Crossing boundaries with Geodromo: an interactive cross-media experience

In this paper we present Geodromo, a prototype of an educational multimedia system, part of the Portuguese Ciência Viva (Live Science) education program, aimed at young people and designed with innovative characteristics. The project is based on a robotic multimedia simulator platform and an online puzzle game aimed at teaching Geology, Climate, Biology and Archeology associated with a Portuguese National Park. The development of the prototype was challenging as it was intended to uphold the interweaving of multimedia events with online resources, based on research that promotes the design of emotional and cognitive factors in educational communications. One of the main concerns was the analysis and study of some pedagogical issues in order to make the project sustainable. Whatever the scientific relevance of the topics and the inherent techno-cultural appeal of the project, the aim was to bring students closer to an “undercover” reality, as authentic as it gets with digital media, and allow for them to convey emotions naturally. We found these to be major success factors in the establishment of an effective relationship between the technology and the pedagogy required to study those particular science topics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploratory learning with geodromo: design of emotional and cognitive factors within an educational cross-media experience

In this paper we present Geodromo, a prototype of an educational multime- dia system, part of the Portuguese Ciência Viva (Live Science) education- al program, which is aimed at young people and designed with innovative characteristics. The project is based on a robotic multimedia simulator and an online puzzle game aimed at the exploratory learning of geology, climate, biology, and archeology associated with a Portuguese National Park. The de- velopment of the prototype was challenging, as it involved the interweaving of advanced technology and multimedia content with online resources, based on research that promotes the design of emotional and cognitive factors in educational communications. Independent of the scientific relevance of the topics and the inherent technocultural appeal of the project, the aim was to bring students closer to an “undercover” reality, as authentic as it gets with digital media representations, and allow them to convey emotions naturally. We found these to be major success factors in the establishment of an effective relationship between the technology and the pedagogy required to study those particular topics

Can video games technology be used for educational purposes?

The question about the usage of video game technology to create successful educational games and learning tools has been extensively debated (Prensky, 2006). This research will explore these topics in order to develop a practical case study that could be used as a learning tool. There will be two main topics discussed and analysed, the first being the relevance of gaming in education, the second a quantitative case study of an educational video game prototype. In the 21st century, video games have grown more sophisticated as new technologies have advanced. Video games can be used for more than just home entertainment, as many recent games and projects have proven (Rosser et al., 2007). This research inquires on these successes and how to develop a project, which educates as well as entertains. The second major aspect of this research, which is the prototype, will implement these findings into a practical commercial product set with a prehistoric thematic featuring accurately researched extinct fauna and ancient biomes. Prehistoric visualizations, more commonly known as “Paleoart”, are a respected development in the toolkit for palaeontologists. Paleoart is vital to scientists as it helps visualize prehistoric life millions of years ago (Witton, 2014). This prototype will combine and then expose Paleoart and educational gaming to the public

“Is this real?”: Assessing the Usability and Accessibility of Augmented Reality with People with Intellectual Disabilities

This paper assesses the perception of Augmented Reality (AR) by People with Intellectual Disabilities (IDs) when using assistive technologies in preparation for a museum visit. We designed and developed an application to test how AR can provide support and is perceived in this context. We organized a user study with 20 participants with IDs, all members of the same association. Three research visits, including focus groups, enabled us to assess the memorability of the contents before introducing AR technology and collect information about users’ habits and preferences. Later, we assessed users’ perception of AR individually during a test session and conducted a task-oriented hands-on session. Finally, we went to the museum with our users and gathered information about their preferences and choices when using AR in situ, constantly analyzing verbal and non-verbal feedback. We describe all our findings and discuss their implications in terms of guidelines for future design

Designing a Mobile Game Based on Augmented Reality Application for Learning Media

Designing games for educational purposes needs to consider various aspects that help lead to the making of a good game. This study aims to describe users’ responses towards the potential of the game for blended learning, the design stages and the trial which encompass pre-design input taking, design stages, trial, and evaluation. The inputs from the pre-design stage have been the basis for the media design; the trial stage inputs from the prospective users and two experts provide feedback for the validity of media both in content and construct aspects. The research subjects involved 100 Junior high school students, 5 English language teachers, and 1 game design expert. The tools of data collection are questionnaire and semi-structured interview which were developed by the researchers. The intended subject for which this game is designed is reading comprehension and the study is planned to be conducted in approximately eight months. Both types of feedback were used to evaluate the readiness of the media for the real use for blended learning model. The results showed that the validity in content and construct aspects were both very good. The trial result also suggests that the game is considered a decent product, attractive and easy to use for independent learning. Thus, the final evaluation suggests that the media is readily usable for the real context of blended learning

Hybrid Reality-Based Education Expansion System for Non-Traditional Learning

Many educators utilize conventional coaching methods to coach and study behaviors in a classroom with face-to-face, verbal contact. But, the coaching with learning atmosphere has developed further than the classroom. The incorporation of technology at the coaching with learning procedure is the novel tendency at teaching, by a favorable result. Technologies present surroundings for learning behaviors to happen anytime also everywhere to advantages instructors with students universal. One of the skills to have been demonstrating feasibilities of the appliance at learning surroundings is Hybrid Reality (HR), which includes together Virtual Reality (VR) with Augmented Reality (AR). This work attempts to construct ahead the recent condition of hybrid reality also its appliance at learning. The initial section depicts the fundamental formation of hybrid reality also its various divisions. The subsequent sections provide the superior construction of a few innovative appliances that are implemented for the hybrid reality. Lastly, the paper shows the benefits of those applications over the traditional teaching methods and the essential user reactions. The outcomes have highly in assistance of taking mobile applications based on Hybrid Reality into a contemporary teaching scheme