Teaching how to program using automated assessment and functional glossy games (Experience Report)

Our department has long been an advocate of the functional-first school of programming and has been teaching Haskell as a first language in introductory programming course units for 20 years. Although the functional style is largely beneficial, it needs to be taught in an enthusiastic and captivating way to fight the unusually high computer science drop-out rates and appeal to a heterogeneous population of students.This paper reports our experience of restructuring, over the last 5 years, an introductory laboratory course unit that trains hands-on functional programming concepts and good software development practices. We have been using game programming to keep students motivated, and following a methodology that hinges on test-driven development and continuous bidirectional feedback. We summarise successes and missteps, and how we have learned from our experience to arrive at a model for comprehensive and interactive functional game programming assignments and a general functionally-powered automated assessment platform, that together provide a more engaging learning experience for students. In our experience, we have been able to teach increasingly more advanced functional programming concepts while improving student engagement.The authors would like to thank the precursors of the 20-year functional programming culture and FPro unit at our university, and all the instructors and TAs that have been involved in the PLab unit throughout the years. This work is financed by the ERDFs European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation - COMPETE 2020 Programme within project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006961, and by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT s Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia as part of project UID/EEA/50014/2013

A serious game for programming in higher education

Programming is a highly difficult skill which is a constituent of many undergraduate programmes at Higher Education (HE) level. With the advancement of games technology there is an increasing opportunity for educators to provide innovative assessment tools for students on their courses which are highly immersive and graphically indicative of the times. This could potentially be in a supplementary capacity or to a greater extent inextricably linked to the learning outcomes and assessment outcomes. Notably serious games and Games-Based Learning (GBL) have received high levels of attention from educationalists due to being motivational, novel learning approaches. This paper will outline two empirical studies conducted to develop a game to teach programming at HE level. The first study will gauge the acceptability of a computer game for teaching programming and formulating content integration development requirements. The second study will outline the evaluation of the developed game being placed in a module as a formative assessment tool to assist learners to revise for their formal class test. Study one showed that acceptability of the game was high with 61 participants completing an acceptability/content integration questionnaire. The game was designed to consolidate knowledge on rudimentary and advanced programming concepts, data structures and algorithms. 48 participants evaluated the game in study two with the results generally indicating that they enjoyed playing the game as a revision alternative with 14% of participants rating it as very effective and 51% of participants as effective for allowing them to prepare for their class test. The majority of participants also believed that games could be utilised in a formative and summative assessment capacity on courses for independent study

Adaptive serious games for computer science education

Serious games have the potential to effectively engage students to learn, however, these games tend to struggle accommodating learners with diverse abilities and needs. Furthermore, customizing a serious game to the individual learner has historically required a great deal of effort on the part of subject matter experts, and is not always feasible for increasingly complex games. This thesis proposes the use of automatic methods to adapt serious programming games to learners' abilities. To understand the context of the problem, a survey was conducted of the serious programming game literature, which found that while many games exist, there has been very little consideration for the use of adaptation. Given the breadth of the existing serious programming game literature, a methodology was developed to support adaptation of existing games. To demonstrate the efficacy of this adaptive methodology in serious programming games, two case studies were conducted: 1) a study comparing adaptive and non-adaptive gameplay in the Gidget game, and 2) a study assessing non-adaptive gameplay, adaptive gameplay, and adaptive hints in the RoboBug game. The results from both case studies provide evidence to the need for adaptation in serious programming games, and illustrate how the adaptive methodology can be utilized to positively affect the engagement of learners and their ability to achieve learning outcomes

