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Gong, Haojue. "RESEARCH ON THE GAME MECHANISM OF EDUCATIONAL GAMES – THINK ABOUT HOW TO CHOOSE THE SUITABLE GAME MECHANISMS WHEN DESIGNING EDUCATIONAL GAMES." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för teknik och samhälle (TS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-20957.
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With the development of media technology and game evolution, games are endowed with multiple purposes and functions. Some scholars believe that the game is the supplement of the real world, which can affect the players' psychology and behaviour. Numerous studies show that games can make players accept challenges, overcome obstacles, arouse positive emotions and solve problems. Therefore, academia's research on games and related topics in learning has become increasingly popular. In response, different models have emerged to evaluate the design of active educational games.This research discusses how different game mechanisms affect players. Also, this study used a prototype game as output media to examine the impact of various game mechanisms on learning. The purpose of this study is to explore how to choose a more suitable game mechanism in the design of educational games. The research results include that some game mechanisms promote learning motivation and improve learning outcomes. At the same time, some game mechanisms have the risk of reducing learning motivation. Through these findings, the researcher of this study believes that educational games can bring positive influence and help to players' learning. However, how to choose a suitable game mechanism in the design of educational games is worthy of serious consideration for making design decisions.
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TODOR, ROBERTO. "TAXONOMY OF EDUCATIONAL GAMES." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2015. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=33669@1.
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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIROCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO
As tecnologias da informação e comunicação (TICs) vêm avançando de forma continuada e se amalgamando à cultura de uma grande parcela da juventude mundial, inclusive a brasileira. Nessa pesquisa, citamos o processo pelo qual está passando os espaços de ensino-aprendizagem, do qual, aos poucos, estão acolhendo a demanda desse público-alvo, de jovens estudantes, que desejam estar conectados durante suas atividades escolares. Contudo, muitos games com suas habilidades e competências têm contribuído para o aprendizado e podem cumprir muitas tarefas, inclusive a de reaproximar estudantes que estejam desestimulados com o ensino do dia-a-dia. A sociedade, por sua vez, vem acompanhando esse processo e, nesse documento, apresentamos um histórico de como evoluímos com os games desde os arcades até chegarem aos celulares. Como consequência dessa evolução tecnológica, há uma profusão de títulos de games para os dispositivos móveis, muitos deles educativos, o que vem de encontro com a necessidade de crianças e jovens em idade escolar. Em seguida, apresentamos um estudo dos artifícios que fazem desses games tão atrativos a esse público. Com todo esse subsídio, a pesquisa propõe a formatação de uma taxonomia para games educativos, a fim de oferecer subsídios para que alunos, seus pais e professores tenham facilidade em identificar games que possam contribuir para o seu aprendizado.
Information and communication technologies have been consistently moving forward and impacting a segment of the youth population across cultures, including Brazil. In this research paper we examine the transformations occurring in the field of education, both from a teaching and a learning perspective. These two arenas have gradually been taking on current demands from their target audience, the youth, who desire to stay connected while performing their typical school work. As a result, many educational games emphasizing particular skills contribute to learning and can end up playing a number of roles, one of wich is to reengage demotivated students in their day to day learning activities. Meanwhile, society as a whole has been paralleling this transformation. This paper presents a history of the evolution of games, from the arcades to the latest cell phone platforms, and how the myriad of mobile educational games has been meeting the academic needs of school age children. We present a closer look at the tools and devices that make them so attractive to this particular age segment of the population. Our research proposes the implamentation of taxonomy exclusively of educational games, aiming to facilitate their identification of games that contribute to learning for students and their parents and teachers.
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COSTA, LEANDRO DEMENCIANO. "WHAT THE ENTERTAINMENT GAMES HAVE THAT THE EDUCATIONAL GAMES DO NOT HAVE: PRINCIPLES TO PROJECT EFFICIENT EDUCATIONAL GAMES." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2008. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=11728@1.
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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRODeterminar a diversão e o entretenimento como prioridades de projeto de um jogo com finalidade pedagógica parecia um tanto incoerente. Mas esta decisão nasceu da percepção de que jogos de entretenimento, que divertem e entretêm seus jogadores, funcionam muito bem em ambientes de ensino e aprendizagem - isto é notável no RPG e no Xadrez, por exemplo. Deste desafio, nasceu um jogo com fim pedagógico - A Dama da Música - que se mostrou mais efetivo que muitos jogos projetados com este objetivo. Isto confirmou a percepção inicial e reforçou uma hipótese a respeito dela, motivando a pesquisa desenvolvida na presente dissertação. Apoiando-se fundamentalmente na ótica estruturalista da Gestalt, com Max Wertheimer e Kurt Lewin, e com o respaldo de Jean Piaget, iniciou-se uma investigação sobre casos onde a aplicação de jogos de entretenimento para fins pedagógicos produziu resultados muito acima da média dos jogos projetados com este objetivo. Guiada pela pergunta: O que os jogos de entretenimento têm que os jogos com fins pedagógicos não têm? a pesquisa desenvolveu-se por meio do estudo detalhado de jogos existentes no mercado que têm fins pedagógicos declarados. Realizou-se, também, uma análise do projeto A Dama da Música com a finalidade de compreender o método projetual realizado.
Determining fun and entertainment as priorities of a educational game project was a little bit incoherent. However, this decision has its source in the well function perception of the entertainment games, which give its players amusement and entertainment, in an educational environment - it can be realized in RPG games and Chess, for example. This challenge resulted in a educational game - A Dama da Música - which is more effective than many other games with the same purpose. This fact confirmed the initial perception and reinforced a hypothesis about it, motivating the research that is developed in this paper. Based on the Gestalt structuralist view, defended by Max Wertheimer and Kurt Lewin, and according to Jean Piaget`s endorsement, an investigation about the cases where the use of entertainment games for pedagogical purposes produced results much better than the average produced by the games projected to this objective was started. Guided by the question: What the entertainment games have that the educational games do not have?, the research was developed through a detailed study of the games that have pedagogical purposes. An analysis of the project A Dama da Música was also developed in order to understand the method used on its project.
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Tollefsrud, John Ola. "The Educational Game Editor : The Design of a Program for Making Educational Computer Games." Thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Computer and Information Science, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-9284.
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This report is about computer game based learning, how to make a program for making educational games, the possibilities to use a hypermedia structure for storage of the data in an educational game, and different learning theories related to computer game based learning. The first part is about the different learning theories behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism, socio-constructivism, and situated learning. The different theories are related to learning games, and a classification of game based learning is also given. Hypermedia is a smart and efficient way of organizing data, and is a relevant solution for use in education and games. The relationship between data, information and wisdom is central, and how the hypermedia base is constructed and different information structures are described. The advantages and limitations of use of hypermedia in education are discussed, and examples of use, as in OPSYS and the Mobile instruction system, are given. There exist some computer games for use in higher education, and some of them are described. To make a good educational, many certain requirements have to be fulfilled both aspects in game design and learning aspects. The main part of the report is about the Educational Game Editor. The idea is to design a program for making computer games for use in education. Before the design, the Software Requirements Specification is presented, containing functional and quality requirements, and scenarios to exemplify the requirements. The conceptual design of the program gives an overall description and describes the phases of creating a game and the elements the game consists of: file management, object management, Library, and Tools. The main architectural drivers are usability and availability. The program must be easy to use and be stable and not crash. An example of making a simple game about the history of Trondheim explains how to use the program in steps, and gives a good guide for the users to make their own game.
