Development of an Educational Game : Augmented Reality Approach to Edutainment

In this paper, the authors examine the problems, capabilities, and benefits of implementing augmented reality technologies in higher education and integrating them into formal e-learning in the form of edutainment. The main goal is to design and develop an educational interactive game that features augmented reality and would enrich the teaching process with interesting content as well as motivate students and stimulate their acquisition of knowledge. The developed game is based on current internet mobile technologies, with AR aspects realized through the use of the Vuforia platform, and is implemented as a part of a smart classroom. It includes a web application for teachers to create tasks, small parts of the curriculum that are being tested, a mobile application that students use to interact with the game and solve tasks, an augmented reality module that supports distance learning and a component for integration with Moodle LMS. This paper will focus on the AR aspects of the game and the benefits that can be gained with its use in education. The game has been implemented within the educational process at Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade

IoT Game-based Learning Model in Education

The subject of this paper is the development of a game-based learning model based on the Internet of Things (IoT). The main problem discussed in the paper is to investigate the possibility of implementing a game-based learning model in an interactive educational environment that will increase student interest and enhance learning outcomes. The developed model will be based on ubiquitous computing technologies and integrate IoT, mobile, and augmented reality technologies. The proposed model integrates with existing components of the educational infrastructure. As part of the model evaluation, testing and measurement of relevant parameters that affect the effectiveness of the proposed model was carried out

Use of Information Technologies in Educational Purposes – Case from Serbia

Secondary education in developing countries is largely based on obsolete teaching methods and technologies. The aim of this paper is to analyze the use and preferences of mobile technologies for the needs of education among the high school population, with special emphasis on social media. The paper presents researches conducted in 2016 and 2020 in one high school, based on the analysis of questionnaires on the practice and preferences of using mobile technologies and social media for educational purposes. Results obtained show that the advantages of mobile learning in high school practice are still not sufficiently utilized, since students rarely use the Internet on mobile phones or tablets to acquire new knowledge or information in the educational process. It is noticeable that the trends in the use of information technology in domestic high schools are at approximately the same level as in other countries, as well as that there is room for improving the application of modern information technology in education process. The results of the research are important for future studies, since this was conducted on a sample of high school of economic students, and the possibilities of applying this method of work on different educational profiles arises

Student As Digital Producer: Learning New(Old) Skills Through An Agency-Led Project

Students have agency to share and develop their own educational landscape, but academic guidance is crucial in formulating this learning pathway. Digital tools, know-how, and capabilities are at the forefront of cultural, educational shifts, and this paper ascertains how students can engage as digital producers in their own form of edutainment. A case study of the Digital Student Ambassador Group (DSAG) is presented and reflected upon from both 2015/16 and 2017/18. Findings indicated that students felt a sense of belonging to the group and enjoyed being in control of their own learning as well as delivering digital messages to the wider community. Despite the digital focus of this paper, it was the traditional skills of debating, researching, networking, presenting, and public speaking that were highly valued by students. This has implications for future careers, and students were optimistic about their involvement with DSAG in preparation for life beyond university. This paper encourages colleagues to utilise the DSAG model as a pedagogical platform to nurture student engagement, collaboration, and confidence

Impacto de la red social Facebook en el proceso educativo superior de las matemáticas considerando la ciencia de datos

Esta investigación mixta tiene como objetivo analizar el uso de la red social Facebook en las asignaturas Matemáticas Computacionales y Estadística Básica Aplicada durante el ciclo escolar 2017 por medio de la ciencia de datos (técnica árbol de decisión). La muestra está compuesta por 54 estudiantes de las Licenciaturas de Administración, Informática, Mercadotecnia y Comercio. La técnica árbol de decisión permite identificar 8 modelos predictivos sobre la interacción y comunicación de los alumnos en la red social Facebook durante el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje. Asimismo, el enfoque cualitativo analiza el uso de esta red social considerando las variables sobre el punto de encuentro, la distribución de los contenidos, la motivación, la herramienta de apoyo en el aprendizaje y la satisfacción. Los resultados señalan que Facebook es una herramienta que facilita el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje en el campo de las matemáticas. De hecho, la regresión lineal indica que la publicación de las tareas, el envío de los mensajes entre los estudiantes, la creación de los comentarios en el muro y la consulta de videos en esta red social influyen positivamente en la interacción y comunicación de los estudiantes durante el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje. Por consiguiente, este estudio cualitativo y cuantitativo recomienda la incorporación de la red social Facebook en las actividades escolares con el propósito de innovar las prácticas educativas

Development of an educational game based on IoT

nternet of Things(IoT)in combination with game based learning offers new possibilities to improve teaching and learning. This paper presents an example of using the IoTin education through the creation of an educational interactive game. Aneducational game based on the IoThas been developed. The developed systemaims to motivate students to acquire and enhance knowledge in the field of IoT. The system is composed of a mobile application that serves as a controller for students, an administrative tool in the form of a web application used by the teachers, a set of assignments implemented within a smart educational environment, and a collection of web services used for integration of software components.The system is integrated with Moodle learning management system. The evaluation has been conducted at the Faculty of organizationalsciences, University of Belgrade, during the Summer school in Internet of Things. A group of seven students played the game, solved the knowledge test, and gave their opinions on usefulness, ease of use, ease of learning and satisfaction with the developed system. Results show that the game has a positive effect on students’ knowledge and attitudes, and therefore is suitable for application within a blended learning environment

