A comparative study of the effect of collaborative problem solving in a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) on individual achievement

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Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion

Design de um jogo de computador para a disciplina de informação e tecnologia

Mestrado em Comunicação MultimédiaActualmente algumas fontes de investigação científica consideram que o ensino tradicional, ao longo das décadas, tem sido menos apelativo (Foreman, 2003). Os alunos encontram-se rodeados por outros estímulos causados pelas novas tecnologias, novas formas de entretenimento e redes sociais (Prensky, 2001a; Raines, 2002), estímulos que se tornam mais apelativos do que o ensino tradicional. Uma das soluções apontadas e proposta pelos peritos na matéria é a inserção de jogos, um dos principais estímulos do entretenimento actual, como ferramentas de aprendizagem em ambientes formal escolar, como a sala de aula (Eck, 2006; Paras & Bizzocchi, 2005). O projecto que se apresenta foi desenvolvido no Departamento de Educação Física e Ciências do Desporto pertencente à Universidade de Thessaly e localizado em Trikala, Grécia, e apresenta um estudo sobre a aplicação do jogo como ferramenta de aprendizagem em contexto educacional. Este projecto consiste na conceptualização, desenvolvimento e avaliação de um protótipo de um jogo criado com o objectivo de motivar os estudantes do Departamento de Educação Física e Ciências de Desporto da Universidade de Thessaly, Grécia, a aprender conceitos da unidade curricular de Tecnologias da Informação. Considerado o propósito do jogo os conteúdos da unidade curricular foram adaptados para o jogo. Integrou-se a narrativa como elemento de motivação para os estudantes, foram conceptualizados cenários, personagens e level design, juntamente com a inserção de puzzles relacionados com os conteúdos da unidade curricular, mecânica do jogo e regras. O protótipo desenvolvido é constituído por um conjunto de puzzles com os quais se efectuou uma avaliação preliminar em dois grupos focais. A avaliação preliminar foi efectuada na Universidade de Thessaly, no pólo Trikala e na Universidade de Aveiro, com amostras de conveniência do público-alvo primário e secundário, respectivamente, para perceber se a estratégia do jogo e respectiva narrativa poderiam funcionar na unidade curricular em causa. Os resultados apontam que o jogo pode ser uma ferramenta a incluir na unidade curricular, depois das amostras do público-alvo primário terem demonstrado uma recepção positiva ao jogo e os seus conteúdos, sobretudo a narrativa e gráficos, e esperam que as próximas versões tragam mais puzzles e desafios como os que estiveram presentes no protótipo

Building a virtual classroom : an education environment for the internet generation

This thesis examines the provision of learning environments that enable people to participate in high-quality learning experiences without physically travelling to classrooms and classes. New technologies enable the asynchronous web currently based on text, images, and video, to be extended to facilitate multi-channel synchronous communications. There is significant potential to enhance learning using the 3D worlds used for interactive gaming, populated by avatars representing the participants, and chat systems using text and audio channels. The purpose of this study was to investigate the development and use of 3D web-based learning environments. Staff and students from an Information Technology degree programme at one New Zealand Polytechnic participated in the study. The design and use of 3D web-based learning environments were integrated into one paper over six years. Data were collected from the teachers of this paper and the programme in which it was embedded.A survey instrument was used to collect data, along with artefacts from the software design and development plus the web-based environments created. Computer logs, and records of chat sessions were collected to enable analysis of the activities that took place in the new learning environments. Follow-up interviews were conducted with a sample of students after the completion of their study. Analysis of these data included collations of statistically significant relationships between environmental factors and the design features of the 3D web-based environments created. Results indicate that the 3D web-based environments were well received by the students and show significant potential for the future provision of learning environments. The technology has no negative impact on students’ perception of their learning environment; however, it did not have the expected positive impact on their communications with peers or teaching staff. This research suggests directions for the future development and application of 3D webbased technologies to fully enable their potential to be achieved in educational learning environments

The design and evaluation of distributed virtual environment to support learning in global operations management

The primary goal of this research is to design and develop an education technology to support learning in global operations management. The research implements a series of studies to determine the right balance among user requirements, learning methods and applied technologies, on a view of student-centred learning. This research is multidisciplinary by nature, involving topics from various disciplines such as global operations management, curriculum and contemporary learning theory, and computer aided learning. Innovative learning models that emphasise on technological implementation are employed and discussed throughout this research.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Constructing Meanings by Designing Worlds: Digital Games as Participatory Platforms for Interest-Driven Learning and Creativity

This study emerges from the observation of an increasing divide between generations: a lack of a shared ground that carries profound social, cultural, and educational implications. In particular, the broadening differences between academic and “grassroots” approaches to learning and creativity are transforming formal and informal enterprises into seemingly incommunicable realms. This clash between different (and distant) practices, inside and outside of school, is inhibiting the construction of a common language between teachers and students, and, more broadly, between generations, thus hindering the development of any educational discourse. In this study I inquired into an online participatory space in order to advance our understanding on how its participants, driven by their interest for gaming and game design, discursively constructed learning and creativity. In particular, I looked into a community dedicated to designing, sharing, and critiquing digital game levels (i.e. “mini-games”) created with LittleBigPlanet (a digital game and creative tool for the PlayStation 3 game console) and discussed in the “Forum” section of the LittleBigPlanet Central website (www.lbpcentral.com). In this qualitative study I applied a hybrid intertextual methodology based on discourse analysis, studio critique, and design process analysis to analyze discursive texts (threads/posts in the discussion forum), interactive artifacts (user-generated game levels), and constructive practices (deigning, sharing, and critiquing game levels). The findings of this study show that participants socially construct and negotiate learning and creativity by enacting specific discursive functions that entail the use of humor and specialist language and the negotiation of effort and self-appreciation. By engaging in multimodal and intertextual practices in an attentive and competent community, users create a safe social space that fosters reciprocal trust, togetherness, participation, planning, and reflectivity. By furthering our understanding of a situated interest world, this research advances our knowledge on informal participatory spaces in which learning and creativity emerge as intertwined phenomena that develop through social-constructive endeavors that spur from people’s interests and passions