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Heintz, Stephanie Alexandra. "Digital educational games : methodologies for evaluating the impact of game type." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/37613.
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The main research question addressed in this thesis is how the choice of game type influences the success of digital educational games (DEG), where success is defined as significant knowledge gain in combination with positive player experience. Games differ in type if they differ at least by one game feature. As a first step we identified a comprehensive set of unique game features, summarised in the Game Elements-Attributes Model (GEAM), where elements are the defining components that all games share (e.g. Challenges) and attributes are their possible implementation (e.g. time pressure). To deepen the understanding of relationships amongst game features, we conducted a survey based on the GEAM and received 321 responses. Using hierarchical clustering, we grouped 67 games, selected by the survey respondents, in terms of similarity and mapped the identified clusters on a 2D space to visualise their difference in distance from each other. On the resulting Game Genre Map, five main areas were detected, which proved to conform mostly to a selection of existing game genres. By specifying their GEAM attributes, we redefined these genres: Mini-game, Action, Adventure, Resource, and Role-play. Based on the aforementioned groundwork, two empirical studies were conducted. Study 1 compared three DEGs of the Mini-game genre, differing in a single GEAM attribute - time pressure vs. puzzle solving and abstract vs. realistic graphics. Study 2 compared DEGs of different genres which vary in the implementation of several GEAM attributes. For both studies, statistically significant differences were found in learning outcome, for Study 2 also in the player experience dimensions: Flow, Tension, Challenge, and Negative Affect. However, the influences of the covariates - learning and play preconditions, learning style, and personality traits - were not confirmed. Further research based on the methodological frameworks developed is needed.
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Gibson, Benjamin Ian. "Educational Games for Teaching Computer Science." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Computer Science and Software Engineering, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/9239.
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Much work has done on teaching Computer Science by having students program games, but little has been done on teaching Computer Science by having the students learn from playing educational games. The current work in this field does not seem to be particularly cohesive, so there is no clear idea of what has already been done, and what works. The focus of this thesis is to provide a clearer picture of the range of games available for teaching Computer Science, and to provide guidelines for designing and evaluating them. The first and primary part of the thesis was to find and provide detailed information on as many of the existing educational games that teach Computer Science as possible. An extensive search was performed, and 41 games were found. From these it can be seen that while a few topics, mainly binary and introductory programming concepts, have sufficient coverage, most topics in Computer Science have barely been touched. Of the games for teaching Computer Science that were found, most were available online, at no cost, and only required a short time investment to play. The second part of the thesis focuses on growing the number of games that could be used for teaching Computer Science. This is achieved by providing guidelines on producing new work, and an example game is produced to test
the guidelines.
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Benkar, Rohan Sudhir. "Configurable Persuasive Games." The Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1373323538.
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Erickson, Darald Eugene. "The games teachers play: Students' opinions of educational games in the secondary classroom." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2000. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1650.
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After systematically using educational games in three secondary English classes over a one-year period, this project documents the effectiveness of games by analyzing students' opinions. Surveys were used to determine the perceptions of 150 students about the actual games used in their classes. Some examples of effective games are also given.
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Carr, John. "Educational games to engage the un-engageable." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2011. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/13329/.
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Behavioural, emotional and social difficulties in school-aged children are a significant problem in the UK. Such children represent a difficult challenge for educational institutions. Teachers and experts have said that these children find it almost impossible to stay on task in educational activities for more than a trivial amount of time. Interest in computer games as a medium for learning and other non-entertainment purposes has risen significantly in recent years, in part because they can provide an engaging experience to motivate users. This makes the medium an attractive tool for this demographic. There are many problems however facing designers who would attempt to integrate educational content into a game platform. The issue of effective integration between game and education has long been a problematic issue affecting educational game development. Gameplay aspects can often be overlooked in academic projects. Good educational games should integrate the learning content and game experience, this is something that is particularly difficult to achieve effectively. This thesis details a study to design educational games to aid behavioural emotional and social learning. The methodology attempts to blend good game design principles with educational content in such a way that users can be engaged with both the activity and the educational concepts contained within. Two trials were undertaken in schools with participants suffering from a range of severe behavioural emotional or social problems. The results provide evidence suggesting that, if educational gameplay is achieved, these children can be engaged, not only with the game as an activity, but with the educational content on which it is based. The implications are then explored and the potential of educational gameplay evaluated in context of the wider industry of educational and serious games. While this method of integrating educational content within game platforms is effective, it is difficult to achieve, in many subject areas, perhaps prohibitively so.
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Che, Pee Naim. "Computer games use in an educational system." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2011. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12297/.
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Teaching a subject which involves a long process and inter-related problems can sometimes be difficult through conventional classroom activities. This is particularly difficult at the UK Key Stage 3 (13-14 years) where students are only beginning to understand the processes of reason. Often what the teacher would like to encourage is group discussion but for many reasons, young students may be reluctant to put forward ideas in a conventional classroom setting. An area where this becomes less of a problem is once they get involved in playing a game together. In addition to this certain subjects are difficult to teach because they involve complex interactions that are largely outside the general knowledge of young students. An example of this is the issue of human contributions to climate change. The subject is one of recent heated debate, much of which involves complex arguments on the relationship between the natural contribution to climate variation and those produced by human beings. In the work reported here a computer game has been developed which tries to incorporate the various processes involved in a realistic way. In principle this game can be used individually. However, it also provides the opportunity for generating group discussion and reasoning processes. The game which has been developed uses a non-player character which is controlled by the teacher. The game is played in a networked environment with a number of teams of two players each trying to provide solutions to a complex climate issue. The non player character is able to monitor the performance of the different teams and provide feedback that will be of a more realistic/less predictable nature. This thesis addresses the design and the implementation of the game as a tool for teaching and learning purposes for learning about the human contribution to climate change. Three experiments have been done using this computer game to investigate the effectiveness of game-based learning towards tackling these issues. The first two studies were carried out in the UK while the third study was carried out in Malaysia to investigate educational cultural background. The initial study involved two groups of Key Stage 3 children in a Geography class. The study was undertaken in the normal teaching sequence. The children were divided into pairs during game-play and each session lasted about one hour. The behaviour of the whole group and individual teams was monitored throughout the game-play. Analysis of this shows that the game not only allowed the students to investigate the science but also to communicate with each other during the process. Overall, it is felt that by introducing an environment with which they were sufficiently familiar (playing a game together) the normal inhibitions to communication were removed. The control based experiment reinforced these findings.
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Ar, Rosyid Harits. "Adaptive serious educational games using machine learning." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2018. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/adaptive-serious-educational-games-using-machine-learning(b5f5024b-c7fd-4660-997c-9fd22e140a8f).html.
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The ultimate goals of adaptive serious educational games (adaptive SEG) are to promote effective learning and maximising enjoyment for players. Firstly, we develop the SEG by combining knowledge space (learning materials) and game content space to be used to convey learning materials. We propose a novel approach that serves toward minimising experts' involvement in mapping learning materials to game content space. We categorise both content spaces using known procedures and apply BIRCH clustering algorithm to categorise the similarity of the game content. Then, we map both content spaces based on the statistical properties and/or by the knowledge learning handout. Secondly, we construct a predictive model by learning data sets constructed through a survey on public testers who labelled their in-game data with their reported experiences. A Random Forest algorithm non-intrusively predicts experiences via the game data. Lastly, it is not feasible to manually select or adapt the content from both spaces because of the immense amount of options available. Therefore, we apply reinforcement learning technique to generate a series of learning goals that promote an efficient learning for the player. Subsequently, a combination of conditional branching and agglomerative hierarchical clustering select the most appropriate game content for each selected education material. For a proof-of-concept, we apply the proposed approach to producing the SEG, named Chem Dungeon, as a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed methods.
