A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND SATISFACTION IN SOCIAL STUDIES OF GRADE 9 STUDENTS UNDER GAME-BASED AND TEACHER-CENTERED LEARNING METHODS AT SATRIWITTHAYA 2 SCHOOL, BANGKOK Thailand

The purpose of this study was to determine academic achievement and satisfaction between Grade 9 students’ under Game-based learning and Teacher-centered learning methods at Satriwitthaya 2 School, Bangkok. The participants of this study were 60 students from Grade 9 who were studying with game-based and teacher-centered learning methods at Satriwitthaya 2 School, Bangkok. This study was a comparative study research design.  In addition, a questionnaire from developing teaching games with computer system for conversion among based on a computer mathematics course at the vocational certificated students. This study analyzed descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations), comparative analysis independent samples t-test (2-tailed).  This study found that Grade 9 students’ academic achievement taught by game-based learning method were higher than Grade 9 students’ academic achievement taught by teacher-centered learning method. Furthermore, there was significant difference between Grade 9 students’ academic achievement taught by game-based learning method and those taught by teacher-centered learning method. The satisfaction for the game-based learning was 3.95 and for the teacher-centered learning method was 3.65 which interpreted high

CREATIVITY AND EDUCATIONAL FREEWARE CHOSEN BY FUTURE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS

This research aims to study the prospects of cultivating creative thinking of pre-school children from the perspective of the use of educational software by potential pedagogues of pre-school children. The survey involved 104 future educators who chose freeware spontaneously in order to utilize it in the pre-school children's learning process. They analyzed, evaluated and prioritized the software in their discretion through an assessment grid developed by the researcher. In this context, the prospects for the cultivation of children's creative thinking in the development of the use of technology by future pedagogues were studied. According to the results, the potentially positive perspective of cultivating creative thinking of children is examined in view of the intention of educators to exploit learning software. It seems that the spontaneous choice of freeware aims to cultivate children's creativity. The pursuit of creative thinking seems to be one of the main criterion for educators' software selection. They, also, estimate positively the software which is designed to practice creativity. Moreover, future educators seem to identify and recognize the added value that new technologies offer in cultivating creative thinking of pre-school children.  Article visualizations

'Inside the box': a cooperative game for co-creating energy efficient retail spaces

Although sustainability is one of the drivers of change in the retail sector, employees still treat energy management as a lower priority compared with other operational tasks. As digital technologies are flourishing, gamification is an emerging method of raising energy awareness, with most examples however targeting individuals, and therefore not supporting teamworking approaches to handling end user building energy demand. As such, combining behavioural incentivisation and technological development is a critical socio-technical challenge within the retail environments. The development of a new cooperative role-playing game that harnesses the participatory character of game theory to boost collegiality and encourage the energy-conscious behaviour of staff in a supermarket located in the UK, is described. By feeding the game with energy simulation results, this can be regarded as a novel synergy between behavioural science and game theory within the field of building energy. Future research will focus on testing the real-world potential of the game to engage retail staff in co-creating energy efficient stores

Adolescent Motives, Gaming Behavior and Its Implications to Learning: The Case of Junior and Senior High School Students

While many individuals consider gaming as a diversion and a barrier to personal growth, the current research provides a fresh outlook on gaming behaviors. The study, which utilizes descriptive and correlational designs, investigates the motivational basis of gaming behavior among 246 adolescent gamers from a Junior and Senior High School Department in the City of Ilagan, Isabela. The study uses standardized tests to measure and compare the respondents' gaming behavior and motivation and analyzes the data through various statistical methods. The results show that the participants' gaming behaviors are mainly motivated by the domains of Recreation, Skill Development, and Coping. However, the study also reveals that excessive and problematic gaming can negatively affect academic performance, cognitive capacities, social and emotional development, self-esteem, interpersonal relationships, and prosocial conduct. The study recommends that educators and game designers should consider the pros and cons of various gaming motives and integrate them into balanced learning experiences that promote cognitive, affective, and social growth. The study also highlights the importance of monitoring and moderating gaming behavior in educational settings to ensure healthy and balanced learning outcomes

TEACHING EFL VOCABULARY TO YOUNG DIGITAL NATIVES: A STUDY WITH TURKISH 5TH GRADE EFL LEARNERS

Inspired by the recent studies on the topics of teaching vocabulary to young learners through digital games (Aghlara & Tamjid, 2011; Cellat, 2008; Chou, 2014; Jang, 2014; Yip & Kwan, 2006), the current study aimed to examine the effect of online vocabulary games on teaching new words to young learners in EFL. For this aim, 46 Turkish 5th grade EFL students in a state school were assigned into control and experimental groups. Both groups studied 22 words in 6 instructional sessions conducted in 6 subsequent weeks in the second semester of 2016-2017 academic year. Throughout this period, the data was collected via recognition- production tests and semi-structured interviews. The results of the recognition and production tests showed that experimental group outperformed the control group in terms of vocabulary gains. The results of the semi-structured interviews also supported the quantitative results indicating that online vocabulary games increased motivation of the students. Additionally, it was observed that young learners were amused by digital games and were willing to learn more via them

Teachers' Perceptions of Using Digital Gaming in Classrooms

Digital gaming is a widespread activity in our society; more than 45 million homes have video-game consoles. Mostly, educators see this as a waste of valuable time that could be used for learning instead. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative study is to understand teachers' perspectives on using digital gaming among their students at Northern Illinois University in the state of Illinois. The main findings of this study discovered that most of the teachers who were interviewed have a positive attitude toward digital gaming and they think it that has a number of benefits that should not be ignored. Moreover, the results of this study revealed that teachers noted that using digital games increased students' engagement as well as improved students' skills, such as critical thinking, self- directed learning, technological skills, and self- motivation. This study has showed that indeed digital games have a bright future as a tool used at various stages of learning for different levels of students. Consequently, the educational policy makers should to embrace digital gaming as a learning tool

The Effectiveness of Learning Geography Using Computer-based Games

Eighty, seventh grade students attending a suburban middle school in southern Connecticut participated in the study evaluating the effectiveness of computer based geography games on student motivation and achievement. Using Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) Scores and baseline U.S.A scores as criteria to develop matched pairs, students were divided so that the control group played Sheppardsoftware.com’s States Level 3 and the experimental group played States Level 6. According to the data collected, States Level 3 and States Level 6 are significantly effective instructional tools that students enjoyed playing. CMT scores in spatial reasoning did not prove strong predictors of students’ performance whereas U.S.A. baseline testing was a strong indicator in two of three categories. Results support the use of computer-based games to increase student motivation and social studies achievement