a multiplayer serious game to be used in learning. The design is being developed and evaluated through the creation of a game called ‘Pharmacy Challenge’ to allow small groups of pharmacy students at Kingston University (KU) to simultaneously revise certain aspects of the pharmacy curriculum in timed quiz-based challenges. The game is a web application with both single and multiplayer modes that can be run from a web browser on phones, tablet devices and PCs. All activities performed by players including time of access, time to answer and questions answered can be stored in data logs for future analysis. A pre-intervention survey conducted on students’ perceptions on educational gaming informed the design of the game, which indicated that most students tend to play games on mobile devices. The game was then trialled on a group of around 60 mostly female students on a module running on years 3 and 4 of the pharmacy course over a week long period which could be played at any time of the day. Following the trial a post-intervention survey was used to assess the students’ perception of the game. Students found the game interesting, stimulating and helpful and they identified its potential to motivate them and to facilitate their learning Positive responses indicate that games can be a valuable addition to pharmacy curriculum. The successful introduction of the game into the pharmacy curriculum demonstrates the value of education games in learning and student engagement. Keywords: serious games, mobile learning, pharmacy students, educational games, multiplayer game, web game
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Cheating and Creativity in Pervasive Games in Learning Contexts Stine Ejsing-Duun, Thorkild Hanghøj and Helle Skovbjerg Karoff Research Lab: IT, Learning & Design (ILD), Institute for Communication, Aalborg University, Copenhagen, Denmark Abstract: The frames that set the boundaries of play in pervasive games are ambiguous, thus players must negotiate what is part of the play when playing these games. This negotiation demands and develops creativity among players. The main contribution of this paper is to show how pervasive game designers and facilitators (e.g. game masters and/or teachers) of pervasive games can use the ambiguity and potential cheating in emergent play situations as a driver for promoting creative learning processes. More precisely, game facilitators need to respond to the on-going negotiations of different situational frames so that players are productive in relation to the goals of the game and the learning objectives. The paper outlines what pervasive games are and presents a case involving a pervasive game on global coffee trade. Next, we develop a theoretical framework that allows us to analyse how both players and facilitators need to be creative during a game session in order to play and to facilitate the game and especially how to manage ambiguity. Finally, we discuss the results of our analysis and suggest perspectives for further studies. Keywords: creativity and learning, pervasive games, rules, framing, cheating, design and facilitation
Supporting Teachers in the Process of Adoption of Game Based Learning Pedagogy 1
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Valérie Emin-Martinez and Muriel Ney 1 S2HEP, Institut Français de l’Education - ENS Lyon, Lyon, France 2 Laboratoire d’Informatique de Grenoble, CNRS, Grenoble, France Abstract: In an attempt to address the difficulty to integrate Game-Based Learning (GBL) in the teaching practices, this paper proposes a model for the process of teachers’ adoption of games, based on a first research work which led to a structured question matrix designed to foster teacher reflection on key issues that arise during this process. We focus on formal education and consider not only digital (educational) games but also other game-like activities such as role-plays and simulations. In tackling the matter of adoption, this paper addresses a key issue: How does the adoption process unfold when teachers introduce games in their classes for the first time? To answer this question, Roger’s “Diffusion of In17
novations” theory was used as the conceptual framework for analysing a case study. The case study took place in France with a group of six high school teachers who introduced three different games, in teams of two. We also provide different tools to support the adoption process: resources, activities, questionnaires, pedagogical scenario, patterns of activities and scenarios. Our efforts to support teachers’ adoption and use of GBL are not designed to offer a one-size-fits-all solution. Rather, they are aimed at providing tools to foster reflection and facilitate the adoption process. It is hoped that this work will help overcome some teachers’ resistance to GBL, and this will be the subject of further verification. Keywords: game based learning in teaching practices, teacher adoption, serious games, technology enhanced learning, pedagogical scenarios
Cognitive Walkthrough for Learning Through Game Mechanics David Farrell and David Moffat Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK Abstract: Whilst widely advocated, Games Based Learning (GBL) is still an unproven discipline. Results vary and there is no consensus for how best to teach a set of learning objectives using games. Designers may base their approach on reasonable pedagogical principles but the process of design is still driven largely by intuition and greater resembles craft than science. Humans are notoriously poor at unsupported methodical thinking and relying so much on intuition carries great risk in GBL design. Cognitive Walkthrough (CW) is a technique that improves our ability to predict how a user will understand an interaction. Whilst CW is long established in user-interface design, it should be considered a general purpose technique for crafting experiences where a designer must predict the general thinking process of a user. Extending CW to GBL can help designers expose and question their implicit assumptions and can be used during design to lower risk or during evaluation to understand results. Extensions of CW should map to the GBL pedagogical approach chosen to provide the most cognitive support. We present an extension of Cognitive Walkthrough for Learning Through Game Mechanics and apply it to the previously evaluated e-Bug Platform game to understand why one section achieved significant knowledge change and another did not. We found each section to assume several steps of logical understanding by users but those in the unsuccessful section were unreasonable assumptions. The new technique described in this paper explains hitherto puzzling results and identifies the strengths and weaknesses of game mechanics’ contributions to learning. Keywords: games based learning, cognitive walkthrough, game design, constructive alignment, game mechanics, Serious Games 18
Global Math: Development of Online Platform for Mathematical Thinking Games 1
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Toru Fujimoto , Keiichi Nishimura , Kaoru Takahashi , Masahiro Yachi , Kiyoshi 4 3 Takahashi and Yuhei Yamauchi 1 Center for Research and Development of Higher Education, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan 2 Tokyo Gakugei University, Tokyo, Japan 3 Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan 4 Benesse Corporation, Tokyo, Japan Abstract: While some gaming portals provide learning-based games, most of them either merely showcase games without offering any function for user feedback for the developers or do not provide open access to individual developers, even if a website has functions for data collection. Therefore, it is difficult for individual developers and small independent teams to obtain user feedback for making enhancements in their games in the prototyping phase. The purpose of this research is to develop and evaluate an open online platform system to host mathematical thinking games. Through a joint research project in collaboration with the University of Tokyo and Benesse Corporation, we have developed the ‘Global Math’ platform, which is an open online platform to host mathematical thinking games for Indie game developers and students interested in developing learning games. The platform features the ‘Global Math API’, which enables game developers to obtain play log data by simply registering and embedding certain JavaScript codes. The API offers an interface that stores play log data in the Global Math platform database. The platform offers data-analytic functions to monitor how the games are played and received by audiences. As a formative assessment of the platform in terms of usability and effectiveness, four teams of undergraduate students who study game design participated in a game design project using the platform. The teams worked on the project for two months and uploaded four game prototypes successfully. The survey findings indicate that the students found that this project offered them an opportunity to think about different aspects of game design that they had not considered previously, and they found it appealing to develop mathematical learning games. It showed that developing mathematical games can be engaging for students as long as they are provided with the necessary resources. The survey also indicates that more instructional and technical support for developers is necessary to use the functions of the platform. Keywords: mathematical games, game-based learning, game platform, embedded assessment, social media 19
What Can Play Theory Tell us About Computer Games for Young Children? 1
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Georgy Gerkushenko and Svetlana Sokolova 1 CAD, Volgograd State Technical University, Volgograd, Russian Federation 2 Preschool and primary education, Volgograd State Socio-Pedagogical University, Volgograd, Russian Federation. Abstract: Play-based learning is defined as a context for learning through which children organize and make sense of their social worlds, as they interact actively with people, objects and representations. Young children’s play allows them to explore, identify, negotiate, take risks and create meaningful ideas. Children who are constantly engaged in play experiences have much more developed memory skills, language development and self-regulation than children who lack the play activity. The purpose of the paper is to find out what the most important factors are for teachers’ selection computer programs for kindergarten classroom activities. Whether the factors concern the theory of children’s play development? Do kindergarten teachers need the scaffolding program for their choice of computer games for using in the classroom? What should be the essence of the program? Preliminary study made by authors in Russian Federation shows the lack of teacher’s computer literacy. This situation leads the absence of computer games or incompetent using them in pedagogical work with children. By studying general characteristics of play we identify the main criteria which can be used for choosing appropriate game for classroom activities. For instance, choosing a game teacher should answer the question, if this computer game allows children to create their own scenarios, rules and characters of the play or if it enables children acting in an imaginary situation? The paper gives an overview of the computer games for preschool children used in Russian kindergartens; it also contains the scaffolding features on using computer games for children’s development. It summarized the problems and recommendations to scaffolding process for teachers who are interested in using computer games for effective children’s development. Keywordss: early childhood education, play-based learning, kindergarten teachers’ training, computer games, scaffolding
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Role Game Playing as a Platform for Creative and Collaborative Learning Lisa Gjedde Dept. for Learning and Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, Aalborg University Copenhagen Denmark Abstract: Game-based learning may present a way of creating immersion and engagement for the learner through simulated experiences in a narrative environment, and may support the development of 21st. century skills of communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. Role playing games have had a long history of usage in language learning and as a multidisciplinary activity in schools during theme weeks. Through the concept of serious digital games, which offers learning through digital simulations and immersion in virtual worlds, gamebased learning has been deployed increasingly in education where games have been used for specific subjects. The use of live role-game playing in schools offers novel and innovative ways to work with the game genre, with the teachers contributing as game authors and game masters. A current project on live action rolegame playing looks at how role-game playing can be used to present an entire curriculum within a narrative framework in order to enhance the learners’ motivation and zest for learning while developing 21st century learning skills. The exploration of how live action role-game playing can function as an overarching framework for learning may offer fresh insights into game-based learning in terms of multimodality, flexibility in the design of games and the role and interactivity of the learner and teacher. A unique residential school dedicated to teaching all subjects in grades 9-10 through live role-game play was studied for a year. The study employed qualitative and processual methodologies in order to capture the interactions between students' learning experiences and the role-game based learning designs as well as the way they constitute a creative and collaborative learning environment. This paper presents the preliminary results of the project and discusses its implications for design and redesign of learning environments in the schools along with the roles of learners and teachers in the development of gamebased learning as a framework for creative, inclusive and collaborative learning. Keywords: role game play, game-based learning ,creative learning through role game play, situated and contextual learning using role game play, role game play as a framework for the curriculum
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Development and Evaluation of a Generic E-CLIL Web2.0 Games Engine Thomas Hainey and Thomas Connolly University of the West of Scotland, UK Abstract: Games-based learning is perceived by educationalists as a potentially highly motivational approach for learning and teaching at a supplementary level and is starting to be used more frequently at Primary Education (PE) and Secondary Education (SE) level. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has also increased in popularity. CLIL is a bilingual educational approach where an additional language is used for the learning and teaching of both the language and the content and each are interwoven. This paper will discuss the development of a generic electronic Content and Language Integrated Learning (e-CLIL) Web2.0 games engine developed as part of the EU Comenius e-CLIL project by the University of the West of Scotland (UWS). The Web2.0 games engine directly answers the need for expanding, very quickly, the amount of content available (in any language) for teachers of CLIL. This paper will present an empirical evaluation of the piloting of the Web2.0 games engine. This paper will present both a student quantitative pilot evaluation consisting of 82 participants and a teacher quantitative pilot evaluation consisting of 18 participants of the e-CLIL Web2.0 games engine. Keywords: empirical evidence, Web2.0 games engine, CLIL, e-CLIL, electroniccontent language integrated learning, evaluation, student, teacher, quantitative, pilot
Designing Games to Disseminate Research Findings Claire Hamshire, Rachel Forsyth and Nicola Whitton Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK Abstract: Sharing the findings of research projects to improve future practice is often an important objective of educational research. However disseminating the results to groups that will directly benefit can sometimes be problematic and there may also be complexities around presenting research in a context that gives real-world relevance. The informal environment of game play is one method that can be utilised to promote targeted discussion and present research in a format that is both fun and engaging. This paper explores how two board games that had their beginnings in research projects were developed. One of these projects explored students’ perceptions of their higher education experiences (Staying the Course), and the other investigating staff experiences of course development (Supporting Responsive Curricula). Neither project was initially tasked with developing a game, but both project teams believed that games would help with shar22
ing the findings of the projects widely. The underlying philosophy of both authors was to design an active learning environment in which players could learn via discussion activities and testing their understanding. By using the medium of a board game we aimed to provide an opportunity to examine problematic issues within the ‘magic circle’ of game play. This would provide an environment in which players could contribute to linked discussion and start thinking about different perspectives and how they could make improvements to existing situations. This paper describes the approaches used to design each game in relation to the differing contexts for game play: one of the games is intended for use by students and those advising them, whilst the other is for course development teams which may be composed of students, administrative, technical and administrative staff in universities. The identification of design elements to make the games effective is also discussed. Keywords: game design, higher education, dissemination, research
Facilitating Teacher Students’ Innovation Competence through Problem-Based Game Design Processes 1
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Thorkild Hanghøj and Sia Hovmand Sørensen 1 ResearchLab: IT, Learning and Design (ILD), Aalborg University, Denmark 2 National Centre of Competence Development, Aarhus University, Denmark Abstract: The aim of this paper is to describe how new teacher students develop innovation competence through problem-based game design processes by participating in an intro camp. The intro camp was held for 350 new teacher students at a Danish university college in 2011, which were asked to solve the real-life problems of local schools by designing game solutions to be presented for and assessed by participating school directors and pupils. Based upon a pragmatist theoretical framework, we conceptualize the students’ development of innovation competence in relation to creative problem-solving, game frames and the interplay of different knowledge domains “inside” and “outside” of teacher education. By taking a mixed methods approach, we combine qualitative and quantitative methodologies for studying our case. This involved observations and interviews with selected groups as well as a post-camp survey with all the students. In the analysis, we focus on two analytical themes that relate to the teacher students’ problem-based game design processes and their experience of becoming future innovative practitioners. The paper concludes by discussing future perspectives on the use of problem-based game design for developing innovation competence – both within and beyond the context of teacher education. Keywords: problem-based game design, teacher education, innovation competence, game frames 23
Deploying Serious Games for Management in Higher Education: Lessons Learned and Good Practices 1
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Jannicke Baalsrud Hauge , Francesco Bellotti , Rob Nadolski , Michael Kick4 2 2 meier-Rust , Riccardo Berta and Maira Carvalho 1 Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik at the University of Bremen,Bremen, Germany 2 Dept of Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering, University of Genoa,Genoa, Italy 3 Centre for Learning Sciences and Technologies, Open University Netherlands, The Netherlands 4 Knowledge Management Institute, Graz University of Technology,Graz, Austria Abstract: The deployment rate of serious games (SGs) in higher education (HE) and their proper insertion in meaningful curricula isstill quite low. There is a lack of papers in literature describing deployment of SGs for HE in detail, critically showing educational benefits, and providing guidelines and best practices on their use. With the present work, we intend to make a first step in this direction, by reporting our experience in using state of the art managerial SGs in MSc Engineering/business courses in four different European universities. In order to describe and analyse the educational characteristics and effectiveness of each game, we propose to use two models that we have straightforwardly extracted from two major pedagogical paradigms: the Bloom’s revised cognitive learning goals taxonomy and the Kolb’s experiential learning cycle. Based on our experience in developing the SG-based courses, we also propose a set of lessons and practices that we believe could be of interest to incentivize and better support deployment of SGs in HE courses. Keywords: case studies, assessment, selection methods for serious games
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Neuroeducational Research in the Design and use of GamesBased Teaching 1, 2
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Wayne Holmes , Paul Howard-Jones , Erico Tanimoto , Carol Jones , Skevi De3 4 5 5 metriou , Owen Morgan , Philip Perkins and Neil Davies 1 Department of Education, University of Oxford, UK 2 zondle, UK 3 Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol, UK 4 Chepstow School, Monmouthshire, UK 5 Duffryn Comprehensive School, Newport, UK Abstract: Research has shown that a games-based approach to learning can have many positive effects in the classroom, although less attention has been paid to the potential of applying a games-based approach to teaching. Meanwhile, recent research into the brain’s reward system has provided fresh understanding about the educational potential of games and associated underlying cognitive and neural processes. However, the harnessing of neuroscientific understanding for educational benefit presents many challenges, not least because it potentially impacts on pedagogical theory as well as technological design, with outcomes in the classroom likely to depend on a successful interaction of both. The effective design and implementation of games-based teaching might thus require a judicious interrelation of insights from diverse theoretical perspectives, such as neuroscientific, pedagogical and classroom praxis. Here we report on the designbased research of a web app, known as zondle Team Play (zTP), that allows teachers to use a games-based approach to teaching whole-classes and which draws on learning theory, the practicalities of classrooms, and concepts from neuroscience. zTP was developed iteratively with teachers, in five cycles of design, intervention, analysis and reflection. Rather than just exploring ‘what works’ in terms of the technology, iterative prototyping helped us explore aspects of classroom praxis and affordances of the technological design that were contingent upon each other. Reflection revealed many potential benefits of a neuroeducational approach to the design of a teaching game, including the development of related pedagogy, identification of immediate and future neuroeducational research questions and the development of language and terms suitable for communicating across interdisciplinary boundaries. Keywords: teaching; games; neuroscience; motivation; rewards; pedagogy
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Playing and Learning: An iPad Game Development Case Study Jennifer Jenson and Rachel Muehrer York University, Canada Abstract: While there seems to be a great deal of enthusiasm for the use of games in formal educational contexts, there is a notable and problematic lack of studies that make use of replicable study designs to empirically link games to learning (Young, et al., 2012). Where such studies exist, the multimodal literacies that games might cultivate are often misrepresented and/or obscured through conventional, text-focused modes of evaluation. This study considers Compareware, an educational game (available in Flash and on the iPad) designed to build vocabulary and analytical skills in young learners. This paper documents the design, iterative development, user testing, and pilot study that included 146 grade 1 and 2 students playing the game. It also outlines our preliminary findings, which include high levels of student engagement, incidental learning, and improved demonstration of analytical skills in terms of identifying and understanding similarities and differences between two objects. Keywords: educational game design, play, learning
An Overview of Game Console Motion Sensor Technologies Exploited for Education Marina Kandroudi and Tharrenos Bratitsis Early Childhood Education Department, University of Western Macedonia, Florina, Greece Abstract: This paper attempts to raise a discussion regarding video game consoles which integrate motion sensor technologies, by examining their exploitation within educational context. There are several motion sensing technologies, but only three of them stand out, based on their market share. These are: a) Nintendo Wii, b) Microsoft Kinect, and c) Sony PlayStation Move. The Nintendo Wii was created and developed by Nintendo Company. The main controller is the Wii remote, a handheld device which can be utilized as a gesture recognition and pointing tool. Kinect is a motion sensing input device, implemented by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 game console. The device provides a natural user interface that allows users to interact without any intermediary device. PlayStation Move is a motion-sensing game controller platform by Sony Computer Entertainment, first released for the Play Station 3 game console. Based on a handheld motion controller wand, PlayStation Move uses a PlayStation Eye camera to track the wand's position, and inertial sensors in the wand to detect its motion. This paper will present an overview of the existing literature, while attempting to categorize the educational 26
approaches which involve motion sensor technologies. This categorization will consist of two parts. The first one will concern the education of people with special needs, under which many research approaches can be found. The utilization of motion sensor technologies, incorporated by the three most common game consoles, in the education of people with special needs will be examined. The second one will refer to various educational approaches in regular education, under which not so many research approaches, but many teaching ideas can be found. The aim of the paper is to serve as a reference point for every individual/group, willing to explore the sensor-based Games Based Learning (SBGBL) research area, by providing a complete and structured literature review. Keywords: Kinect, Wii, Playstation, games based learning, special needs education, categorization
Playing and Gaming – Studied in an Informal Learning Setting Helle Skovbjerg Karoff, Stine Ejsing-Duun and Thorkild Hanghøj Aalborg University, The Department of Communication, Copenhagen, Denmark Abstract: The paper develops an approach of playing and gaming activities through the perspective of both activities as mood activities (Karoff 2013). The point of departure is that a game – whether it is ludic or paideiac - is a tool with which we, through our practices, achieve different moods. This based on an empirical study of children´s everyday lives, where the differences emerge through actual practices (Schmidt 2011, Heidegger 1996), i.e. through the creation of meaning in the specific situations. The overall argument is that it is not that important whether it is a playing or a gaming activity – it is however crucial to be aware of how moods occur and what their optimal conditions are. Following Lave and Wenger (1991), participation in particular is essential. Learning this, the community of practice becomes crucial for learning the meanings of different moods as they emerge through because it is through the shared practices it becomes possible. This perspective has two dimensions: practices and moods. Practice is the concept of all the doing in the activities. Moods are the particular concept of sense and feeling of being, which is what we are drawn to when we are playing or gaming. Keywords: playing, gaming, practices, moods, children
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Picking the Right Interface for Engaging Physical Activity Into Game Based Learning 1
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Helle Skovbjerg Karoff , Gunver Majgaard , Lars Elbæk and Mona Have Søren3 sen 1 Aalborg University, Department of Communication, Copenhagen, Denmark 2 University of Southern Denmark, The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, Odense, Denmark 3 University of Southern Denmark, Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, Odense, Denmark Abstract: Following Qvortrup and Bateson, this paper aims to discuss and explore how technology, learning, and movement in synergy make several levels of learning possible. We will do that by introducing an application for painting developed by engineer students, as an illustrative example. In today's technology-driven world, it is easy to forget that we are born movers. To a great extent we have engineered movement out of our lives. Both bodily and mental acuity increases with activity and declines with inactivity, and so the sedentary character of life in Western societies does not only affect our bodies. It affects our brains as well. However, the most recent results indicate a significant and positive effect of physical activity on children's learning potential. Most of these studies lack a connection to the learning processes in an educational setting because they are of an isolated, experimental nature set in a laboratory. An interesting challenge for future research, then, is investigating mind and body as a synergetic catalyst for learning through physical activity in a classroom setting. Results from this kind of research could have a great impact on the way we think of and organise our educational system. When using digital learning resources, children should be physically active as part of their learning process. With the paint application, we explore that field. Through bodily activity, children gain new perspectives on and insights into the learning materials. Supported theoretically by Bateson and Qvortrup children learn when they are experimenting, constructing, interacting, and physically active. Keywords: physical activity, learning, games, technology