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Vargas, David Anthony. "Multiplayer collaboration in educational virtual reality games." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/119701.
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Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2018.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (page 59).
Recent innovations in Virtual Reality technology has made it more affordable and accessible to consumers and classrooms. This research works toward investigating the impact of VR in a collaborative learning environment as part of a larger cross- platform system. We have explored three primary research objectives: 1) how do we engage players in a cross platform education game 2) is it possible for VR to be one of these platforms effectively and 3) how do we design the game so that the players have to collaborate? For all of these tasks, I helped develop the collaborative aspect of a project called CLEVR, which is a multiplayer game that places one user inside of a biological cell through a VR headset while connecting another on a touch screen tablet. After discussing the progress made on the project and the contribu- tions I made, we discuss the results of various play test opportunities through our design-based iterative research and the conclusions drawn from them. Our results show promise for the impact of VR on education and the effect it could have on the engagement of students as part of a multiplayer cross-platform system.
by David Anthony Vargas.
M. Eng.
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Frazer, Alex. "Towards better gameplay in educational computer games." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2010. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/172421/.
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There is currently a notable amount of research suggesting that educators should use computer games as part of their teaching. Most of this research suggests why games should be used choosing very specific example games, or making broad sweeping statements about gaming as a whole. But very little of the research explains how these games should be used. What features should be present in the game? Do these features change depending on a given learning outcome? Do they change depending on the type of game? This thesis begins by compiling a prospective set of required features for an educational game, taken from literature on Learning Environments, as well as the requirements of different learning styles. This requirement set is cross-referenced with an overview of some typical, commercially available games, to show that such games are capable of meeting these requirements. This preliminary list is used in two investigations: the first explores how well the chosen features are offered by a series of current educational mini-games; the second shows how different requirements are offered by different commercially-available computer game genres. The results of these investigations are used to refine the list, before carrying out a user survey to identify the important features offered by different game genres, and to determine whether game quality improves as more of the features are met. The survey results show that some key requirements separate the genres significantly, while others were consistent across all genres. In addition, there is a positive correlation between each feature offered, and the overall user enjoyment of the game. The thesis concludes with a proposed framework of game genres and features, to assist in the design and selection of games for a given educational scenario, as well as some suggestions for future work.
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Aghababyan, Ani. "E3: Emotions, Engagement, and Educational Digital Games." DigitalCommons@USU, 2014. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/4031.
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The use of educational digital games as a method of instruction for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics has increased in the past decade. While these games provide successfully implemented interactive and fun interfaces, they are not designed to respond or remedy students’ negative affect towards the game dynamics or their educational content. Therefore, this exploratory study investigated the frequent patterns of student emotional and behavioral response to educational digital games.
To unveil the sequential occurrence of these affective states, students were assigned to play the game for nine class sessions. During these sessions, their affective and behavioral response was recorded to uncover possible underlying patterns of affect (particularly confusion, frustration, and boredom) and behavior (disengagement). In addition, these affect and behavior frequency pattern data were combined with students’ gameplay data in order to identify patterns of emotions that led to a better performance in the game.
The results provide information on possible affect and behavior patterns that could be used in further research on affect and behavior detection in such open-ended digital game environments. Particularly, the findings show that students experience a considerable amount of confusion, frustration, and boredom. Another finding highlights the need for remediation via embedded help, as the students referred to peer help often during their gameplay. However, possibly because of the low quality of the received help, students seemed to become frustrated or disengaged with the environment. Finally, the findings suggest the importance of the decay rate of confusion; students’ gameplay performance was associated with the length of time students remained confused or frustrated. Overall, these findings show that there are interesting patterns related to students who experience relatively negative emotions during their gameplay.
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DINIZ, DOS SANTOS ALYSSON. "Educational collaborative games for sustainable development learning." Doctoral thesis, Politecnico di Torino, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11583/2711101.
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In a world regularly menaced by environmental and humanitarian crises, addressing education for a sustainable future becomes a critical issue. However, sustainability learning is extremely challenging, since the instructional tools to use must be able to deal with the inherent complexities of the matter, which can be summarized by three main factors: a) the interdisciplinary domains related to sustainability issues, such as ecology, economics, politics and culture, b) the involvement of several social structures, such as individuals, families and communities, and c) the demand for collaborative skills, creativity, flexibility and critical reflection. This thesis discusses educational games in the context of sustainability issues, by focusing on three main research questions:
• RQ1: which are the theoretical models that underlie educational games design;
• RQ2: which is the current state of the art of the developed sustainability
games?
• RQ3: how to design educational games aiming to foster learning and collaboration in sustainability scenarios?
Concerning the frst two research questions, this thesis aims at identifying, from a theoretical point of view, the elements that facilitate the achievement of the instructional goals in general educational games. To this end, it surveys the literature related to the design guidelines and evaluation tools for educational games. From this investigation, it is possible to identify (i) the lack of validation of current tools and (ii) the need to balance both educational and engagement elements into game design. Then the work analyzes the state of the art of sustainability serious games, by establishing a taxonomy related to the main purpose of the game, broadly dividing the various approaches into the categories of: (i) educative games, i.e. those intended to teach, and (ii) persuasive games, i.e. those aimed at influencing players’ habits or opinions towards more sustainable practices. The in-depth analysis of both groups allows: (i) the initial proposition of key aspects that should be considered in the design of a sustainability game, attempting to enhance its effectiveness, and (ii) the defnition of open questions that demand further scientifc investigation.
Then, the thesis tackles the last research question (from a more practical point of view) by detailing the design, development and evaluation of two sustainability games, WaterOn! and Sustain. In particular, since collaboration among users is a relevant dimension in sustainability learning, one of the research objectives of this work is to acquire a better understanding of users’ collaboration in sustainability games and which tools, game mechanics, design and narrative elements are necessary/suitable to effectively foster such cooperation. As for the two collaborative games developed, each of them has different learning objectives, target audiences and interaction designs in order to analyze the effectiveness of sustainability learning from two distinct instructional approaches (identifed in the theoretical part of this research). Sustain evaluation indicates its success in achieving both pedagogic and collaborative outcomes. Although WaterOn! lacks a similar evaluation, it allows conjectures about the adopted theoretical and practical tools, which also inspired the development of Sustain.
Concluding, this thesis identifes the relevant theoretical background and guidelines that underlie sustainability game design, with specifc emphasis on the collaborative dimension of the learning process, and evaluate their effectiveness through the evaluation of games based on such guidelines. The positive results found in the assessment contributes to the current literature by supporting the effectiveness of educational games as an additional learning tool in the context of sustainability.
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Berg, Marklund Björn. "Games in Formal Educational Settings : Obstacles for the development and use of learning games." Licentiate thesis, Högskolan i Skövde, Forskningscentrum för Informationsteknologi, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-8627.
