A novel tangible interaction authoring tool for creating educational activities: analysis of its acceptance by educators

The creation of applications based on tangible interaction (TI applications), particularly on tabletops, is a developing area that requires the collaboration of professionals with expert knowledge in specific domains. Having an authoring tool that facilitates interdisciplinary intervention in the design and implementation of such applications is a current challenge to bring TI to different contexts. This article presents an authoring tool (named EDIT) and analyzes its acceptance by educators for creating educational activities. The novelty of the tool lies in the possibility of creating projects with a schedule of educational activities, sequenced as required for a group of students. In addition, it has specific characteristics for the educational scenario, such as the personalization of feedback and the meta-annotation of projects. Sessions were held with educators (n = 38) to analyze variables related to the Technology Acceptance Model (such as perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use) when creating TI educational activities on tabletops using the EDIT tool. The sessions were observed and recorded on video, and a Focus Group was held afterwards. During the sessions, educators gave a positive assessment in relation to using this type of tool. It was observed that, in general, they find tangible interaction valuable mostly for working with children. Finally, the results show a high acceptance obtained from the TAM and the novel features of EDIT were found to be useful

Discover Mathematics on Mobile Devices using Gaming Approach

AbstractMobile device has become a common gadget among the society. The once known only for the wealthy, the device allows people to communicate, work and play. Playing mobile games in mobile devices has become a trend as it can be played anywhere, anytime. Mobile device has properties like portability, connectivity and social interactivity that make it a preferred platform for learning. Hence, the usage of mobile devices can be expanded to mobile learning, where the learning environment is not restricted in classroom only. Computer games can also be highly effective in increasing children's learning and enjoyments of mathematics. By combining the fun factor of mobile games, the flexibility of mobile learning and the benefits of games, mobile educational games was developed. This paper discusses the model for the development of a mobile educational game for primary one mathematics education. The model describes the components that are required for the development of a mobile learning. The components for the model are the learning theories, learning approach, gaming approach, and the delivery medium. The prototype development process combines the instructional systems design and the game development approach. The developed prototype has been successfully tested using the functionality test which tested the govern on stability, correctness of game mechanics and integrity of game assets. The result showed that learning Mathematics on the mobile devices through gaming approach is possible and can become a promising alternative learning approach

Developing serious games for cultural heritage: a state-of-the-art review

Although the widespread use of gaming for leisure purposes has been well documented, the use of games to support cultural heritage purposes, such as historical teaching and learning, or for enhancing museum visits, has been less well considered. The state-of-the-art in serious game technology is identical to that of the state-of-the-art in entertainment games technology. As a result, the field of serious heritage games concerns itself with recent advances in computer games, real-time computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the main strengths of serious gaming applications may be generalised as being in the areas of communication, visual expression of information, collaboration mechanisms, interactivity and entertainment. In this report, we will focus on the state-of-the-art with respect to the theories, methods and technologies used in serious heritage games. We provide an overview of existing literature of relevance to the domain, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the described methods and point out unsolved problems and challenges. In addition, several case studies illustrating the application of methods and technologies used in cultural heritage are presented

Interactive Jawi Learning Application on Mobile Device for Primary Students

Jawi is taught in school as one of the curriculum structure in Malaysia. However, the performance of students in writing and reading Jawi is very poor. Interactive Jawi Learning Application can become a creative medium of learning infused with educational and entertainment contents to encourage students to learn Jawi in enjoyable way. The project will utilize the use of smart phone capabilities combines with the game approach to create an interactive mobile game-based learning which enables the user to learn writing in Jawi that applied for primary school students‟ level. The objectives of the project are to design and develop a mobile game-based learning application for Jawi to grant mobility for primary students, and investigate the effectiveness of the mobile game-based learning application in facilitating the learning of Jawi. The project begins with data collection and analysis and proceeds to development of the mobile game-based application. The development of the application starts with, planning, and continue with project analysis, design and implementation. The finding on the effectiveness of the mobile game-based application is gathered through user testing and survey. From the result, this project has advantage to be a helpful learning aid in facilitating the learning on writing in Jawi

Designing Serious Games for Education: From Pedagogical Principles to Game Mechanisms

International audienceSGs represent an important opportunity for improving education thanks to their ability to compel players and to present realistic simulations of real-life situations. The scientific community is aware that we are just at the beginning of a proper use of gaming technologies for education and training and, in particular, there is a need for scientific and engineering methods for building games not only as more realistic simulations of the physical world, but as means that provide effective learning experiences. This requires an ever closer cooperation among the various actors involved in the overall SG life- chain, putting pedagogy in a central role, given the educational target of the SGs. This paper addresses the till-now inadequate integration of educational and game design principles and proposes techniques, methods and mechanisms that allow designers with different background to dialogue among each other and to define games that are able to integrate - by design - entertainment and educational features. In particular, the paper follows a design path that starts from the definition of reference frameworks and then analyses the typical categories of design patterns, before focusing on the user-interaction modalities - seen from a pedagogical point of view - given their relevance for the end-users. In the end, we discuss the sandbox serious game model, that looks suited to implement - by design - joint pedagogical and entertainment features. We believe that the indications provided in this paper can be useful for researchers and stakeholders to understand the typical issues in SG design and to get inspiration about possible solutions that take into account the need to implement tools that are effective both as an entertainment medium and as an education tool

A Serious Games Development Environment

Un ambiente per lo sviluppo di Serious Game