Using Augmented Reality as a Medium to Assist Teaching in Higher Education

In this paper we describe the use of a high-level augmented reality (AR) interface for the construction of collaborative educational applications that can be used in practice to enhance current teaching methods. A combination of multimedia information including spatial three-dimensional models, images, textual information, video, animations and sound, can be superimposed in a student-friendly manner into the learning environment. In several case studies different learning scenarios have been carefully designed based on human-computer interaction principles so that meaningful virtual information is presented in an interactive and compelling way. Collaboration between the participants is achieved through use of a tangible AR interface that uses marker cards as well as an immersive AR environment which is based on software user interfaces (UIs) and hardware devices. The interactive AR interface has been piloted in the classroom at two UK universities in departments of Informatics and Information Science

PlayScrum - a card game to learn the Scrum agile method

To motivate and engage students and, consequently, improve the quality of learning, some researchers suggest new ways of teaching, including the use of serious games in the classroom. This paper describes PlayScrum, a new card game devised to allow university-level students to learn Scrum, an agile software development method. We present the card game, its rules, and how it supports the main concepts of the Scrum method. We also discuss how PlayScrum was validated, based on questionnaires filled in by master students who have played it.(undefined

Towards a serious game to teach ISO/IEC 12207 software lifecycle process: an interactive learning approach

ISO/IEC12207 training is a key element to provide an ability to software development organizations for selecting a set of required processes, measuring the performance of these processes, and continuously improving them. Traditionally, such training is either performed by an expert individual to the software quality management personnel most likely in form of a seminar in a classroom environment. This may also be given by a suitability qualified professional, such as a registered auditor. However, software requirements are usually subject to change, and therefore such training is not enough to teach the substantial details of the entire standard. This has led to increased reports of complications, which demotivates organization to use this standard. To improve the quality of training, a 3D serious game was proposed for the software practitioners. The preliminary idea here is that the game employs 3D office landscape to provide a realistic virtual environment ensuring that the training will be based on real word like situations. Before building a prototype for our serious game, we consulted five industrial experts whose works are related with ISO standards. To give these practitioners an opportunity to explore the conceptual design and raise some potential problems, the semi-structured interview method was used. Based on the suggestions of experts, dynamics and mechanics of the proposed game were updated. Taken together, initial results suggest that a serious game for teaching ISO/IEC 12207 should be useful for individuals who are interested to learn more about the standard

Scrum Game: An Agile Software Management Game

For the past few years, in their attempt to avoid the heavyweight bureaucracy of traditional project management methods such as the Waterfall model, companies have started incorporating agile methods (e.g. Extreme Programming, Scrum, Crystal) for their project development. These methods are characterised by their incremental and iterative delivery, their ability to incorporate change at any stage of the project lifecycle, as well as their small and co-located teams. Even though these methods are included in the syllabus of many software engineering modules at university level, many students currently feel more confident with traditional, rather than agile methods. Many employers find that recent graduates are not equipped with the desired skills of a software engineer because, even though they are knowledgeable in the different software engineering practices, they lack practical experience of these methods. The combination of these two factors show that the university’s approach to teaching software management methods is only theoretical and it does not give students the opportunity to apply them to their projects so they can get a better understanding of their use. The project developed the prototype of a computer game that simulates the use of the Scrum method within different projects, named Scrum Game. The game is supplementary material for a lecture course, and its purpose is to guide students through the Scrum lifecycle. Students can thereby get a small glimpse of the different phases of Scrum, the way that the different Scrum roles interact with each other, and the way that Scrum is used to implement real projects. In addition, the Scrum Game has an administrator mode enabling lecturers to view a log of the progress of all their students in the game. They can use this mode to create new projects or to alter existing ones by adding new tasks or problems, thereby adjusting the level of difficulty to the level of their students, or so that it fits their teaching. The web-based system was developed using PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX (jQuery) and Google Charts API. The system was thoroughly tested against the initial requirements and other system tests. The Scrum Game was evaluated by 22 peer colleagues reading for an MSc in Software Engineering at the University of Southampton, to identify whether the system achieved its goal of introducing students to the Scrum methodology and reaching a deeper understanding of its practical use during project implementation. The results of a questionnaire showed that little prior knowledge was assumed during the game, and that 86% of the participants felt that the game helped them learn more about Scrum. When asked, “Do you think that if this game was part of your Project Management module, would you get a better understanding about Scrum?” an impressive 95% (21 out of 22 participants) agreed that the game would be helpful, and rated the system 8 out of 10 on average

Coverage of ISO/IEC 29110 project management process of basic profile by a serious game.

The ISO/IEC 29110 standard aims to assist and encourage Very Small Entities (VSEs) in understanding, adopting, assessing and improving their software processes to their specific needs. Although the integration of international software standards in VSEs is a relevant topic, the learning/teaching process are a considerable challenge for industrial trainers, practitioners and VSEs. In this paper, we analyze the Project Management process of the Basic Profile of the ISO/IEC 29110 and propose a simulation-based serious game for supporting the learning/teaching process of the standard. The paper provides a mapping between the different stages of the game lifecycle and the Project Management process the standard. Moreover, we present the results of a preliminary study to assess the idea of using the proposed serious game for supporting software process education, which allows getting an initial positive evidence about the potential of the game for helping to understand the Project Management process of the standard