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From the perspective of educators, games are viewed as a medium in which the younger generation both thrive and excel. Students navigate game environments with ease and regularly solve problems, engage in advanced collaborative efforts, and communicate complex concepts and strategies to one another during their private gaming sessions at home. Games invite the player to form an understanding of intricate systems and mechanics based on participation and experimentation rather than mere observation, and on these merits games are often prophesized as a medium that will significantly change the face of education as we know it. However, while teacher interest in using games is increasing, wide-spread and successful examples of games being implemented in formal educational contexts (e.g. schools and university courses) remain rare. This thesis aims to examine why this is the case and identifies some of the more prevalent obstacles educators and developers both face when embarking on learning game projects as users and creators. In order to examine the situation from both of these perspectives, the research takes a mixed-method approach that entails extensive literature studies coupled with several studies with both educators and developers. Interviews were conducted in order to investigate attitudes and experiences, and more direct researcher participation and case studies were used to examine the processes of implementing and developing learning games as they were carried out. The studied cases and literature have revealed obstacles that indicate that “traditional” entertainment game development is incommensurable with learning game development, and that the use of games in formal educational settings introduces heavy demands on the recipient organization’s infrastructure, culture, and working processes. The conclusion of this research is that learning games embody a unique mixture of utility and game experience, and the formal context which they are to be used in significantly influence the process of developing and using them. Learning games can’t be understood if they’re solely seen as a teaching utility or solely as a game experience and to make them viable both educators and developers need to change their internal processes, their own perceptions of games and teaching, as well as the way they collaborate and communicate with each other. There are also several obstacles that are outside individual institutions and developers’ control, for example the practicalities of the economic constraints that both developers and educators work under that put the sustainability of pursuing learning games for formal education as a business into question. However, the continuous incremental improvements on the infrastructure of educational institutions (e.g. availability of technology and teachers’ familiarity with technology) can likely alleviate many of the obstacles currently inhibiting the impact learning games can potentially have in formal education.Scandinavian Game Developers
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Berg, Marklund Björn. "Unpacking Digital Game-Based Learning : The complexities of developing and using educational games." Doctoral thesis, Högskolan i Skövde, Forskningscentrum för Informationsteknologi, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-11805.
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Digital game-based learning has traditionally been examined from an ‘artefact-centric’ perspective that focuses on understanding how game design and principles of learning are, or can be, intertwined. These types of examinations have resulted in many descriptions of games’ educational potential, which has subsequently led to many types of arguments for why games should be used more extensively in formal education. However, comparatively little research has been done to understand the educational settings in which many game-based learning processes and educational games are intended to be applied. The relative lack of research on formal education settings has resulted in a scenario where the educational potential of games is well detailed through theory and understood independently of their actual contexts of use, while successful examples of games “making good” on their promises as educational tools remain rare. This thesis explores and describes the various challenges that the realities of formal education present to developers and educators who attempt to work with educational games. In order to examine the multi-faceted nature of educational games, the research has used a qualitative mixed-method approach that entails extensive literature reviews coupled with several case studies that involve educators, students, and developers. Interviews were conducted in order to investigate these actors’ various attitudes towards, and experiences of, educational games and game-based learning. In addition, more in-depth researcher participation methods were employed during case studies to examine the processes involved in developing, integrating, and using educational games in formal settings. The research revealed obstacles which indicate that processes associated with “traditional” game development are incommensurable with educational game development. Furthermore, the research demonstrates that the use of games in formal education introduces heavy demands on the recipient organisations’ infrastructures, cultures, and working processes. So, while games created for “formal” and “informal” use are superficially similar, the different contexts in which they are used make them distinctly different from one another. The conclusion of this research is that educational games manifest a unique mixture of utility, gameplay, and context-dependent meaning-making activities. Educational games cannot be understood if they are only seen as a teaching utility or only as a game experience. To make educational games viable, both educators and developers need to alter their working processes, their own perceptions of games and teaching, as well as the way they collaborate and communicate with each other and other actors within the educational game ‘system’. The thesis thus argues that a more systems-oriented understanding of educational games, where the game artefact is not treated separately from the context of use, is necessary for both research and practice in the field to progress. To contribute to such an understanding of educational games, a comprehensive model (dubbed the Utility, Gameplay, and Meaning Model) of the ‘educational game system’ is presented, as well as a series of recommendations and considerations to help developers and educators navigate the complex processes involved in creating and using educational games.I denna avhandling presenteras en djupgående undersökning av digitala lärospel och hur de utvecklas för, och används inom, skolutbildning. Lärospelsforskning har traditionellt sett främst fokuserat på att undersöka spels utbildningspotential ur ett produktcentrerat perspektiv där spel och spelare sätts i centrum. Detta perspektiv har bidragit till en högre förståelse av sambandet mellan olika typer av spelmekanik och pedagogiska principer, samt vad spelare lär sig av sina interaktioner med spelinnehåll. Allteftersom denna typ av forskning påvisat olika typer av positiva sammanhang mellan spelande och lärande har således även argumenten och trycket för att använda spel i skolan ökat. Men trots att vår förståelse för vad som händer i förhållandet mellan spel och spelare stärkts, så är förståelsen av de krav och förutsättningar som spel ställer som utbildningsverktyg fortfarande väldigt begränsad; prioriteringen av att förstå spelens inneboende potential har lett till ett synsätt som inte tar utbildningsmiljöers realiteter i beaktande. Resultatet av detta är att det i dagsläget finns en stor mängd argument för varför digitala spel har stor potential för lärande och därmed bör användas mer i skolutbildning. Men det finns få studier som påvisar hur denna potential faktiskt kan uppnås, eller om den ens uttrycker sig som förväntat när spel används i verkliga utbildningssammanhang. Med denna kunskapsbrist i åtanke undersöker och beskriver denna avhandling hur formella utbildningssammanhang och digitala spel förhåller sig till varandra både konceptuellt och praktiskt. Genom fältstudier som inkluderat både utvecklare, utbildare och elever har utmaningar som uppstår i det unika mötet mellan utbildning och spelande identifierats. Observationer från fältstudier stöds även av intervjuer där lärare och utvecklares arbetsprocesser och synpunkter kring utbildning och lärospel undersökts. De huvudsakliga utmaningarna som uppdagats i dessa studier är att den ”traditionella” synen på spelutveckling, spelande och spelare är svårförenlig med skolutbildnings realiteter, pedagogiska principer och skolan som marknad för spelkonsumtion. Kort sagt så delar spel skapade för informellt och formellt spelande (till exempel för hemmabruk respektive klassrumsanvändning) många ytliga likheter, men användningskontexterna introducerar så pass olika krav och förutsättningar att informella och formella spel och spelsituationer inte är jämförbara. I avhandlingen konstateras slutligen att lärospel utgör en unik blandning av användbarhet, spelupplevelser och kontextberoende aktiviteter för meningsskapande. Lärospel kan inte förstås till fullo om de endast ses som läroverktyg, eller endast som spelupplevelser. För att lärospel ska mogna och bli användbara och effektiva inom skolutbildning i större utsträckning behöver både utvecklare och utbildare förändra arbetsprocesser i sina organisationer, och metoderna genom vilka de skapar och använder spel som läromedel. Lärospel kan inte förstås som ett förhållande mellan spel och spelare då de i själva verket utgör ett stort system av aktörer, processer och användningskontexter, som var och en påverkas av individuella och lokala krav och förutsättningar. Med detta i åtanke yrkar denna avhandling för en mer systemorienterad förståelse av lärospel där spelobjektet inte separeras från kontexter och arbetsprocesser. Avhandlingen bidrar till detta systemperspektiv genom att presentera modeller som beskriver systemet som lärospel utgör, samt en serie rekommendationer som kan hjälpa utbildare och utvecklare att navigera de komplicerade processerna involverade i användandet och utvecklingen av lärospel.
