A Learning Outcome-oriented Approach towards Classifying Pervasive Games for Learning using Game Design Patterns and Contextual Information

Schmitz, B., Klemke, R., & Specht, M. (in press). A Learning Outcome-oriented Approach towards Classifying Pervasive Games for Learning using Game Design Patterns and Contextual InformationMobile and in particular pervasive games are a strong component of future scenarios for teaching and learning. Based on results from a previous review of practical papers, this work explores the educational potential of pervasive games for learning by analysing underlying game mechanisms. In order to determine and classify cognitive and affective learning outcomes, we propose employing game design patterns for mobile games and context information. Context information, in the course of this article, is introduced as an additional characteristic feature of mobile game design patterns. With the proposed framework we aim at understanding how pervasive game content may support learning. Findings from our research indicate that context information directs the use and presentation of content within a game and thus influences learning effects of individual patterns. This work perorates with a discussion on the shortfalls and potentials, which our framework for analysis provides

Mobile Games for Learning:A Pattern-Based Approach

The core concern of this thesis is the design of mobile games for learning. The conditions and requirements that are vital in order to make mobile games suitable and effective for learning environments are investigated. The base for exploration is the pattern approach as an established form of templates that provide solutions for recurrent problems. Building on this acknowledged form of exchanging and re-using knowledge, patterns for game design are used to classify the many gameplay rules and mechanisms in existence. This research draws upon pattern descriptions to analyze learning game concepts and to abstract possible relationships between gameplay patterns and learning outcomes. The linkages that surface are the starting bases for a series of game design concepts and their implementations are subsequently evaluated with regard to learning outcomes. The findings and resulting knowledge from this research is made accessible by way of implications and recommendations for future design decisions

Raising awareness on sustainability issues through a mobile game

The paper presents a review on, and analysis of, the design, development and evaluation of experiences of learning through the 'Sustainability Serious Game'. The mobile game has been developed as means of helping public authorities to collect information and feedback on how public spaces could be improved based on collective intelligence procedures. Furthermore, as part of enhancing learning, the game intends to provide knowledge and awareness on sustainability issues for public constructions relevant to engineering and architectural disciplines. Deployed targeted questionnaires with thirty-three (33) computer science students in UK and analysed through a Likert Scale findings from evaluation demonstrate that a conceptual change may be achieved in relation to how sustainability has been perceived. A questionnaire with 20 questions was distributed to students for evaluating various elements of the game such as usability characteristics, accumulation, assimilation and consolidation of new knowledge patterns related to the learning-oriented benefits of the game with an implicit focus on whether the game can be integrated within an academic setting. The fundamental conclusion from the analysis of the game uptake is that it enhances student's engagement with sustainability issues, especially in blended learning contexts for 'blending' different pedagogical approaches with game-oriented features as means of improving educational practice

Design Fiction Diegetic Prototyping: A Research Framework for Visualizing Service Innovations

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Purpose: This paper presents a design fiction diegetic prototyping methodology and research framework for investigating service innovations that reflect future uses of new and emerging technologies. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on speculative fiction, we propose a methodology that positions service innovations within a six-stage research development framework. We begin by reviewing and critiquing designerly approaches that have traditionally been associated with service innovations and futures literature. In presenting our framework, we provide an example of its application to the Internet of Things (IoT), illustrating the central tenets proposed and key issues identified. Findings: The research framework advances a methodology for visualizing future experiential service innovations, considering how realism may be integrated into a designerly approach. Research limitations/implications: Design fiction diegetic prototyping enables researchers to express a range of ‘what if’ or ‘what can it be’ research questions within service innovation contexts. However, the process encompasses degrees of subjectivity and relies on knowledge, judgment and projection. Practical implications: The paper presents an approach to devising future service scenarios incorporating new and emergent technologies in service contexts. The proposed framework may be used as part of a range of research designs, including qualitative, quantitative and mixed method investigations. Originality: Operationalizing an approach that generates and visualizes service futures from an experiential perspective contributes to the advancement of techniques that enables the exploration of new possibilities for service innovation research

Attuning a mobile simulation game for school children using a design-based research approach

