Making in-class skills training more effective: the scope for interactive videos to complement the delivery of practical pedestrian training

Skills and awareness of young pedestrians can be improved with on-street practical pedestrian training, often delivered in schools in the United Kingdom by local authorities with the intention of improving road safety. This training is often supplemented by in-class paper based worksheet activities which are seen to be less effective than practical training in that they focus on knowledge acquisition rather than directly improving the correct application of safe pedestrian skills at the roadside. Previous research indicates that interactive video tools have the potential to develop procedural skills whilst offering an engaging road safety educational experience, which could positively impact on road crossing behaviour.In this paper, the design and development of a hazard-identification interactive road safety training video targeting child road crossing skills is presented. The interactive video was shown to be an engaging training resource for 6-7 year old children. The tool’s scope for improving pedestrians’ roadside skills is considered along with the wider implications for interactive video to aid safety training in other areas

Why so serious? On the relation of serious games and learning

Serious games have become a key segment in the games market as well as in academic research. Although the number of games that identify themselves as belonging to this category as well as the research done on their effects has been rapidly growing, there has thus far been no attempt to define all of the various opportunities that digital games provide for learning. To address this issue we look at existing definitions of serious games and their potential for learning. We identify the shortcomings of existing definitions and typologies. We discuss opportunities for an educational use of serious games which have been marginalized so far and develop a more flexible classification system for serious games in order to include commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) games for learning purposes and description options for future developments of gaming technology. This classification system for digital and serious games uses labels and tags as a preferable solution instead of fixed genre categories. The aim of this paper is to move the focus from what serious games and their uses for learning currently are to what they can be

A játékokkal kapcsolatos fogalmak szakirodalmi áttekintése

Games used for the purposes of education owe their popularity to the fact that they create a learning environment that is suitable for enhancing students’ knowledge and developing their skills while exerting a positive effect on their attitudes. There is extensive international literature on games in education since these games are well suited to generating attractive and interactive learning opportunities, in which students may make discoveries, play games and invent and make use of problem solving strategies. One feature of the literature on the subject is that several new concepts have been added to previously existing ones over the past few decades thus enriching and nuancing the previous theoretical framework. The fitting of the newly emerging concepts into the existing system is not without its challenges, however. The games discussed in the current overview serve educational purposes. These purposes define the type and features of the game. In order for a game to be used successfully in education, reflective user behaviour is needed. In order to develop reflective skills, one must have thorough familiarity with the constantly expanding theoretical framework, since it will help us decide which type of game and approach are the most efficient for any particular purpose. This overview of the literature on educational games undertakes to point out challenges in defining this class of games and discusses the interpretations of concepts appearing in the literature and the interrelations between these concepts. The overview covers the concepts of edutainment, serious games, gamification, game-based learning and digital game-based learning in some detail and briefly touches on other related ideas. Finally, we shall identify and interpret relationships between these concepts.Az oktatási céllal alkalmazott játékok nagyon népszerűek, mivel olyan aktív tanulási környezetet teremtenek, amely alkalmas arra, hogy a tanulók tudását gyarapítsa, készségeit fejlessze, és a tanulók attitűdjére pozitív hatást gyakoroljon. Az oktatási céllal alkalmazott játékok nemzetközi szakirodalma jelentős, mivel ezek a játékok képesek arra, hogy vonzó és interaktív tanulási lehetőségeket teremtsenek, amelyekben a tanulók felfedezhetnek, játszhatnak, probléma-megoldási stratégiákat találhatnak ki és valósíthatnak meg. A téma szakirodalmára jellemző, hogy az elmúlt évtizedekben a már meglévő fogalmakat számos új fogalom egészítette ki, gazdagítva és részletezve a korábbi elméleti keretet. Azonban az újonnan megjelenő fogalmak beillesztése a már meglévő rendszerbe korántsem akadálymentes. Az áttekintésben tárgyalt játékok oktatási célokat szolgálnak. Ezek a célok meghatározzák a játék jellemzőit, típusát. Ahhoz, hogy a játékokat az oktatásban sikeresen alkalmazzák, tudatos felhasználói viselkedésre van szükség. A tudatosság kialakításához pedig szükséges a folyamatosan bővülő elméleti keret alapos ismerete, hiszen ez segít abban, hogy eldöntsük, milyen céllal, melyik játéktípus, melyik koncepció a hatékony. Az oktatási céllal alkalmazott játékok szakirodalmi áttekintésének célja, hogy bemutassuk e játékok definiálásának problémás elemeit, a szakirodalomban megjelenő fogalmak értelmezését és a fogalmak közötti kapcsolatokat. Az áttekintés során kitérünk az edutainment, a komoly játékok, a gamifikáció, a játék-alapú tanulás, a digitális játék-alapú tanulás fogalmak részletesebb, valamint az egyéb kapcsolódó fogalmak rövid bemutatására. Végül a fogalmak kapcsolatát kívánjuk felvázolni és értelmezni