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Game Based Learning in Mathematics: Teachers' Support by a Flexible Tool Aikaterini Katmada, Apostolos Mavridis and Thrasyvoulos Tsiatsos Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Informatics, Thessaloniki, Greece Abstract: The inherent difficulty of the core subject of Mathematics makes it hard for students of all ages to fully and sufficiently grasp its concepts and engage with it. With such an important matter still being unresolved, in this context, we propose a Game-Based Learning approach in order to assist the educational process. The main purpose of this paper is the presentation of the design and development of the configurable online two-dimensional (2D) game “Volcanic Riddles”. This particular game was designed in cooperation with educators, in order to support the teaching of Mathematics in primary school and the first grades of secondary school. The game is configurable in the sense that the (non-programmer) educator can easily alter several of its parameters, such as the content and total number of the game’s questions or images, via an administration website. Furthermore, the educator can choose which of the game's specific challenges wants to adapt according to the students' needs and level, and thus reuse the game in various educational contexts throughout the school year. Special attention was given so that the administration website is user-friendly and does not require any programming or scripting knowledge from the user. Regarding the game, basic features of educational games were incorporated in order to enhance its educational value and effectiveness. More specifically, this paper presents the steps followed for the implementation of the game, its technical aspects, as well as the first impressions and evaluation results after it was piloted in the field using real pupils and teachers. The assessment was focused on its usability, effectiveness and motivational appeal. In the pilot study, pupils of various nationalities aged 10th 12 (6 Grade), participated. The results are encouraging and suggest that the game can be used as an effective and motivational learning tool. Finally, some corresponding conclusions and suggestions for further improvement and research are being discussed concisely. Keywords: 2D game based learning, primary education, mathematics
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Learning Analytics with Games Based Learning 1, 2
Harri Ketamo 1 Satakunta University of Applied Sciences, Finland 2 Eedu Ltd, Finland Abstract: This paper focuses on learning analytics framework behind Math Elements mathematics game. The game, was introduced at ECGBL 2012. The novelty value of this design study is in development process of visualizing and data mining technologies behind the learning analytics. The analytic tools provide 1) easy access to follow progress and 2) real time analysis on the learning process. The analytics gives fast and easy to understand view into learning process, still supporting the story, the game play and motivation towards game play. In this paper we show the user centered development process, the improvements done according to user feedback and open the future research focuses. Keywords: educational data mining, learning analytics, games based learning, artificial intelligence
Gamification and Intelligent Feedback Mechanisms for a Division Learning Tool Michael Kickmeier-Rust and Dietrich Albert Knowledge Management Institute, Graz University of Technology, Austria Abstract: Educational computer games are a highly popular but also a highly challenging field when it comes to an effective and efficient adoption in the classrooms. This holds true from the perspective of the necessary technical infrastructure, from the pedagogical embedment as well as the perspective of a meaningful and formative use of individual gaming results. Not least, there are increasingly critical questions about the effectiveness of using high quality computer games for (usually limited) subject matter. In the context of a European project we developed a rather light weight tool for learning and practicing divisions. The target age group of the tool is 6 to 8. To benefit from the motivational potential of games we used a “gamification” approach. Accordingly, we designed and developed a game-like, attractive user interface and integrated elements of competition. The system is capable of providing students formative, competence-based feedback in real-time. Tailored to the age group this feedback is displayed in form of a smiley and a text block, the latest beta version also provides a text-to-speech output of the feedback. The theoretical foundation for the real-time analysis is Competence-based Knowledge Space Theory on which basis competence states can be identified. Concretely, for the tool this means that the feedback says not only that an action was correct or incorrect but the feedback refers to the under30
lying skills. The tool thereby can distinguish which skills are available and which are lacking by associating the actions with a competency structure of the domain. We applied and evaluated the tool in Austrian classrooms and found some evidence for the motivational aspect of the gamification elements, in particular the scoring. We also found positive effects of an individualized and meaningful feedback about errors. Finally, there occurred certain gender difference, for example, girls were much less attracted by competition elements (e.g., by comparing high scores) then boys, however, more attentive towards feedback coming from the tool. Keywords: gamification, adaptivity, formative feedback, competence-based knowledge space theory, evaluation
Developing Games for Health Impact: Case Brains vs Zombies 1
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Kristian Kiili , Manuel Ninaus , Mikko Koskela , M Tuomi and Antero Lindstedt 1 Tampere University of Technology, Pori, Finland 2 3 University of Graz, Graz, Austria, Flow Factory Ltd., Pori, Finland
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Abstract: The potential use of games for serious purposes is huge because a large and growing population is already engaged with playing entertainment games. However, only a tiny fraction of the overall playing time is devoted to games that are designed for learning or health impact. The challenge is to develop such games that have broad enough impact that transfers to a variety of tasks. Working memory is of central importance for acquiring knowledge and involved in a variety of complex cognitive tasks and thus the use of working memory training games can lead to a wide range of significant impacts in peoples’ life. The aim of this paper is to shed light on game design decisions that are founded on cognitive and neuropsychological theories, focusing especially on working memory training. We scrutinize the development of working memory game titled Brains vs Zombies that is designed to have transferrable impact on brain health and promote physical health in some level. The results of two small-scale pilot studies in which the implementation of Brains vs Zombies tablet game were studied are reported. The paper focus especially on user interface solutions of the game comparing button and motion based solutions. The results indicated that the opinions about the user interface solutions varied, but children appreciated the motion based user interface more than older university students. Furthermore, the findings showed that meaningful game elements can be added to usually monotone brain training programs to engage users. Keywords: working memory, serious game, exergame, user experience, user interface, pilot study 31
Meleon - a Casual Mobile Game Supporting Immersion and Reflection in Learning Luise Klein Hochschule Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven, Germany Abstract: Mobile applications are predestined for situational informal learning. However, for young learners, it is difficult to control, engage in and make sense of their learning experiences in unstructured environments. Whereas complex mobile games have been successfully implemented for situational learning in structured environments, casual mobile games have mostly been viewed as time wasting without opportunities for thorough learning. Can game design elements within a casual mobile application produce informal learning for teenagers in their everyday environment? How can a casual mobile game support immersing and reflective learning? The casual mobile game Meleon was developed and evaluated to approach these questions. The application’s concept is based on the proposed model of immersion and reflection in casual mobile game-based learning. With ‘Meleon’, players practice computational thinking, by being inspired by their environment. The heart of the game are different mapping algorithms that use the device’s camera as input, and the colouring and movement of the game’s character Meleon as digital output. Two game modes show how the theoretic model can be translated into detailed design decisions so that immersion and reflection are supported on a micro, macro, and expanded game cycle. First the players become immersed when the game matches their interests. The appropriate level of direct feedback and visual appeal create sensory immersion and reflection on the interface elements. The hierarchical goal structure, balanced challenge and elaborate level feedback encourage challenge-based immersion and ingame reflection that lead to declarative and strategic thinking skills. The integration of the game in a larger play environment, stimulates reflection after the game is completed even where there is no organised external debriefing. The first evaluation of Meleon affirms the high potential for casual mobile games to promote continuous engagement and learning on several levels and styles. The different modes offer initial game immersion for diverse people. A range of entry points, appealing aesthetics and themes, using the device as a tool to integrate the context, and short, rewarding yet challenging play sessions are key factors for thorough learning processes in casual mobile games. Keywords: experiential learning, immersion and reflection, mobile game-based learning, casual games, informal learning
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The Literature Race - NFC Based Mixed Reality Game Antti Koivisto, Harri Ketamo, Eero Hammais and Juho Salli Satakunta University of Applied Sciences, Pori, Finland Abstract: In many countries people think TV and games takes hours away from reading and decreases the reading skills. We can not close our eyes and request games to be forbidden: games are part of our culture, the new form of storytelling and social interaction for younger generations. We should use that fact to build motivation around literacy and reading. This paper describes a Near Field Communication (NFC) based multiplayer mixed reality game “The Literature Race” that motivates the children to find information about books, apply that information in teams to solve the challenges in the game and finally get familiar with libraries. Keywords: NFC, games based learning, reading, library, children
Bringing Game Achievements and Community Achievements Together Johannes Konert, Nico Gerwien, Stefan Göbel and Ralf Steinmetz Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany Abstract: When social media is used for game-based learning one major issue is the rewarding of players for their efforts to provide user-generated content to others (peer tutoring). This can be done by rewards and achievements gathered within the game or when content is created within a game-related community platform. For serious games that foster the knowledge exchange among peer learners (players) the rewarding and tracking of both - in-game and in-community assistance for help among learners - is desired. Thus we propose an architecture and solution for an integrated achievements-system which allows the combination and rewarding of player activities in games and related communities at the same time. The Achieve2Conquer platform provides game developers with a middleware architecture where achievements are created, visualized to users within a web-frontend and updated by progress information from game instances and community platforms simultaneously. The architectural model of Achieve2Conquer allows a weight balancing of achievements from game and community, to prevent an overrating of one of them. In unbalanced achievement systems this may otherwise lead to an extensive use of community-based achievements by eager players due to the fact that these achievements are usually available unlimited (e.g. like achievements for being the first person commenting a new post). Additionally we propose new achievement types for hybrid achievements and user-generated or user-awarded achievements to combine 33
existing reward models of both worlds (games and social media applications). These allow the guidance of players, e.g. by first requesting achievements parts to be achieved within the game environment, then by conducting actions in the community and finally requesting a collaborative aspect. Additionally our new achievement type of reversible achievements allows to discourage undesired player behavior and still does not violate the expected characteristics of achievements. After a brief description of current models for reward systems, reputations systems and achievements for games and achievements in social media communities, the requirements for an achievement system supporting the combination of both, game and community, are defined. Afterwards we provide the Achieve2Conquer model with its achievement categorization, the necessary achievement components and the new achievement types as the core contributions of this publication. A prototypical implementation will then be presented with a middleware architecture connecting the existing serious game Woodment and a phpBB community bulletin board. Keywords: peer learning, achievement system, community achievements, serious games technology, social serious games
Modeling the Player, Learner and Personality: Independency of the Models of Bartle, Kolb and NEO-FFI (Big5) and the Implications for Game Based Learning Johannes Konert, Stefan Göbel and Ralf Steinmetz Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany Abstract: For adaptation and personalization of game play sophisticated player models and learner models are used in game-based learning environments. Thus, the game flow can be optimized to increase efficiency and effectiveness of gaming and learning in parallel. In the field of gaming still the Bartle model is commonly used due to its simplicity and good mapping to game scenarios, for learning the Learning Style Inventory from Kolb or Index of Learning Styles by Felder and Silverman are well known. For personality traits the NEO-FFI (Big5) model is widely accepted. When designing games it is always a challenge to assess one player’s profile characteristics properly in all three models (player/learner/personality). Still, it is valuable to collect information to refine the models continuously to adapt the game experience precisely to a player’s models. To reduce the effort and amount of dimensions and questionnaires a player might have to fill out, we proved the hypothesis that both, Learning Style Inventory and Bartle Player Types could be predicted by knowing the personality traits based on NEO-FFI. Thus we investigated the statistical correlations among the models by collecting answers to the questionnaires of Bartle Test, Kolb LSI 3.1 and BFI-K (short version of NEO34
FFI). The study was conducted in spring 2012 with six school classes of grade 9 (12-14year old students) in two different secondary schools in Germany. 72 students participated in the study which was offered optionally after the use of a game-based learning tool for peer learning. We present the results, statistics and correlations among the models as well as the interdependencies with the student’s level of proficiency and their social connectedness. In conclusion, the evaluation proved the independency of the models and the validity of the dimensions. Still, especially for all of the playing style preferences of Bartle’s model significant correlations with some of the analyzed other questionnaire items could be found. As no predictions of learning style preferences is possible on the basis of this studies data, the final recommendation for the development of game-based learning application concludes that separate modeling for the adaptation game flow (playing) and learn flow (learning) is still necessary. Keywords: player modeling, bartle test, learning style, personality, Big5
Raising Awareness on Archaeology: A Multiplayer Game-Based Approach With Mixed Reality 1, 2
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Mathieu Loiseau , Élise Lavoué , Jean-Charles Marty and Sébastien 1, 2 George 2 1 Université de Lyon, CNRS, France, INSA-Lyon, LIRIS, UMR5205, F-69621, France 3 Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, MAGELLAN, LIRIS, UMR5205, France 4 Université de Savoie, LIRIS, UMR5205, F-69621, France Abstract: Our research deals with the development of a new type of game-based learning environment: (M)MORPG based on mixed reality, applied in the archaeological domain. In this paper, we propose a learning scenario that enhances players’ motivation thanks to individual, collaborative and social activities and that offers a continuous experience between the virtual environment and real places (archaeological sites, museum). After describing the challenge to a rich multidisciplinary approach involving both computer scientists and archaeologists, we present two types of game: multiplayer online role-playing games and mixed reality games. We build on the specificities of these games to make the design choices described in the paper. The proposed approach aims at raising awareness among people on the scientific approach in Archaeology, by providing them information in the virtual environment and encouraging them to go on real sites. We finally discuss the issues raised by this work, such as the tensions between the perceived individual, team and community utilities, as well as the choice of the entering point in the learning scenario (real or virtual) for the players’ involvement in the game. Keywords: game-based learning, multiplayer game, mixed reality, learning scenario, archaeology 35
Scientific Discovery Games for Authentic Science Education 1
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Rikke Magnussen , Sidse Damgaard Hansen , Tilo Planke and Jacob Friis Sher3 son 1 ResearchLab: ICT and Design for Learning, Department of Communication, Aalborg University, Denmark 2 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Denmark 3 AU Ideas Center for Community Driven Research, CODER, Aarhus University, Denmark Abstract: This paper presents results from the design and testing of The Quantum Computer Game, a game that allows players to help solve actual scientific challenges in the effort to develop a quantum computer, which is a computer where individual bits can be both 0 and 1 simultaneously – potentially offering more computational power than all conventional computers combined. The main objective of scientific discovery games is to facilitate collaboration between researchers and gamers, but the focus of The Quantum Computer Game, in contrast, is multifaceted. The motivation for developing this type of game concept for science education stems from a critique that the way standardised skills are taught in today’s school system leads to students becoming experts at consuming rather than producing knowledge. The primary aim of developing a gamebased platform for student research collaboration is to investigate if and how this type of game concept can strengthen authentic experimental practice and the creation of new knowledge in science education as well as what elements play a central role in this. Researchers and game developers from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Aarhus University and ResearchLab: ICT and Design for Learning at Aalborg University tested the game in three separate high school classes (Class 1, 2, and 3) and used video observations to record the students, aged 17-20, playing the game. Qualitative interviews were conducted with the classes and their teachers after the game sessions and all students filled out surveys with qualitative and quantitative questions. The focus of the various tests was to understand the motivational aspects of students playing this type of game and how students felt about participating in authentic experiments as well as to detect whether the game could offer new types of educational approaches to highly complex subject areas such as quantum physics. The tests in the first two high schools showed that collaboration with researchers and contributing to research in quantum computing were highly motivating factors. In a survey with multiple possible answers conducted after the game session students were asked to state what the most interesting aspect of playing the game was. To this question 69% answered “To participate in real scientific research”, 69% answered “To solve physics problems” and 31% “To play games”. This is an interesting result as games in education often are viewed as a tool to motivate 36
students to participate in educational activities. Here games become a tool to frame or facilitate processes where the motivation lies in the subject the game covers or in the research context outside the school context. Designing a game that facilitated professional research collaboration while simultaneously serving to introduce high school students to quantum physics at their level proved, however, to be a challenge. When asked whether they had learned about physics from playing the game using a five-point scale ranging from 1 for “not at all” to 5 for “a lot”, 8% of the students in Class 2 answered 1; 46% answered 2; 23% answered 3; 23% wrote 4 and no one checked 5. The third round of testing in Class 3 incorporated a didactic design developed to integrate the game into a laboratory classroom setting that involved simulations, theoretical work and physical experiments to strengthen student expertise in these areas. When asked whether they had learned about physics, 14% answered 1 (“not at all”) and 7% answered 2, while 36%, 14% and 29% answered 3, 4 and 5 (“a lot”), respectively. The results presented in this paper show that scientific discovery games and the fact that they make participating in authentic scientific experiments possible is highly motivating for students. The findings also show, however, that the learning design in the class setting must be considered in order to improve the students’ experience of learning and that various design challenges remain to be developed even further. Keywords: scientific discovery games, science education, quantum computing
Creating Games in the Classroom – From Native Gamers to Reflective Designers Gunver Majgaard The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark Abstract: A group of first-semester engineering students participated in a game design course. The overall goal was to learn about game design and programming while they were creating their own games. Additionally we wanted the students to transform some of their game experiences into active knowledge on designing games. It was the intension to give the students a more critical reflective view on video games and game design. The students in this study had all played various video games since they were 5-6 years old, and were therefore regarded as native consumers in the game world. They grew up playing video and computer games as a natural part of their everyday lives. Some of them had played intensely, while others had played more sporadically. In order to make the transformation they developed their own digital prototypes. And they participated in reflective discussions on what games are: what makes them interesting and how they are 37
constructed. The students used the tool GameMaker, which can be used without having any prior knowledge of programming. The tool gave an easy access to develop running game prototypes in 2D. The didactic approach was based on constructionistic and reflective learning philosophies. The constructionistic learning promotes a creative and innovative learning. But it doesn’t promote articulating and analysing competences. Besides the constructionistic learning process we wanted to promote our students analytic competences. We wanted the students to reflect on games in order to promote explicit knowledge. We believe the dialog based on the academic theory and their programming experiences reinforced the learning process. The constructionistic approach supported exploring and optimising ways of learning. The students used experimentation and exploration as part of the design process. As part of the exploration process they also optimised and balanced e.g. the gameplay. The constructionistic approach also supported creativity and innovative designs. The students turned their own ideas into interactive games. They used innovative design methods and used their creativity. They also developed an understanding of innovative design methods. Additionally this approach stimulated the double perspective - playing and learning at the same time. The students played games while they were developing games. The reflection on games supported insights into others' gaming experiences. In the user test the students got other e.g. children’s perspective on the games they developed. The reflective approach also created thoughts on tomorrow’s teaching methods. The students evolved their own thoughts on how to use games in teaching and learning processes. In summary, we discussed the students' first voyages from natives in the game world to reflective designers. During the journey, they developed a reflective practice and an understanding of the profession they were entering. The article also shows a very dynamic and fruitful relationship between playing games and designing games. Keywords: learning, game-based learning, game design, serious games, university pedagogy
A Holistic Framework for the Development of an Educational Game Aiming to Teach Computer Programming Christos Malliarakis, Maya Satratzemi and Stelios Xinogalos University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece Abstract: Computer science is gradually changing, evolving and adapting according to the needs of each time period by incorporating the technological developments available. However, despite the occurring changes and the current progress in the domain, computer programming is still a vital chapter within computer science, and its teaching remains a difficult endeavour. On the other hand, students have 38
changed the way with which they learn, interact with and search for knowledge. They spend significant amounts of their everyday lives from a very young age interacting with the computers by playing games. Thus, they are used to environments with impressive special effects and graphical interfaces where they have full control of the situation and interact with the environment’s elements. Therefore, today’s teachers are trying to connect computer programming learning with students’ everyday usage of the computer, which does not include simple textual editors for programming lines of code with no other interaction functionalities. Hence, teachers face the challenge of incorporating environments that are similar to students’ existing mentality and of creating tasks and assignments that can be executed within these environments and can provide students with the necessary programming knowledge and skills. A number of software solutions were developed towards facing the aforementioned difficulties. They can be classified into three main categories, namely educational programming environments, microworlds and educational games. Educational games used in computer programming courses are considered to present added value, due to their ability to motivate students towards actively participating in the learning process and to support high levels of interaction, group work and critical thinking. Thus, we have developed an educational game that aims to further enhance computer programming education by addressing occurring problems. This paper aims to introduce and elaborate on a holistic framework that has been constructed as a guide towards the development of this game. To this end, we collect documented difficulties identified in computer programming learning and teaching and study existing frameworks that have been proposed for the development of software solutions for computer programming courses and for the development of successful serious games that do not however focus on computer programming education. This information is thoroughly studied and refined and results in the proposed framework that could also be employed for the design and development of other future educational games focusing on computer programming education. Keywords: computer programming; educational programming environments; educational games; holistic framework; learning process
Examining Early Childhood Education Students’ Attitudes Toward Educational Computer Games in Kindergarten Dionissios Manessis National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece Abstract: Pre-service early childhood educators are in a position where they will be expected to help and support infant pupils to use computer and computer games. Unless teachers believe that the role of computer games with educational 39
features is essential neither to their own nor to their students’ needs, they will be unable to introduce Games Based Learning (GBL) methods into their teaching. Therefore, it is important to gather information about which factors may influence Early Childhood Education (ECE) students’ attitudes toward using digital games in nursery school. The purpose of this study was to investigate ECE students’ attitudes toward educational computer games in Kindergarten. The data were collected from 200 freshmen and senior students attending a Bachelor in Education degree at the department of ECE, University of Athens, Greece. Questionnaires were given to the participants at the end of a 13-week Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) course. The results of the study revealed that the majority of the ECE students had very positive attitudes toward using educational digital games in their future teaching and expressed great willingness to use GBL to benefit children in learning environments. They also appeared to have high levels of self-efficacy in the ability of using computer games, which is linked to their behavioral intensions about integrating such innovative instructional methods into a kindergarten classroom. There are considerable parameters which affect pre-service Early Childhood teachers’ attitudes towards digital games: year of study, frequency of computer usage per day, previous experience in playing computer games, experience in a pre-school classroom, previous computer use in any environment and previous courses about the use/integration of ICT in early childhood classroom. The findings of the research suggested that attitudes were significantly affected by all the above variables. Given that computer games, when appropriately designed, can enhance young children’s learning and cognitive development and at the same time ECE teachers’ role is crucial, more research should be conducted in order to predict ECE students’ preparedness to successfully implement games based learning methods in their classroom, as future teachers. Keywords: early childhood education students, attitudes toward educational computer games, games based learning, kindergarten classroom, self-efficacy in the ability of using computer games.