ENgAGED: um processo de desenvolvimento de jogos para ensino em computação

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Computação, Florianópolis, 2016.A utilização de jogos educacionais para o ensino de Computação vem se mostrando uma eficiente estratégia instrucional que leva os alunos a uma aprendizagem ativa e adquirir novos conhecimentos, habilidades e atitudes. Assim, nos últimos anos diversos jogos (digitais e não-digitais) para ensinar várias áreas de Computação (p. ex. Engenharia de Software, programação, redes de computadores e segurança) foram desenvolvidos. Tipicamente estes jogos são desenvolvidos pelos próprios professores das disciplinas de modo ad-hoc e não são avaliados de forma rigorosa. Portanto, é necessária uma base melhor de design instrucional e de design de jogos para assegurar que os jogos desenvolvidos atingem os seus objetivos de aprendizagem. Neste contexto, a Tese apresenta o processo ENgAGED - um processo de desenvolvimento de jogos educacionais, que integra processo de design instrucional e processo de design de jogos. O processo foi desenvolvido com base em uma revisão sistemática da literatura, comparando os processos existentes e de forma sistemática integrando elementos do design instrucional e o design de jogos. O processo foi avaliado do ponto de vista da qualidade do processo e da qualidade do produto. A avaliação da qualidade do processo foi realizada por um painel de 10 especialistas que consideraram o processo é não-ambíguo, útil, consistente, completo, compreensível e correto. O processo também foi avaliado positivamente em relação a flexibilidade e usabilidade para o desenvolvimento de vários tipos de jogos. A qualidade do produto foi avaliado por meio de uma serie de estudo de casos, desenvolvendo 4 jogos educacionais (SCRUM-Scape, SCRUM?ed, PM-Quiz e Fuga de Gambix) com o processo ENGAGED. Espera-se que os resultados dessa Tese facilitem o desenvolvimento de novos jogos educacionais para área da Computação, contribuindo para a sua qualidade tanto em termos educacionais quanto de jogos e assim em geral contribuir positivamente ao ensino de Computação.Abstract : The use of educational games for teaching computing has been shown to be an effective instructional strategy that leads students to active learning and acquiring new knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Recently various games (digital and non-digital) have been developed to teach diverse computing areas (e.g. software engineering, programming, computer networks, and security). Typically, these games are developed by the teachers themselves in an ad-hoc manner and many are not rigorously evaluated. Therefore, a better basis for instructional design and game design is required to ensure that the developed games achieve their learning goals. In this context, this thesis presents the process ENgAGED - a process for developing educational games, which integrates parts of the instructional design and game design process. The process was developed based on a systematic literature review, comparing existing processes and systematically integrating elements of instructional design and game design. The process was evaluated from the point of view process quality and quality of the product. The process quality was evaluated by a panel of 10 experts, who considered the process is non-ambiguous, useful, consistent, complete, understandable and correct. The process was also evaluated positively in relation to flexibility and usability for the development of several types of games. The product quality has been evaluated through a series of case studies developing 4 educational games (SCRUM-Scape, SCRUM?ed, PM-Quiz e Fuga de Gambix) following the process ENGAGED. We expect that the. Results of this thesis facilitate the development of new educational games for teaching computing contributing to their quality and, thus, contribute positively to computer education

Video Design and Interactivity: The Semiotics of Multimedia in Instructional Design

This creation-as-research thesis examines the semiotics of multimedia and interactivity within the context of instruction, focusing on theoretical and practical representations in video game design, and the cultural models therein. There are 4 parts to this thesis 1) A traditional written document; 2) A 15-Module Online Course in video game design entitled Gaming, Interactive, and Multiplatform Media; 3) 15 Summary Videos of the online course in video game design; 4) The performative creation-as-research dissertation presentation. This thesis highlights the teaching practices surrounding video game design principles, while emulating those design principles as part of the instructional platforms. The 4 parts of this thesis, collectively, are a manifestation of the findings in the written component, which suggests that video games, through their innate interactivity via the inclusion of multimedia as part of their design, hold critical implementation frameworks for course-based instructional design, when multimedia is used as part of the instructional process

New Game Physics - Added Value for Transdisciplinary Teams

This study focused on game physics, an area of computer game design where physics is applied in interactive computer software. The purpose of the research was a fresh analysis of game physics in order to prove that its current usage is limited and requires advancement. The investigations presented in this dissertation establish constructive principles to advance game physics design. The main premise was that transdisciplinary approaches provide significant value. The resulting designs reflected combined goals of game developers, artists and physicists and provide novel ways to incorporate physics into games. The applicability and user impact of such new game physics across several target audiences was thoroughly examined. In order to explore the transdisciplinary nature of the premise, valid evidence was gathered using a broad range of theoretical and practical methodologies. The research established a clear definition of game physics within the context of historical, technological, practical, scientific, and artistic considerations. Game analysis, literature reviews and seminal surveys of game players, game developers and scientists were conducted. A heuristic categorization of game types was defined to create an extensive database of computer games and carry out a statistical analysis of game physics usage. Results were then combined to define core principles for the design of unconventional new game physics elements. Software implementations of several elements were developed to examine the practical feasibility of the proposed principles. This research prototype was exposed to practitioners (artists, game developers and scientists) in field studies, documented on video and subsequently analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the elements on the audiences. The findings from this research demonstrated that standard game physics is a common but limited design element in computer games. It was discovered that the entertainment driven design goals of game developers interfere with the needs of educators and scientists. Game reviews exemplified the exaggerated and incorrect physics present in many commercial computer games. This “pseudo physics” was shown to have potentially undesired effects on game players. Art reviews also indicated that game physics technology remains largely inaccessible to artists. The principal conclusion drawn from this study was that the proposed new game physics advances game design and creates value by expanding the choices available to game developers and designers, enabling artists to create more scientifically robust artworks, and encouraging scientists to consider games as a viable tool for education and research. The practical portion generated tangible evidence that the isolated “silos” of engineering, art and science can be bridged when game physics is designed in a transdisciplinary way. This dissertation recommends that scientific and artistic perspectives should always be considered when game physics is used in computer-based media, because significant value for a broad range of practitioners in succinctly different fields can be achieved. The study has thereby established a state of the art research into game physics, which not only offers other researchers constructive principles for future investigations, but also provides much-needed new material to address the observed discrepancies in game theory and digital media design