We report on a design-based research study that was conducted over nine months. It chronicles the development and implementation of HeartRun, a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training approach for school children. Comparable to an unexpected emergency, HeartRun consists of authentic activities involving different roles, game tasks, locations and physical objects to support process-oriented learning for first responders. It aims to enhance the psychological preparedness of the rescuer and thus promotes a more prompt and appropriate response. In this paper, we describe a cycle of three design-based research (DBR) studies in which HeartRun was explored with school children. In order to better understand how to design mobile game environments that support dimensions of seamless learning, we analysed children and their knowledge-building practices while learning with HeartRun. The mobile game has evolved significantly from its initial conception through an iterative process of (re) designing and testing the synchronization between physical and digital worlds, learner collaboration and ubiquitous knowledge access, i.e. dimensions of mobile seamless learning activities. Based on our experiences, we conclude by discussing challenges and shortcomings of mobile game-based learning environments.This research was financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), regions of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine and the participating institutions under the INTERREG IVa programme (EMR.INT4-1.2.-2011-04/070, http://www.emurgency.eu)

Enhancing the museum experience with a sustainable solution based on contextual information obtained from an on-line analysis of users’ behaviour

Human computer interaction has evolved in the last years in order to enhance users’ experiences and provide more intuitive and usable systems. A major leap through in this scenario is obtained by embedding, in the physical environment, sensors capable of detecting and processing users’ context (position, pose, gaze, ...). Feeded by the so collected information flows, user interface paradigms may shift from stereotyped gestures on physical devices, to more direct and intuitive ones that reduce the semantic gap between the action and the corresponding system reaction or even anticipate the user’s needs, thus limiting the overall learning effort and increasing user satisfaction. In order to make this process effective, the context of the user (i.e. where s/he is, what is s/he doing, who s/he is, what are her/his preferences and also actual perception and needs) must be properly understood. While collecting data on some aspects can be easy, interpreting them all in a meaningful way in order to improve the overall user experience is much harder. This is more evident when we consider informal learning environments like museums, i.e. places that are designed to elicit visitor response towards the artifacts on display and the cultural themes proposed. In such a situation, in fact, the system should adapt to the attention paid by the user choosing the appropriate content for the user’s purposes, presenting an intuitive interface to navigate it. My research goal is focused on collecting, in a simple,unobtrusive, and sustainable way, contextual information about the visitors with the purpose of creating more engaging and personalized experiences

