Prime Example Ingress Reframing the Pervasive Game Design Framework (PGDF)

The growing availability of mobile communication infrastructure over the last decade has contributed significantly to the maturity of Pervasive Gaming. The massive suc-cess of games such as Ingress and Pokémon Go made pervasive gaming a viable op-tion for transforming learning. By its adaptability to location and context, pervasive technology is a valuable support for the design of engaging learning experiences. De-spite profound examples of pervasive gaming as learning tool, there is still a lack of reliable methodologies to construct purposeful pervasive learning experiences. The Pervasive Game Design Framework (PGDF) is intended to fill this gap. In this article, we present the PGDF using the example of Ingress. Ingress is a prominent pervasive game, as it has received huge attention since its appearance in 2012. A large commu-nity of players and third-party-tool suppliers has created a rich set of experiences since then. In this research, we examine Ingress according to PGDF’s categories based on a survey among long-term Ingress players (N=133). Founded on this analysis we identify three main benefits for Ingress players. Furthermore, we discuss the conse-quences of these findings on the PGDF. Summarizing, this work strengthens the ap-plicability of the PGDF, in order to enable the construction of enriched pervasive learn-ing experiences

Social Seducement: Empowering Social Economy Entrepreneurship. The Training Approach

Long-term unemployment is a persistent problem in Europe, following the economic crisis suffered in 2008. This situation reveals self-employment as a good option for becoming re-involved in the working life. In this context, this paper presents a gamified educational platform to empower social economy entrepreneurship skills in long-term unemployed people. In particular, we present the training approach underpinning the motivational process supported by gamification, which has been developed using the ADDIE model. The learning path is developed according to a story that guides the work throughout the training process. It is based on the premises of alignment with reality, instruction from didactic material and real-life stories, in-game practice, work in groups and assistance from a facilitator. This approach covers the competence needs identified in a previous study and includes gamification techniques to improve motivation and engagement. Therefore, the training program comprises: (1) a set of materials and real social economy enterprise experiences, which are the basis for learning and getting inspiration; (2) activities to develop a business plan based on concepts learned from the learning materials and from real-life stories, as well as the help of a facilitator who walks with trainees during the process; (3) a set of individual and group, mandatory and optional assessment activities to evaluate the learning achieved; and (4) a three-views scoring system that shows learning progress for individuals and groups, and gives players the opportunity to exchange gamification points for benefits in the game. The results presented in this paper are based on a sample of two pilots run in Italy and Spain and involving five facilitators working with around 60 learners. About 60% of participants indicated their intention to apply knowledge obtained in a real-life entrepreneurship initiative

Sijaintiperusteisen oppimispelin yhteisöllinen suunnittelu : Tapaustutkimus yhteisöllisen suunnittelun prosessista uskonnonopetuksen kontekstissa

Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman ideana on kartoittaa sijaintiperusteisten pelien mahdollisuuksia tukea uskonnonopetusta peruskouluissa. Työssä tarkastellaan peruskouluikäisten oppijoiden kanssa toteutettua sijaintiperusteisen, interaktiivista tarinankerrontaa pääsisältönään hyödyntävän, oppimispelin yhteisöllistä suunnitteluprosessia ja sen tuloksia. Sijaintiperusteisten pelien ja interaktiivisen pedagogisen tarinankerronnan hyödyntäminen vaikuttaa luontevalta uskonnon opetuksen juutalaisuuteen ja kristinuskoon liittyvien sisältöjen kannalta, sillä ne ankkuroituvat menetelmällisesti moderneihin opetussuunnitelmiin, sekä juutalaisiin ja kristillisiin traditioihin. Tutkielman puitteissa käsitteellistetään pelillisiä ja tarinallisia ideoita myöhemmin taustaprojektissa toteutettavaa oppimispeliä varten. Niin ikään kartoitetaan sitä, millaista suunnitteluvuorovaikutusta yhteisöllisessä suunnittelussa syntyy ja etsitään pedagogisia haasteita, jotka tulee ratkaista tällaisissa opetustapahtumissa. Eräs keskeinen näkökulma on, kykeneekö yhteisöllinen suunnittelu tuomaan kontekstia, tässä tapauksessa kohdekulttuuria, läheisemmän tuntuiseksi oppijoille. Keskeisimpinä kontribuutioina tutkielmassa ovat itse suunnitteluprosessin tarkastelu ja sen lopputuloksen arviointi. Tulokset avaavat uusia näkymiä sijaintiperusteisten pelien tarjoamista mahdollisuuksista tukea uskonnonopetusta. Lisäksi itse suunnittelutyö on mahdollista nähdä oppimistilanteena, jossa oppiminen tapahtuu osana luovaa prosessia. Sijaintiperusteisuus nivoutuu osaksi tarinankerrontaa, sillä juutalaisessa ja kristillisessä traditiossa kulkeminen on keskeisessä asemassa. Esimerkiksi, yhä tänäkin päivänä kristityt suorittavat pyhiinvaelluksia. Tutkielman pohjalta nousee jatkotutkimussuuntia liittyen opetuspelin jatkokehitykseen ja yhteissuunnittelun hyödyntämiseen peruskoulutason uskonnonopetuksessa

Narrative Serious Game Mechanics (NSGM) - Insights into the narrative-pedagogical mechanism

Narratives are used to construct and deconstruct the time and space of events. In games, as in real life, narratives add layers of meaning and engage players by enhancing or clarifying content. From an educational perspective, narratives are a semiotic conduit for evoking critical thinking skills and promoting knowledge discovery/acquisition. While narrative is central to Serious Games (SG), the relationships between gameplay, narrative and pedagogy in SG design remain unclear, and narrative’s elemental influence on learning outcomes is not fully understood yet. This paper presents a purpose-processing methodology that aims to support the mapping of SG design patterns and pedagogical practices, allowing designers to create more meaningful SGs. In the case of narrative, the intention is to establish whether Narrative Serious Game Mechanics (NSGM) can provide players with opportunities for reasoning and reflective analysis that may even transcend the game-based learning environment