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Smith, Peter. "Cooperative vs Competitive Goals in Educational Video Games." Doctoral diss., University of Central Florida, 2012. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/5508.
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The concept of serious games, or using games and gaming technologies for purposes other than purely entertainment, became popularized with the creation of the Serious Games Initiative in 2002 and has continued to grow. While this trend may appear new, the use of games for learning has a rich history and the idea of using a game as a learning platform is an established concept that had has withstood the test of time. Research in this area must move from if games can teach, to how do we improve games that do. Proponents of serious games suggest that they should improve motivation, time on task, motivation to learn, and a litany of other benefits based primarily on the thought that what works in an entertainment game will work in a learning game. Unfortunately, this might not always be the case. For example, a commonly held misconception in learning games is that competition will motivate learner to succeed, as it motivates players of an entertainment game to continue to play. This is, however, not well supported by the learning science literature. Cooperative goal structures commonly lead to increased motivation to learn as well as improved learning outcomes when compared to competition. This research seeks to provide a framework to view games for learning and more specifically explore the structure of challenge in the context of cooperative and competitive goal structures, as well as explore the use of the word game and how it could possibly modify the expectations of the learner.Ph.D.
Doctorate
Psychology
Sciences
Modeling and Simulation
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Zagal, José Pablo. "Supporting learning about games." Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/24814.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008.Committee Chair: Bruckman, Amy; Committee Member: Guzdial, Mark; Committee Member: Juul, Jesper; Committee Member: Kolodner, Janet; Committee Member: Mateas, Michael.
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Moser, Robert B. Computer Science & Engineering Faculty of Engineering UNSW. "A methodology for the design of educational computer adventure games." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. Computer Science and Engineering, 2000. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/18613.
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This work undertakes a systematic study of various elements from differing fields which apply to the construction of computer-aided instructional systems. Drawing upon these works, the potential for instruction in computer adventure games is recognised, and previous work in the area analysed with respect to the theoretical findings. Based both on this theory and the germane advice of practicing game designers, a methodology for the design of educational computer adventure games is laid out in detail. The method described is then used to construct a sample game with basic programming skills as the pedagogical content, and this sample game is tested and the results examined. An informed approach to the design of computer-assisted instruction must begin with an understanding of how people acquire and store new information or skills. Cognitive psychology provides a number of conflicting models of the human information processing system, but these differing theories have a common basis which can be exploited in an attempt to make material more accessible. Instructional design describes a methodology for the analysis of pedagogical goals and demonstrates methods of learning support which can and should be incorporated into the new setting. In this field also is a judgement of different media, including computers, and their ability to provide the necessary elements of learning. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the medium the limits of what is possible within it can be catered to, and its failings augmented with supplemental materials. Both educational psychology and instructional design indicate benefits to learning from a correctly motivated learner, and the theory of engagement is therefore also scrutinised for elements helpful to the educational designer. The convergence of the knowledge gleaned from these various fields leads to one possible match to the desired criteria for computer-mediated instruction; the computerised fantasy adventure game. This being the case, other work in the field is examined for relevance, and it is found that a detailed methodology for the construction of such games does not exist. Existing material is combined with the aforementioned theoretical work and a survey of what is known about practical game design to create such a framework. It is proposed that through its use the systematic inclusion of educational content in an engaging environment will be facilitated. The hypothesis is examined, and an action research approach found to be called for. As such, the proposed methodology is used to create a sample game, and the process of its design used to inform the proposed methodology. The final form is described in detail, and the process of its application to the sample game elucidated. A prototype of the game is used with a number of test subjects to evaluate the game?s level of success at both engagement and the imparting of content material.
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Samur, Yavuz. "Measuring Engagement Effects of Educational Games and Virtual Manipulatives on Mathematics." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/27583.
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Educational games have been demonstrated to increase engagement and engagement has been demonstrated to increase achievement. Therefore, the researcher attempted to investigate how to better measure engagement and refine the measurement of engagement in this study. To frame the engagement, three domains of engagement – behavioral, cognitive, and emotional– are analyzed in detail to be able to examine the qualities of each type. Moreover, three game attributes –clear goals, immediate feedback, and balance between challenges and skills- are presented and discussed as fundamental features of virtual manipulatives and educational games used in this study to make an impact on students’ engagement. To measure effects of educational games and virtual manipulatives on three domains of engagement, the researcher designed an engagement survey that examines each domain separately with their sub-domains. The Cronbach’s alphas for engagement pre-test and post-test were found .89 and .91 respectively. In this pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental design, four fifth-grade classrooms (N=86) from four schools in southwest Virginia were assigned as three experimental groups and one control group. In the first experimental group, participants played an educational game called Candy Factory and in the second experimental group, the students played another educational game called Pearl Diver on iPod Touch for eight days consecutively, for 20 minutes each. In the third experimental group, participants performed activities with virtual manipulatives, whereas in the control group, participants did paper-and-pencil iii drills for the same duration. All of the groups studied on the same topic, fractions.
According to the results of ANCOVA, experimental group students’ engagement scores were found significantly higher than control group students’, F(1,80)=11.568, p=.001. When three domains of engagement were analyzed, significant differences were found among all three domains between experimental and control groups. When the researcher conducted separate analysis for educational games group and virtual manipulatives group, students who played educational games were also found significantly different than control group students in terms of all three domains of engagement and general engagement, F(1, 58)= 8.883, p=.004. In addition to this, students who did activities with virtual manipulatives showed significantly higher engagement than students who did paper-and-pencil drills in control group, F(1, 46)= 7.967, p=.007. Statistical difference was found in emotional and cognitive engagement while the results showed no significant difference in behavioral engagement between virtual manipulatives and control group students. Therefore, the three game attributes were considered as the main determining factors to engage students more to the content.Ph. D.
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Can, Gulfidan. "Perceptions Of Prospective Computer Teachers Toward The Use Of Computer Games With Educational Features In Education." Master's thesis, METU, 2003. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/1117845/index.pdf.
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This study investigates the perceptions of prospective computer teachers, who have been studying at the Computer Education and Instructional Technology (CEIT) departments of four different universities, toward the use of computer games with educational features in education. It also examines the future plans of the participants regarding the use of computer games with educational features in their courses or in learning environments that they will design and it explores the participants&rsquocomputer game playing characteristics as well. The subjects of this study were 116 students from the Computer Education and Instructional Technology departments of four universities: Ankara, Gazi, Hacettepe and the Middle East Technical University. The data were collected through a questionnaire and interviews. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis methods. This study reveals that the prospective computer teachers who participated in this study have positive perceptions toward the use of computer games with educational features in education. Moreover, most of the participants plan to use such games in their future professions according to their responses. However, it is revealed that participants also have doubts about some issues regarding the use of such games in education, although this is a rare case.
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Leach, Owen S. "Parallel Hearts Mathematics Game: Using Educational Games To Address the STEM Field Gender Gap." Digital WPI, 2013. https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/etd-theses/292.