Serious games e orientamento universitario: un'esperienza di game-based learning

Il contributo presenta un’esperienza di formazione basata sul gioco rivolta a studentesse e studenti in uscita dalla scuola secondaria di secondo grado, sviluppata nell’ambito del corso di orientamento "Sviluppo di carriera e professioni del futuro", erogato dall’Università di Siena e finanziato tramite risorse del PNRR (D.M. 934/2022). Il corso ha coinvolto 5 istituti di istruzione superiore del territorio toscano con l’obiettivo di promuovere la conoscenza dell’ambiente universitario ed esplorare le prefigurazioni professionali dei partecipanti. Le studentesse e gli studenti si sono cimentati in giochi quali taboo, pictionary, gioco dell'oca e Lego® re-immaginati e adattati ai contesti universitario e lavorativo. Le attività laboratoriali presentate in questa sede e i primi risultati ottenuti sottolineano l'efficacia dell’uso delle metodologie game based per favorire la partecipazione attiva degli studenti ai processi di apprendimento e facilitare pratiche di orientamento universitario in ottica riflessiva

Student's opinions on online educational games for learning programming introductory

Use of educational games is an approach that has potential to change the existing educational method. This is due to games popularity among younger generation as well as engagement and fun features of games compared to conventional learning method. In addition, games are among the most widespread media amongst younger generation or so-called "digital natives" apart from movie, music and internet technology. Game play activities is an important issue to be thoroughly understood due to the facts that many of them are addicted to game play activity. In contrast, conventional learning approaches are not interesting enough to the younger generation. Thus, integration of games technology into education is potentially believed to increase student interest and motivation to learn. This study developed and evaluates an online educational game for learning Programming Introductory course at a university in Malaysia. A total of 180 undergraduate students from computer and engineering background participate in the study. Findings shows that about 80% of students have positive attitude towards the games with around 84% of them find that the games is a fun way to learn, at the same time, an average of 80% agreed that the game provide them with opportunity to learn. Furthermore, about 75% of the students agreed that the game make them able to do self-assessment for Programming course. It was interesting to find that almost 85% of the student said that they will want to use educational games as their future learning approach. Despite many more evidence will be needed especially in Malaysia context, this study is important to rationalize that games can be one of the new learning approaches in the future

Antecedents to the effectiveness of game-based learning environments for the Net generation: A game task fit and flow perspective

Purpose: There is a general consensus that games are effective as learning tools. There is however, a lack of knowledge regarding what makes games effective as a learning tool. The purpose of this study is therefore to answer the question: what are the antecedents of an effective game-based learning environment for the Net generation? The Net generation comprises individuals who prefer to learn using games as a tool. Aim: The aim of this dissertation is to develop a conceptual framework that reflects the antecedents of an effective game-based learning environment for the Net generation. The conceptual framework combines the IS Success Model, and the Task-Technology Fit and Flow theory. Method: The study used a quantitative method. Data was collected using an online instrument. The study used 125 participants from mainly the United Kingdom, United States and South Africa. The model was validated using confirmatory factor analysis and tested using multiple regression analysis. Key Findings: The identified antecedents of effectiveness are Game-Task Fit and Flow, where Flow consists of Clear Goals, Feedback and Concentration. Additionally, the Use factor in the model is replaced by Perceived Usefulness. The Conceptual Framework can be used as an evaluation tool for effective game-based learning environments for the Net generation

VRetorik: a virtual reality videogame to improve public speaking skills

Trabajo de Fin de Grado en Ingeniería Informática, Facultad de Informática UCM, Departamento de Ingeniería del Software e Inteligencia Artificial, Curso 2019/2020.Una búsqueda en Google sobre el "miedo a hablar en público" es suficiente para obtener más de ocho millones de resultados. Esto no es una coincidencia, porque el 75% de la población (glossophobia, 2011) sufre de esta fobia. Es por eso que numerosos estudios y herramientas se han llevado a cabo en los últimos años para mejorar las habilidades de hablar en público (Anke W.Blote, 2009). Orai (Orai, 2018) o Chiara (Chiara, n.d.) son algunos ejemplos de aplicaciones capaces de crear capacitación personalizada después de grabar y analizar un discurso. También existen juegos de mesa, como Retorik (Juanjo Mestre y Marta Segarra, n.d.) un juego de cartas donde los jugadores deben improvisar un discurso, mejorando sus habilidades de comunicación oral mientras juegan. En este proyecto, hemos combinado ambos mundos para crear un videojuego de realidad virtual que sea capaz de analizar al orador y darle feedback para mejorar sus habilidades de comunicación. Este documento detalla el diseño y la creación de VRetorik, un videojuego educativo en realidad virtual destinado a mejorar estas habilidades. Se basa en la improvisación y la creatividad para gamificar la experiencia del jugador. El sistema analiza el contenido del discurso y las emociones transmitidas por el orador para proporcionar feedback a este. De esta manera, el orador mejora las habilidades de hablar en público mientras juega.A Google search about the "fear of public speaking" is enough to obtain more than eight million results. This is not a coincidence, because 75% of the population suffers from this phobia. That is why numerous studies and tools have been carried out in recent years to improve public speaking skills. Orai or Chiara are some examples of apps able to create personalized training after recording and analyzing a speech. There are also board games, such as Retorik, a card game where players must improvise a speech, improving their communication skills while playing. In this project, we have combined both worlds to create a virtual reality video game that was able to analyze the speaker and give him feedback to improve his communication skills. This document details the design and creation of VRetorik, an educational video game in virtual reality aimed at improving these skills. It relies on improvisation and creativity to gamify the player experience. The system analyzes the speech content and the emotions transmitted by a speaker to provide feedback. In this way, the speaker improves the ability of public speaking while playing.Depto. de Ingeniería de Software e Inteligencia Artificial (ISIA)Fac. de InformáticaTRUEunpu