Gamification Strategies for Music Educators: An Online Continuing Education Course

This curriculum project is designed to provide music educators in the public and private sector with introductory knowledge about the topic of gamification and game-based learning, framed within the scope of an online continuing education course. It is meant for adult learners who teach young musicians in the K-12 range. The course offers a set of strategies and step-based processes that help transform a traditional music lesson plan into an interactive and meaningful learning experience that leverages games. The games created by the students in the course can serve to motivate music students by incorporating a sense of competition and personal achievement in and out of the classroom. Research in game-based design will demonstrate the usability of gamification within music education. This project aims to provide gamified knowledge delivery methods and assessment tools that apply to students in K-12. While one of the goals of gamification is to enhance music education through the creation of fun activities, the curriculum does not lose focus on the importance adhering to the National Core Arts Standards of creating and performing. 1 Game-based learning can complement hard-work and consistent practice through the use of game elements during a music lesson. Educational games can be a valuable method of instruction when a student struggles to understand complex subjects such as music theory by helping the student develop necessary critical thinking skills. Game-based music learning can also increase student interest and participation during class. Keywords: gamification, game-based learning, gamified system design, engagemen

Computer Game Scenario Representation: A Systematic Mapping Study

Background: Game scenario is an important factor for achieving player enjoyment; consisting a key business success factor. Additionally, the production of early design artifacts is crucial for the success of the development process. However, representing scenarios is a non-trivial task: (a) multiple aspects of the game need to be visualized; and (b) there is a plethora of representation approaches, out of which the game designer needs to select from. Aim: The goal of this work is to provide a panorama of the current scenario representation approaches, to aid game engineers in selecting the most fitting scenario representation approach and understand the existing designing options. Method: We have performed a Systematic Mapping Study, using 4 digital libraries, since the main goal can be achieved through study classification. By following an established search and filtering process, we have identified 717 articles, and analyzed in detail 95. Results: Diagrams are the most common generic approach to represent scenario; Game story is the most usual part of the scenario being represented; Characters are the most common component; and Transitions are the most usual connectors. Conclusion: Researchers may get useful information for empirically investigating several game engineering aspects; whereas game engineers can efficiently select the most fitting approach

Latin, literacy, and the Roman economy

This chapter examines economic structures and activities that helped spread the use of Latin, and of literacy, across the Roman West. Latin was spread to the provinces by the movement of people—settlers and colonists; the army; some kinds of mobile craftsmen (principally miners and potters); traders; and slaves—and also by the movement of documents, inscribed objects, and the practice of inscribing things in Latin. Slaves, if they were not brought up speaking Latin, had to learn it to survive. Traders learned it for commercial advantage, in preference to using interpreters. The evidence for professional interpreters is largely limited to military contexts or to the imperial court. Language learning lowered transaction costs when trading across different linguistic spheres—which long-distance trade in the Empire was bound to do. Craftsmen migrating from core provinces towards the periphery in search of economic opportunity brought their Latin with them. These processes occurred alongside, and sometimes independently of, any impetus from the army or the administrative apparatus of the state to use or learn Latin. But the spread of Latin, and literacy, arguably also helped the growth of the Roman economy: the development of a lingua franca lowered transaction costs in all areas of commerce and trade, while a larger-scale and more complex economy functioned better with written records, and with the investment in human capital that even basic education represented

FORGOTTEN ARCHITECTURE: SMART TOOLS FOR CULTURAL TOURISM IN THE CLOISTER OF THE PRIOR (SANTA MARIA DELLE GRAZIE, MILAN)

This paper describes the relationship among an important nineteenth-century monument, the Cloister of the Prior (located in the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan), its survey and the technical integration of different cultural information to be enjoyed in VR and AR during its visit. In this context, the surveying techniques have to face the problem related to the presence of white and smooth surfaces and the difficulty in obtaining a good result in the 3D modelling. Various tests have been performed to create a good point cloud from the photogrammetric survey of the cloister, conducted through the use of different camera lenses or post production interventions applied to the images, in order to obtain the best results. The 3D modelling is not only a base for creating virtual and augmented experiences (that, through digital contents, explain to the distracted public the history of this less known part of the monument) but also a starting point for possible further studies focused on the modifications that affected the cloister over the centuries

Europe from Below : Notions of Europe and the European among Participants in EU Cultural Initiatives

Peer reviewe

Museums, social media & 2.0 technology

Índice: - Sobre museos, redes sociales y tecnología 2.0 (Alex Ibáñez Etxeberria). - Sitios web y museos: nuevas aplicaciones para el aprendizaje informal (Mikel Asensio, Elena Asenjo y Alex Ibáñez Etxeberria). - From headphones to microphones: mobile social media in the museum as distributed network (Nancy Proctor). - Mobile learning y patrimionio: aprendiendo historia con mi teléfono, mi GPS y mi PDA (Alex Ibáñez Etxeberria, Mikel Asensio y José Miguel Correa). - Digital asset management strategies for multi-platform content delivery (Titus Bicknell). - Redes sociales y museos participativos: la irrupción de las tecnologías 2.0 en la sociedad y su aplicación en los museos a través del caso de Arazi (Juan José Aranburu)

Electronic Imaging & the Visual Arts. EVA 2014 Florence

Information Technologies of interest for Culture Heritage are presented: multimedia systems, data-bases, data protection, access to digital content, Virtual Galleries. Particular reference is reserved to digital images (Electronic Imaging & the Visual Arts), regarding Cultural Institutions (Museums, Libraries, Palace - Monuments, Archaeological Sites). The International Conference includes the following Sessions: Strategic Issues; EC Projects and Related Networks & Initiatives; 2D - 3D Technologies and Applications; Virtual Galleries - Museums and Related Initiatives; Access to the Culture Information. Three Workshops regard: International Cooperation; Innovation and Enterprise; e.Culture Cloud

Model to guide the design of geo-location based serious games for the teaching of english as a second language

Este documento presenta el proceso de definición y de validación de un modelo que guía el desarrollo de juegos serios, con características de geo-localización, para la enseñanza del inglés. Inicialmente, se exponen los resultados de una revisión sistemática de la literatura donde se buscaba determinar los elementos de juego más importantes en la construcción de juegos serios, y adicionalmente, como era su integración con las características de la geo-localización. Tomando como base estos resultados, se procede a plantear un modelo que define como estos elementos deben ser integrados dentro de un juego serio para incrementar la motivación de los estudiantes. Luego, se construye y se valida un prototipo a partir del modelo definido. Finalmente, los resultados de la validación muestran que el uso del modelo propuesto permite incrementar la motivación de los estudiantes, afectando de manera positiva el proceso de aprendizaje del idioma inglés.This document presents the process of defining and validating a model that guides the development of serious games, with geo-location features, for teaching English. First, the systematic literature review's results are presented. The review aims to determine the most relevant game elements in the development of serious games, and additionally, how those elements are integrated with the geo-location features. Based on these results, the model proposed is defined, describing its elements and explaining how they should be integrated into a serious game to increase the students' motivation. Then, a prototype is developed and validated using the defined model. Finally, the validation's results show that the use of the proposed model helps to increase students' motivation, positively affecting their learning process.Maestrí