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Despite equal educational opportunities, a gender gap develops in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics field amongst American adults. This is caused by various societal factors including pressure for females to pursue more “feminine� careers, biased grading systems, and a vicious cycle of mathematics teaching. Even though females score as well as males on standardized tests, during their middle school years there is a steep drop off in females interested in pursuing STEM careers. This project attempts to close this gap by creating interest in mathematics during these students’ most formidable years through the use of computer games. Parallel Hearts, a 2D puzzle game designed to teach mathematics to 7th grade students, is examined and successfully tested in a classroom setting to show that female players of this age can be targeted and interest can be created in the STEM field.
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Rödström, Herman, and Pontus Fredriksson. "Virtual Reality's Effect on Engagement in Educational Games." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för speldesign, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-325370.
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This thesis explores how virtual reality solutions affect children in their learning through educational games. The goal is to improve educational games in terms of how engaging they are. Therefore, a game was developed for both desktop monitors and VR, some children played both versions and were then interviewed. The collected data indicates that VR engages the pupils more, however it does not seem to necessarily make them learn more. This may be in part because of VR’s novelty, only gaining a mainstream status in the recent years.Denna uppsats undersöker hur virtuell verklighet (VR) påverkar barns lärande genom utbildningsspel. Målet är att förbättra utbildningsspel för att öka elevernas engagemang. Därför utvecklades ett spel för både datorskärmar och VR-glasögon, några barn fick spela båda versionerna och blev därefter intervjuade. Resultatet av undersökningen indikerar att VR ökar elevernas engagemang, men inte nödvändigtvis att de lär sig mer. Detta kan delvis bero på att VR är relativt nytt och endast börjat bli allmänt förekommande under de senaste åren.
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Alharthi, Rajwa. "Exerlearn Bike: An Exergaming System for Children's Educational and Physical Well-being." Thèse, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/22895.
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Inactivity and sedentary behavioural patterns among children contribute greatly to a wide range of diseases including obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. It is also associated with other important health effects like mental health issues, anxiety, and depression. In order to reduce these trends, we need to focus on the highest contributing factor, which is lack of physical activity in children’s daily lives. 'Exergames' are believed to be a very good solution in promoting physical activity in children. Such games encourage children to engage in physical activity for long periods of time while enjoying their gaming experience. The purpose of this thesis is to provide means of directing child behaviour in a healthy direction by using gaming enhancements that encourage physical exertion. We believe that the combination of both exercising and learning modalities in an attractive gaming environment could be more beneficial for the child's well-being. In order to achieve this, we present an adaptive exergaming system, the "ExerLearn Bike", which combines physical, gaming, and educational features. The main idea of the system is to have children learn about new objects, new language, practice their math skills, and improve their cognitive ability through enticing games and effective exercise. Three games have been incorporated to provide children with various educational benefits. The system has personalized features that allow guardians to customize the learning content, skill level, and required physical activity to meet their child’s needs. A stationary bike is used as a gaming controller to encourage children to undertake daily aerobic exercise. A modular design approach was adopted so that it is possible to use any stationary bicycle as an input interface by simply attaching a number of devices to it. This thesis provides detailed information about the design requirements, the design model, the proposed system and its related hardware components, the design and development of the gaming software, and the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the system’s performance.
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Bradshaw, Hazel. "The Structural Playability Process (SPP) - An Effective Design Process for Educational Computer Games." Thesis, University of Canterbury. HIT Lab NZ, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/9921.
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How to best develop educational computer games is an open question and an active area of research. It is clear that computer games are able to instill the desire for players to rise to challenges, learn new and complex skills, and most of all to be entertained. Researchers are now trying to identify the underlying
motivational nature of computer gameplay to harness it for teaching and learning.
This research explores the world of educational game design and development within the field of Serious Games, and presents the Structural Playability Process (SPP) for educational game design and
implementation. Serious Games are games designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment.
The development of the Structural Playability Process was undertaken through the design and production of two serious games; GeoThermal World, which provides a virtual geothermal field‐trip experience; and Ora – Save the Forest!, a simulation‐driven game for pest management in New Zealand forests. Using these games as case studies we describe the four SPP spaces of; education, translation,
design, and engine, in support of research into the delivery of effective game design methods that facilitate engagement with educational topics.
The main contributions of this research are in the development of a new, generalisable model of educational game design combined with a practical method for implementing the design into a game engine. The results infer that the SPP approach provides a means for ‘designing‐in’ conditions that can support motivation through ‘gameflow’ mapping, and provide support for the impact of serious games on learning; the games designed with the new model increased learning gains post‐play and supported knowledge retention. Finally, this research contributes empirical evidence to the field, as the SPP allows for the measurement of learning outcomes which are tracked throughout the design and development process.
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Svensson, Pierrau Therése. "Learning Without Knowing : A study of playfulness in educational games." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för speldesign, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-234038.
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The use of tablet computers have increased significantly in numerous parts of society during recent years, and the educational sector is no exception. Use of games in educational situations has intrigued scholars of different disciplines, presenting both favouring and opposing opinions. Whilst the educational effectiveness of the game media is discussed, research done in the area of cognitive development, psychology and pedagogy argue for the importance of play and the positive effects it entails on education and learning. This thesis investigates to what extent playfulness has been incorporated into the educational game-genre for children on Google Play by studying four games from the genre along with a fifth game from the entertainment section for comparison. Based on selected literature discussing play, education and games eleven attributes were assembled to dissect the games and to measure their playfulness and educational effectiveness.The study proved that educational games for children seldom possess playful elements. The analysed games possessed very few of the attributes from the study and tended to focus on educational values rather than offering a playful approach to learning, resembling the traditional educational school system. The lack of playfulness and effective guidance in the games and the absence of knowledge of modern, active and tested educational theories to basethe game design on lead the educational game genre to produce educationally ineffective games, which in turn effects the educational game market as whole.
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Suarez, Caraballo Lisa M. "Using Online Mathematics Skills Games To Promote Automaticity." Cleveland State University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1426793987.
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Hodhod, Rania. "Interactive narrative for adaptive educational games : architecture and an application to character education." Thesis, University of York, 2010. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/909/.
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This thesis presents AEINS, Adaptive Educational Interactive Narrative System, that supports teaching ethics for 8-12 year old children. AEINS is designed based on Keller's and Gagné's learning theories. The idea is centered around involving students in moral dilemmas (called teaching moments) within which the Socratic Method is used as the teaching pedagogy. The important unique aspect of AEINS is that it exhibits the presence of four features shown to individually increase effectiveness of edugames environments, yet not integrated together in past research: a student model, a dynamic generated narrative, scripted branched narrative and evolving non-player characters. The student model aims to provide adaptation. The dynamic generated narrative forms a continuous story that glues the scripted teaching moments together. The evolving agents increase the realism and believability of the environment and perform a recognized pedagogical role by helping in supplying the educational process. AEINS has been evaluated intrinsically and empirically according to the following themes: architecture and implementation, social aspects, and educational achievements. The intrinsic evaluation checked the implicit goals embodied by the design aspects and made a value judgment about these goals. In the empirical evaluation, twenty participants were assigned to use AEINS over a number of games. The evaluation showed positive results as the participants appreciated the social characteristics of the system as they were able to recognize the genuine social aspects and the realism represented in the game. Finally, the evaluation showed indications for developing new lines of thinking for some participants to the extent that some of them were ready to carry the experience forward to the real world. However, the evaluation also suggested possible improvements, such as the use of 3D interface and free text natural language.