Cadenland: An Ethnographic Case Study Exploring a Male's Videogaming Literacies on Crayta Within the Larger Stadia Culture

As content creation becomes more accessible and social through gaming, defying hardware barriers, not deterred by software interfaces, moving gaming into the cloud has made it a massive multiplier for players to explore their literacies and creativity without the clutter of the physical space. Videogaming's popularity has sparked controversy, especially the perception of videogames as violent and having a negative influence on players or having no social value in it. Hence, the need to create a balance by focusing on the merits inherent in videogames. This virtual ethnographic case study explored the literacies found in a 26-year-old male gamer's videogaming on Crayta within a larger Stadia cloud gaming community. The methodology included observations, semistructured and unstructured interviews, in-game chats, game-based artifacts, and thematic analysis to analyze the data gathered from the participant. Findings reveal how videogaming experience enhanced the participant's engagement, resulting in four significant literacy outcomes. Results are discussed regarding implications for collaboration, creativity and innovation, critical strategic thinking, and social skills. Included is a hybrid theoretical framework of layered literacies and the feedback loop for examining the lived-in experiences of the participant

Children's use of home computers from a cultural psychological perspective

This thesis adopts a cultural psychological perspective on children's use of computers at home and, as a contrast, in the classroom. It utilises various methodologies to investigate the actual uses that children make of computers in these settings and also focuses on how computing practices are situated within the local ecology, or context. Seventy-six 7-, 9- and 11-year-old pupils from five socially and ethnically diverse primary schools were interviewed in their schools. In addition, thirty-three families with children of comparable ages, from the same five schools, participated in a detailed study of the ecology of home computing. Findings suggest that, although parents had high educational aspirations for the ways in which their children would use a new computer, these aspirations were not met in reality. Entertainment games predominated and educational software was used comparatively little. This thesis explores why this was the case and finds that it was the differing ecologies of the home and the classroom that mediated the different uses that were found in either setting. [Continues.

CREATING A COHERENT SCORE: THE MUSIC OF SINGLE-PLAYER FANTASY COMPUTER ROLE-PLAYING GAMES

This thesis provides a comprehensive exploration into the music of the ludic genre (Hourigan, 2005) known as a Computer Role-Playing Game (CRPG) and its two main sub-divisions: Japanese and Western Role-Playing Games (JRPGs & WRPGs). It focuses on the narrative category known as genre fiction, concentrating on fantasy fiction (Turco, 1999) and seeks to address one overall question: How do fantasy CRPG composers incorporate the variety of musical material needed to create a coherent score across the JRPG and WRPG divide? Seven main chapters form the thesis text. Chapter One provides an introduction to the thesis, detailing the research contributions in addition to outlining a variety of key terms that must be understood to continue with the rest of the text. A database accompanying this thesis showcases the vast range of CRPGs available; a literature review tackles relevant existing materials. Chapters Two and Three seek to provide the first canonical history of soundtracks used in CRPGs by dissecting typical narrative structures for games so as to provide context to their musical scores. Through analysis of existing game composer interviews, cultural influences are revealed. Chapters Four and Five mirror one another with detailed discussion respectively regarding JRPG and WRPG music including the influence that anime and Hollywood cinema have had upon them. In Chapter Six, the use of CRPG music outside of video games is explored, particularly the popularity of JRPG soundtracks in the concert hall. Chapter Seven concludes the thesis, summarising research contributions achieved and areas for future work. Throughout these chapters, the core task is to explain how the two primary sub-genres of CRPGs parted ways and why the music used to accompany these games differs so drastically