Not Created Equal: The Effectiveness of Two Types of Educational Computer Games

The purpose of the study is to compare two types of educational video games based on Malone’s (1984) theory of challenge, curiosity, and fantasy. The participants were 136 students from a community college in the southeastern United States. The study used a quantitative approach with participants randomly divided into two groups, one playing each of the two games. Participants were given a brief introduction to a list of French phrases and words, took a pre-test, played the selected game, and then took a post-test to assess content knowledge gain. Brockmyer et al.’s (2009) Game Engagement Questionnaire was used to assess game engagement, a demographic questionnaire to address whether gender, minority status, or socio-economic status affected content knowledge or engagement, and an open-ended question to allow for any additional responses. MANCOVA and follow-up ANCOVA found no significant differences in content knowledge gain or engagement between participants playing the two games, regardless of gender, minority status, or socio-economic status. Additionally, there were no significant differences between pre-test and post-test scores, indicating that neither game proved effective for teaching the material. Although not effective as a teaching tool, the games could be a tool for study and practice to reinforce material that had already been introduced. Additionally, the difficulty of the games may have frustrated the participants, causing them to learn less and eliminating any differences in engagement. Implications for educators include the importance of providing ample practice time to learn the mechanics of learning games, providing sufficient time or repeated exposure to learning games for them to be effective, reserving drill-and-practice games for reinforcement rather than teaching, and ensuring that games’ difficulties are in line with student expectations and abilities. Further research could be conducted comparing two short casual games played repeatedly over the course of a semester comparing multiple class sections, testing a multi-platform mobile game for effectiveness and participants’ willingness to play outside of class time, comparing two longer-playing, user-directed games of the sort championed by Gee (2005) and Harel and Papert (1991), or comparing shorter, casual learning games to longer, in-depth learning games

Development of an e-voting model based on cloud computing technology

Предмет истраживања докторске дисертације је дефинисање модела електронског гласања применом cloud computing технологије. Циљ је испитивање могућности примене овог модела у области управе и образовања. Са аспекта електронске управе, суштина примене модела електронског гласања јесте унапређење постојећег, традиционалног система гласања које , поред бројних других предности, са собом носи и смањење трошкова гласања. Када је реч о примени модела електронског гласања у области електронског образовања, потребно је испитати у којој мери технике електронског гласања могу повећати учешће студената у образовном процесу и њихово интересовање за њега. Још један од начина да се ово постигне јесте употреба друштвених мрежа као медијума за crowdvoting, такмичење и сарадњу међу студентима. Модел инфраструктуре електронског гласања представљен у овој дисертацији заснован је на cloud computing технологији. Питање сигурности обезбеђено је применом криптографских (Blockchain) протокола уз ослањање на принципе електронске идентификације као система за аутентификацију гласача. Како је предложена архитектура модела за електронско гласање вишеслојна, постоји могућност интеграције сервиса електронског гласања, ИТ инфраструктуре и регистра учесника у процесу гласања. У дисертацији је описан концепт сервисно-оријентисане архитектуре која ће бити основ за развој система за електронско гласање. У циљу евалуације модела у докторској дисертацији биће реализовано тестирање система за електронско гласање у погледу функционисања и сигурности, с акцентом на унапређењу перформанси и ефикасности предложеног модела.The subject of research in this thesis is defining the electronic voting model using the cloud computing technology. The aim is to examine the possibility to apply this model in the area of government and education. From the e-government aspect, the essence of e-voting model application is to improve existing, traditional voting system which, in addition to many other advantages, brings also a reduction of voting costs. When it comes to the implementation of the e-voting model in the area of electronic education, it is necessary to examine to what extent e-voting techniques can increase students’ participation and their interest in the educational process. Another way to accomplish this is to use social networks as a medium for crowdvoting, competition and collaboration among students. The e-voting infrastructure model presented in this thesis is based on cloud computing technology. The security issue is ensured by using the cryptographic (Blockchain) protocols, relying on the e-identification principles, as a system for voters’ authentication. Since the suggested architecture of e-voting model is multilayered, there is a possibility to integrate e-voting services, IT infrastructure and register of participants in voting process. The concept of service-oriented architecture is described in the thesis and it going to be base for e-voting system development. With the aim to evaluate model in doctoral dissertation, testing of e-voting system’s functionality and security will be carried, with an emphasis on performance and efficiency improvement of suggested model