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Songar, Poonam. "Learning Assessment Data Collection from Educational Game Applications." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1353900797.
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Zagal, José Pablo. "Supporting learning about games." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/24814.
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It seems like teaching about games should be easy. After all, students enjoy engaging with course content and have extensive experience with videogames. However, games education can be surprisingly complex. I explore the question of what it means to understand games by looking at the challenges and problems faced by students taking games-related classes. My findings include realizing that extensive prior videogame experience often interferes with students abilities to reason critically and analytically about games, and that students have difficulties articulating their experiences and observations about games. In response to these challenges, my research explores how we can use online learning environments to support learning about games by (1) helping students get more from their experiences with games, and (2) helping students use what they know to establish deeper understanding.
I explore these strategies through the design and use of two online learning environments: GameLog and the Game Ontology Wiki. GameLog is an online blogging environment designed to help students reflect on their game playing experiences. The Game Ontology wiki provides a context for students to contribute and participate legitimately and authentically in the Game Ontology Project. The Game Ontology Project is a games studies research project that is creating a framework for describing, analyzing and studying games. GameLog and the Game Ontology Wiki were used in university level games-related classes. Results show that students found that participating in these online learning environments was a positive learning experience that helped them broaden and deepen their understanding of videogames. Students found that by reflecting on their experiences playing games they began to understand how game design elements helped shape that experience. Most importantly, they stepped back from their traditional role of gamers or fans and engaged in reasoning critically and analytically about the games they were studying. With GameLog, I show how blogging about experiences of gameplay can be a useful activity for supporting learning and understanding about games. For the Game Ontology Wiki, I show how it is possible to design learning environments that are approachable to learners and allow them to contribute legitimately to external communities of practice.
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Kappers, Wendi M. "Educational video game effects upon mathematics achievement and motivation scores an experimental study examining differences between the sexes /." Orlando, Fla. : University of Central Florida, 2009. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002586.
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SOARES, MICHELE DOS SANTOS. "DESIGN OF 2D EDUCATIONAL GAMES OF ADVENTURE USING LUA." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2012. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=21809@1.
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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIROCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
O computador pode ser considerado um grande aliado no desenvolvimento cognitivo dos alunos, principalmente na medida que possibilita o desenvolvimento de um trabalho que se adapta a distintos ritmos de aprendizagem. No processo de ensinar matemática, por exemplo, um software educacional pode contribuir para a criação de um cenário que ofereça possibilidades para o aluno associar os conceitos matemáticos com as suas experiências cotidianas, sem perder aspectos lúdicos e motivação. Entretanto, um problema enfrentado por educadores na utilização de softwares educativos é a pouca flexibilidades dos sistemas disponíveis. Na maiorias dos jogos educativos disponíveis no mercado, pode-se apenas vivenciar conteúdos estáticos e estruturas rígidas. Um jogo educativo com conteúdos estáticos age em um conteúdo específico e, uma vez que o usuário aprende aqueles conteúdo, o jogo deixa de fornecer desafios ao jogado, perdendo toda a diversão. Numa tentativa de aliviar as consequências desses problema, essa dissertação apresenta um framework para o desenvolvimento de jogos educativos 2D no estilo aventura que facilita a definição de objetos e comportamentos por parte de educadores, a partir da integração de uma camada de scripts em linguagem Lua com um motor de jogos 2D.
The computer can be considered an ally the cognitive development of students, especially by enabling the development of a work that adapts itself to different learning rhytms. In the process of teching mathematics, for instance, educational software can contribute to create a scenario that offers opportunities for the students to associate mathematical concepts with his/her quotidian experiences, without losing losing funny aspects and motivation. Homewer, a problem faced by educators in the use of educational software is the limited flexibility of the avaliable sytems. In most of the educational games in the market, one can only experience static contents and rigid structures. An educational games with static contents acts within a specific context and once the use learns those contents the games fails to provide challenges to the player and loses all the fun. As an attempt to alliviate the consequences of those problems, this work presents a framework for the design of educational 2D games in the adventure style that facilities the definition of objects and behaviors by educators and artists, from the integration of a Lua script layer with a 2D game engine.
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Aslan, Serdar. "Digital Educational Games: Methodologies for Development and Software Quality." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/73368.
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Development of a game in the form of software for game-based learning poses significant technical challenges for educators, researchers, game designers, and software engineers. The game development consists of a set of complex processes requiring multi-faceted knowledge in multiple disciplines such as digital graphic design, education, gaming, instructional design, modeling and simulation, psychology, software engineering, visual arts, and the learning subject area. Planning and managing such a complex multidisciplinary development project require unifying methodologies for development and software quality evaluation and should not be performed in an ad hoc manner. This dissertation presents such methodologies named: GAMED (diGital educAtional gaMe dEvelopment methoDology) and IDEALLY (dIgital eDucational gamE softwAre quaLity evaLuation methodologY).
GAMED consists of a body of methods, rules, and postulates and is embedded within a digital educational game life cycle. The life cycle describes a framework for organization of the phases, processes, work products, quality assurance activities, and project management activities required to develop, use, maintain, and evolve a digital educational game from birth to retirement. GAMED provides a modular structured approach for overcoming the development complexity and guides the developers throughout the entire life cycle.
IDEALLY provides a hierarchy of 111 indicators consisting of 21 branch and 90 leaf indicators in the form of an acyclic graph for the measurement and evaluation of digital educational game software quality.
We developed the GAMED and IDEALLY methodologies based on the experiences and knowledge we have gained in creating and publishing four digital educational games that run on the iOS (iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch) mobile devices: CandyFactory, CandySpan, CandyDepot, and CandyBot. The two methodologies provide a quality-centered structured approach for development of digital educational games and are essential for accomplishing demanding goals of game-based learning.
Moreover, classifications provided in the literature are inadequate for the game designers, engineers and practitioners. To that end, we present a taxonomy of games that focuses on the characterization of games.Ph. D.
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Mubireek, Khalid Al. "Gender-oriented vs. gender-neutral computer games in education." Connect to this title online, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1056139090.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003.Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 120 p.; also includes graphics Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-106). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center
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Freeman, Lucas Jerome. "Alchemically, an Educational Role-Playing Game." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/89252.
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Alchemically is an educational role-playing game that functions as a classroom aid for boosting middle school and high school students' memorization of molecular formulas and molecule's attributes. The game implements several diverse teaching methodologies, including trial and error, practice and feedback, and the presentation of information from audio and visual cues. It also motivates students to continue learning through both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. Student players craft molecules by choosing and placing atoms into a crafting table, then bonding them together. To help players build molecules, players can reference a journal that includes images, diagrams, and factual information on the molecules included in the game.Master of Fine Arts
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Lutecki, Leo. "Educational games for students with ADHD : A real-word validated taxonomy of what to prioritize when designing educational games for ADHD-afflicted students." Thesis, Högskolan i Skövde, Institutionen för informationsteknologi, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-15593.
