Designing a Programming Game to Improve Children’s Procedural Abstraction Skills in Scratch

© The Author(s) 2020. The recent shift in compulsory education from ICT-focused computing curricula to informatics, digital literacy and computer science, has resulted in children being taught computing using block-based programming tools such as Scratch, with teaching that is often limited by school resources and teacher expertise. Even without these limitations, Scratch users often produce code with ‘code smells’ such as duplicate blocks and long scripts which impact how they understand and debug projects. These code smells can be removed using procedural abstraction, an important concept in computer science rarely taught to this age group. This article describes the design of a novel educational block-based programming game, Pirate Plunder, which concentrates on how procedural abstraction is introduced and reinforced. The article then reports an extended evaluation to measure the game’s efficacy with children aged 10 and 11, finding that children who played the game were then able to use procedural abstraction in Scratch. The article then uses game analytics to explore why the game was effective and gives three recommendations for educational game design based on this research: using learning trajectories and restrictive success conditions to introduce complex content, increasing learner investment through customisable avatars and suggestions for improving the evaluations of educational games

The Practical Applications of Video Games Beyond Entertainment

Much of the attention directed toward video games is focused on their role as entertainment. However, researchers have found that video games can have other, more practical uses for society. This thesis is designed to examine three specific examples of the practical applications of video games: video games in education, video games as accessible technology, and the social uses of video games. This project is based on pre-existing research conducted by professionals studying the aforementioned subtopics. Anecdotal stories from educators, people with disabilities, and developers are also discussed. The thesis explores specific examples of video games being used practically, and the researcher suggests several opportunities for further research on the topic

Using Augmented Reality Toward Improving Social Skills:Scoping Review

BackgroundAugmented reality (AR) has emerged as a promising technology in educational settings owing to its engaging nature. However, apart from applications aimed at the autism spectrum disorder population, the potential of AR in social-emotional learning has received less attention. ObjectiveThis scoping review aims to map the range of AR applications that improve social skills and map the characteristics of such applications. MethodsIn total, 2 independent researchers screened 2748 records derived from 3 databases in December 2021—PubMed, IEEE Xplore, and ACM Guide to Computing Literature. In addition, the reference lists of all the included records and existing reviews were screened. Records that had developed a prototype with the main outcome of improving social skills were included in the scoping review. Included records were narratively described for their content regarding AR and social skills, their target populations, and their outcomes. Evaluation studies were assessed for methodological quality. ResultsA total of 17 records met the inclusion criteria for this study. Overall, 10 records describe applications for children with autism, primarily teaching about reading emotions in facial expressions; 7 records describe applications for a general population, targeting both children and adults, with a diverse range of outcome goals. The methodological quality of evaluation studies was found to be weak. ConclusionsMost applications are designed to be used alone, although AR is well suited to facilitating real-world interactions during a digital experience, including interactions with other people. Therefore, future AR applications could endorse social skills in a general population in more complex group settings

Integrating gamification into a system to improve diet compliance for elderly users

Nowadays, gamification is applied in many areas, including healthy lifestyle promotion. In earlier work, a system has been proposed to stimulate diet compliance and adherence of participants of a trial within the PROMISS-project. In this paper, we describe the design of a gamified version of this system. The goal of the gamification is to further stimulate diet compliance and adherence to the system, but also to increase the knowledge about the diet and make the use of the system more fun. To do so, we implemented gamification elements (profile page, achievements, mini-games, and a reward garden) to address multiple behaviour change techniques. Based on a small evaluation, the system has been improved so that it can be used by participants of the PROMISS trial. At the end of this paper, future improvements are suggested in the future work sectio

The impact of video gaming on managers\u27 adaptive leadership skills: do millennials have an advantage?

The aging Baby Boomer Generation, coupled with the large coming of age Millennial Generation and the need for more adaptive and flexible employees in business, is presenting companies with a challenge of how to develop individuals in leadership positions within their organizations to properly demonstrate and implement adaptive leadership attributes. This study compared data previously gathered by the participating organization from individuals composed of multiple generations currently in leadership positions attending a leadership orientation course. Data were collected using a selected instrument measuring adaptive leadership skills. The focus of this study was to determine if the Millennial Generation has gained more experience with situations playing video games and, if so, if this resulted in enhanced adaptive leadership skills. Potentially acquiring leadership, organizational, and social skills, while learning to accomplish tasks in a rapidly changing and volatile simulated environment in a video game, could have a positive impact on the Millennials’ ability to employ adaptive leadership. The learning outcomes from video game play are accomplished either as a part of the individual video game design or via Internet games for multiple players. The applicability of this study could provide direction on how to better prepare more appropriate learning solutions to develop individuals as they move into leadership roles. The resulting analysis generated data finding no significant relationship between birth generations and scores from an instrument measuring adaptive leadership, or with the amount of video game play by generation. There was a positive relationship found between birth generation and the amount of video game play

Using Gamification to Enhance Second Language Learning

One major competence for learners in the 21st century is acquiring a second language (L2). Based on this, L2 instruction has integrated new concepts to motivate learners in their pursue of achieving fluency. A concept that is adaptable to digital natives and digital immigrants that are learning a L2 is Gamification. As a pedagogical strategy, Gamification is basically new, but it has been used successfully in the business world. Gamification not only uses game elements and game design techniques in non-game contexts (Werbach & Hunter, 2012), but also empowers and engages the learner with motivational skills towards a learning approach and sustaining a relax atmosphere. This personality factor as Brown (1994) addresses is fundamental in the teaching and learning of L2.  This article covers aspects regarding language, second language learning methodology and approaches, an overview of the integration of technology towards L2 instruction, Gamification as a concept, motivational theory, educational implications for integrating the strategy effectively, and current applications used. It also calls for a necessity of empirical evidence and research in regards to the strategy

