IT Education, Girls, and Game Modding

Researchers have argued that video games have great utility for learning. Games promote experiential learning and can be used to facilitate active learning. This paper examines the potential of video games in education. In particular, it examines the benefits of game modding compared to playing and/or creating games. However, video game classes have been primarily attended by male students. This paper looks further into the gender issue regarding the use of video game modding in education. This is demonstrated through a course developed by the authors on game design. The main goal of the course was to introduce middle school and high school female students to IT and assist them in acquiring five basic IT skills. During the course, survey data was collected from participating students. Results from the surveys as well as analysis of student projects and anecdotal evidence suggest that using video game modding is successful in increasing self-efficacy and motivation as well as teaching female students basic IT skills

Narrative support for young game designers’ writing

Creating narrative-based computer games is a complex and challenging task. Narrative Threads is a suite of software tools designed to aid young people (aged 11-15) in creating their own narrative-based games as a writing development activity. A participatory design process highlighted the areas where additional support was required, and informed the iterative design of Narrative Threads. The tools are implemented as a plugin to a commercial game creation toolset, and constitute character and object design tools, a branching narrative diagramming tool and an augmented story map view. In this paper, we provide an overview of the design of the tools and describe an evaluation carried out with 14 children over a four-day workshop. The study examined tool usage patterns, and compared games created with Narrative Threads to those created using the standard toolset. The results suggest a number of ways in which dynamic external representations of story elements can support writing activities in narrative-based game creation. Young designers using Narrative Threads wrote more character dialogue, made stronger links between the conversations they wrote and wider game events, and designed more complex characters, compared to those using the standard toolset. In addition to showing how Narrative Threads can support young games designers, the results have broader implications for anyone looking to support storytelling and writing through game creation activities and tools

Student Authored Digital Games as Authentic Learning: Using the \u3cem\u3eCan You Create a Game Challenge\u3c/em\u3e in Elementary Classrooms

This embedded single-case study examined an elementary classroom implementation of a digital game authoring challenge aligned with state mandated content standards. Teachers used the game challenge over four 50 minute class periods during a three month period of time. A total of twenty five (n=25) 4th grade students, nine (n=9) 5th grade students and three (n=3) STEM teachers participated in the study. The central research question for this study is: How do elementary teachers use a game challenge specifically aligned with Common Core/Next Generation Science (NGSS) state standards for instruction? Qualitative data, drawn from participating teacher interviews, classroom observations, student project reflections and document analysis of the student-authored digital games, were analyzed using Hatch’s (2002) typological analysis. Findings suggest that, while using a standards-based gaming task within instruction is effective in promoting dimensions of an authentic learning environment for students, more research is needed in the areas of 1) professional development for teachers in game design and computational thinking; 2) the use of a digital game task as an assessment for students with disabilities or who struggle in other content areas; 3) the use of a digital game task for assessment in other content areas; and 4) how the computational thinking skills and the dispositions of teachers affect the flow of knowledge in classrooms using a digital game task

Using App Inventor to Explore Low-Achieving Students\u27 Understanding of Fractions

A student\u27s understanding of fraction magnitude impacts his/her understanding of algebra (e.g., Booth & Newton, 2012; Siegler et al., 2012), which then influences his/her likelihood of graduating high school (Orihuela, 2006) or succeeding in higher education (Adelman & United States., 2006; Trusty & Niles, 2004). Literature suggests that students gain this understanding when they create and work with various representations of fractions (e.g., Ainsworth, Bibby, & Wood, 2002; Panaoura et al., 2009; Siegler, Fazio, Bailey, & Zhou, 2013), which can occur when students engage in constructivist activities such as developing games (Kafai, 1996, Apr). This study examines an intervention where low-achieving eighth-grade students develop games about fraction magnitude using App Inventor, a novice programming environment, to determine what representations students create in their games, how their understanding of fraction magnitude develops when making their games, and what challenges they experience other than challenges concerning fractions. It uses a holistic case study with embedded units to understand the major themes for each research question while considering the influences of individual backgrounds and the various kinds of games each developed. Kolb\u27s (1984) experiential learning theory, which states that ideas are formed by experiences and which occurs when one programs or codes a computer (Robins, Rountree, & Rountree, 2003), grounds the data analysis. The findings of this study indicate that students primarily use numeric representations and area models to represent fraction magnitude, which are also the most common representations found in textbooks (Zhang, 2012). They developed their understanding by working with area models, talking about area models, or by developing code to compare two fractions. The way they constructed and critiqued these representations map to the experiential learning cycle, showing that they engaged in concrete experiences with fractions, reflected on the experience, conceptualized their new learning, and experimented with that learning to develop their understanding of fraction magnitude. The challenges they experienced ranged from coding difficulties, such as decomposing their designs into components to code, to non-coding challenges, such as collaborating. Limitations of this study are discussed and implications for practice and future research are delineated