An adaptive learning model in smart learning environment

Предмет истраживања докторске дисертације је развој модела адаптивног електронског образовања адекватног за имплементацију у паметним образовним окружењима. Адаптивно електронско образовање реализује се кроз прилагођавање појединих елемента образовног процеса са унапред дефинисаним критеријумима. Циљ унапређења и побољшања традиционалног модела наставе је ефикаснији и ефективнији процес учења. Паметна образовна окружења, као што су паметне учионице, развијају код студента знања и вештине на ефикаснији начин него у конвенционалним окружењу. Предложени модел адаптивног учења реализује се у окружењу паметне учионице и примењује концепт амбијенталне интелигенције за спровођење адаптације учења. Овакав приступ омогућава детекцију студента у окружењу паметне учионице и генерише одговарајући одзив паметне учионице према студенту, на основу унапред дефинисаног критеријума. Модел је флексибилан по питању примене различитих критеријума адаптације, као што су мотивација, стил учења, когнитивно оптерећење студента, умор, физички параметри окружења и други. Модел користи предности паметних образовних окружења за прикупљање релевантних информација из окружења у коме студент учи. Посебан акценат модел ставља на дефинисање стратегијa учења које се додељују студенту према критеријуму адаптације. Као критеријуми адаптације у дисертацији коришћени су умор студената као последица њихових дневних академских активности, односно параметар динамичког коефицијента окружења, који зависи од физичких услова у којима студент усваја наставне садржаје. Модел је имплементиран и тестиран у настави на Високој ИЦТ школи, и евалуиран кроз активности студента у току учења као и кроз знања и вештине којима студент овладава у току учења.The subject of the doctoral dissertation is the development of a model of adaptive e-learning adequate for implementation in smart educational environments. Adaptive e-learning is realized through the adaptation of certain elements of the educational process with predefined criteria. The goal of enhancing and improving the traditional teaching model is a more efficient and effective learning process. Smart educational environments, such as smart classrooms, develop students' knowledge and skills in a more efficient way than in conventional learning environment. The proposed adaptive learning model was implemented in a smart classroom environment by applying the concept of ambient intelligence to achieve learning adaptation. This approach enables detecting a student in a smart classroom environment and generates an appropriate smart classroom response to the student, based on a predefined criterion. The model can use different adaptation criteria, such as motivation, learning style, student cognitive load, fatigue, physical environment parameters and others. The model benefits from smart educational environments to gather relevant information of the student’s learning environment. The model focuses on defining the learning strategies assigned to a student according to the adaptation criteria. Students' fatigue as a consequence of their daily academic activities, together with a parameter of the dynamic environment coefficient, which depends on the physical conditions in which the student adopts learning contents were used as adaptation criteria in the dissertation. The model was implemented and tested in a teaching process at the ICT College in Belgrade, and evaluated through the student's activities while learning, as well as through the vii knowledge and skills the student acquired during learning

An investigation into how Chinese undergraduates’ learning experiences influence their attitudes, values and beliefs about EFL learning

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonOver the past 20 years, there has been a growing expectation in China that young people learn English throughout the different academic levels – most especially in Chinese Higher Education (CHE). This is predominantly due to China’s endeavours to modernise and step into globalisation in the past two decades. English as a global language has become an indispensable communication tool for modernisation and globalisation in China (Zheng, 2015; Sun, Hu & Ng, 2017). Accordingly, there has been a growing interest in the way English is taught and how Chinese students learn English as a Foreign Language (EFL). A large number of studies (e.g., Peng, 2011; Chew, 2013; Zhong, 2015; DE BOT, 2016) have sought to show the most important factors which influence students’ attitudes, values and beliefs in English learning, such as Chinese traditional culture, students’ intrinsic and extrinsic language learning motivation, individual differences and classroom affordances. However, studies into students’ previous learning experiences, which have been identified as central to influencing students’ attitudes, values and beliefs in other countries (e.g., Amuzie and Winke, 2009; Kolb, 2009; 2014; Yang and Kim, 2011), are surprisingly fewer in the Chinese context. To better understand the teaching and learning of English in China, this study seeks to fill the research gap to get an ‘inside picture’ (Jin and Cortazzi, 2011, p. 53) of Chinese students’ by analysing how their previous learning experiences influence their attitudes, values and beliefs about EFL learning. In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how students’ EFL learning attitudes, values and beliefs are shaped by learning experiences, I conducted a qualitative study focusing on fifteen undergraduates from three universities in Mainland China. Data was collected through the two phases of semi-structured interviews with each participant. During the interviews, I encouraged the participants to provide a narrative of their past learning experiences. The analysis and interpretation of the findings were conducted through an adapted narrative and inductive analysis approach, which allowed me to focus on the narratives and views of the participants. The findings reveal the pervasive influence of Chinese undergraduates’ previous learning experiences on EFL learning attitudes, values and beliefs. The primary implication of the findings is that emotions and cognitions, originating from previous learning experiences – whether positive or negative – impact students’ attitudes, values and beliefs about EFL learning. Positive emotional reactions reported by the participants had a positive impact, whereas negative emotional reactions had both negative and (occasionally) positive impacts. It can thus be concluded that Chinese students’ previous learning experiences must be both acknowledged and valued. Finally, the results of this study suggest that EFL acquisition in China does not need to focus so heavily on formal learning. Indeed, taking the findings of this study into consideration, I would argue that exploring and investigating Chinese students’ diverse range of non-formal and informal learning experiences can reveal insights with which to mitigate formal learning shortcomings