Gamification of research methods: an exploratory case

This work investigates the benefits of gamification in the taught research methods unit within the Business Management course. It utilises an exploratory design where the team attempted to use a gamified approach to teaching research methods. Two consecutive cohorts were chosen; both cohorts were studying research methods and had the same assessment, in the same format, and were taught and marked by the same teaching team. The first cohort studied the subject without any attempts in gamifying delivery, the second cohort engaged with a gamified curriculum. The latter cohort exhibited stronger final results and a higher level of engagement thus suggesting that a gamified approach to curriculum delivery enhanced the grade results. This first pilot then led to the development of a bespoke software that is imbued with the philosophical streaks from educational pedagogy and the learning literature to support a gamified approach to education

Guidelines for eBook design

In this paper we intended to propose guidelines for novice designers, i.e., without prior experience with eBook design. The first step was a systematic literature review, which resulted in 1052 guidelines, which were iteratively analysed until reduced to a smaller amount. After that, 15 practicing designers evaluated the utility of these guidelines, and excluded the ones they considered not useful (to novice designers). In an effort to embed expert knowledge, we asked doctoral students to propose guidelines, which went through the same process of analysis and peer evaluation, and were added to the previous set, which resulted in 38 unique design guidelines. Finally, three doctoral students who also are practicing designers with experience in eBook design, commented each guideline and defined the final set. The result is a set of 13 guidelines.Neste artigo pretendemos propor diretrizes para designers iniciantes, ou seja, sem experiência anterior com o design de e-books. O primeiro passo foi uma revisão sistemática da literatura, que resultou em 1052 diretrizes, que foram analisadas iterativamente até serem reduzidas para uma quantidade menor. Depois disso, 15 designers experientes avaliaram a utilidade dessas diretrizes e excluíram as que consideraram não úteis (para designers iniciantes). Em um esforço para incorporar conhecimento especializado, pedimos a estudantes de doutorado para proporem diretrizes, que passaram pelo mesmo processo de análise e avaliação por pares, e foram adicionadas ao conjunto anterior, o que resultou em 38 diretrizes. Finalmente, três estudantes de doutorado que também são designers com experiência em design de eBooks, comentaram cada diretriz e definiram o conjunto final. O resultado é um conjunto de 13 diretrizes

Effectiveness of Digital Game Based Learning Strategy in Higher Educational Perspectives

Digital game-based learning strategy is now widely used in various fields such as education, marketing and advertising. This learning strategy has attracted great attention from scholars and practitioners in recent years due to its effectiveness in various educational fields. As more research studies favored the constructive impact of games on the learning process, more and more investigators are dedicated to developing digital educational games to enhance learning skills for 21st century requirements. The objectives of the current investigation were: to present a comprehensive and systematic review of the literature of previous studies on the effectiveness of digital game-based learning strategy in a higher educational context; to report the role of various adult learning theories in digital game-based learning strategy; to highlight some barriers and their solutions in digital game-based learning strategy. A total of 20 previous studies on digital game-based learning strategy in higher educational perspectives published from 2008-2021 were selected by inclusion and exclusion criteria for conducting this investigation. The results of the current investigation revealed that digital game-based learning strategy has deep effects on the learning skills of the learners in higher educational perspectives. The digital game-based learning strategy is a better option for the improvement of engagement of learners towards learning and critical thinking skills

Academic methods for usability evaluation of serious games: a systematic review

In the last years, there has been an increasing interest in the design of video games as a tool for education, training, health promotion, socialization, etc. Usability, which is a key factor in any video game, becomes even more important in these so-called Bserious games^, where the users’ special characteristics should be considered, and the game efficacy depends on the users’ adherence and engagement. However, evaluation of the usability of this kind of games requires a redefinition of techniques, methods and even terminology. In this paper, we elicit six research questions and conduct a systematic review of the scientific literature, which resulted in the selection of 187 papers that contained the most relevant responses. The conclusions of this systematic review illustrate the general status of current academic usability evaluations of these games and the main trends in the selection of methodologies and how are they applied. This view may be a very valuable foundation for future researchMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación PROCUR@-IPT-2011-1038-90000

Research on ICT in K-12 schools e A review of experimental and survey-based studies in computers & education 2011 to 2015

International audienceWhat is the role of a journal? Is it to follow the research or lead it? For the former, it is to serve as an archival record of the scholarship in a field. It can serve to permit the research community to engage with each other via the written record. But, for the latter, it can serve the research community by pointing out gaps in the research based on the archival record. This review is intended to do just that

Education from inside the bunker: Examining the effect of Defcon, a nuclear warfare simulation game, on nuclear attitudes and critical reflection

This mixed-methods study investigates the hypothesis that playing Defcon, a nuclear warfare simulation game, can affect attitudes toward nuclear weapons and stimulate critical reflection on this issue. Participants were 141 college students who were randomly assigned to game playing (experimental) and article reading (control) conditions. A multivariate repeated measures factorial analysis revealed statistically significant differences between groups for three pairs of pre-/post-test items. In addition, total pre- and post-test scores showed a significant interaction with group assignment, reported frequency of game play, and gender, with women and less frequent gamers exhibiting greater attitude changes. In the second, qualitative phase of the study, 20 additional participants were interviewed to better understand how playing Defcon may stimulate both attitude change and critical reflection about nuclear weapons