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Integrating Non-Virtual Electronic Activities in Game-Based Learning Environments 1, 3
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Jean-Charles Marty , Thibault Carron , Stéphane Talbot , Gregory Houzet 5 and Philippe Pernelle 1 LIRIS, UMR5205, F-69621, France 2 LIP6 Lab, UMR CNRS 7606, Université Pierre & Marie Curie, France 3 Université de Savoie, France 4 Imep-Lahc Lab., Université de Savoie, Campus scientifique 73376 Le Bourget Du Lac, France 5 DISP Lab, Université de Lyon, France Abstract: Our past experiments with Game-Based Learning multi-players environments, have shown some weaknesses in specific learning activities. Learners seem to acquire a skill in the game, but they are not able to apply it easily in the real world. This is particularly the case for learning skills that require concrete manipulation with real objects. In fact, Game Based Learning Environments (GBLE) lack of means to learn know-how aspects. Some learning processes involving real world objects are very difficult to reproduce in the GBLE and there is an essential technological issue in mixing virtual and real aspects in GBLE. In this article, we describe these problems through an example in the electronic domain. We explain how to consider activities taking place outside the numeric environment. We have set up an experiment, where students needed to design “electronic circuits” with concrete electronic elements before being allowed to continue a quest in a virtual world. A complete scenario aiming at learning this kind of knowledge thus swaps from activities in the virtual world to activities in the real world. New issues linked to this transition are explained. Keywords: know-how activity evaluation; game-based learning environment; online multiplayer game; user model, mixing numeric and face-to-face learning tasks
From « Haute-Couture » to « Ready-to-Wear »: Typology of Serious Games Implementation Strategies in Higher Education Hélène Michel Grenoble Ecole De Management, France Abstract: This article is an exploratory approach of the different strategies used in higher education institutions for implementing serious games. In the complex and often slow-moving education sector, serious games are challenging not only the learners and teachers’ practices but also the organizations’ strategies. What 41
performance criteria can be used in this specific context to evaluate the training? What types of strategies emerge? During the past decade, different types of serious games implementation have been experimented in higher education. Through a longitudinal analysis of five case studies, this article builds a typology of five strategies to implement serious games in higher education: Haute couture, Recycling, Ready-to wear, Home-made and Co-branding. This study therefore helps managers deciding their own strategy according to their situation. Keywords: serious games, higher education, training performance criteria, implementation strategies, case studies, longitudinal approach
Motivation and Manipulation: A Gamification Approach to Influencing Undergraduate Attitudes in Computing Nicholas Mitchell, Nicky Danino and Lesley May University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK Abstract: This paper describes how the introduction of competitive elements to an introductory undergraduate module in Computing at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) enabled the teaching team to motivate, engage, and influence the behaviour and expectations of new students. The Four Week Challenge (4WC) forms the first module that all students encounter on a number of different Computing courses. It is run in full-time “burst mode” during the students’ first month at UCLan, with the start of regular teaching delayed until after this module has finished. It is designed to lead students through a challenging (yet highly scaffolded) project to show them where their course could take them. The students work in teams of six on a series of incremental challenges. The ultimate goal for teams on the module is to build a sophisticated mobile phone game, market it on-line, and present it in an academic context. Moreover, the module itself is run as a game, with teams competing against each other not only to build the best game, but also to be the most effective team. Important in getting the students to embrace the idea of the module as a game was instilling a belief that the teams were fairly matched, and that each had an equal chance of success. To this end we devised a method of sorting students into balanced teams based on: a) their chosen course within Computing; b) their preferred team role; and c) their existing competence at computer programming. The challenges in each week follow themes within computing, giving the opportunity for different individuals in each team to come to the fore throughout the module according to their interest. Points were awarded to each team on a daily basis for various activities, and a running total displayed as a Leader Board in the foyer of the Computing building. This public and regularly updated display fuelled a strong sense of competition between the teams, motivating them to work harder and achieve better results. Since the 4WC 42
is an assessed module (10 ECTS credits) both output and teamwork are graded each week. As well as contributing to the teams’ final grade for the module, these marks are also translated into points for the Leader Board. Besides academic learning outcomes, the 4WC has been designed to address issues of retention and engagement in Computing at UCLan. One aim is to foster a culture of peersupport, where no student would feel isolated on the course. Specific activities where points are awarded only if all members of the team make a defined contribution encourage the stronger team-members to support the less experienced. Again with the promise of points, students are encouraged to share knowledge and techniques. In presentations, students are supportive of other teams, asking questions and offering advice. By the end of the month are publishing their own tutorials and running their own help classes. An awards ceremony is held at the end of the module, with prizes for the overall winning team, and also in several other categories. Keywords: gamification, motivation, engagement, computing
Sit Down to Table and Confess who you are! Design of an Epistemic Game for Nutritional Education at Secondary School 1
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Réjane Monod-Ansaldi , Eric Sanchez , Daniel Devallois , Thomas Abad , 1 1,2 1,2 1,2 Pierre Bénech , Anne Brondex , Isabelle Mazzella , Sandrine Miranda , Clau1,2 1 die Richet and Céline Recurt 1 French Institute of Education, Lyon, France 2 Lycée Madame de Staël, Saint Julien en Genevois, France Abstract: Nutrition is a complex behaviour. The choices made depend on multiple dimensions as taste, physiological consequences, cultural aspects, or environmental and economic impacts. Rather than transmitting standards to follow, nutrition education might help people to take into account the complexity of the problem, to reflect on all the dimensions involved in nutrition and to make informed choices. The French-Canadian research project Jouer pour apprendre en ligne aims at designing and studying digital epistemic games (Shaffer, 2007) that address such complex problems. Epistemic games are playful, complex, realistic, authentic and non-deterministic learning situations that deal with ill-structured problems (King & Kitchener, 1994). Rather than having a unique solution they have solutions that depend on the available information, knowledge and values. Within this context, we used the 3E model (Sanchez & al., 2012)- a tridimensional model for game design - to design “Mets-toi à table !” (“Sit down to table and confess who you are!”), a digital epistemic game about nutritional education. Our research methodology consists in a Design-Based Research approach which allows identifying the key factors that have to be taken into account to enroll, entertain and edu43
cate the player/learner. Therefore, our work is based on a collaborative research which enables teachers and researchers to iteratively combine design and analysis within an ecological context. The results of this research are both pragmatic (the design of the game) and heuristic (understanding the impact of the game design on the learning process). The data collected encompasses the recording of the students during the game session and focus groups carried out with teachers and students. The analysis of the impact of the choices made for the game design permits to reconsider the design of the game. Indeed, the findings of the first iteration, which bring little play and little learning to the students, lead to modify the gameplay. In this paper we present the game, the methodology of the research and we discuss the key factors that should be taken into account to design a digital epistemic game. Keywords: digital epistemic game, ill-structured problem, nutrition education, design-based research
Learning in Context Through Games: Towards a new Typology Alex Moseley University of Leicester, Leicester, UK Abstract: The use of real contexts in learning has been of central interest to educational developments such as experiential learning, case studies, work placements and simulations. They centre around the benefits of putting students in realistic situations, using real tools to solve real (or realistic) problems: immersing them in realistic activity rather than theoretical concepts. A growing number of learning games are making use of context in this way: initially focussed around serious games (many close in character to simulations) and most recently distilled into immersive and pervasive games, which mix real and imagined contexts for apparently deep learning experiences. This paper reviews the existing literature around the use of context in learning, considers the applicability to learning games, and proposes new theoretical developments through the consideration of four models for the integration of context into learning experiences (based on a typology of existing contextual learning experiences and games). To illustrate the models and begin to strengthen the typology, a number of existing case studies are referenced, and further research needs highlighted. Keywords: context, authentic, learning, games, models
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Let the Students Contruct Their own fun And Knowledge Learning to Program by Building Computer Games 1
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Peter Mozelius , Olga Shabalina , Christos Malliarakis , Florica Tomos , Chris 4 4 Miller and David Turner 1 Stockholm University, Sweden 2 Volgograd State Technical University, Russia 3 University of Macedonia, Greece 4 Glamorgan University, Wales Abstract: Computer programming is a core subject in most Computer science programmes at university level but many students have difficulties with both the understanding of theoretical concepts and with the learning of practical programming skills. Several studies have pointed out that there exist pedagogical and motivational problems resulting in high drop-out rates and low learning outcomes. On the other hand today’s students have grown up in a digital and internet connected world where playing computer games is a common and appreciated spare time activity. It has been discussed during many years amongst teachers and researchers which important features a programming language should have to support learning and which the appropriate programming paradigms are for introductory programming courses. Less has been discussed and written about modifying the actual course content and use the recognised attraction and catalytic effect of computer games. The aim of this case study is to describe, analyze and discuss the concept of learning to program by game construction. In this case study two course analyses have been combined with a literature review on pedagogy for Game Based Learning (GBL Findings from the literature review show that the idea of students constructing knowledge in their interactions with their environment is not a new one and that games have been used in educational contexts long before the introduction of computers. The idea of Game based learning has support in the constructivist learning theory concept that was introduced theoretically at university level in the 1970s by Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Results from the study also indicate that the practical application of the game construction concept has been successful in the two investigated programming courses both when it comes to student motivation and learning outcomes. Furthermore, this game based pedagogy can motivate students not only to develop themselves as future programmers but also to become more innovative and entrepreneurial by improving the quality and performance of the games in order to deploy, promote and sell them. Keywords: game-based learning, GBL, computer games, programming education, constructivism 45
Towards Understanding the Instructional Value of Real-Time Continuous Feedback From the use of Simulation Games Mathews Nkhoma, Jaime Calbeto, Narumon Sriratanaviriyakul, Thu Yein Win, Quyen Ha Tran and Thanh Kim Cao RMIT University Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Abstract: Simulation games have long been used as a teaching tool in the classroom environment mainly due to the high level of participation and engagement that students are able to generate from these, making the learning process more enjoyable and capable to replicate real-life scenarios. When all is said and done, students are rewarded with a more authentic and complete learning experience. Feedback given during the simulation helps to motivate students to find better solutions to the problems being presented throughout the games and thus enhance their hands-on knowledge on particular subjects. The purpose of this research is to provide empirical evidence of interrelations and impacts that exist between real-time continuous feedback and simulation game performance as well as the interrelations and impacts that exist between real-time continuous feedback and both students’ attitude and engagement towards learning. The research comprised 60 undergraduate students enrolled at the Centre of Commerce who had undergone at least three semesters of studying at various programmes at RMIT University Vietnam. For test purposes, the research employed a 3D IBM Business Process Management (BPM) simulation game, INNOV8 (more information is available at http://www-01.ibm.com/software/solutions/soa/innov8/index.html) developed by IBM Academic Initiative. Students in the sample were asked to play this simulation game. A web-based survey followed at the conclusion of the simulation game for the collection of data. The findings of the research concluded that students showed a favourable attitude towards learning through the simulation game. In addition, the real-time continuous feedback given during the simulation game had a positive impact on the students’ cognitive learning outcomes. The originality of this research stems from the nature of the feedback being given to students in a real-time continuous basis during the gameplay of a computer-based simulation game to examine how this impacts students’ learning outcomes. Keywords: real-time continuous feedback, simulation games, game-based learning, serious games
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Learning Math as you Play: Comparing Arithmetic Performance Enhancement Induced by Game Play and Paper Exercises Elena Patricia Nuñez Castellar, Anissa All and Jan Van Looy Department of Communication Sciences, iMinds-MICT-Ghent University, Belgium Abstract: One of the promises of video game training is that, compared to traditional training, it can be more engaging and entertaining (Boot et.al., 2008). However, besides entertainment, games have shown to have the potential to impact a larger variety of cognitive abilities. Previous research has consistently shown that several aspects in cognition such as visual short-memory, multitasking and spatial cognition can be enhanced by game play. In a previous study, we found that playing Monkey Tales, a commercial game aimed at training arithmetic skills in children, helped second grade pupils to increase their accuracy in mental calculation as compared to paper exercises or no exercises. The present study aimed to explore how arithmetic performance enhancement induced by game play and paper exercises differs. In order to do this, we compared the performance gains that second graders achieved in a computer test made for assessing their math skills. We performed a combined analysis of the changes in two behavioral measurements: accuracy and reaction times. Children were tested at two points in time: before and after the three week period. We compared the reaction times and the accuracy improvements between these two moments and compared different items types (e.g. understanding tenths, understanding hundreds, even or odd up to 100 among other types). We found indirect evidence suggesting that arithmetic performance enhancement induced by game play and paper exercises might rely on slightly different cognitive mechanisms. Keywords: arithmetic training, mental calculation, educational game, traditional training, reaction times, accuracy
Serious Game Adaptive Learning Systems Chinedu Obikwelu and Janet Read University of Central Lancashire, UK Abstract: Serious games have evolved from the traditional one-size-fits-all mode to a Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment (DDA) mode. DDA is an individualized approach that is based on the principle of adaptivity. For serious games, there is an emphasis on adapting hints and feedbacks according to the changing learner’s competence by using set rules. Adaptive Learning Systems (ALS) are sometimes referred to as Personalised Learning Systems (PLS).According to Karagiannidis and Sampson every PLS should answer the following questions - What is the learning 47
content being adapted? Which aspects of the learning experience ‘drive’ adaptations? What is the basis for adaptation? These questions make up the adaptation logic which differs from game to game and from model to model. This paper reviews the current literature by investigating different adaptation logics embodied in existing serious game Adaptive Learning Systems. These different Adaptive Learning Systems have been adopted by and proposed for serious games. The Adaptive Learning Systems investigated in this paper include the ‘NUCLEO’ framework which emphasizes collaboration in a Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE) with role assignment and team formation adapted to learners; S.M.I.L.E which is more of an accessibility model accommodating player-learner’s with handicaps by adapting quests with the uniqueness of allowing teachers to define educational games with stored educational materials; ‘Framework for Adaptive Game Presenters with Emotions and Social Comments’ which adapts emotions and social feedback; the Fine-Tuning System (FTS) which is based on adaptive fading - adapting scaffolds including feedbacks and hints based on the fading principle; and ALIGN which separates the game logic from the adaptation logic by creating reusable adaptation abstractions. The trend in assessment generation which is drifting from the traditional After Action Review (AAR) to assessment generation for adaptive interventions is also highlighted in this paper. Keywords: serious game; learning; adaptivity; personalised learning; feedback; adaptive learning system; adaptation logic
Combatting Social Isolation and Cognitive Decline: Play a Physical or Digital Game? Daire Ó Broin and Ross Palmer Institute of Technology Carlow, Ireland Abstract: Two significant problems among the elderly community are those of social isolation and the cognitive decline that occurs as we age. These problems can be readily compounded (for example, reduced levels of attention are associated with an increased risk of falling). Keeping active is commonly advised to reduce these problems - many senior groups exist that meet regularly and engage in activities that encourage social interaction. However, mobility and other problems mean that elderly people may not be able to attend such groups very often, if at all. To address this problem, we set out to create an experience that confers the same benefits (increasing social connectedness and inhibiting cognitive decline) without users having to leave their homes. Our user group selected one of the games they play together, Memory, a game that requires players to closely attend to their experience. We designed and developed a digital multiplayer version of Memory for browser and tablet targeted at elderly users. The game is integrated 48
into a custom social network, and enables users to talk and play without having to be in the same physical space. It also incorporates user-generated content from the social network. A pilot study has been carried out with two user groups across two European countries. It investigates whether the experience of playing a physical game between players in present the same physical space differs significantly from playing in different locations using the digital version of the game. In order to uncover differences, the study compared how intrinsically motivating each experience is. In the study, which uses within-subjects design, the users played Memory with real cards together in the physical space and afterwards completed the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI). The users also played the digital version of the game via the social network, this time where users are in different locations using a PC, Smart TV, or Tablet, and communicate using VOIP, and afterwards completed the IMI. The data collected was analysed and used to inform semi-structured interviews. This paper presents findings from the pilot study, and from these findings outlines the main study and future work in investigating and improving the game’s benefits. Keywords: games for seniors, social connectedness, cognitive decline, intrinsic motivation
Sports Games’ Role for Learning Health Knowledge 1,2,
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Kelly O’Hara Dulce Esteves , Rui Brás , Ricardo Rodrigues , Paulo Pinheiro 1 and Marco Rodrigues 1 Sport Science Department, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal 2 Research Centre in Sport Science, Health Science and Human Development, Vila Real, Portugal 3 Business and Economic Department, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal NECE Research Centre Abstract: Design learning environments in order to develop 21st century skills is crucial to create in learners “adaptive expertise” or “adaptive competence”. Educational/serious games, accomplished with appropriate learning environments, facilitate teaching through experience by offering immediate feedback and engaging the learner’s attention. The aim of this paper is to develop and applied serious games in health education, using physical exercise and sports as a learning environment. Methods: 201 high school students (15-22 years, 17.56±1.37) were exposed, during eleven weeks, six hours/week to a learning sport-game environment in other to promote physical activity and increase the awareness of its benefits. To evaluate the process effectiveness, two groups were formed, the control group (CG) and practical group (PG) that was exposed to serious games. To evalu-
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ate the learning process, a survey was developed and tested, resulting in 23 items distributed across the contents under investigation: Caloric Balance (CB); Posture (P), Heart Rate (HR). Student’s knowledge perception about each concept and their need for acquiring more knowledge related to health behaviors were also observed. A Pre and Post- intervention test was made. Results: Significant differences were observed between CG and PG in post-intervention assessment (CB= p Pinyin -> Hanzi is most common, there is a new movement in parts of the United States of America that are not using Pinyin. They are learning the Hanzi directly from English. According to the US state department, Chinese is one of the most difficult languages for an English learner to master, and for children it can become boring to have to learn the words and characters to communicate in the language. For most Chinese learners, the Hanzi can be challenging to master and once mastered, maintaining those learned is just as challenging. Furthermore, for many young learners (9-12years) who learn Chinese in a classroom setting or with a teacher, there are generally not many opportunities to practice or use Hanzi in an engaging and rewarding manner. Shénián is suitable for learners at any level or ability, it has option to accommodate 146
• • • •
Sounds to characters, English to Pinyin, Pinyin to character and English to Character
Shénián uses the characteristics of games to facilitate the learning of the Hanzi(Characters) (Gee, 2003) and provide a contextual way for learners to learn and test themselves. As a standalone component or learning object, the game uses a spaced repetition algorithm that determines which character is to be found to embody behaviourist principles (Kebritchi and Hirumi 2008) and use the drill and practice model, where the repetition of stimulus-response patterns strengthens observable habits and behaviours (Ormrod 1999) of character identification and recognition. At the end of each game, the learner is also presented with a summary of their performance. The more the game is played, the more confident a player becomes in recognising the characters correctly. At the end of each game play, the player can see their position on the leaderboard which provides motivation.