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ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects 5-7% of the global population of children, and the prevalence in western countries is reported to be even higher. This makes it the most common neurodevelopmental disorder in children. Traits often associated with ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, all of which can impede a students’ education. There are instances where digital games have been used in the general education environment to increase focus and motivation in students, with positive results. Further examination of what problems are usually associated with an ADHD diagnosis can narrow the required design standards and allow for the development of Serious Games that specifically caters to the needs of children with ADHD. This paper aims to provide a glossary consisting of a rigid taxonomy of traits that are perceived as common in the ADHD diagnosis by multiple domains, to allow serious game developers a representative, short-hand introduction to the diagnosis. It will also include a tangible example of how the glossary can be used as a design basis in the development of a serious game aimed specifically at the education of ADHD- diagnosed students.
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Sareh, Narges. "Effects of Gender and Type of Board Game on 4-year-olds Engagement in Board Games." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2017. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/3033.
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Chappell, Kelly K. "Factors influencing girls' attitudes toward educational mathematics software /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/7807.
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Leigh, Elyssebeth. "A practitioner researcher perspective on facilitating an open, infinite, chaordic simulation : learning to engage in theory while putting myself into practice /." Electronic version, 2003. http://adt.lib.uts.edu.au/public/adt-NTSM20040831.172032/index.html.
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Bankler, Jon Victor. "The Cultural Adaptation of Playful Learning : Aspects to consider when culturalizing a children’s educational game for the Chinese market." Thesis, Högskolan i Skövde, Institutionen för informationsteknologi, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-17683.
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This study explores suitable applications of culturalization in the case of educational games for children, specifically in relation to the Chinese market. Culturalization, in the context of video games, are design choices and adjustments applied to a product in order to cater to the needs of different cultural environments. The characteristics of both this genre, and this target locale, determines to which aspects of the product culturalization should be applied. Using three commercial educational games as a basis for discussion, the research was conducted through a series of expert interviews with pedagogues, localizers and game researchers in China. By analyzing the data gathered through these interviews, a series of aspects to consider for culturalization was defined. These were: usage of cultural references; the branding of the product; educational utility in relation to the local school curriculum; choice of gamification design.
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Belman, Jonathan. "A study of empathetic play in serious games." Thesis, New York University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10129582.
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This work explores some key questions associated with designing games to foster empathy. First, how can design practice build on the understandings of empathy that have been developed in a variety of disciplines? Although empathy has been thoroughly studied in many fields, the lack of standardized nomenclature makes it difficult to apply knowledge from one to the next. Here, I present a theoretical framework that helps organize and explain research on empathy across disciplines. I also use the framework to propose heuristic best practices for designing games to foster empathy.
Second, what does “empathetic play” look and feel like, and how does it impact the player? In the research presented here, 81 participants played the game Layoff. Some were prompted to play “empathetically,” while others received no prompting. Both quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that the experience of empathetic play is distinct from that of entertainment-focused play, and that empathetic play produces distinct attitudinal and behavioral consequences. Specific findings include the following:
2. Empathetic players approached in-game decisions as moral dilemmas, while entertainment-focused players were much less likely to engage with the game on moral terms.
3. Empathetic players were much more likely to experience emotional states that have been associated with empathy in prior research, i.e., empathetic concern and personal distress.
4. Empathetic players were more likely to associate their own histories with people represented in the game.
5. Once the game was over, players who had been prompted to engage empathetically donated more of their remuneration to a charity serving victims of economic hardship.
Overall, these results suggest that (a) players will not reliably adopt an empathetic (as opposed to entertainment-focused) posture without some form of prompting, and that (b) empathetic engagement inside of a game can encourage altruistic behavior in the world outside the game.
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Borror, Kaylynn Nicole. "Creating a Domain-Specific Modeling Language for Educational Card Games." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1626864894150672.
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Nickerson, Erik. "Relative effectiveness of educational video games in the science classroom." Montana State University, 2011. http://etd.lib.montana.edu/etd/2011/nickerson/NickersonE0811.pdf.
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Research has shown that educational video games are effective learning tools, but have not made a significant impact in the classroom. This gap could be a result of the design of the games, in that most educational video games imitate classroom style activities (such as answering multiple choice questions or memorizing flash cards) instead of using the computer's superior simulation capabilities to create a unique learning experience. This research project examined the difference between different styles of educational video games, as well as the overall effect of these games. Each different type of game helped students learn, though the games with more words created a stronger impression that learning actually happened.
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Børresen, Erling Andreas, and Knut Andre Tidemann. "Lecture Quiz 2.0 : A service oriented architecture for educational games." Thesis, Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Institutt for datateknikk og informasjonsvitenskap, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-11115.
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This project takes the work done by Mørch-Storstein and Øfsdahl in 2007 andbuilds a stable and flexible framework for the Lecture Quiz platform. Thisplatform is a game-like system where teachers can hold quizzes in lectures toincrease interactivity with students. The previous prototype was a proof ofconcept application and the functionality was hard coded to get a workingapplication as fast as possible. This resulted in a system that was unstable anddifficult to expand.With this in mind, we have created an architecture with the focus on easyexpansion and modifiability to let new developers interested in the LectureQuiz platform create new and different content with ease. The applications wehave built consist of a server and multiple clients. Each game has a teacherclient running on a computer attached to a projector and multiple student webclients accessible by laptops and smart phones. The students log on to the webclient and answer the questions shown on the projector in a game-like manner.
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Ng, Matthew M. Eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "UbiqGames : casual, educational, multiplayer games for mobile and desktop platforms." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61295.
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Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2009.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 90).
The mission of the UbiqGames project is to develop a suite of casual, educational, multiplayer games that are playable across a wide variety of operating systems and devices. To accomplish this goal, we plan on making use of the expanding availability of wireless networks and the increasing capabilities of mobile browsers to build engaging and dynamic web-based games. This paper will document the progression of the UbiqGames project and take a deeper technical look at the first two games built under its heading: Virus and Weatherlings. Initial questions we wanted to answer were whether mobile browsers could handle complex web applications and whether the small screen size would significantly hinder game play. Results from multiple play tests have demonstrated that these games can be executed successfully, and user feedback has shown that players are receptive of the educational aspects of the game and enjoy the overall experience.
by Matthew Ng.
M.Eng.
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Liu, Yuting. "Tangram Race Mathematical Game: Combining Wearable Technology and Traditional Games for Enhancing Mathematics Learning." Digital WPI, 2014. https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/etd-theses/1102.
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"The public in general and educational communities are aware of the importance of elementary math education in students' lives, as it establishes a cognitive and motivational foundation to reach higher levels of schooling. However, students usually learn passively in traditional instructivist modes, and tend to get bored and disengaged. In contrast, games can be a useful way to assist education and engage students. This thesis reports on a novel game learning environment for mathematics learning, the Tangrams Race, which attempts to inspire students to learn math, by combining traditional outdoor games and wearable technology in the form of Cyber Watches. The Tangrams Race, a physical game designed for elementary school students to play outdoors, is examined and tested in two studies to show that the game-based learning environment and the technology can enhance learning gains and inspire students interest to learn mathematics."
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Dondlinger, Mary Jo Warren Scott J. "The global village playground a qualitative case study of designing an ARG as a capstone learning experience /." [Denton, Tex.] : University of North Texas, 2009. http://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-10995.
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Mustain, Wendy C. "A manual of elementary physical education skill theme activities for physical education specialists to use in collaboration with classroom teachers." Master's thesis, This resource online, 1990. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-01262010-020045/.
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Rutherford, Kevin J. "Playing/Writing: Connecting Video Games, Learning, and Composition." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1281125116.
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