GAME-BASED LEARNING IN SINGAPORE HIGHER EDUCATION – A PILOT STUDY

Today’s IT-savvy students are accustomed to multi-tasking, graphics, fun, and fantasy. They are said to have short attention span. Educators are finding it challenging to engage and motivate students with the traditional mode of teaching. They are increasingly seeking to tap the potential of game-based learning to engage and motivate learners. Game-based learning is also catching on in schools and higher education in Asia. Universities in Singapore are beginning to explore new ways to engage students in learning. This paper examines whether game-based learning is an effective instructional strategy for engaging students in higher education in Singapore. It will examine how game-based learning motivates and engages students and whether game-based learning is an effective instructional strategy for engaging students in higher education in Singapore

A framework of scenario-epistemic game for proffesional skills and higher order thinking skills

In the era of globalisation, there is a competition for innovative work. The world is racing ahead to produce innovative and creative workers who have professional skills to solve the complex problems (Friedman, 2005). Dede (2007) also agreed that the world will be dominated by innovation and knowledge. Employers have higher expectation on their workers. They are required to reason, analyse, evaluate and communicate effectively (Siti Noridah, 2012). Wagner (2008) designated that these are the vital survival skills that must be possessed by every individual. This has driven the workers towards higher challenges as they need to equip themselves with 21st century skills to deal with 21st century tasks (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2008)

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GAMIFICATION IN LEARNING ARABIC COHESIVE DEVICES (Keberkesanan Gamifikasi dalam Mempelajari Kata Penyambung dalam Bahasa Arab)

This research aims to identify the effectiveness of gamification in learning Arabic Cohesive Devices. Gamification refers to the application of game mechanics in non-game environments to enhance the enacted processes and the experience of its participants. The researcher used the quantitative descriptive approach and distributed the questionnaire using a survey method to 50 first- and second-year students from the University Sains Islam Malaysia. The questionnaire was distributed to the sample members through Google Form. Then, the researcher collected the data and used SPSS to analyze it and extract the means and standard deviations. From the search results, Gamification has a positive effect on students in higher education, especially in learning a foreign language, and through it, the process of learning Arabic Cohesive Devices increases the students' motivation. Finally, gamification provides the opportunity for learners to engage with content in an effective, informal learning environmen

Desarrollo de un mecanismo de evaluación para medir la efectividad en la colaboración de videojuegos

Tesis (Ingeniero Civil Informático)Este trabajo trata sobre el diseño y desarrollo de los mecanismos de evaluación para un videojuego multijugador colaborativo de puzles que tiene el objetivo de mejorar o desarrollar el pensamiento computacional, planteando la hipótesis de que la colaboración de los integrantes tiene relación con la experiencia de juego y con la diversión, también se incluyeron las etapas de prototipado del mismo videojuego. Se investigaron distintas metodologías y trabajos realizados en el área de videojuegos educativos o serious games, los cuales no sólo tienen el propósito de divertir. En los resultados se pudo observar que la colaboración si tiene un efecto en la apreciación del juego por parte de los jugadores, mejorando los tiempos que tardaron los jugadores en completar un nivel en contraste a lo que tardaron quienes lo jugaron en modalidad single player.This work is about the design and development of the evaluation mechanisms for a collaborative multiplayer videogame of puzzles, which main objective is to enhance and strengthen the computational thinking, stablishing the hypothesis of collaboration of the participants related to the game experience and fun. The stages of the prototype of the game were also included. For this purpose, different methodologies and previous works related to educative videogames were investigated, which main purpose was not only to have fun. In the obtained results, it was evident that collaboration has an effect in the appreciation of the videogame from the players, obtaining remarkable results in the time the players took in the completion of a level in multiplayer mode, in contrast with those that completed the same task in single player modality

Computer games use in an educational system

Teaching a subject which involves a long process and inter-related problems can sometimes be difficult through conventional classroom activities. This is particularly difficult at the UK Key Stage 3 (13-14 years) where students are only beginning to understand the processes of reason. Often what the teacher would like to encourage is group discussion but for many reasons, young students may be reluctant to put forward ideas in a conventional classroom setting. An area where this becomes less of a problem is once they get involved in playing a game together. In addition to this certain subjects are difficult to teach because they involve complex interactions that are largely outside the general knowledge of young students. An example of this is the issue of human contributions to climate change. The subject is one of recent heated debate, much of which involves complex arguments on the relationship between the natural contribution to climate variation and those produced by human beings. In the work reported here a computer game has been developed which tries to incorporate the various processes involved in a realistic way. In principle this game can be used individually. However, it also provides the opportunity for generating group discussion and reasoning processes. The game which has been developed uses a non-player character which is controlled by the teacher. The game is played in a networked environment with a number of teams of two players each trying to provide solutions to a complex climate issue. The non player character is able to monitor the performance of the different teams and provide feedback that will be of a more realistic/less predictable nature. This thesis addresses the design and the implementation of the game as a tool for teaching and learning purposes for learning about the human contribution to climate change. Three experiments have been done using this computer game to investigate the effectiveness of game-based learning towards tackling these issues. The first two studies were carried out in the UK while the third study was carried out in Malaysia to investigate educational cultural background. The initial study involved two groups of Key Stage 3 children in a Geography class. The study was undertaken in the normal teaching sequence. The children were divided into pairs during game-play and each session lasted about one hour. The behaviour of the whole group and individual teams was monitored throughout the game-play. Analysis of this shows that the game not only allowed the students to investigate the science but also to communicate with each other during the process. Overall, it is felt that by introducing an environment with which they were sufficiently familiar (playing a game together) the normal inhibitions to communication were removed. The control based experiment reinforced these findings

Computer games use in an educational system

Teaching a subject which involves a long process and inter-related problems can sometimes be difficult through conventional classroom activities. This is particularly difficult at the UK Key Stage 3 (13-14 years) where students are only beginning to understand the processes of reason. Often what the teacher would like to encourage is group discussion but for many reasons, young students may be reluctant to put forward ideas in a conventional classroom setting. An area where this becomes less of a problem is once they get involved in playing a game together. In addition to this certain subjects are difficult to teach because they involve complex interactions that are largely outside the general knowledge of young students. An example of this is the issue of human contributions to climate change. The subject is one of recent heated debate, much of which involves complex arguments on the relationship between the natural contribution to climate variation and those produced by human beings. In the work reported here a computer game has been developed which tries to incorporate the various processes involved in a realistic way. In principle this game can be used individually. However, it also provides the opportunity for generating group discussion and reasoning processes. The game which has been developed uses a non-player character which is controlled by the teacher. The game is played in a networked environment with a number of teams of two players each trying to provide solutions to a complex climate issue. The non player character is able to monitor the performance of the different teams and provide feedback that will be of a more realistic/less predictable nature. This thesis addresses the design and the implementation of the game as a tool for teaching and learning purposes for learning about the human contribution to climate change. Three experiments have been done using this computer game to investigate the effectiveness of game-based learning towards tackling these issues. The first two studies were carried out in the UK while the third study was carried out in Malaysia to investigate educational cultural background. The initial study involved two groups of Key Stage 3 children in a Geography class. The study was undertaken in the normal teaching sequence. The children were divided into pairs during game-play and each session lasted about one hour. The behaviour of the whole group and individual teams was monitored throughout the game-play. Analysis of this shows that the game not only allowed the students to investigate the science but also to communicate with each other during the process. Overall, it is felt that by introducing an environment with which they were sufficiently familiar (playing a game together) the normal inhibitions to communication were removed. The control based experiment reinforced these findings