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They are also presented with a scorecard of the characters they encountered during gameplay and how they performed with each character
While at this point, the game is available for only Mandarin Chinese, it has been developed to be easily customisable for other languages and these will follow soon. The levels of the words in the game are organised with reference to the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) and Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The accompanying diary (http://xlnglabs.com/monkeygrangediary/) also provides exposure to the words being learned via storytelling narrative presented in both text and audio.To learn the numbers as used in the game online, here is a reference: http://xlnglabs.com/monkeygrangediary/files/2013/04/counting.jpg
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Siren: A Social Learning Game for Conflict Resolution Kostas Karpouzis National Technical University of Athens, Greece Keywords: serious games, conflict resolution, user modelling, affective interaction, adaptation Abstract: Modern school environments are usually populated with children from diverse ethnic, cultural and social backgrounds, bringing in different social norms and skills, diverse behaviours and often contradicting cooperation strategies. As a result, conflicts are inevitable and should be resolved as quickly and painlessly as possible, making sure that school life and the learning process continue as intended. The Siren serious game aims to educate 10-14 year old students on conflict management and resolution, presenting them with user- and cultureadaptive mini game scenarios, based on popular game genres and taking into account their affective expressivity and in-game behaviour to adjust the intensity of the conflict to better suit their needs and competencies. Introduction Confronting conflicts and coping with them is part of social life, especially in today’s complex and diverse school environments. Psychologists and sociologists agree that the current frequency and lack of meaningful, cooperative resolution to conflicts is incurring substantial cost to society at large (Ting-Toomey and Oetzel 2001, Weaver 2000), while interventions that may provide students with conflict resolution skills will be of clear benefit to society. Patterns of conflict, conflict avoidance, and conflict resolution are formed during early ages, and continue to affect the way we think, to guide our behavioural responses, and to moderate our personal development throughout our lives (Ting-Toomey and Oetzel 2001). It is therefore advantageous to acquire effective conflict resolution skills before being faced with such problems. Early and primary education is the optimal time for teaching conflict resolution mechanisms. Yet, the latest “best practices” for conflict resolution adopted by the vast majority of European schools are failing to achieve many of their objectives. Schoolteachers clearly need improved strategies and tools to identify potential conflicts and to educate students on how to resolve them. Serious games are a popular choice to this end; their use is commonly motivated by a need to educate, train or inform regarding a given topic (Michael and Chen 2005). Their acceptance as a learning tool lies in balancing the entertainment, interactivity and re-playability of typical games with the learning goals of a given educational objective and in providing players with a safe ‘sandbox’ within which to test problem solving approaches without risking much in real life. Serious 149
games and simulations have been proven effective for promoting intercultural communication (Raybourn 1997), increasing understanding of ethnic, religious and historical funded conflicts and representing different perspectives on issues such as global politics and foreign policy (Frasca 2003). The popularity of computer games, in general, is widespread, being a media form embraced by the young generation. Furthermore, computer games can work as collaborative spaces. Almost invariably, computer games contain elements of conflict, often between the in-game character controlled by the player and either one or several non-player characters (NPCs), or between characters controlled by a group of human players. In many, though not all, contemporary computer games, violence is the most common method for resolving conflict, while winning the game entails that other players or characters lose. In contrast to these competitive and retributive models of computer games, engaging and entertaining games whose objective is to overcome obstacles in collaboration with other players in a non-violent way are gaining status (Rogers 2006). Instead of rewarding and reinforcing competitive behaviour, this genre of games reward winning by means of collaborative, non-violent problem solving. Computer games also directly support a mechanism key in learning: they stimulate students’ motivation (Ryan and Deci 2000). Classroom lessons are tailored to increase students’ intrinsic motivations (e.g. interest, enjoyment and inherent satisfaction) and extrinsic motivations (e.g. internalising and integrating the lessons learnt). To that end, games enhance immersion, facilitate critical thinking and allow the exploration of different perspectives (Egenfeldt-Nielsen 2007). The main objective of the game developed in the framework of the Siren project (Karpouzis et al. 2012) is to teach players peaceful and constructive ways for resolving conflicts, knowledge that can then be transferred to other domains. The players face a conflict situation together, with the conflict domain being relevant to the interests, maturity, and level of general knowledge of the participants. In order to increase the players’ level of familiarity with the aesthetics and mechanics of the game and, thus, maximise their level of interest, we chose two gaming genres popular among the selected age group (10-14-year old students): a multiplayer version of a farm game, resembling FarmVille-like social games played in Facebook and Google+ and a role-playing game, where the player becomes the director of a theatre club (Figure 1), assigning roles to actors played by NPCs and attempting to work out the conflicts arising between unappreciative characters or as a result of events external to the theatre company (Figure 2). Students play these two games in successive stages, tackling an increasingly difficult and complex scenario each time; each scenario contains one or more goals, which players need to achieve, a number of obstacles, and means to overcome the obstacles. In terms of game mechanics, these scenarios are formalised as collaborative puzzle 150
solving with constraints, where each participant has incomplete information about the overall state of the game. All of these elements support the learning objectives of the game by immersing players in the conflict, facilitating a critical approach to their assumptions about the conflict and allowing them to explore new perspectives other than their own.
Figure 1: The role-playing scenario
Figure 2: Conflict among the NPCs as a result of an external event 151
Figure 3: Resource trading in the farm scenario Game scenarios and adaptive, affective features The different game scenarios that players need to solve correspond to dealing with situations that produce conflict among the particular age group. The reasons were identified after thorough user studies in the U.K., Portugal and Greece (Vasalou et al. 2012; Khaled et al. 2012); these studies included extensive questionnaires and interviews with students and teachers, hands-on exercises and cultural probes (Iversen and Nielsen 2003). Researchers sampled conflict situations, intensities and intervention approaches across schools from different cultural backgrounds in each country, so as to capture cultural differences not necessarily related to ethnicity. In the following, findings from user studies were transformed to scenarios in the context of the two game genres. Property and resource management, relations with other peers, cultural differences and reputation/rumours were among the most popular reasons for conflict. In order to make the game relevant, game mechanics (Figure 3) and objectives were included in the game narrative, corresponding to those factors. In addition, conflict intensity is measured via in-game sampling (Figure 4) and non-verbal estimation of the players’ affective and cognitive state (Shaker et al. 2013). The idea here is that the game needs to be informed about the relevance of each particular scenario instance for each player, whether its conflict intensity is exceptionally high and may result in excessive stress for the player or whether the player is actually engaged in the game. This is achieved with robust results by combining the player’s game behaviour and choices, with facial expression and attention features captured with a plain web camera mounted on top of the player’s computer (Figure 5). These features are 152
then used to procedurally produce the quantitative properties for the next mini game, maximising the player’s satisfaction and engagement and, along with that, the potential to achieve its learning objectives.
Figure 4: Asking the players about their emotion is fed back to the game adaptation mechanism The game has been evaluated in terms of user experience in all three aforementioned countries, followed by a data collection process mapping the properties of each mini game to conflict intensities as perceived by the student. These were then converted to user and adaptation models, based also on the properties identified during the user studies; the user models were finally integrated in the game, catering for cultural and adaptation and personalisation. Besides cultural adaptation, the game’s interface has been localised to all three participating countries, catering for easier adoption from schools.
Figure 5: Frustration (left) and engagement during gameplay (usability testing sessions) Acknowledgment This work has been partially funded by the Siren Project: Social games for conflIct REsolution based on natural iNteraction (FP7 ICT-2009.4.2 - 258453). Videos from 153
the game have been uploaded to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNrmNqEI3Q and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zulJHRdtw-c References
Michael, D. R. and Chen, S. L. (2005) Serious Games: Games That Educate. Train, and Inform. Muska & Lipman Premier-Trade. Ting-Toomey, S. and Oetzel, J. (2001). Managing Intercultural Conflict Effectively. Thousand Oaks: CA. Weaver, G., ed. (2000). Culture, Communication and Conflict: Readings in Intercultural Relations. Pearson Publishing: Boston. Raybourn, E. (1997). Computer game design: New directions for intercultural simulation game designers. In Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Exercises, 24. Frasca, G. (2003). Ideological Videogames: Press left button to dissent; International Games Developers Association: Ivory Tower; November. Rogers, Y. (2006) Moving on from Weiser’s Vision of Calm Computing: Engaging UbiComp Experience. P. Dourish and A. Friday (Eds.): Ubicomp 2006, LNCS 4206, pp. 404 – 421. Ryan, R. and Deci, E. (2000) Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions, Contemporary Educational Psychology 25, 54– 67. Egenfeldt-Nielsen, S. (2007): Educational Potential of Computer Games. Continuum Studies in Education, Continuum Publishers. Karpouzis, K., Yannakakis, G. N., Paiva, A., Nielsen, J. (2012) Asimina Vasalou, Arnav Jhala: User Modelling and Adaptive, Natural Interaction for Conflict Resolution. ICALT 2012: 692-693. Vasalou, A., Ingram, G., Khaled, R. (2012) User-centered research in the early stages of a learning game. Conference on Designing Interactive Systems 2012: 116-125. Khaled, R. and Ingram, G. (2012) Tales from the front lines of a large-scale serious game project. CHI 2012: 69-78. Iversen, O.S. and Nielsen, C. (2003) Using digital cultural probes in design with children, Interaction Design And Children: Proceedings of the 2003 conference on Interaction design and children. Vol. 1. No. 03. Shaker, N., Asteriadis, S., Yannakakis, G., Karpouzis, K. (2013) Fusing Visual and Behavioral Cues for Modeling User Experience in Games, IEEE Trans. Systems Man and Cybernetics, Special Issue on Modern Control for Comp. Games.
Windows 32 bit: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3736299/SIREN/1.84/Siren%20win32%20%20v1.84_plusHelper.zip Windows 64 bit: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3736299/SIREN/1.84/Siren%20win64%20%20v1.84_plusHelper.zip Mac OS X: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3736299/SIREN/1.84/siren%20mac%201.84.zip --- Instructions --There are no special instructions for My Dream Theater, but for Village Voices you need to do a few things to get a multiplayer session running.
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General, text-based protocol for Village Voices, Mac and Windows (for version 1.83 but will work for 1.84 too - will be updated): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ys4KyArZWadOlOJfwOmB47YpFV3bVzAFOYcu9Rw TAGM/edit?usp=sharing Video explaining how to run Windows version of Village Voices: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3736299/SIREN/1.84/villagevoices.mp4
Basketball Trouble: A Game-Based Assessment of Science Inquiry and Content Knowledge 1
Diane Jass Ketelhut and Brian Nelson 1 University of Maryland, USA 2 Arizona State University, USA
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Keywords: science, assessment, game Abstract: Introduction: SAVE science, Situated Assessment using Virtual Environments for science content and inquiry, is a five year project to investigate the use of game-based immersive virtual environments for assessing science learning authentically with a more accurate reflection of scientific complexity than current tests allow. Our team has developed 4 game-based assessment quests to elicit what middle school students have learned in their classroom and that target specific standards that are currently poorly assessed on district or state assessments, as indicated by published success rates. These four modules assess student understanding of: structure-function relationships ( Sheep Trouble ), weather fronts ( Weather Trouble ), gas laws ( Basketball ), and force and motion ( Two Rivers ). Students have an overall goal of uncovering the likely contributors to a problem facing a small virtual town or community (sick farm animals, weather-related crop failure, differently bouncing basketballs, and an injured researcher needing to reach a medic, respectively). Participants complete the modules by interacting with characters and objects in the IVE, collecting and analyzing clues, and using their existing understanding of both content and scientific inquiry to draw inferences. Students can solve the problems in multiple ways. We hypothesize that this type of situated assessment will yield new insights into student understanding. Throughout the assessments, student activity is automatically recorded in the database with a location and time-stamp, allowing us to analyze both explicit answers to questions posed by characters as well as students processes in coming to those answers. We are addressing several areas related to games for assessment, including design heuristics and validation of in-world actions as indications of understanding. In addition, we are investigating the use of the data from these as155
sessments for scaffolding student demonstration of what they have learned and for scaffolding changes in teacher practice. Nearly 2000 middle school children (ages 11-14 years) with their 17 teachers have participated in SAVE Science from 2009 to date across the United States. Basketball Trouble For the ECGBL 2013 Call for Games competition, we are submitting our Basketball Trouble module. A short video of this module can be accessed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrZVa2i-e5I&feature=player_embedded. The module itself can be downloaded at: http://connect.savescience.us/modules/latest/Basketball_2012-11-09_pc.zip (windows) or http://connect.savescience.us/modules/latest/Basketball_2012-1109_mac.zip (mac) (please sign in with guestWorkshop1 through guestWorkshop20, password: guest). The main purpose of Basketball Trouble is to assess students knowledge of gas laws and related properties as well as aspects of scientific inquiry. Basketball Trouble s curriculum was designed and developed through an iterative process bringing together middle school science teachers, science education researchers, instructional designers, and assessment experts. The content for the game was selected because: (1) teachers identified the content area as one that was not assessed reliably or validly via traditional means, (2) the content area is frequently included in government standards, and (3) the content area meshed well with the functionalities of virtual-world based games. In Basketball Trouble, students enter a cartoon-themed, single-player virtual world. The game is set in a modern-day city in the middle of a snowy winter. Students are asked to help the manager of a local basketball tournament find out why tournament basketballs are not bouncing well at an outdoor court, while identically-inflated balls bounce well at the indoor court in the local gymnasium. To investigate this problem, students can interact with NPC characters from the outdoor and indoor courts to obtain information about conditions at each environment. Also, students can gather information about objects found at each court (basketballs and balloons) using a number of tools such as pressure gauges, scales, and tape measures. To support scientific investigations within the games, students can pick up and carry basketballs and balloons in a personal backpack between the outdoor and indoor basketball courts to observe and test any changes in the measurements when the objects are exposed to different envi-
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ronmental conditions, such as dropping basketballs on multiple surfaces to determine bounce height. Context for Basketball Trouble and Related SAVE Science Games: Currently, the policy climate in the United States puts the burden of assessment on standardized tests. However, these tests do not typically reflect what should be taught in the classroom or give a full picture of what a student knows or understands about the complexity of science (Songer, 2003). Research indicates that students tend to pass science tests, but often are not able to understand larger concepts, which typically are not assessed on multiple-choice tests (Michael, 2007). In addition, the format of these tests makes it difficult to assess scientific inquiry since inquiry involves higher order skills not easily measured by multiplechoice tests (Southerland, Smith, Sowell & Kittleson, 2007; Resnick & Resnick, 1992). Consequently, students are often assessed on whether they understand terms such as hypothesis or control, while in-depth assessment of their abilities to formulate questions and hypotheses, and design and analyze experiments is neglected (NRC, 2005). In these cases, teaching to the test undermines the recommendations and directives of various state and federal policy doctrines. Concurring, the Carnegie report (2009) suggests that the current testing system in the United States focuses heavily on assessing knowledge and interpretation to the detriment of scientific inquiry topics. Some state and federal assessments have tried to address this problem by including detailed open-ended questions. However, in order to set the question s context, lengthy text-based scenarios are often included. These questions then rely on students reading abilities as much as on their science knowledge. For example, one released 2009 NAEP scientific inquiry-based open-ended question asks the following (picture and chart not shown): Janet has four identical containers. In each container there are 200 grams of a different colored sand, as shown below. All the sand is at the same temperature and has the same grain size. Janet leaves the containers out in the full sun for three hours. Then she measures the temperature of the sand in each container. Her results are shown below. Explain why the temperature of the sand in each container is different. (U.S. Department of Education, 2011) The readability scores for this introduction based on the SMOG test indicates that it is appropriate for someone approximately 16 years old, and yet this question is on the test for 10 year olds! Clearly this question is testing reading ability as much as it is science, which disadvantages English language learners and poor readers. As an example, in Pennsylvania, a state where the population of English language learners has 157
more than doubled in the last 10 years (in the city of Philadelphia alone it tops 15% of the student body) and 33% of all students fail to reach reading proficiency (in Philadelphia 60% fail to reach reading proficiency), reliance on English reading skills calls into question how to use scores on science tests like these. This issue is not restricted to U.S. tests alone. One study of the large-scale "Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study" (TIMSS) science assessment showed that students could correctly answer science questions in an interview that they had answered incorrectly on a TIMSS implementation because of poor reading and English language skills (Harlow & Jones, 2004). In an attempt to move beyond these assessment issues, a growing number of researchers are turning to games. Games enable the situating of science inquiry practices and content in realistic contexts that have been shown to be engaging for students and beneficial for learning---particularly for students who do not do well with more traditional science instruction (e.g. Barab, Arici, & Jackson, 2005; Nelson & Ketelhut, 2007; Nelson, 2007). Educational games are often created as contextualized simulations of realistic situations and places. Players navigate the environment, represented by an avatar, exploring landscapes, entering buildings, driving vehicles or riding animals, and exploring. Game-based science curriculum has the advantage of placing problems in an authentic context for students to solve while providing meaningful information on patterns of learning over time to both students and teachers. Steele (2005) reports that if students can learn to connect any concept they are learning to real-world situations, not only will it make the concept more meaningful but also help make it easier to understand and remember. Part of the promise of games is their capability to create immersive experiences with problems in contexts similar to the real world. In particular, research indicates that using games for learning and assessment offers additional details about student understanding, giving information about students problem-solving strategies in addition to their solutions (Ketelhut, 2007). Research is emerging on the question of how well games can be used to situate assessments. Games typically utilize a back-end database that records all student interactions in the environment, thus producing a steady stream of data to students and teachers from the assessments, giving both groups new insights into student understanding and application of inquiry and content over time (Shute, Hansen, & Almond, 2007; Nelson & Erlandson, 2008). For example, Shute et al. (2009) explore the idea of conjoining immersive games with embedded assessments to create what they label stealth formative assessments. Shute and her 158
colleagues argue that player interactions in a game can be assessed in real-time using probability analysis techniques. Game players can be continuously and invisibly assessed as they work through series of challenging tasks situated seamlessly into game play and narrative (Clark et al., 2009). The sum of these interactions over the course of a game adds up to meaningful evidentiary records of understanding of the content and processes taught in the game. By following a systematic, theory-based approach to designing curricula and the activities of learning within those curricula, games can produce data from students that more fully and validly demonstrate their evolving levels of competency around science inquiry and concepts (Nelson, Erlandson, & Denham, 2011). Analysis and Findings As an example of our analyses and findings, we are using data mining techniques to automatically grade student actions in the SAVE Science games. To do this, we turn the grading task into a classical machine learning problem, in which the system must learn from a set of training data (student-actions and their grades) how to predict a grade for new students included in separate test data. We focus on two main types of models (Sil et al., 2012): ones that can grade by predicting how many content-based multiple-choice questions a student will answer correctly, and ones that can predict the manual grade assigned to a textual response. The features used for our automated graders are, 1) Features from the studentactions in the module: Frequency and types of actions in which students engaged e.g. the number of object interactions, the total number of measurements made, the number of graphs made etc; 2) Features from the students textual responses: Natural language processing (NLP) features using Hidden Markov Models, Semantic Role Labeling and other pipeline tools like Latent Semantic Analysis. We choose (Support Vector Machines or SVMs) with Radial Basis Function (RBF) kernels with default parameters for learning non-linear regression models of grading. To date, our automated grading models can accurately predict the number of questions a student will answer correctly based on their actions in the modules (Pearson's ρ = 0.34, with only module actions as features, or ρ = 0.43 if NLP features were also included in the model). On predicting the performance on both essays and multiple-choice (a composite gold-standard), the model achieves a correlation of ρ = 0.5 with human graders. This model significantly outperforms two state-of-the-art automatic grading systems (Wang, Chang, & Li, 2008; and Nehm, Ha and Mayfield, 2012). We further discover that the models for grading student performance contain four important module behavior features deemed important and non-redundant by our data mining algorithm (SVM) for the Basketball Trouble module: the num159
ber of distinct collisions with objects in the module, the number of computerbased characters collided with, the number of distinct objects (basketballs or balloons) whose pressure was measured, and the number of distinct temperature measurements that were recorded into clipboards. The essential task in the Basketball module is to discover that a decrease in the temperature of several gas systems (basketballs and balloons filled with air) is causing their pressure to decrease. Thus, this model includes variables that are highly relevant to a student s understanding of the core problem in the module (why basketballs in an outdoor park are not bouncing as high as balls in the city gymnasium). Contributions One seventh grader summarized how a test like SAVE Science helped her: This seemed like a real-life question which she said helped her attend to answering it when discussing the SAVE Science assessment module but brushed off the textbased test, referring to it as made up (fictional). If students only receive feedback from text-based tests, then they are forming their science identity based on incomplete and in some cases invalid information. SAVE Science offers an alternative that helps teachers understand what students know and how to evaluate their own practice. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0822308. References
Barab, S., Arici, A., & Jackson, C. (2005). Eat your vegetables and do your homework: a design based investigation of enjoyment and meaning in learning. Educational Technology, 45(1), 15-20. Carnegie Corporation (2009). The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York. Clark, D., Nelson, B., Sengupta, P., & D Angelo, C. (2009). Rethinking science learning through digital games and simulations: genres, examples, and evidence. An NAS commissioned paper. http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/Clark_Gaming_CommissionedPaper.pdf Harlow, A., & Jones, A. (2004). Why students answer TIMSS science test items the way they do. Research in Science Education, 34, 221-238. Ketelhut, D. J. (2007). The Impact of Student Self-Efficacy on Scientific Inquiry Skills: An Exploratory Investigation in River City, a Multi-User Virtual Environment. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 16(1), 99-111. Michael, J. (2007). Conceptual assessment in the biological sciences: A National Science Foundation sponsored workshop. Advances in Physiological Education, 31, 389-391. National Research Council. (2005). America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
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Nehm, R.H., Ha, M., Mayfield, E. (2012). Transforming Biology Assessment with Machine Learning: Automated Scoring of Written Evolutionary Explanations. Journal of Science Education and Technology. 21(1):183-196 Nelson, B. (2007). Exploring the use of individualized, reflective guidance in an educational multi-user virtual environment. The Journal of Science Education and Technology 16(1): 83-97. Nelson, B., Erlandson, B., & Denham, A. (2011). Global channels for learning and assessment in complex game environments. British Journal of Educational Technology 42(1): 88-100. Nelson, B., & Ketelhut, D. J. (2007). Designing for Real-World Inquiry in Virtual Environments. Educational Psychology Review 19(3), p. 265-283. Resnick, L.B. & Resnick, D.P. (1992). Assessing the thinking curriculum: New tools for educational reform. In B. Gifford & M. O'Connor (Eds.), Changing Assessments: Alternative Views of Aptitude, Achievement, and Instruction. Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 37-75. Shute, V. J., Hansen, E. G., & Almond, R. G. (2007). An assessment for learning system called ACED: Designing for learning effectiveness and accessibility. (RR-07-26). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. Shute, V.J., Levy, R., Baker, R., Zapata, D., & Beck, J. (2009). Assessment and learning in intelligent educational systems: A peek into the future. In S. D. Craig & D. Dicheva (Eds.), Proceedings of the Artificial Intelligence and Education (AIED 09) Workshop on Intelligent Educational Games (pp. 99 109), Brighton, UK. Sil, A., Shelton, A., Ketelhut, D. J., & Yates, A. (2012). Automatic Grading of Scientific Inquiry. Proceedings of the NAACL HLT 2012 Seventh Workshop on Innovative Use of NLP for Building Educational Applications, Montreal, CA Songer, N. B., Lee, H.S. and McDonald, S. (2003), Research towards an expanded understanding of inquiry science beyond one idealized standard. Science Education, 87, 490 516. Southerland, S. A., Smith, L. K., Sowell, S. P., & Kittleson, J. M. (2007). Resisting unlearning: understanding science education's response to the United States' national accountability movement. Review of Research in Education, 31, 45-77. Steele, M. (2005). Teaching science to middle school students with learning problems. Science Scope 29 (2), 50-51. U.S. Department of Education (2011). NAEP Question tool. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Educ Statistic. Accessed 12-10-11 http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/itmrlsx/search.aspx?subject=science. Wang, H.C., Chang, C.Y., and Li, T.Y. (2008). Assessing Creative Problem-Solving with Automated Text Grading, Computers and Education, 51, 1450-1466.