Selecting a Virtual World Platform for Learning

Like any infrastructure technology, Virtual World (VW) platforms provide affordances that facilitate some activities and hinder others. Although it is theoretically possible for a VW platform to support all types of activities, designers make choices that lead technologies to be more or less suited for different learning objectives. Virtual World platforms’ capabilities can be characterized in terms of the extent to which they are multiple or special purpose and the degree to which they support incorporation of few or many knowledge resources. Matching these capabilities with a framework for characterizing instructional approach and learning objectives provides a basis for selecting, piloting, and advocating use of particular VW platforms in specific educational contexts

Empowering vulnerable people with serious games and gamification

Although many people will associate games with entertainment and leisure, games can also aim more serious purposes, such as training or education. Games with such goals are called serious games. In addition, gamification means that a (serious) task is enhanced with game elements. Examples of serious games and gamification can be seen in many aspects of daily life. Loyalty programs of stores, educational games in schools, fitness wearables and their gamified applications, rehabilitation games, and so on. In this dissertation, the focus is on a specific domain in which serious games and gamification can create societal benefit, namely by using them to empower vulnerable target groups. In the first part of this dissertation, a literature review is performed to understand the domain of serious games and gamification for vulnerable target groups. Based on this review, research gaps can be identified. Moreover, the review resulted in a taxonomy that is used throughout the dissertation to classify different games and applications. In the following parts of the dissertation, projects addressing two different target groups and in total three vulnerabilities are discussed. The first target group is older adults, who are vulnerable in different ways. In this dissertation, safety risks for doorstep scams and health risks through malnutrition are addressed. The first vulnerability is addressed by a serious game using interactive scenarios of doorstep scams. A diet tracking system that was used to support participants in a diet trial addressed the latter vulnerability. The second target group is young adults, which is an age group with a vulnerable mental well-being. The last part of this dissertation aims to study how gamification can be used to enhance self-compassion among young adults via an online 6-weeks training program, to increase their resilience in the face of mental well-being difficulties. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies can be used to personalize and adapt the experience of a game to users. Tone of voice analysis was used to influence the progression in scenarios of the serious game about doorstep scams, and it gave players the possibility to assess the assertiveness of their voice. Machine learning algorithms were used to create personalized meal recommendations that can be used to improve the user experience of the diet tracking system for older adults. These algorithms base their recommendations on information about the historical intake of users to suggest meals and to additional items during meal editing. This makes the process of registering a meal less time-consuming. Sentiment analysis is used to adapt responses of the system in an exercise from the self-compassion training program. In addition, a topic detection algorithm was designed to assign one topic from a predefined set of topics to a note by a user of the training program. With this information, users can choose different types of situations to use in the exercises: frequently or rarely discussed topics. Aside from those techniques, knowledge representation is used in all projects, which is important for serious games/gamified applications since they are often based on expert and/or domain knowledge. This dissertation contributes to understanding the domain of serious games and gamification to empower vulnerable groups. The work also contributes to the research on the development of applications within that domain. On top of that, it contributes to understanding how AI techniques can be used to offer (personalized) features that enrich serious games or gamified applications. Finally, for each of the project centered parts, the results that are found in those parts contribute to the research in those specific fields

Me, Myself, and Interface: The Role of Affordances in Digital Visual Self-Representational Practices

A growing number of digital games and virtual worlds allow users to create a virtual self, commonly referred to as an ‘avatar.’ Essentially, the avatar is a digital entity which is controlled by the user to attain agency within the virtual world. Avatars are visually customized by users via interfaces, referred to within the body of this work as Character Creation Interfaces (CCIs). CCIs are often framed as tools that are utilized by players to create a desired avatar. In other words, the popular approach is one that is anthropocentric in nature and neglects to take into account the ways in which interface affordances - the action possibilities afforded by an artifact - potentially constrain our interactions with them. In my dissertation, I argue that CCIs co-construct avatars with players. I mobilize Actor-Network Theory in order to re-position these interfaces as actors, rather than benign tools in digital-visual self-representational practices. In order to investigate the interface-as-actor I present an analytical framework: the Avatar Affordances Framework, and apply this framework to 20 CCIs in order to systematically study their affordances. In the second phase of this investigation, I present data on two user studies: the first, a within-subjects study investigating self-representational practices in the Massively-Multiplayer-Onlne-Game (MMOG) Rift (n = 39), the other, a between-subjects study of self-representational practices on the Nintendo WiiU console's MiiCreator (n = 24). Results of these two studies are presented alongside analytical data derived from both interfaces via the Avatar Affordances Framework in order to illustrate how interface affordances are negotiated by players. A final study, an autoethnographic chapter, situates myself within the dissertation as both a researcher and user of the technology, addressing how my own experiences with these games, and my own self-representational practices, have come to shape this research. Data from the aforementioned studies was then utilized in order to generate a list of best practices for game developers. To date, such documentation is absent from game design literature. It is my hope that the practices outlined herein help developers make design choices that invite opportunities for identity play without simultaneously creating socially exclusive spaces