User Experience of Geocaching and Its Application to Tourism and Education

Advances in technology have provided new ways of using entertainment and game technology to foster human interaction. Games and playing with games have always been an important part of people’s everyday lives. Traditionally, human-computer interaction (HCI) research was seen as a psychological cognitive science focused on human factors, with engineering sciences as the computer science part of it. Although cognitive science has made significant progress over the past decade, the influence of people’s emotions on design networks is increasingly important, especially when the primary goal is to challenge and entertain users (Norman 2002). Game developers have explored the key issues in game design and identified that the driving force in the success of games is user experience. User-centered design integrates knowledge of users’ activity practices, needs, and preferences into the design process. Geocaching is a location-based treasure hunt game created by a community of players. Players use GPS (Global Position System) technology to find “treasures” and create their own geocaches; the game can be developed when the players invent caches and used more imagination to creations the caches. This doctoral dissertation explores user experience of geocaching and its applications in tourism and education. Globally, based on the Geocaching.com webpage, geocaching has been played about 180 countries and there are more than 10 million registered geocachers worldwide (Geocaching.com, 25.11.2014). This dissertation develops and presents an interaction model called the GameFlow Experience model that can be used to support the design of treasure hunt applications in tourism and education contexts. The GameFlow Model presents and clarifies various experiences; it provides such experiences in a real-life context, offers desirable design targets to be utilized in service design, and offers a perspective to consider when evaluating the success of adventure game concepts. User-centered game designs have adapted to human factor research in mainstream computing science. For many years, the user-centered design approach has been the most important research field in software development. Research has been focusing on user-centered design in software development such as office programs, but the same ideas and theories that will reflect the needs of a user-centered research are now also being applied to game design (Charles et al. 2005.) For several years, we have seen a growing interest in user experience design. Digital games are experience providers, and game developers need tools to better understand the user experience related to products and services they have created. This thesis aims to present what the user experience is in geocaching and treasure hunt games and how it can be used to develop new concepts for the treasure hunt. Engineers, designers, and researchers should have a clear understanding of what user experience is, what its parts are, and most importantly, how we can influence user satisfaction. In addition, we need to understand how users interact with electronic products and people, and how different elements synergize their experiences. This doctoral dissertation represents pioneering work on the user experience of geocaching and treasure hunt games in the context of tourism and education. The research also provides a model for game developers who are planning treasure hunt concepts.Teknologinen kehitys on tarjonnut uusia tapoja hyödyntää viihdettä ja peliteknologiaa ihmisten välisessä vuorovaikutuksessa. Pelit ja niiden pelaaminen on ollut aina tärkeä osa ihmisten arkipäivää. Ihmisen ja tietokoneen välisen vuorovaikutuksen tutkimus, human-computer interaction research (HCI), on perinteisesti nähty kognitiivisena psykologiana, johon kuuluvat inhimilliset tekijät, sekä insinööritieteenä, johon sisältyy tietojenkäsittelytiede. Vaikka kognitiivinen tiede on kehittynyt viime vuosina valtavasti, suunnitteluverkostoihin vaikuttavat ihmisten tunteet ovat yhä tärkeämmässä osassa, erityisesti silloin kun tavoitteena on haastaa ja viihdyttää käyttäjiä. (Norman 2002.) Pelinkehittäjät ovat selvittäneet pelisuunnittelun kannalta olennaisia tekijöitä ja tunnistaneet, että pelien menestyksen salaisuus on käyttäjäkokemus. Käyttäjäkeskeisessä suunnittelussa käyttäjien toiminnan käytäntöjen, tarpeiden ja toiveiden tuntemus tuodaan mukaan suunnitteluprosessiin. Geokätköily on paikannukseen perustuva aarteenetsintäpeli, jonka pelaajat ovat luoneet yhdessä. Pelaajat käyttävät GPS-teknologiaa "aarteiden" etsimiseen ja lisäävät omia geokätkökohteita ja peli kehittyy jatkuvasti pelaajien keksiessä kätköjä, jotka vaativat yhä enemmän mielikuvitusta. Tässäväitöskirjassa tutkitaan geokätköilyn käyttäjäkokemusta ja sen sovelluksia koulutuksen- ja matkailunaloilla. Perustuen Geocaching.com websivustoon geokätköilyä pelataan noin 180 maassa, ja rekisteröityneitä käyttäjiä on yli kymmenen miljoonaa eri puolilla maailmaa (Geocaching.com, 25.11.2014). Tässä tutkielmassa esitellään vuorovaikutusmalli nimeltään GameFlow Experience -mallia, jota voidaan käyttää aarteenetsintäsovellusten suunnittelussa koulutuksen- ja matkailualojen konteksteissa. GameFlow Experience -malli esittelee ja selventää erilaisia kokemuksia - se esittelee ne todellisessa kontekstissa, tarjoaa erilaisia suunnittelutavoitteita palvelusuunnittelua varten sekä näkökulman, joka tulisi ottaa huomioon seikkailupelien menestystä arvioitaessa. Käyttäjäkeskeisessä pelisuunnittelussa on sovellettu inhimillisten tekijöiden tutkimusta valtavirran tietojenkäsittelytieteeseen. Useiden vuosien ajan, käyttäjäkeskeisen suunnittelun lähestymistavasta on tullut tärkein tutkimusala ohjelmistokehityksessä. Tutkimus on keskittynyt ohjelmistojen kehitykseen käyttäjäkeskeisessä suunnittelussa etenkin toimisto-ohjelmistoihin, mutta samoja ideoita ja teorioita, jotka heijastavat yhteiskunnan tarpeita käyttäjäkeskeisessä tutkimuksessa sovelletaan nyt myös pelisuunnitteluun. (Charles ja ym. 2005.) Kiinnostus käyttäjäkokemuksen suunnitteluun on kasvanut jo useiden vuosien ajan. Digitaaliset pelit tarjoavat kokemuksia, ja pelisuunnittelijat tarvitsevatkin työkaluja, joiden avulla voidaan entistä paremmin ymmärtää tuotteiden ja palvelujen luomia käyttäjäkokemuksia. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on esitellä käyttäjäkokemusta ja miten sitä voidaan käyttää uusien aarteenmetsästyskonseptien kehittämiseen. Insinööreillä, suunnittelijoilla ja tutkijoilla tulisi olla selkeä käsitys siitä, mikä käyttäjäkokemus on, mitkä ovat sen osat ja mikä tärkeintä, miten voimme vaikuttaa käyttäjän tyytyväisyyteen. Lisäksi pitäisi ymmärtää, miten käyttäjät toimivat elektronisten tuotteiden kanssa sekä miten ihmiset toimivat vuorovaikutuksessa toistensa kanssa ja miten eri osat vaikuttavat yhdessä käyttäjien kokemuksiin. Väitöskirja on pioneerityö käyttäjäkokemuksesta geokätköilyssä ja aarteenetsintä peleissä matkailun ja opetuksen kontekstissa. Tutkimus antaa myös mallin pelin kehittäjille, jotka suunnittelevat aarteenetsintäkonsepteja.Siirretty Doriast

Teacher competence development – a European perspective

This chapter provides an European perspectives on teacher competence development