Interactive Games Environment of the Multimedia Learning Package "A Letter - A Story" 161
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Sophia Madouvalou and Aristarchos Papadaniel 1 Educational RadioTelevision, Greek Ministry of Education, Greece 2 Syllipsis Ltd, Greece Keywords: alphabet literacy animation multi-platform children Abstract: The interactive web-based games learning environment "A Letter - A Story" is part of an innovative multimedia learning package aimed at teaching the Greek alphabet through entertainment. The package is created by the authoreducational technologist Sophia Madouvalou and the director-animator Aristarchos Papadaniel and produced by the Department of Educational RadioTelevision of the Greek Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs. www.i-create.gr The interactive games are based on the multiawarded(*) educational television series "A Letter - A Story" comprising of 24 fiveminute animated surrealistic stories. Each story corresponds to one of the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet. In designing the interactive games, the contemporary trends in emergent literacy and the development of educational objectives outlined by Benjamin Bloom were taken into account. Although the interactive games are targeted at children 5 to 7 years of age; they can also be used by younger children, and can be effectively used in a school class (smart board), a computer lab, and at home (PC, laptop, etc.). The interactive learning environment "A Letter - A Story" is designed to stimulate most of the senses, it supports students active participation and decision-making, gives control to the players, provides opportunities for exploration, reinforces the skills of attention, concentration, seeing, listening, and of course, memory. Through play and active participation, the interactive games aim to reinforce preschool learning skills that lead to progressive written literacy in the first grade, thus meeting educational objectives such as emergent literacy; phonological awareness of the letters; recognition of the written phonetic symbols of the language and their position in words; exposure to the written language; understanding the function of letters in words; listening; and proper production of sounds. The pilot application of the interactive games on letter Alpha is already online for free play at the following site: http://www.i-create.gr/projects/interactive-games The pilot of the interactive learning environment "A Letter - A Story" was presented in the exhibition "Serious Games Showcase & Best Practices" during the 5th European Conference on Games-Based Learning held in Athens in October 2011. 162
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(*)finalist [motion graphics], european design awards 2012 best children film, 2nd corinthian international film festival 2011 (ciff) best animation, 6th cyprus international film festival 2011 (cyiff) distinction (for the episode "the frog violinist"), film festival in drama, 5th digi 2011 2nd award [educational film], 5th athens animfest 2010
The White Card Game playing your way to competency Mark O'Rourke Victoria University, Australia Keywords: immersive; engagement; vocational; agency; games-based Abstract: The White Card Game offers an engaging and entertaining way to deliver safety training for the construction industry. Through a first person perspective the goal of the game is to identify, control and report workplace hazards on a construction site without getting injured or causing the death of workmates. By creating a virtual experience of being on a building site, the game offers real life challenges, problems and risks yet provides a safe place in which to learn and explore. Game implementation has shown enhanced learning and teaching outcomes by aligning gameplay and performance criteria with VET (vocational education and training) learning styles. Students learn through imagining themselves in the roles they are training for, and within the gameplay they practice contextualised tasks that importantly involve learning by making mistakes. This games-based learning approach has high efficiency of knowledge transfer because engaging with the content and being assessed occurs concurrently. Importantly there is no lag time between delivery, assessment and feedback. The game was funded by the Australian National VET E-Learning Strategy and was researched and developed by Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia, Oztron Media and the Serious Games Group (www.seriousgamesgroup.com). The focus for the development of the product was to provide an engaging learning content delivery system for a student cohort that had low levels of English literacy, and came from low SES (socio-economic status) and CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) backgrounds. The White Card certification is mandatory for all workers on construction sites in Australia and much of the student cohort for this qualification have little or no secondary school experience. The benefits of using a games-based learning approach is that most of the text in the simulated construction environment is text that you would be expected to come across in the real world context (and therefore need to understand what it means), and all 163
learning content is conveyed via visuals and sound in an immersive interactive environment. Games-based training has the potential to improve engagement and skill development in Vocational Education and Training. In this research the 3D immersive game environment was developed by aligning performance criteria from the unit CPCCOHS1001A : Work safely in the construction industry with gameplay scenarios. Trials of the White Card Game were undertaken with Certificate 3 in Construction (Carpentry) students who reported a preference for games-based learning compared to traditional delivery methods. Participants also expressed greater understanding for both the learning content and the relevance to vocational outcomes, even by those who had previously undertaken more conventional OHS training. A design based research methodology was utilised, with the aim of the research being an exploration of alternative pedagogical approaches to improve engagement and knowledge transfer. The customisation of the game environment allowed learners to take on workplace identities, and through virtual work-based situations learning was contextualised and expertise developed through cycles of learning and practice (Yelland 2007). Well designed games can cultivate problem solving skills and understanding through the inherent characteristics of gameplay, which include being pleasantly frustrating, offering safe havens to explore and learn, offering contextualised skill development and supplying information ondemand (Gee, 2007). The White Card Game serves as a mechanism for addressing learning outcomes through a competency based assessment framework, emphasising knowledge and skill acquisition in practical situations. The game offers an agent-driven, experiential, process-based learning method, a style of delivery that is particularly suited to VET learners who are: • • • •
more visual than verbal, in that they like to watch and see rather than read and listen; hands-on learners who prefer to learn by doing and by practicing; characterised by socially contextualised learning where they like to learn in groups with other learners; not self-directed learners, but like to have instructor guidance and a clear understanding of what is required of them.
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When learners are required to remember static knowledge that does not support meaningful understanding and where there is no accountability and authority attached to the knowledge acquisition and use, the learning process is undermined (Gresalfi, Martin, Hand, & Greeno, 2008). These characteristics are common features of many VET programs and can impact significantly on retention (Harris, Simons, Symons, & Clayton, 2001). In contrast, the White Card Game is action and goal oriented, and rewards player s agency and problem solving skills. The gameplay in the White Card Game is experiential with players being situated in a space where they have a defined role and their actions affect a specific context. Unlike many pedagogical situations where the trainer is responsible for outlining a context and delivering content that may be relevant at some future time, the White Card Game supplies an actionable context which resonates with and is responsive to the players requirements and goals (Barab, Gresalfi, & IngramGoble, 2010). This context with consequentiality is an experiential consequentiality in pedagogy that is quite different to the arbitrary consequentiality of traditional assessment practices of submitting assignments in exchange for grades. The White Card Game also supplies consequential feedback, which empowers players by allowing them to experience the impact of their in-game decisions, learning through both their successful actions in the game and from making mistakes and failing tasks. The design of the White Card Game game environment includes a focus on how the curriculum can be integrated most effectively so that learning becomes implicit whilst the user plays the game, rather than explicitly emphasising the educational content through the use of text based material that is presented outside the gameplay scenario. The game form is first person shooter style modelled in a simulated work-based environment. The scenario takes place on a multi storey construction worksite where the user plays the role of a new employee. The game goal is to identify hazards and make decisions about who to report the hazard to and what needs to be done to control the hazard on the worksite. The user must report to the supervisor when entering the building site and then remains in contact with him throughout the game via (virtual) mobile phone. The supervisor gives direction and acts as a pedagogical agent guiding the user in their responses. The design and development of the White Card Game was undertaken to offer an alternative pedagogical approach in order to address specific problems with engagement and retention of young student cohorts in the delivery of CPCCOHS1001A : Work safely in the construction industry. This research was undertaken to gauge whether the trials of the game were successful in achieving improved engagement, retention and success. Qualitative data was collected and 165
analysed from students, teachers and developers using a Design Based Research approach in order to gain insight into how, why and whether the innovation was successful in achieving improved learning outcomes. Interviews and observations of students indicated increased student engagement and understanding of the learning content when delivered in a games-based delivery context. Teacher anecdotes of students leaving class during delivery of OHS through conventional modes contrasted significantly with the White Card Game where students stayed after class to continue engaging with the content and trying to improve their game score. Interviews with students also revealed a perception that there were aspects of workplace learning that were more accessible through the virtual scenarios than in real world situations. This is particularly relevant to the content in the White Card Game where it is much better to learn through failure in the virtual world than in real world settings where there is no second chance when suffering injury. The iterative development through the Design Based Research approach resulted in enhancements for user experience thereby improving accessibility for a diverse cohort of learners. This included designing for low digital literacy by offering tutorials to teach the user how to play the game while playing the game. This is achieved by stepping the user through required tasks under the guidance of the supervisor before moving through into the virtual construction site on their own. This also aligns with the real world context, and is supported by WorkSafe Victoria campaigns (2008), by emphasising that workers should not be afraid to ask help from a supervisor if they are unsure of anything in the workplace. Designing for low digital literacy also ensured buy-in from the trades teachers. Observations revealed that the trade teachers were empowered by having a capacity to walk into a classroom of computers, be able to facilitate a computer based activity and still remain the expert. The White Card Game was designed so that interaction was contextually linked with learning goals thereby involving metacognitive processes when engaging with the learning task and content rather than simply focusing on winning. There was evidence of this in interviews with students who commented on the relevance of the game to workplace safety and how they felt they learnt more through the activity focused simulation. In the trials the teacher walked around the class and discussed with the students the decisions they were making as they played the game. Observations showed that the discussion among students, and between students and the teacher while the game was played, were all focused on identifying hazards in the virtual construction site, who the hazards should be reported to and what action is required to control the hazard. This discussion was animated and engaged as the students navigated through the virtual environment, aiming for a high score, earning the maximum possible wage and connect166
ing these parameters with safe behaviour by avoiding negligence in the gameplay decisions. The research provides evidence for new ways to facilitate delivery and assessment of VET through games-based learning. The results indicated enhanced engagement of participants by making them active agents in the design, development and delivery of the learning experience. This was most evident in the game trials where the student engagement with work safety issues was a particular highlight. Workplace safety is one of the most difficult subjects to deliver to students, one teacher reporting that it was not unusual to get students wandering out of the class, or not returning after morning tea break, when work safety was delivered in a more traditional powerpoint presentation style. When the game was delivered there was animated peer to peer interactions and lively discussion with the teacher, students even stayed after the class had finished to improve their game score. The research indicates potential for games-based delivery in VET and through a Design Based Research method formulates an approach that is: attuned to student diversity; enables active and collaborative learning; provides a scaffolded sequence to enhance skill development; and aligns assessments and learning with learning outcomes. Games-based delivery enables learning to be contextualised and expertise to develop through cycles of learning and practice. This active learning, especially effective for learners who are disadvantaged in conventional learning environments (O'Rourke, 2013), improves retention and successful completion of training. This research has shown that games-based delivery can improve students competency through elevated engagement and retention, and thereby reduce occupational risks on building sites and mitigate actions that can place them and other workers at risk. References
Barab, S. A., Gresalfi, M., & Ingram-Goble, A. (2010). Transformational Play : Using Games to Position Person, Content, and Context. Educational Researcher, 39(525). Gee, J. (2007). Good Video Games + Good Learning. New York: Peter Lang. Gresalfi, M., Martin, T., Hand, V., & Greeno, J. G. (2008). Constructing competence: An analysis of students participation in the activity system of mathematics classrooms. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 70, 49-70. Harris, R., Simons, M., Symons, H., & Clayton, B. (2001). Factors that contribute to retention and completion in apprenticeships and traineeships. Australian Apprenticeships: Research Readings. NCVER, 221-237. O'Rourke, M. (2013). Playing for the future: the role of gameplay, narrative and fun in computer games-based training. (PhD), Victoria University, Manuscript submitted for publication.
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Smith, P., & Dalton, J. (2005). Getting to grips with learning styles.: National Centre for Vocational Education Research. WorkSafe Victoria. (2008). Young workers. It doesn't hurt to speak up. Retrieved Feb 12, 2013, from http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/about-worksafe-victoria/campaigns
Ato s Adventure Eeducational Video Game for Graphmotor Learning with a Narrative Content Jos Rafael L pez-Arcos, Ana Abad-Arranz, Francisco Luis Guti rrez and Natalia Padilla-Zea University of Granada, Spain Keywords: storytelling narrative fun graphmotor Abstract: Overview. The educational video game Ato s Adventure (Abad-Arranz 2012) is an iPad application which is in its final stages of development. It is intended for children aged from 3 to 5 and includes graph-motor exercises within a fantastic story that encourages imagination and brings enjoyment to the player. A gameplay of the current version of the game can be seen in: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcOaM7oSSrY (We cannot send an executable file due to the characteristics of the development process). In Ato s Adventure the player accompanies a group of characters through different planets. In this journey, players chase the Space Pirates, who have stolen their toys. The design of the characters featured in the game is geared towards provoking a range of emotions in the player. There are, therefore, good and bad characters and they are intended to cause empathy in children. To accomplish this, each character has a favourite toy, which contributes to the player being able to identify with them, if his favourite toy matches that represented, or simply because the player also has a favourite toy. Meanwhile, the evil characters are the Space Pirates who, although demonstrating inappropriate behaviour, have been given some comic components in order to avoid rejection (Padilla-Zea 2013). The graph-motor learning process is oriented to perform drawing strokes exercises (scribbles, lines, spots, squiggles wavy, undulating lines, open or closed figures...). Each of these strokes is aimed at promoting different motor processes in children. With these activities, which usually result in a set of tabs that the child 168
must make progressively, a not strict learning is looked for, because the child sets the pace in his own evolution. It is very important to highlight the fact that one of the processes that the child acquires at a young age is the ability and desire to play. Because of this, it is interesting to include learning activities in the process of playing so that there is a significant increase of motivation. Therefore, to the intent of developing an educational video game based on the graphomotor, it joined the interest in creating an attractive game for its appearance and its literary and artistic content, wich not bored the child and awake his interest in playing it and completing it. The tablets are appropriate devices for the implementation of this game. On the one hand, to allow adaptation of graph-motor exercises and on the other, they are ideal for the game to be attractive to children, who can learn to use it intuitively. This is because tablets allow us to interact with the application interfaces with the touch of our fingers on interactive elements on the screen. Design and development process The video game's design is based on the proposed model in (Padilla-Zea 2011) which consist of three conceptual models defined for the ludic, educative and narrative component, respectively. It has been used a development based on iterations with increased functionality. From the first version or initialization, we proceed on to analyse the structure, modularity, usability, reliability, efficiency and effectiveness of each iteration before moving to the next. Because our design is focused on the player, each iteration will be tested with a set of users in each increment to fine tune the requirements and ways to play. These tests with users have had their own process of definition through experiences like those described in (Padilla-Zea 2013). Due to those experiences, we obtained a method which allows us evaluate both the video game (running, behavior. working) as the gameplay and the emotions it generates in the player. Trough all the video game development, the next requirement has been defined: •
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The system has to be configurable. All possible setting features can be changed by a menu out the application. This way, children cannot access this area by mistake. This features are: player s name, movement restriction (4 levels of restriction), kind of line (self-adjusting, continuous, discontinuous, with dots or without line), allows backward movements and how many times the exercise 169
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can be repeated (always once, always twice, do not repeat or repeat whether the exercise is realized wrongly in a self-adjusting way). The video game must evaluate through a punctuation of the level of correction during the realization of each exercise. The system is capable of present the option of difficulty self-adjusting according to de player requirements. If the stage or educative task is realized very well according to the evaluating system, the difficulty will increase, in the contrary case, it will decrease. All this in varying degrees The system has to offer to the children s parents or supervisor information about the child s learning process. The final game cannot be monotony or boring. For that reason, it has been included a storyline and a engaging characters.This goal has been taken into account in the evaluations with users measuring their capacity to understand and react to the emotions that the video game provoke. The graphic and the sound aspect must be attractive to help to raise the player motivation. Much of the effort of the game development has been realized to get this goal. Other learnings, not only graph motor, which appears in a natural way inside the game, integrated in the storyline. For example: Identification of attributes and properties in different objects which allows build relationships, symbolize and establish standards for classifying, object order and serialization. The development kit of Apple, Xcode, has been the tool used for the implementation. The programming language, Objective-C, is framed within objectorientated laguages. It was created as a superset of C but it implements a object model similar to Smalltalk. Currently, it is used as the principal programming language of Mac Os X and GNUstep. Now we are working in a new version of the game implemented using CoronaSDK. For its implementation the lua language is used. This development kit offers the possibility of obtain supported applications by iOS and Android.
Strengths An important aspect of this project is the inclusion of a narrative structure that supports the video game and the educational exercises while it generates motivation. As explained in the paper presented at this conference, the different educational objectives of the game are organized in a hierarchical structure as well as recreational activities. With this design of the video game in three structures, it is easier to relate each specific educative task with one or several scenes of the story and with one or several ludic activities. In (Padilla-Zea 2013b) we shows an example of how this model allows an affordable way in organizing the large number of elements found in the three facets of an educational video game. The sample is 170
a small portion of the storyboard that was included in the Game Design Document of "Ato's Adventure." In the table-formed storyboard, each scene of the game has educational content, ludic content and story content. We are including several cinematic scenes in order to strengthen the narrative content. Also, we are performing alternative and optional scenes that will make the story more interactive. Another highlight is the ability of the application to evaluate the player. Thanks to this, the game is able to adapt to the graph-motor capabilities of the player. Each exercise consists of one or several strokes that the player must trace with his finger moving a character or an object. Internally, each trace corresponds to an equation. It is possible, therefore, to calculate the distance from the function of the above equation to any point on the plane. By performing this calculation between the function and each position that is taking the object (ie, the point where the finger of the player is touching) all along the path, it can be taken the average of these distances in order to deduce how well the exercise was performed. There are two aspects that make the game difficulty: The first is the freedom of movement that the player has and is composed of the maximum allowable distance to the line (configurable by the tutor between 'unrestricted', 'slightly restricted', 'moderately restricted 'or' very restricted ') and whether to allow backward movement (the game stops and produces an error sound if these conditions are violated). The second aspect is the type of line (also configurable, but with possibility of self-adaptation). The types of lines, in increasing order of difficulty, are: 1) Continuous line.2) Discontinuous line. 3) Dotted line. 4) No line.