Procesos pedagógicos y uso de tecnología en el aula

Computer supports have diversified the possibilities for interactivity in classroom teaching. Collaborative games, response feedback systems and simulated participation are indicative of the wide range of activities for which these technologies have found application in classroom education processes. In this article, evidence is offered for the contributions made to classroom pedagogical processes by computer mediation. The bibliographic analysis conducted permitted the identification of 2 pedagogic processes generated, an inductive and a deductive one, were identified. The computer-mediated teaching activities associated with each process in this literature were then classified and analyzed. Finally, inferences were drawn regarding the advantages of computer mediation in this scenario, being the main contributions, structuring and gradual deepening of subject content, the strengthening of collaboration processes, the diversification of learning environments and increased student participation.Los soportes computacionales han diversificado las posibilidades de interactividad de la enseñanza en sala de clase. Los usos del computador en actividades educativas tales como juegos colaborativos, sistemas de retroalimentación de respuesta o participación simulada, entre otros, ponen en evidencia las diversas alternativas que tiene el uso de esta tecnología al interior del proceso educativo desarrollado en el aula. En este contexto, el propósito del artículo es evidenciar el aporte que genera la mediación computacional para los procesos pedagógicos implementados en la sala de clase de la educación escolar formal. Para ello se realizó un análisis bibliográfico que permitió identificar dos configuraciones de los procesos pedagógicos generados, la Inductiva y la Deductiva. Se analizaron y sistematizaron las actividades de enseñanza mediadas por el computador asociadas a ambos procesos. Entre los resultados se delimitan las ventajas del uso de la tecnología en este escenario, destacándose como principales aportes la estructuración y profundización gradual de los contenidos, el fortalecimiento de los procesos de colaboración, la diversificación de los entornos de aprendizaje, y el incremento de la participación estudiantil

Authoring tool for the creation of educational massive multiplayer online game

El aprendizaje basado en juegos digitales se vislumbra como una de las tecnologías con mayor potencial en el ámbito educativo en el corto plazo, lo cual se debe en gran medida a que los videojuegos hacen parte de la cultura de los estudiantes y es de hecho una de las actividades en la que emplean gran parte de su tiempo libre. Sin embargo, ¿qué sucede con los docentes?, ¿cómo pueden hacer uso de esta tecnología, máxime que muchos de ellos no están familiarizados con ella? Para hacer frente a estos interrogantes en este artículo se describe una herramienta de autor que permite no solo la creación, sino también el monitoreo de videojuegos educativos de tipo multijugador masivo en línea. Adicionalmente, se presenta una validación preliminar de dicha herramienta con dos docentes de matemáticas de diferentes grados de formación, la cual se llevó a cabo en tres fases: diseño, implementación y ejecución. Por último, se complementó tal validación con una encuesta para analizar la experiencia de estos docentes respecto al esfuerzo requerido durante las dos primeras fases, así como su percepción sobre las ventajas y desventajas de la aproximación utilizada.Digital game-based learning is foreseen as one of the technologies with higher potential in the educational field in the short term. This is because videogames are part of the students’ culture and one of the activities in which they occupy most of their free time. However, what happen with teachers? How can they make an effective use of this technology, especially if most of them are unfamiliar with it? In order to answer these questions, this paper describes an authoring tool for the creation but also for the monitoring of educational massive multi-player on-line games. Additionally, a preliminary validation of such a tool with two math teachers from different grades is presented, which was made in three phases: design, implementation and development. Finally, such a validation was complemented with a survey to analyze the experience of those teachers with regard to the required effort during the two first phases as well as their perception about the advantages and disadvantages of the approach used

Herramienta de autor para la creación de juegos multijugador masivo en línea educativos

El aprendizaje basado en juegos digitales se vislumbra como una de las tecnologías con mayor potencial en el ámbito educativo en el corto plazo, lo cual se debe en gran medida a que los videojuegos hacen parte de la cultura de los estudiantes y es de hecho una de las actividades en la que emplean gran parte de su tiempo libre. Sin embargo, ¿qué sucede con los docentes?, ¿cómo pueden hacer uso de esta tecnología, máxime que muchos de ellos no están familiarizados con ella? Para hacer frente a estos interrogantes en este artículo se describe una herramienta de autor que permite no solo la creación, sino también el monitoreo de videojuegos educativos de tipo multijugador masivo en línea. Adicionalmente, se presenta una validación preliminar de dicha herramienta con dos docentes de matemáticas de diferentes grados de formación, la cual se llevó a cabo en tres fases: diseño, implementación y ejecución. Por último, se complementó tal validación con una encuesta para analizar la experiencia de estos docentes respecto al esfuerzo requerido durante las dos primeras fases, así como su percepción sobre las ventajas y desventajas de la aproximación utilizada