Guidelines For Twenty-first Century Instructional Design And Technology Use: Technologies\u27 Influence On The Brain

The increasingly global environment has spurred the economy in the United States as well as the economies in nearly every other nation. Although the U.S. remains the world leader in the global economy, research shows that the United States is at risk of losing its place as the world leader in science and innovation. Policymakers have recognized the need for research addressing global competitiveness. President Bush signed the America Competes Act, which calls for increased investment in innovation and education to improve U.S. competitiveness and President Barack Obama has named a platform, Science, Technology and Innovation for a New Generation which will extend and prioritize the efforts to improve math and science education. K-12 U.S. students are graduating from high school unprepared to pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in college. Without STEM degrees they will be unable to pursue technology jobs after graduation. Statistics show that the U.S. is failing to produce as many graduates in STEM as other countries. In an increasingly global world, without graduates in STEM courses the U.S. is at risk of losing its position as the economic world leader. Government, industry and academia all agree that the U.S. needs to address education on a K-12 level to ensure that U.S. students are equipped with twenty-first century skills to compete in a twenty-first century global economy. Twenty-first century students are different from students of previous generations. Researchers argue that changes in the environment, specifically an increased exposure to technology, have changed the brains of twenty-first century students; twenty-first century students learn differently. However, twenty-first century students are being taught with an instructional curriculum that was designed for a previous generation that did not have the same exposure to technology. This is causing a digital-divide that is hindering the achievement of students. The instructional curriculum needs to be updated to meet the needs of twenty-first century students. This thesis addresses this need from a technical communication perspective by arguing that the instructional design of twenty-first century learning materials should be improved by adhering to guidelines for twenty-first century learning characteristics and twenty-first century technology use. The guidelines support a national goal to improve K-12 achievement in order to increase U.S. STEM graduates and increase the U.S.\u27s ability to compete in a global economy

Cartoons beyond clipart: a computer tool for storyboarding and storywriting

The concept of a text in English teaching has become greatly generalised; moving image 'texts' as resources which learners may interpret and produce, in similar ways to traditional print texts, find an increasingly emphasised place in the English curriculum. This thesis seeks to identify how computers currently fit into work which connects moving image media with English teaching, and how they may further contribute to educational practice. After the educational context is established and recent practice described, four stages of research are undertaken. [Continues.

UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIAL AND COGNITIVE EXPERIENCES OF CHILDREN INVOLVED IN TECHNOLOGY DESIGN PROCESSES

Technology has become ubiquitous not only in the lives of adults, but also in the lives of children. For every technology, there is a process by which it is designed. In many cases, children are involved in these design processes. This study examined the social and cognitive experiences of children who were integrally involved in a technology design process in partnership with adults. This research study employed a Vygotskian lens with a case study research method, to understand the cognitive and social experiences of child technology design partners over a one-year period of design and partnership. Artifact analysis, participant observation, and interviews were used to collect and analyze data. Results from this study demonstrated that children involved in technology design process in partnership with adults experienced social and cognitive experiences which fall into the areas of relationships, enjoyment, confidence, communication, collaboration, skills, and content