Based on a previous configuration adapted by the supervisor to the child's needs, the system will do (if desired) a second adaptation, this time automatically, depending on the correctness with which you are performing the exercise at all times. In summary, the main contributions of the game are its structure, which integrate narrative, educational and fun components and their ability to evaluate and adapt to the player.
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References
Abad-Arranz, A. L pez-Arcos, J. R.: Desarrollo de un videojuego educativo de apoyo al aprendizaje de la grafomotricidad, "La Aventura de Ato, un viaje a trav s del espacio y el tiempo". Final grade project, University of Granada, January 2012. Padilla Zea, N., L pez Arcos, J. R., Gonz lez S nchez, J. L., Guti rrez Vela, F. L. & Abad Arranz, A. (2013) Evaluating emotions in educational videogames. The particular case of children . Journal of Universal Computer Science (2013) (under review). Padilla-Zea, N.: Metodolog a para el dise o de videojuegos educativos sobre una plataforma para el an lisis del aprendizaje colaborativo, PhD dissertation, University of Granada, 2011. Padilla-Zea, N., Guti rrez Vela, F. L., L pez-Arcos, J. R., Abad-Arranz, A. & Paderewski, P. (2013b) Modelling Storytelling to be used in Educational Videogames . Computers in Human Behaviors. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.04.020
A Game to Train Speech Recognition for Affective Computing Treatments of ADHD Martin Porcheron, Kyle Arch, Steven D. Luland, Peter Blanchfield, Michel F. Valstar and Andry Chowanda School of Computer Science, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom Keywords: Affective computing, ADHD, ADD, Game, Engagement Abstract: Games-based approaches to the treatment of patients diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) are currently being explored, with some work utilising facial expression analysis to determine the emotional state of patients. The use of facial- and even voice-recognition components in games presents a problem, especially for the treatment of ADD and ADHD: the usual standard for training such components requires extended interaction with the system, for example reading large passages of text. These training methods are not generally feasible with patients diagnosed with ADD and ADHD, by the very nature of their disorder. As a prelude to systems that rely on voice- and facial-recognition, we present a game that aims to sustain engagement with the user while simultaneously collecting training data. This work has been conducted with focus on the assumption that proceeding systems perform functions such as emotional therapy and treatment of disorders like ADD and ADHD.
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The game utilises a virtual human opponent to compete against the player in an adversarial manner inspired by the spoof game “Mornington Crescent” from the BBC Radio 4 programme “I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue”. The primary mechanic of our game is traversing a train station map, with the human player nominating target stations viaspeech. The train station map currently implemented is based on the actual London Underground map, providinginstant familiarity of the context and theme of the game to the user. Constrained randomisation of the station names is used to provide a large domain of possible station names, while being aware of the underlying phonemes that are required to pronounce each name. The AI deliberates with this information and prioritises directing the player towards stations with unheard phonemes in most cases to maximise the breadth of the training information gathered. The AI is designed to be challenging enough to make successfully winning a round against the virtual human an accomplishable goal while also not being too easy (and therefore at risk of losing the user’s engagement). The game is implemented as a component of the SEMAINE system, a Sensitive Artificial Listener (SAL) that contains components for analysing the emotional weight of voice- and facial- recognition data. Our game utilises these components and combines it with analytics generated from the game state at each recognition to allow further analysis linking audio samples and likely emotional state of the user. Introduction Both Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are being looked at for treatment using a games-based approach (Carr & Blanchfield 2009, Lis et al. 2013). The former of these papers deliberately looks at the behaviour of players by attempting to analyse their expressions while playing the game. The purpose of this is that through facial expression it is potentially possible to identify the emotional state of the players. As stated by Carr & Blanchfield (2009), when dealing with adolescents and pre-adolescents with ADHD it is vital that the game engages them from the beginning. This can be through the use of an adventure-based story line for example and must use lifelike graphics. Another way to engage players, and one which we adopt here, is to use interaction with lifelike virtual humans that employ speech recognition, social signal processing, and affective computing to interact with the player. One problem that arises when trying to use such games is obtaining adequate recognition rates in, for example, speech and facial expression recognition that are high enough to facilitate smooth gameplay. To attain this, we use an initial 173
training stage that will allow a game to adapt to the individuals involved. In order to train the speech recognition of a system it is necessary for the user to engage with the program and produce a large amount of spoken dialogue, embracing the vocabulary that the game is likely to need to use. Commercial speech recognisers such as Dragon Naturally Speaking™(2012) use the reading of large amounts of text in training. This can be tailored to suit the user but generally is artificial and will lead to a lack of emotion in the training voice used. As pointed out by Carr & Blanchfield (2009) the reading ability of younger people with ADHD is often low and so other means have to be explored to get them to talk. The aim of the current game is to produce an attractive introduction to a larger affective game that will be used in the treatment of ADHD patients. The idea of the game was based on the concept behind the spoof game called “Mornington Crescent”, as played on the BBC Radio 4 programme “I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue”. The original game has no real rules but ostensibly involves travelling around the London Underground from station to station and attempting to either reach Mornington Crescent or get your opponent to be forced to go there first. The challenge for the user playing our game is to beat a computer opponent to a target station. The approach taken by the non-player character (NPC) is to attempt to get the player to visit enough stations so that a large number of phonemes is spoken. At the same time as learning the phonemes the game is also providing challenge and amusement or frustration to the player via audio prompts. Thus it is expected that the phonemes will be spoken in a voice that involves the emotions that will be met in later parts of the game. The name given to the current game is “Swiss Cottage”, after theLondon Underground station, but the names of stations used throughout gameplay are artificially generated. The names are generated from the set of names available on the London Underground though these have initially been analysed for phoneme content so that the player can be made to say as many of the required phonemes as possible. The game makes use of a number of components. The user sits in front of a monitor that displays the virtual human as the opponent and a game board is displayed on a tablet computer placed between the player and the computer monitor. The virtual human introduces the game and allowsthe user to sign on to a session. The game play proceeds as follows: • • • • •
The virtual human announces the game is ready to play An underground map is displayed on the tablet computer The player is instructed to go The player asks to move to a chosen station The game responds: 174
• • •
If the request has been understood and is a legal move the game “train” will move to the chosen station If the request has been understood but is illegal the NPC will refuse the request and ask the player for a new choice If the request is not understood the NPC will request the user to re-enter their choice
The NPC’s turn has been programmed to make moves that will try to win but more importantly try and get the player to have to go somewhere that requires use of previously unused phonemes. The NPC’s response involves audio feedback that is meant to make the character seem like it is making choices in order to increase the reality of the process as an interaction with another human player. IftheplayertakestoolongtomaketheirresponsetheNPCwillinteractinwaysthataredes igned to provoke an emotional response from the user. The game records the user speech recognition data in combination with analytics generated from the game state that should allow the process of treatment and diagnosis to proceed. The speech can be analysed for emotional response as well as for speech recognition. Though not currently implemented in the game, the system could be extended relatively easily to collect visual data that records facial expressions of the player together with dynamic expression data that could be combined with the speech data to allow further understanding of the player’s emotion. Central to the interpretation of the recorded data is the SEMAINE system (Schroder et al. 2012) which is an integrated,autonomous Sensitive Artificial Listener (SAL) that features “multimodal analysis, interpretation and synthesis of emotion-related and nonverbal behaviour in a human-to-computer dialogue setting”. The developed game connects with and utilises many of the SEMAINE components to collect and interpret the player’s emotion and provide the virtual human opponent. Game Development The current version of the game uses a map based on the actual London Underground map to allow the user to immediately find the experience familiar and understandable. Initially it was decided to create the map using a randomly generated game graph that would provide a unique experience each time the game was played. The graph, which would be generated in a mathematical approach, would then be given an attractive and appealing visual identity. This generation of graphs was implemented by making use of an external library (JGraphT 2012) alt175
hough it required extensive configuration to be suitable for graphs in the proposed game. There were a number of constraints on the generated graphs to allow the game to function as intended. The first, hard, constraint was that all vertices in the graph must be connected by two or more edges; a “dead end” would mean the player would be unable to make a move as the game rules prohibit players moving back to the immediately previous station. A second, soft, constraint was that edges should not allow a game to finish too quickly and that starting/destination stations must be sufficiently far away from each other as a game must be long enough to gather useful voice data from the user. Both this soft constraint and the former, hard constraint were implemented to provide entirely randomly generated graphs. The next stage was to be the “decoration” of the graph so that it realistically resembled a tube station map. A specific algorithm for this has not been designed and was expected to be completed with future development. An alternative design implemented in the game involves the allocation of selected station names to a fixed graph adopted directly from the layout of the London Underground but modified for game play requirements; game variation is then achieved by randomising the selection of start and end stations. To generate station names a list of London Underground station names was used as a starting point such that the names would be familiar and thus believable. However, using the unaltered list of stations would limit the number of stations to the 270 that appear in the London Underground network meaning that if the user played two or more games there would be a high chance of them having the same station name more than once. To address this, analysis of the list of station names was performed by breaking down the complete list of station names into three separate lists: • • •
a list of words from existing Underground stations that can be used as the first word in a station name a list of words from existing Underground stations that can be used as the second word in a station name (such as “-on-the-Hill” and “Quay”) a list of Underground station names that can be used, verbatim, without a prefix or suffix (such as “Embankment”).
These three lists are then dynamically combined to produce a theoretical limit of nearly 20,000 station names. At the moment the selection of possible words is mostly random with restrictions in place such that there are no two stations with exactly the same name and, secondly, that no prefix is used more than once in a single game. 176
The final challenge in creating the station name generator was to implement support for the phonemes in the words. To solve this considerable time was devoted working through the three separate word lists and converting all phrases into lists of their constituent phonemes. Speech recognition was initially implemented using an external library called Sphinx-4 (2011) rather than the system used in SEMAINE. The latter system has two modes (a high accuracy slow mode and a low accuracy quick mode), neither of which gave a good play experience. Sphinx-4 required some modification to be suitable for use in the game, however, as its standard dictionaries did not include all the words used in station names in the game. Sphinx-4 was configured such that it did not rely on a language model but instead was given a sequence of words, called a grammar, that the user was expected to say. These words corresponded to neighbouring stations and other phrases around station names (such as “move to”, “go to”, “please” and so on). Integration of the game within the SEMAINE framework required a number of modifications. As already stated a different voice recognition library was used. Other components including rendering and controlling the virtual human as well as the text-to-speech conversion needed for the desired interaction used modifications of the SEMAINE system. The resulting software integrated feedback from the game with the expression information retrieved via the SEMAINE messaging system to create an XML file. SEMAINE already used this approach for communication: the results of user’s emotion analysis components are represented using Emotional MultiModal Annotation (EMMA) markup language (Baggia et al. 2009) and communication to the speech synthesis and virtual human co-ordination components is done using FML-APML (Mancini & Pelachaud 2008), both of which are XML-compliant. The information that the system needed to collect from the game was chosen to be: The performance of the player’s last move, which may give an indication of the player’s overall mood • •
The amount of time the AI takes to respond, because this may be a cause of frustration for the player The amount of time that the player takes to make a move, which could help infer the amount of time the player takes to think
The game as presented works well. Limitations occur with communication in noisy environments but this is not thought to be a problem as the expectation is that it will be used in clinical or otherwise controlled environments. Further work has 177
now begun on continuing stages of the game that will begin to look at aspects of diagnosis and of treatment including potential refinement of the game. Acknowledgements Both Martin Porcheron and Kyle Arch are supported by the Horizon Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Nottingham (RCUK Grant No. EP/G037574/1) and by the RCUK’s Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute (RCUK Grant No. EP/G065802/1). References
Baggia, P., Burnett, D. C., Carter, J., Dahl, D. A., McCobb, G. &Raggett, D. (2009), ‘Emotional Multimodal Annotation markup language’, http://www.w3.org/TR/2009/ REC-emma20090210/. Retrieved on 13th June 2013. Carr, J. & Blanchfield, P. (2009), A game to aid behavioural education, in ‘Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on Game Based Learning’, Academic Conferences Limited, p. 78. Dragon Naturally Speaking™ (2012), http://www.nuance.co.uk/dragon/index.htm. Retrieved on 14th June 2012. JGraphT (2012), http://jgrapht.org/. Retrieved on 13th June 2013. Lis, S., Baer, N., Franzen, N., Hagenhoff, M., Gerlach, M., Koppe, G., Samer, G., Gallhofer, B. & Kirsch, P. (2013), ‘Social Interaction Behavior in ADHD in Adults in a Virtual Trust Game’, Journal of Attention Disorders . Mancini, M. & Pelachaud, C. (2008), ‘The fml-apml language’, Why Conversational Agents do what they do. Functional Representations for Generating Conversational Agent Behavior. AAMAS . Schroder, M., Bevacqua, E., Cowie, R., Eyben, F., Gunes, H., Heylen, D., ter Maat, M., McKeown, G., Pammi, S., Pantic, M. et al. (2012), ‘Building Autonomous Sensitive Artificial Listeners’, Affective Computing, IEEE Transactions on 3(2), 165–183. Sphinx-4 (2011), http://cmusphinx.sourceforge.net/sphinx4/. Retrieved on 10th June 2013. The game requires a moderately complex setup and requires additional peripherals, a more comprehensive video of game play can be found at http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~pxb/SwissCottage720.mov
Dr. Zdravko Dren and his adventures Joe Rugelj, Sandra Vatovec, Pela Ravnik and Luka Jurkovi Institute: Faculty of education, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Keywords: viruses, worms, Trojan horses Abstract: An overview of the game: Our educational game is based on actual challenge which guides us (player/doctor) towards the final goals - finding out what is wrong with our patients and curing them, so we may get parts of the changed password back into our hands. Player is assumed to play the role of a Doctor . He 178
is struggling to find out from patients answers what is wrong with them, and searching for the right medicine which will help them to recover. The main interaction between the doctor and his patients is dialog. Player tries to narrow down the possibilities and find the solution by asking questions and analyzing patients answers. There are three main locations where the player can move around and interact with other characters and items. Everything in the game is hand drawn: locations, characters and miscellaneous items. The draw design is playful, with a bit of fairytailish feel and humour. Possible interactions on scenes are as follows: scene: Doctor s quarters Here we can pick up different medicines (colored and named bottles, injections) and interact with doctor's personal computer (password input). We can also move to waiting room/classroom. scene: Library This is the main place with all the "collected knowledge" in our game. There is a book on the table player can interact with and it holds key information. We can also move to waiting room/classroom. scene: Waiting room/classroom This is the main scene in the game where our patients are located. We can talk with each one of them and try to figure out what is wrong with them. There are different questions on each stage of the dialog and player gets back answers from our patients. She can also apply selected medicine on patients to see if she diagnosed the illness properly. Player can move to doctors quarters and to the library. Positioning of the game in terms of related work, including references and outlining the game s unique educational contribution Environment Game is intended for students from 7th to 9th grade of primary school (age 12 to 14), who want to learn which are the most common Internet threats and also how to protect against them. The application also serves as a support for teachers and it is accessible on the Internet. 179
To play the game students need: • • •
personal computer, internet connection, web link to the game - hrast.pef.uni-lj.si/games.
Learning goals The main topic of the game are the Internet threats called viruses, worms and Trojan horses. We also deal with the differences between them and with the ways how to protect against them. After playing the game a student knows how to: • • •
recognize and differentiate between the most common Internet threats, recognize causes for viruses, worms, Trojan horses, how to protect against them.
Player can find practical as well as theoretical aspects in the game which are based on ongoing examination (setting up and carrying out diagnoses of patients) and finally to achieve the main objective of the game i.e. finding the final passwords. Pedagogical approaches The game is used as a gadget between school lessons, therefore interaction among teacher and student is necessary. Teacher is a leader who encourages students in their work, helps to clarify some uncertainties, and gives further explanations. This game can be also used in other environments, mainly at home, but there won t be any collaboration between students and teachers. Students can play the game in their own pace and choose questions according to their conquered knowledge. In the last lessons, before they can play the game, students learn about the concept of internet threats. Motivational elements Each step of situation is step forward in solving the global problem. Design of the game is attractive to the age of students, as we created it in cartoonish-like style. The actual meaning of life is also presented in game, so the players get a sense of topical situations.
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Design and development process The game was developed in the framework of a project work in a course on use of ICT in education which is a part of a study programme for computer science teachers at the faculty of Education. First of all we joined together in a group and chose the main theme for the project. Each of us has proposed some ideas that, at the end, formed the whole game. After choosing the theme we started writing our specification. Here we defined and worked on the theme and game in whole. We ve set the learning objectives and content. Next step to our goal was to get familiar with the development environment - Eadventure. More specifically, we explored what it allows us to do and which ideas we could use in it. We also found out what we needed to change a little bit our basic project idea . We started to constitute a scenario that is based on all findings that we get about the program. When the scenario was written, we started designing all that we needed in our game. First, we drew the scenes. To draw all the scenes - ordination, waiting room and a library, we used the Illustrator program. At that point only the main characters were missing in the game. First we draw our heroes by hand on a sheet of paper, then we re-draw them by using Illustrator. This was done in such a way that we scanned the drawings first and then added them to Illustrator and through the use of multiple layers, we re-drew them. When we have finished re-drawing, we were prepared to create our game! We started with intro animation, which helps to attract students to the game. In this case we used program Adobe Flash, which was presented by our mentor. After some hours of work we achieved goals we have set up and at the and exported this file as .avi format. So there remained only the final step in our project. We had to put everything we worked on together. Working with E-adventure took quite some time and we had to work out some problems as we progressed. We ve put all characters, items and scenes into E-adventure project. We had to write all of the dialogs between characters and connect them in the right way. Final step was to try out as many actions as we could and set conditional flags to limit some actions and possibilities. 181
After a few days we managed to finish everything and get our game up and running. References
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2004/virus.asp (accessed 5.4.2012) http://support.microsoft.com/kb/129972/sl (accessed 5.4.2012) Slides from lectures and laboratory exercises http://e adventure.e ucm.es/tutorial/files_EN/eAdventure v1.3RC 2 User_s guide en_EN.pdf (accessed 15.5.2012)
Knowledge Porridge: A Commercial Game Framework to Accommodate Varied Curriculum Content Andy Sandham NHTV University of applied sciences, Netherlands Keywords: Educational game mechanics, curriculum, scaffold Abstract: Should Edugames be bespoke, i.e. the game designed around the specific educational goals, or is there an argument that a framework of recognised commercial game mechanics can act as a scaffold into which course content and learning objectives can be inserted? through the filter of commercial game and Gamification mechanisms isolated from the authors twenty years commercial game design development, an Edugame solution is sought that provides measurable learning outcomes across a variety of curriculum topics, while being directly targeting multiplayer social game mechanisms that allow the edugame to be played both within the class under teacher supervision, but also promotes play beyond the classroom in the students own free time. Design: ‘Knowledge porridge’ Learning objectives The objective in this case is knowledge. The learning objectives will be modular – i.e. the game framework should support learning goals which can be ‘slotted in’ dependent on curriculum, whether this be external links to a digital multiple choice, or a simple text screen describing an in class activity. This is explained further in the proposed design. Game objectives and Primary featured Mechanisms A game outline is provided below, and a playable prototype available from links within Appendix A. The game design is provided as a shell example in which to house the discussed mechanics within the section nine evaluation, and provide a ‘solution’ as per the constructive methodology; any additional functionality has 182
been added in an attempt to create the basics of a functioning digital classroom learning tool. Please note for clarity in this section, the mechanics isolated by the research have been highlighted in bold type. This game is proposed as a persistent, online multiplayer game – accessible by students at all times. This allows elements to be scheduled in class time by the supervisor, while other secondary goals promoted through the suggested mechanics aim to motivate students to pursue learning outside of the classroom. ‘One day all the letters fell off all the pages in all the world… you are a bookworm. Digest the knowledge porridge to absorb information and place it back on the bookshelves’ this simple storyline aims to provide a clear, single sentence goal there to provide the storyline motivation suggested by research, while avoiding confusion between curriculum goals and the ‘plot’.
Figure 1: ‘Knowledge Porridge’- Library (left) and Bookcase/puzzle game area (right - in game and editor version) The game is structured in two ‘zones’: library and bookcase – the library contains the exploration aspect, and the bookcase the ‘challenge’ aspect. Both contain the ‘knowledge porridge’ or swamp of information that the players must absorb to learn the knowledge-- although this is only ‘playable’ in the form of a puzzle within the bookcase zone. Readability is not compromised within these sections, as they contain the same graphical elements – the bookcase zone is in effect a micro version of the macro Library zone. The bookcase zone puzzle has a set of simple rules; a team of four students is assigned, each with their own virtual bookworm (Fig 22) - blue, yellow, 183
red and green, assigned one side of the bookcase each, and starting in each corner.
Figure 2: Knowledge porridge – customisable bookworm Each bookworm has a set of 3 moves within the grid , in which they are able to ‘eat’ their way toward the central bookcase to deposit this ‘knowledge’ back onto the shelves, before it is the turn of the next student. All four ‘worms’ must be in a square adjacent to the bookcase at the same time for the team to win. The challenge aspect in this case, is that the porridge is littered with solid, static ‘unporridgy’ books, in the same four colours as the bookworms, creating a maze that blocks the direct route to the bookcase. The trick? Only the bookworm of a particular colour is able to digest the book of that colour, i.e. only the blue worm is able to eat the blue book. This promotes teamwork, but more importantly, promotes learning: The core learning elements is, each time a bookworm chooses to ‘eat’ a book, the team must complete a learning activity, either digital or real-world, before that book is digested; If the team fails, they are allowed another attempt after a ‘cooldown’ period – although not exactly rapid respawn, this aims to remove the stigma of failure by allowing immediate access to, and encouraging them to attempt, another route. With the entire map visible at any one time (similar to Scriptman), the killer type player is able to formulate a direct route to the bookcase. The explorer player type, on the other hand, will have noticed the books with ‘stars’ hovering above them. These are side missions or multiple quests that reward extra points and promote collecting, but cost extra exploration time – although conflict can be avoided between Bartle types by allowing this ‘extra learning’ to be collected by leaving the map accessible after the main objective (reach the bookcase) has been completed. 184
The library zone contains displays each team bookcase, with their team name (‘ownership’) displayed above it. The bookcase fill up as the books are collected and joint learning tasks solved within the bookcase zone – working as a form of visible progression and checkpointing, while promoting exploration within a safe environment, the students encouraged to explore their fellow teams bookcases for completion – encouraging healthy interteam competition, whilst still working toward the class goal of completing the library. The game is designed with a clear visual objective to be reached each week (within the bookcase section), until the next week when a new layer of ‘knowledge porridge’ is revealed. By the end of the course, the bottom of the ‘porridge’ would be reached, and the library fully restocked with knowledge – providing an achievable class goal, with content chosen by the supervisor.
Lost in Space : A puzzle game to teach XML Angel Serrano-Laguna and Baltasar Fern ndez-Manj n Institute: Complutense University of Madrid, Spain Keywords: XML, puzzle About the game The game Lost in Space is a puzzle game, in which students must introduce instructional XML documents to guide a space ship to the end of the level. It was designed and implemented to teach XML markup language fundamentals to Computer Science students. It was developed with HTML5 and Javascript, and can be played in http://glas.e-ucm.es/xml/index.html. Game design The engine architecture is built upon a game model that defines the main high level features for our the game: • • •
Students must create programs to advance in the game, following a learningby-doing approach. The game relies in a turn-based strategy and do not require a fast reaction, allowing students to think out a good solution. The game is structured in levels, enabling incremental introduction of new concepts as the student becomes more skilled, facilitating a balanced level of challenge that keeps the student engaged and prevents frustration. •
A clear goal is set up for each level. 185
Engine architecture Figure 1 shows the main components of the architecture: •
• •
•
Game core: The game core provides basic functionality for the game. It includes, among other components, a system of game rules, a physics engine and a rendering engine. Set of actions and structures: This component contains the set of finite actions and control structures that players can use within the game. Interpreter: The interpreter translates the programming code introduced by the students into game actions and structures, making the programming language to interact with the game exchangeable. For every new language that needs to be introduced, it is required to create a new interpreter able to translate it. For this instance of the game, we choose XML. Levels: Every level is composed of logic blocks. Every block has its own logic and behavior within the game (defined in the game core). To make them extensible, levels are defined apart, in a format understandable by the game engine. Levels can be created or adapted to meet any specific needs and to adjust the duration of the game.
Figure 1: Engine architecture outline. The set of actions and structures available is directly related to the power-ups unlocked in the game levels. An interpreter translates the programs to the set of actions and structures. 186
The game The game screen is divided in two parts. The left side contains two elements: the code interpreter text area (bottom), where players must introduce their code snippets; and a help window (top) where syntax clues about the unlocked powers collected are shown.
Figure 2: Game screen capture The right side shows the current level. The goal for each level is simple: drive the player’s spaceship to the current level exit (a wormhole), eluding any obstacles that may be laid out between them. These include spaceships that can be allied (the player can write instructions to control them) or enemies (their behavior cannot be controlled), obstacles (rocks and walls), safe zones (where the player cannot be hit by enemy fire) and triggers, which release actions in the game (e.g. movement of obstacles, shooting, etc.). If the player's spaceship is hit by a shot or collides with an obstacle or another ship, it is destroyed and the level starts again. To complete the levels, the player counts with several atomic operations. These operations affect the main ship and the allied ships, and are unlocked in the course of the game. In the last level the player can use a total of 5 instructions: move, rotate, shoot, wait and disappear (to avoid collisions). The game flow goes as follows: the player writes a program and submits it. The code is analyzed and interpreted by the game. If the syntax is correct, it generates a set of actions that are executed in the game. Otherwise it reports the error back to the player. As the player advances in the game, power-ups are unlocked, ap187
pearing on the top left side of the screen. The game has thirteen levels, and its estimated completion time is 50-60 minutes. Related work Game technology has been long used to support learning programming. One of the preferred approaches is to use activities related to game design and development. Students create simple program snippets that control characters and objects in a game environment, usually through a visual or simplified programming language. The visual condition of the results obtained facilitates getting students rapidly engaged in programming. Multiple tools have been developed around this paradigm, like GameMaker (Robertson & Good, 2005), Alice (Rais, Sulaiman, & Syed-Mohamad, 2011), Microsoft’s Kodu (MacLaurin, 2011) or Scratch (Resnick et al., 2009). The literature is full of experiences where this paradigm has been successfully applied. For example, De Kereki (De Kereki, 2008) reports effective use of Scratch as a motivational tool in an introductory programming course. In other example, Chen and Cheng (Chen & Cheng, 2007) use videogame development as the core activity of their programming introduction course. Other studies have explored the activity of playing digital games in programming courses. Our approach is similar to those. In many of these games students do not write programs, using the videogames as mere containers of theoretical contents about programming, and as a means to increase students’ motivation. However, the lack of active programming is a limitation of the approach, since it is an essential activity to learn programming. For example, in (Chang, 2010) authors report the use of a role-playing game where quests are directly related to programming concepts. In a similar approach, the use of a game environment provided a significant increase of student motivation towards the subject (Sancho, Torrente, & Fernández-Manjón, 2009) and student performance. In (Mitamura, Suzuki, & Oohori, 2012) authors propose two mini-games: a typing game and a fill-in-the-blank game to practice Java syntax, aiming to improve players' basic Java skills. In (Ibrahim, Semarak, Lumpur, & Jaafar, 2010) a game is used to teach C with crosswords puzzles and duck shot games and in (Hamid & Fung, 2007) a game is used to teach C++ concepts. There are also educational games where students need to write little programs to move on in the game or achieve a specific goal. In (Masso & Grace, 2011) authors present an augmented reality game that uses cards as instructions to create shapes. In this game, players must combine several cards that represent basic instructions to create a target shape using augmented reality. In (Paliokas, Arapidis, & Mpimpitsos, 2011) authors present a 3D game where players' avatars are controlled using a subset of the Logo instructional language. Similarly, one of the 188
mini-games proposed in (Mitamura et al., 2012) invites players to introduce commands to guide the main character to a target point using a simple programming language. A hybrid approach is described in (Jiau, Chen, & Ssu, 2009), where students are asked to program an algorithm in order to beat a game-based challenge. The game runs this algorithm and gives the student a final score, based on the algorithm effectiveness. The main drawback of these approaches is that the games developed are hard to reuse and to scale. Most of them cover specific languages and specific programming concepts, and makes it difficult to adapt them to cover new concepts or new programming languages to fit other target audiences. References
Chang, M. (2010). Web-Based Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MORPG) for Assessing Students’ Java Programming Knowledge and Skills. 2010 Third IEEE International Conference on Digital Game and Intelligent Toy Enhanced Learning (pp. 103–107). IEEE. doi:10.1109/DIGITEL.2010.20 Chen, W.-K., & Cheng, Y. C. (2007). Teaching Object-Oriented Programming Laboratory With Computer Game Programming. IEEE Transactions on Education, 50(3), 197–203. doi:10.1109/TE.2007.900026 De Kereki, I. F. (2008). Scratch: Applications in Computer Science 1. 2008 38th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference (pp. T3B–7–T3B–11). IEEE. doi:10.1109/FIE.2008.4720267 Hamid, S. H. A., & Fung, L. Y. (2007). Learn Programming by Using Mobile Edutainment Game Approach. 2007 First IEEE International Workshop on Digital Game and Intelligent Toy Enhanced Learning (DIGITEL’07) (pp. 170–172). IEEE. doi:10.1109/DIGITEL.2007.31 Ibrahim, R., Semarak, J., Lumpur, K., & Jaafar, A. (2010). Using educational games in learning introductory programming: A pilot study on students’ perceptions. 2010 International Symposium on Information Technology (pp. 1–5). IEEE. doi:10.1109/ITSIM.2010.5561414 Jiau, H. C., Chen, J. C., & Ssu, K.-F. (2009). Enhancing Self-Motivation in Learning Programming Using Game-Based Simulation and Metrics. IEEE Transactions on Education, 52(4), 555–562. doi:10.1109/TE.2008.2010983 MacLaurin, M. B. (2011). The design of kodu: a tiny visual programming language for children on the Xbox 360. ACM Sigplan Notices, 46(1), 241–245. doi:10.1145/1926385.1926413 Masso, N., & Grace, L. (2011). Shapemaker: A game-based introduction to programming. 2011 16th International Conference on Computer Games (CGAMES) (pp. 168–171). IEEE. doi:10.1109/CGAMES.2011.6000334 Mitamura, T., Suzuki, Y., & Oohori, T. (2012). Serious games for learning programming languages. 2012 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC) (pp. 1812–1817). IEEE. doi:10.1109/ICSMC.2012.6378001 Paliokas, I., Arapidis, C., & Mpimpitsos, M. (2011). PlayLOGO 3D: A 3D Interactive Video Game for Early Programming Education: Let LOGO Be a Game. 2011 Third International
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Conference on Games and Virtual Worlds for Serious Applications (pp. 24–31). IEEE. doi:10.1109/VS-GAMES.2011.10 Rais, A. E., Sulaiman, S., & Syed-Mohamad, S. M. (2011). Game-based approach and its feasibility to support the learning of object-oriented concepts and programming. 2011 Malaysian Conference in Software Engineering (pp. 307–312). IEEE. doi:10.1109/MySEC.2011.6140689 Resnick, M., Maloney, J., Monroy-Hernández, A., Rusk, N., Eastmond, E., Brennan, K., Millner, A., et al. (2009). Scratch : Programming for all. Communications of the ACM, 52(11), 60–67. doi:10.1145/1592761.1592779 Robertson, J., & Good, J. (2005). Story creation in virtual game worlds. Communications of the ACM, 48(1), 61–65. Sancho, P., Torrente, J., & Fernández-Manjón, B. (2009). Do Multi-User Virtual Environments Really Enhance Student’s Motivation in Engineering Education? San Antonio, TX, USA: IEEE digital library.
cMinds: Programming Games towards Building Analytical Thinking Skills in Primary Education 1
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Hariklia Tsalapatas , Olivier Heidmann , Rene Alimisi , Elias Houstis 1 University of Thessaly, Greece 2 Institute for Research and Technology Thessaly, Greece Keywords: programming, logical thinking, school education
Abstract: Analytical thinking is a transversal learning skill that helps young learners excel in subject areas across the curriculum. The ability to synthesize a solution to a problem, as opposed to memorizing it, is applicable in themes ranging from mathematics, science, and technology to critical ready, liberal arts, and culture. Despite the broad recognition of analytical thinking as a transversal learning skill that contributes to knowledge scaffolding independently of domain there is a lack of tools, especially in digital form, that can contribute to the development of critical capacity among learners in the context of school activities and beyond. The cMinds project introduces a serious game that applies programming concepts towards the development of analytical thinking capacity among primary school learners. The structured nature of programming and its inherent universal logic makes it a viable tool towards the development of problem solving skills. cMinds does not aim to teach programming. Rather it aims to apply algorithmic thinking towards developing skills on deconstructing a given problem, analyzing viable implementations, synthesizing a precise solution, and explaining the solution to others. Towards this end, cMinds is based on visual programming in which programming language syntax is all but replaced by graphical representations of commands and structures aiming to help learners focus on the logic of a problem. 190
The cMinds game consists of several activity zones: The Tutorial Area, in which learners develop an understanding of programming constructs such as serial commands, loops, and condititionals through simple programming exercises. Once learners have understood how to use programming constructs they are called to apply them towards the solution of logical puzzles. The Hands-on Area, in which learners are encouraged to build basic intuition on potential solutions to a given puzzle in a semi-structured exploration environment. Once they have developed a basic understanding on a desirable solution, learners are asked to instruct someone else, specifically a computer, how to solve a problem by dragging and dropping visual commands from a command tool set to a visual programming zone. The learners can see the results of their efforts through an animated visualization that demonstrates the effects of the execution of their visual program. Finally, learners can compare their solution to an optimal one pre-programmed in the application. 7 logical puzzles are available with 5 difficulty levels each. The expose learners to pattern matching, categorizing, mathematical activities, logical problems such as the classic puzzle of safe river crossing by a wolf, a sheep, and a cabbage, and divide-and-conquer algorithms. The cMinds project portal is at the address http://cminds.org . The tool is publicly available at
http://cminds.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=106 . How-to videos on the use of the tool are available at http://cminds.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid=65 . Learning sheets for teacher support are available at http://cminds.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=128&Itemid=121 .
The Design and Development of the Math Game Zeldenrust Herre Van Oostendorp 191
Utrecht University, The Netherlands Abstract: We describe the math game Zeldenrust focused on proportional reasoning. The game connects well with recent ideas about the integration of learning content and game mechanics and combining different types of instructional support. Moreover, the technical structure allows multiple versions with different combinations of instructional support and flexibility in changing game functionality, textual information and settings. Introduction Reviews have shown that computer games in mathematics are moderately more effective than traditional instruction methods (d = .17, k = 16)(Wouters et al., 2013). The introduction of instructional support such as feedback further increases the effectiveness (d = .40, k = 11). We have proposed that it is paramount that instructional support addresses relevant cognitive processes and that we should implement smart combinations of instructional support in serious games (cf. Wouters & van Oostendorp, 2013). In addition, research has shown that integration of content and game mechanics is an important determinant for effective serious games in the domain of arithmetic (Habgood & Ainsworth, 2011, see also Holbert & Wilensky, 2012 for a more comprehensive view on integration). These empirical findings challenged us to develop a math serious game which: (1) integrates content and game mechanics, (2) allows effective combinations of different types of instructional support (3) do this without harming the motivational appeal of games. The project involves three universities (Utrecht University, University of Twente, Leuven University) and a game development company (Ludomotion). In this international collaboration project financed by NWO and FWO, Utrecht examines the role of curiosity, Twente the role of reflection and Leuven the integration principle using the same base game The design and development process The design process involved two main steps. First, we defined technical demands. The most important demands comprised that (a) the game could be played online and stand-alone and could be played on PC’s available on schools; (b) variable information (e.g., texts) could be easily changed; (c) modularity in the sense that game functionality could be easily modified, deleted or added; (d) multiple versions (with different combinations of instructional support) could be implemented; (e) all actions of the game players were logged and (f) a save/reload possibility. Based on these demands Flash Develop/ActionScript with a MySQL database connection was chosen from three technologies (the other two were HTML5/Java and GameMaker). In addition, an object-oriented/component-based paradigm 192
was chosen. The technical structure is shown in Figure 1. In order to accommodate the required flexibility all variable information such as assignments, feedback, parameters, introduction texts etc were described in xml files that can be easily modified. The modularity demand was met by dividing the game in a base game and several subgames. With the object-oriented/component-based paradigm that was chosen, it is relatively easily to modify, delete or add new subgames. Second, we analyzed existing math computer games on dimensions such as the level of integration, the type of feedback, the context, visual design etc. In addition, we defined game categories (action games, RPG games etc.) and their affordances with respect to the domain of math. Based on these analyses, six game concepts were described and discussed. The two most promising concepts were further elaborated. Finally, we choose a combination of a RPG and simulation game as a game genre. The chosen concept, the player works in a hotel and earns money for a holiday by engaging in realistic tasks, was elaborated in a Game Design Document. assignments.xml base game.swf tutorials.swf
subgame
subgame
subgame
parameters.xml introduction.xml destinations.xml feedback.xml levels.xml
database
Figure 1: Technical structure of the math game The development of the game involved an iteration process with three milestones: (1) a prototype focusing on visual design and showing how students could act in the game, (2) a base version and (3) a revised base version. Each milestone was followed by an evaluation. The prototype was discussed with small focus groups consisting of teachers, students (14-15 years, vocational education) and researchers. The base version was tested in a pilot study. Based on the results the base version was revised. Often in educational research requirements initially are described on a rather abstract and conceptual level. Only when it is worked out the consequences become clear or we see the practical problems related to the 193
conceptual design. Therefore, the iteration approach was chosen to allow modifications in the concept and specifications of the game. The game The domain and context Proportional reasoning was chosen as domain because of the curricular relevance and the contextual application possibilities. In the game (which is called Zeldenrust) the student has a summer job in a hotel. By doing different tasks s/he can earn money that can be used to select a holiday destination during the game: the more money s/he earns, the further s/he can travel. At the moment there are three tasks (or subgames): • • •
(a) refilling refrigerators addressing missing value problems (b) selecting smoothies that meet the desire of a customer addressing comparison problems (c) making smoothies based on a recipe addressing transformation problems.
As mentioned before, the game comprises a base game and several subgames. The base game is the structure from which the subgames can be started. It allows the player to select an avatar, it presents the context of the game in a sort of animation and features the “Student room” from which the student can control the game (e.g., for example by selecting a specific subgame or by clicking the map in order to select a holiday destination, see Figure 2, left picture). Each task is implemented as a subgame and can be played on four levels ranging from easy to difficult. Each task (on each level) consists of 4 assignments. The structure of these assignments is the same, but the numbers vary. For example, in Figure 2 (right) the assignment on the blackboard asks the student to refill a refrigerator in such a way that the ratio between cola and fanta is 4 to 8. In the next assignment this ratio can be 16 cola and 4 fanta etc.
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Figure 2: The base game (left). The subgames are represented as paintings on the back wall. By clicking on the map the student can enlarge it and select a destination. The picture on the right is a subgame sample in which the student has to refill a refrigerator. Subgames Although the subgames cover different types of problems in proportional reasoning, they have several common elements. The blackboard contains the actual assignment. For example, in the refrigerator subgame (see Figure 2, the right picture) the assignment is to ensure that the ratio between cola and fanta is 4 to 8 taking into account the bottles that are already in the refrigerator (in this case 16 bottles fanta) The actions of the student are based on the drag-an-drop principle. In the aforementioned assignment of the refrigerator subgame the student has to drag the correct number of bottles to the refrigerator. At the left (see Figure 2, the right picture) there is a “geldmeter” (money meter) which visualizes the amount of money that the player will receive after an assignment. The money meter also shows the (accumulated) amounted of money that the student has 195
earned. At the upper right the KLAAR! Button (ready button) can be used to ask the game whether the answer was correct or not. With the ? button the student can activate the tutorial. At the right bottom the Rekenmachine button (Calculator) can be used to make calculations. Integration Integration is accomplished in two ways. First, the tasks involved in the game are directly related to proportional reasoning (e.g., mixing two drinks to make a cocktail according to a particular ratio really involves proportional reasoning skills). Second, mental operations with respect to proportional reasoning are connected with the game mechanics (e.g., in order to get the correct amount of bottles in the refrigerator the player has to drag-and-drop the correct number of bottles in the refrigerator). Feedback The subgames have two feedback mechanisms. First, correct and incorrect actions of the player are directly reflected in the “geld meter” (money meter). For example, when the players performs the assignment well the geld meter increases and becomes greener (and the sound of a cash register is heard), but when the player breaks a bottle or uses the calculator the geld meter decreases and becomes redder. After finishing an assignment the amount of the money meter is added to the amount of money that the player already has earned. This accumulated money, shown in a text box above the money meter, reflects the overall performance of the player in the game. The second feedback mechanism comprises the verbal comment of the hotel manager on the performance (e.g. when the players fail to drag the correct number of cola bottles to the refrigerator, the manager will appear and ask “Are you sure that the number of cola bottles is correct?”). Implementation of instructional support The base version of the game includes integration and feedback. Extended versions also incorporate other types of instruction in order to facilitate specific cognitive processes. At the moment extended versions with situations that stimulate curiosity and reflection are available. For example, in the extended version with curiosity the student is triggered to engage in (cognitive) explorative behavior (the package with bottles does not reveal a number, but a question mark, see Figure 3). The assumption is that this causes a cognitive conflict which will yield cognitive explorative behavior.
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Figure 3: Curiosity Discussion The game Zeldenrust described in this paper is innovative in two ways. First, it connects well with recent developments in serious games research such as the role of integration and the balanced combination of different types of instructional support. From a practical point of view the game structure has some highly valuable features such as the possibility to create different versions with different types of instructional support and an accessible and easy way to change (textual) information or settings. The effectiveness of the math game in terms of learning and motivation is currently tested. Acknowledgement This research is funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (project Number No. 411-10-902). References
Habgood, M. P. J., & Ainsworth, S. E. (2011). Motivating children to learn effectively: Exploring the value of intrinsic integration in educational games. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 20, 169-206. Holbert, N., & Wilensky, U. (2012). Representational congruence: Connecting video game experiences to the design and use of formal representations. In Proceedings of Constructionism 2012. Athens, Greece. Wouters, P.J.M., Nimwegen, C. van, Oostendorp, H. van, & Spek, E.D. van der (2013). A meta-analysis of the cognitive and motivational effects of serious games. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, 249-265. Wouters, P.J.M, & Oostendorp, H. van (2013). A meta-analytic review of the role of instructional support in game-based learning. Computers & Education, 60, 412-425.
A demo can be found at: http://www.projects.science.uu.nl/mathgame/demo_zeldenrust.swf.html (PS downloading the file may take some time) 197
JuraShooter StGB: On the Hunt for the cat King Mobile Drill & Exercise With fun Appeal 1
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Raban von Buttlar , Heinrich Söbke , Jessica Große-Wortmann , Danny 4 Pannicke 1 Lernfreak GbR, Berlin, Germany 2 Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Faculty of Civil Engineering, InnoProfile: Intelligentes Lernen (Intelligent Learning), Weimar, Germany 3 Universität Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany 4 Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany Keywords: educational game, mobile gaming, casual gaming, law, graduate education Abstract: JuraShooter StGB (“Jagd nach dem Katzenkönig”) is an iOS based game for graduate law education. It uses drill & exercise game mechanics. Supported by appropriate sound and graphics it fosters engagement among players. Currently holding only content related to the field of German criminal law the game is designed to host additional content. Also the game can be extended to support further knowledge domains. This would require exchanging sound, graphics and the narrative. The game stems from an extra-university context: its production was financed by venture capital, currently it is sold on the iTunes App Store. The game’s efficacy can be derived from observed high scores which indicate mastered content and informal and formal feedback. This game’s unique pedagogical contribution is the support of mobile and casual game play in the field of graduate law education - including the possibility to extend it to other domains. Game JuraShooter StGB is a drill & exercise game for iOS based handheld devices used to train legal definitions as they are relevant for passing examinations. Embedded in a narrative context the game uses repetition as a main game mechanic: The player has to answer questions: each answer consists of multiple parts. Figures holding a label appear and disappear at a number of predefined spots in the game’s world randomly; the player has to identify the labels with valid parts of the answer by tapping them. He has to avoid those with false answer parts. The faster the correct labels are tapped the more points the player gets as a reward. Depending on the question the sequence of the answers matters also – tapping the labels in the right order then increases the reward further. Questions are organized in packages and within each package in levels. Choosing a wrong answer 198
costs the player one life and points, after the third erroneous choice the level is over – it has to be started again. The player can use altogether three wildcards during a level: Such a joker discloses the complete answer to a question to the player. Competition is caused by package related high scores in two ways: First the player competes with his previous results and second he tries to outperform the results of the other players. Already these few simple elements describe the complete game mechanics. They are supported by comic-style graphics and sound effects plus comments given by the German dubbing voice of George Clooney. There have not done any studies yet about the efficacy of this game. Effects can be measured indirectly by interpretation of high scores which are collected in a central leader board: for current leader board entries it is necessary to tap each label at its first occurrence. This requires the player having the correct answers already in mind when a question is issued – an indicator for the player’s mastery of the content. Additionally the positive impact of the game is indicated by informal feedback and by positive reviews in the iTunes App Store. Design process The law discipline requires students to learn a lot of abstract definitions. These definitions are mission critical when it comes to passing examinations. During the preparation for an examination one of the authors had an aha experience after using the online educational game “Grundrechte Jogging” (lpb 2003) : With the help of this game he accomplished his learning goals astonishingly easy and effortless. This insight was the origin of the desire to introduce more diversification into the learning process of law students by means of a game: The challenge was the design of an appealing digital educational game to teach law definitions in a motivating manner (Buttlar et al. 2012). The theoretical background for the design of this game is given by Meier & Seufert (2003). The first step was to define a frame story and the rules of the game: As a narrative context the bizarre legal case of the Katzenkönig (“cat king”) was chosen – a well known court decision, often used in German law education (Pötters 2009). The narrative context is presented to the player by an introductory audio-visual sequence. As a second design characteristic tension shaping elements have to be introduced: This game makes use of competition: competition with previous results and with other players. Another important part of the design is the pedagogical concept: here an instructional approach towards learning is used. This seemed to be appropriate considering the target of memorization merely dry and prosaic facts.
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Packages are subdivided into levels: A level consists of up to 15 questions concerning a certain topic and can be completed in about five minutes. Since the base game mechanic is not restricted to content of a certain discipline, extensibility was a technical design goal: adding new content should be possible without any program change whenever the content has been defined. There are two levels of content extension. The first level is to add packages of questions. The second level is the creation of an own application (customized release) with a different theme (graphics, sound effects and questions). For both possibilities a web based editor should allow a convenient addition of content. Graphics and sound effects are related to the narrative context and comic style aligned. This should emphasize the own virtual world of the game – opposed to its real world connected content. A virtual world impression is further created by the voice of a famous movie actor. This voice gives feedback and support. Development process The first version of the game was realized as a prototype for handheld devices in HTML5. Then the Apple iPad was selected as a target platform to benefit from the already available distribution infrastructure. The technical base for this version is the open source cocos2d game engine. Subsequently versions for iPod touch and iPhone were released – there was the need for adjustments because of a smaller display size. Additionally the app itself underwent some advancements. The extensibility of the game is ensured by a server based content management system (CMS), which has been developed using PHP and MySQL. The CMS allows providing new packages of questions, level, styles in terms of graphics and sound effects, and new customized releases of the game. For the content a two staged model is applied: first the content is delivered to test devices and thereafter it can be released for general availability. Balancing the game was one of the challenging tasks in the development stage. Altered parameters have been the number of jokers, the time span an answer is displayed, the ratio of wrong and correct answers, the decrease of achievable points depending on advancing time etc. In the development process up to 15 persons were involved. Learnfreak GbR is a small company specially founded for realization of this game. Apart from this initiating partner a developer company and persons in charge of animations, music and sound effects and test were needed – not to forget the speaker. The development process itself was a learning experience: the introduction of project management tools in later project phases improved the communication between partners a lot. Also there has been made learning progress with the release process for iTunes App Store. 200
Content creation as well was not a trivial task: the content consists of legal definitions which normally do not exist in a pure form but they have to be extracted from the wording of a law. To ensure the correctness of the definitions an experienced lawyer was in charge of content creation. Game context The domain of JuraShooter StGB’s is German criminal law. So the purpose of this educational game is very specialized. Two other important characteristics of JuraShooter StGB are its target group of graduates and its technical manifestation as a mobile device game. Predominant on this market are textual flashcard applications for smart phones. Examples are lernapp - BGB AT (Cogito 2010), Spiel der Juristen (Zimmermann 2011) and NomosApp (Perdoctum 2012) for iOS devices, for the Android segment Niederle Media (Vela 2011) and for Java equipped phones JuraQuiz (EBugz 2009). The above game related applications are mostly quiz based and train more basic knowledge with the target of memorization. Besides them there is digital media with learning objectives of higher cognitive levels, e.g. application of knowledge (Anderson & Krathwohl 2001). Econtrario is a web based learning platform for law students: In addition to quizzes it offers the opportunity to discuss questions with fellow students – so it works as a community enhancing tool (Leupold 2012). The already mentioned Grundrechte Jogging is a multimedia presentation of a distinct knowledge branch in the law domain (Constitutional Law) – the author’s sudden insight with this game can be taken as a hint that multimedia is able to create learning experiences (lpb 2003). Almost the same approach and the identical knowledge branch is pursued by storytelling games like Do I have a right? (Filament 2009) which require the application of knowledge. Compared to the related work above JuraShooter StGB presents the learning content of flashcard apps with the characteristics of a game. So the unique educational contribution of this game has multiple faces: It teaches abstract and dry 1 knowledge causing fun and tension where common flashcard apps show the trait of being work. This app supports learner in a memorization intensive discipline and helps them to create a stable foundation of basic domain knowledge in form of definitions. Admittedly these are of lower cognitive levels of knowledge. But on
1 Of course not all potential players are receptive for genre and style of this game, but player type dependency is a challenge every game has to deal with (Bartle 1996; Yee 2006). 201
the other that fact facilitates two other characteristics of the game: First it allows casual game play. So there is not the need of long play cycles and tedious preparation times: Because of packaging cohesive questions into small groups already five minutes of spare time is a reasonable usage time. Freedom of locality (mobile game play) is the other characteristic which makes it easier to use this game. In conclusion JuraShooter StGB can be integrated in the daily routine and employed in so called nonproductive time spots. Furthermore the target group of graduate students is not a usual characteristic of educational games - the most video games used in education aim at younger learners.The need driven creation of this game 2 apart from any academic or commercial context has led to an astonishingly professional and attractive educational tool. With the possibility to extend the content and to facilitate the game’s engine also in other disciplines it seems to be a successful application of game based learning. This valuation is underlined by first unstructured observations and feedback of players. Game play videos and game references Since the game currently is available only in German, the following video material contains German content. Nevertheless the videos give an impression of the maturity of application and the game play. • Teaser on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QCndX1IFbc • Short video of game play: https://www.dropbox.com/s/94shcdzqpkj564p/IMG_0051.mov • Website: http://lernfreak.de/ • iTunes AppStore: https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/jurashooterstgb/id452003973?mt=8 References Anderson, L.W. & Krathwohl, D.R., 2001. A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives L. W. Anderson & D. R. Krathwohl, eds., Longman. Bartle, R.A., 1996. Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDs. The Journal of Virtual Environments, 1(1). Available at: http://www.citeulike.org/user/drakkos69/article/3474752.
2 Admittedly during the development of the current version – after the creation of a first version in HTML5 – commercial interests have arisen, since venture capital was collected. Nowadays iTunes App Store sales are the most important revenue source. Customized game releases can contribute in future. 202
Buttlar, R. von et al., 2012. Die Jagd nach dem Katzenkönig. In W. Kaminski & M. Lorber, eds. Gamebased Learning: Clash of Realities 2012. Kopäd, p. 384. Cogito, 2010. lernapp - BGB AT. EBugz, 2009. JuraQuiz. Filament, 2009. Do I Have A Right? Leupold, C., 2012. Econtrario - Das Online Jura-Repetitorium. lpb, 2003. Grundrechte Jogging. Landeszentrale für politische Bildung BadenWürttemberg,. Available at: http://www.lpbbw.de/onlinespiele.html?&cHash=27f32a6ad408128405c35cddca293413&tx_crilpbarti kel_pi1[showUid]=149 [Accessed December 6, 2013]. Meier, C. & Seufert, S., 2003. Game-based learning: Erfahrungen mit und Perspektiven für digitale Lernspiele in der beruflichen Bildung. In A. Hohenstein & K. Wilbers, eds. Handbuch E-Learning. Perdoctum, 2012. NomosApp. Pötters, S., 2009. Strafrecht Classics – Der Katzenkönig ( BGHSt 35 , 347 ). JuraExamen, pp.1–7. Available at: http://www.juraexamen.info/strafrecht-classics-der-katzenkonigbghst-35-347/ [Accessed April 10, 2013]. Vela, 2011. Niederle Media: Zivilrecht. Yee, N., 2006. Motivations for play in online games. Cyberpsychology & behaviour : the impact of the Internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behaviour and society, 9(6), Zimmermann, M., 2011. Spiel der Juristen. iOS, iTunes App Store, iPad, iPod, iPhone, are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries
Ludwig: a physics adventure Thomas Wernbacher1, J rg Hofst tter2 and Alexander Pfeiffer2 1Danube University Krems, Austria 2ovos media, Austria Keywords: serious games, game based learning, iterative game design Abstract: During the past two years we developed a physics game following a unique design principle. Many educational games currently available on the market solely focus on knowledge transfer following a behaviourist principle (Annetta, 2010). The learner is confronted with more or less demanding tasks which are solved using the trial and error method (Skinner, 1938). Learning success is directly assessed using a simple feedback system ( right , wrong ). Furthermore the audio visual quality of interactive learning software often can t keep up with video games today s target group has become accustomed to. We decided to take a different path. 203
Since fun of play is considered as one of the key elements of an elaborated game playing experience (Vorderer et al., 2004), we decided to design a fun filled and action packed learning game built around a serious topic: renewable energies. The content of the game is based on the physics curriculum while the graphical and audio visual quality of "Ludwig" was designed to stand a comparison with common triple a games. We crafted the game using the powerful open source software Unity. This tool empowered us to create an immersive game environment which was inspired by the look and feel of World of Warcraft. A simple formula learning goal = game goal defined the core game mechanics. Based on a constructivist paradigm "Ludwig" offers challenges in an interactive 3D world while learning takes place in an authentic context (McLellan, 1985; Duffy & Cunningham, 1996). Players are allowed to explore the game world, to experiment in virtual laboratories and to solve problems freely while their actions directly lead to consequences and positive feedback by the game (Osterweil, 2007). The players actions leave a trace in the game world fostering individual experiences of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977). Numerous feedback iterations with the target group consisting of students and teachers secured a satisfying level of quality regarding the learning content, the gameplay and the look & feel of "Ludwig". We decided to use an iterative design principle which empowers players to become game designers (Wagner, 2009). By applying qualitative and quantitative methods we gained insights in the applicability of variable quality assurance strategies. Students reflected on the playability of the game, on the usability of the interface and finally on motivational aspects (learning motivation, interest for physics). Teachers reflected on the potential benefits and problems of using "Ludwig" in class. The results of the formative (quality assurance workshops) as well as the summative evaluation (assessment of motivational, cognitive and learning processes) show that "Ludwig" can foster learning processes if game based learning is combined with established teaching methods and material. Detailed description of Ludwig Ludwig is an interactive 3D-adventure game built around the topic of renewable energy production and aimed for use as an in-class learning tool in middle school physics. Players are allowed to explore the game world freely without any limitations set by the instructional or game design. While we emphasized pedagogical developments with respect to educational standards for physics, the heart of our project lies in its iterative game design. Ludwig was utilized and optimized gradually based on the feedbacks of participatory students and teachers. Usability, fun of play, motivational factors and learning progress were investigated during work204
shops, which took place at the location of the developer ovos in Vienna as well as schools all around Austria. At these workshops, cognitive transfer effects (interest, self-efficacy) were measured in a summative evaluation and the results of these measurements were fed back into the development process. One of our main goals was to develop a learning game that could be compared to video games our target group has become accustomed to. A significant amount of effort has therefore been put into creating a lush 3D game world with a high amount of interactive objects. The learning progress in our game is mapped by knowledge points, which are received when important quests are solved or if the player finds certain resources. The more he or she explores the virtual world the more content is unlocked and added to a knowledge base describing important facts related to energy such as combustion or wind energy. In order to allow the game to be used as an in-class teaching tool, these facts are closely aligned with the Austrian physics curriculum. With respect to the design of our knowledge base, usability criteria based on national DIN norms were taken into consideration as well. Iterative game design Even though some recent models employed in instructional designinclude limited iterative concepts and some ideas originating in agile software development such as rapid prototyping, current instructional design methodologies in general follow processes that have their roots in the so-called ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) model. In this approach, the design process relies on the apriori definition of the desired learning outcomes along with a pre-set methodology on how these outcomes will be achieved through instruction. Even if a design model includes iterative feedback loops, it is always restricted in terms of the actual instructional outcome and methodology it aims for. In contrast to this approach, game design follows a much more radical path. In game design the initial development goal is a playable prototype that can be tested immediately. Test results obtained from so-called playtesting are then analyzed and fed back into the design process where they can influence any part of the game. A new prototype based on the adjusted requirements is built and tested again leading to a rapid recursive design process commonly referred to as iterative design. The important aspect in this process is the fact that in this case any part of the game is subject to evaluation and potential change leading to a much less restricted development process that might lead to a game that deviates from the original game concept substantially. As with any recursive model, iterative design creates a process that seeks to heuristically optimize the parameters that are subject to change within a single itera205
tion. In other words, the set of playtesting questions as well as the playtesters themselves become the driving factors for the development of the game. If, for example, the main emphasis of the playtesting phase is to evaluate player experience within a group of male adolescent playtesters, the corresponding iterative design process will tend to evolve the prototype into a game that optimizes player experience of adolescent males. In this sense the successful creation of emotions such as fun or suspense within a game is as much the result of the actual development process as it is a consequence of the overall game concept by a game designer or game design team. Educational games in particular as well as serious games in general are usually developed with the use of instructional design methodologies in order to ensure that the requirements for their specific learning outcomes or serious goals are met. Since the evolutionary development effect of optimizing fun and intrinsic motivation through continuous playtesting is generally absent in these design models, creating fun in serious games constitutes a significant challenge. In addition, instructional design does not account for the fact that learning in games is dependent on the personalities of the players and the learning situations in which the games are played. Through the specification of the playtesting process, including the selection of the playtesters as well as the situation in which the playtesting takes place, iterative design is capable to custom design a game for a particular target group and application scenario. It is therefore possible to setup the design process in such a way that it heuristically optimizes the recursive process in a direction that supports predefined learning outcomes within a certain educational setting. For this purpose, we have proposed to enhance the traditional playtesting methodology with an educational evaluation that is performed in as many design iteration as possible. Didactic playtesting For the didactic playtesting we applied quantitative methods in order to precisely operationalize values of a particular variable (answers in questionnaires) for further statistical computations, while also using qualitative methods, which allow for a systematic interpretation of the meaning of verbal material (interviews, workshops). We decided to combine elements from both approaches in order to get a holistic view on the acceptance and effects of our game. The process relied on feedback from students as well as teachers. By means of this feedback we aimed at identifying problems and enhancing the overall quality of "Ludwig" iteratively during the entire development phase. In order to assess the overall fun factor and playability we adapted quality criteria developed by the Federal Office for the Positive Assessment of Computer and Console Games (BUPP), which is a service agency of the Austrian Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth. This institution offers guidance for parents and kids by rating video game 206
titles and hosting a review database on this site. These criteria describe the following key aspects of gameplay: audiovisual quality, controls, fun of play, level of difficulty, performance, playability & suitability. Through this user based design process we were able to enhance the playability of the learning game. Practical issues relating to the school context (technical resources, lack of it-rooms) were likewise considered by accounting for the teacher s perspective. References
Annetta, L. A.: The I s have it: A framework for serious educational game design, Review of General Psychology 14 (2010), S. 105-112. Bandura, A.: Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change, Psychological Review 84 (1977), S. 191-215. McLellan, H.: Situated Learning Perspectives, in: Educational Technology Publications, New Jersey 1985. S. Osterweil: Designing learning games that matter (2007), Available at: http://www.nercomp.org/data/media/ScotO_10.01.07.pdf Skinner, B. F.: The behavior of organisms: an experimental analysis. Oxford 1938, S. 440457. Wagner, M. Serious Games: Spielerische Lernumgebungen und deren Design, in: Didaktische Szenarien des Digitalen Game Based Learning, hrsg v. L. Issing, M. Wagner, K. Mitgutsch, Krems 2009. Vorderer, P., Klimmt, C., & Ritterfeld, U.: Enjoyment: At the heart of media entertainment, Communication Theory 14 (2004), S. 388-408. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTG9Oigvd-E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC0mWFNrowM Download link: http://www.playludwig.com/#/download-requirements License codes (upgrade to full version): JMNmWRFzJzMHsEuf TZprFFB38ZnbhG3c
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