Creativity in the cane fields: motivating and engaging IT students through games

In this paper we discuss the influence of the unique local environment and culture on students and teaching styles in the IT degree at James Cook University Cairns Campus. In this degree program games are used to motivate self-directed study and increase student engagement in first and second year programming subjects, and also to generate interest in learning new technologies such as programming for mobile devices. We discuss the use of a mixed reality location based game to improve attitude to teamwork by integrating students in a games subject and a general IT software engineering subject. Students learn the value of community engagement through links to a local primary school for design and evaluation of games, to ensure a balanced approach to user requirements, game design and implementation. Students have explored niche applications of games through the development of a game for children with disabilities

State-of-the-Art Model Driven Game Development: A Survey of Technological Solutions for Game-Based Learning

Game-based learning harnesses the advantages of computer games technology to create a fun, motivating and interactive virtual learning environment that promotes problem-based experiential learning. Such an approach is advocated by many commentators to provide an enhanced learning experience than those based on traditional didactic methods. However, the adoption of such a seductive learning method engenders a range of technical, educational and pedagogical challenges, including: (i) how to enable domain experts - with little computer games development skills – to plan, develop and update their teaching material without going through endless and laborious iterative cycles of software and content development and/or adaptation; (ii) how to choose the right mix of entertainment and game playing to deliver the required educational and pedagogical lesson/teaching material; and (iii) how to reuse existing games software frameworks and associated editing environments for game-based learning. Much research is already underway at addressing the stated challenges; however, these approaches do not address the key challenge of facilitating the planning and development of teaching material with the right mix of pedagogical elements, educational components and fun. Thus, this study aims to investigate the use of model-driven software engineering approaches to facilitate non-technical domain experts (teachers) to plan, develop and maintain game-based learning resources regardless of the intricacies of the game engine/environment (platform) used. This article investigates the state-of-the-art in model-driven game development to provide a summary of developments in game design languages, game software modelling languages, game models, game software models, model-driven game frameworks, game software frameworks, model-driven engineering tools and assistive user interfaces. The findings from this survey will prove a useful guide for future development of high-level educational game creation tools for game-based learning

Teaching Object-Oriented Software Engineering through Problem-Based Learning in the Context of Game Design

We performed resistance measurements on Fe1+δ-xCuxTe with xEDX ≤ 0.06 in the presence of in-plane applied magnetic fields, revealing a resistance anisotropy that can be induced at a temperature far below the structural and magnetic zero-field transition temperatures. The observed resistance anisotropy strongly depends on the field orientation with respect to the crystallographic axes, as well as on the field-cooling history. Our results imply a correlation between the observed features and the low-temperature magnetic order. Hysteresis in the angle-dependence indicates a strong pinning of the magnetic order within a temperature range that varies with the Cu content. The resistance anisotropy vanishes at different temperatures depending on whether an external magnetic field or a remnant field is present: the closing temperature is higher in the presence of an external field. For xEDX = 0.06 the resistance anisotropy closes above the structural transition, at the same temperature at which the zerofield short-range magnetic order disappears and the sample becomes paramagnetic. Thus we suggest that under an external magnetic field the resistance anisotropy mirrors the magnetic order parameter. We discuss similarities to nematic order observed in other iron pnictide materials

Game Design Techniques for Software Engineering Management Education

A Engenharia de Software é uma área com elevada densidade de conteúdos, tendo sido por isso organizada numa base de conhecimento pelo IEEE, de forma a existir um entendimento consistente e comum a todo mundo sobre esta, e também esclarecer o seu âmbito ou todas as diversas áreas a que esta se encontra emparelhada. Tendo em conta tamanha diversidade de conteúdos, é lógico que para cada um deles existam técnicas de ensino de Engenharia de Software que se adequam melhor, tornando mais difícil o seu ensino. Uma das formas de melhorar a captura de conhecimentos é através de jogos, neste caso jogos sérios. Estes têm como objetivo principal a captura e ganho de conhecimento por parte do jogador, através da motivação e atenção deste aos aspetos do jogo que representam o conhecimento que se pretende adquirir. Estes métodos têm-se revelado vantajosos em relação aos métodos mais tradicionais. Visto isto, procura-se identificar os padrões e técnicas de design desses jogos que servem melhor o ensino dos conteúdos de Gestão de Engenharia de Software, tendo em conta as diferentes técnicas e objetivos de ensino referentes a cada um deles. Pretende-se propor uma metodologia de design de jogos sérios, usando padrões de desenho de jogos e relacionando-os com os objetivos de aprendizagem, reduzindo o esforço no design e desenvolvimento dos jogos. O interesse deste problema encontra-se na exploração de novos e melhores métodos de ensino de Gestão de Engenharia de Software, alterando a forma como futuras gerações adquirem todo este conhecimento e experiência. O objetivo deste trabalho de investigação é o desenvolvimento de um mapa semântico dos objetivos educacionais e pedagógicos de Gestão de Engenharia de Software para padrões de desenho de jogos.Software engineering is an area with a wide range of concepts and knowledge, and was therefore organized in a knowledge base by the IEEE, in order to exist a consistent and common understanding to everybody about it, and also to clarify its scope and all the areas to which it is paired. Taking into account such diversity of contents, it is logical that for each one of that concepts, there are teaching techniques that better suit each one, making its education tasks more complex.One way to improve the knowledge capture is through games, serious games in this case. These are mainly intended to improve the capture and gain knowledge by the player, through the motivation and attention to the game aspects that represent the knowledge that is sought. These methods have been proved advantageous compared to more traditional methods. Seen this, we seek to identify patterns and design techniques for these games that best serve the teaching of Software Engineering Management content, taking into account the different techniques and teaching objectives for each of them. We intend to propose a serious games design methodology, using game design patterns and linking them with the learning objectives, reducing the effort in the design and development of those games.The interest of this problem lies in exploring new and better teaching methods for Software Engineering Management, changing the way future generations acquire all this knowledge and experience. The purpose of this research is the development of a semantic map of Software Engineering Management pedagogical and educational goals onto game design patterns

Game-Based Learning in Engineering Education

The new generation of undergraduates entering UK higher education have grown up with computer games of ever increasing sophistication. In this educational project a race game, Racing Academy, was developed to investigate how game technology and gaming communities could enhance undergraduate engineering education. The computer game embodied the principles of engineering dynamics to simulate and display in real time a car drag race in which students ‘designed’ their car by selecting an engine, tyres and gearbox from a set menu. The aim was to complete a set course in the minimum time and graphically display the dynamic performance in order to better understand the engineering system. The students and staff involved in this project provided extensive feedback on the exercise and identified the visual nature of game-based learning software as a positive feature that helped illustrate engineering dynamics. Game-based learning communities, organised around tutor groups, were seen as an excellent way of encouraging an element of competition in a small non-threatening environment while discussion forums based around Moodle provided efficient support for the large group of 160 students. Finally, learning through ‘doing’ in a game environment was proven to be a successful method of illustrating physical phenomena

Maintaining an ethical balance in the curriculum design of games-based degrees.

In February 2011, games-based degrees were subjected to the scrutiny of the Livingstone- Hope report into the future of education in the fields of video games and visual effects. The report delivers a damning appraisal of the education system’s ability to fulfil skills shortages in these creative industries, and makes a range of proposals for changing education in both schools and universities to meet the needs of these sectors. This paper discusses the findings of this report from the perspective of higher education, with particular emphasis on the complex ethical considerations of designing a curriculum for games-based degrees. The argument for taking a broader perspective on this issue is illustrated through discussion of Games Software Development degrees at Sheffield Hallam University

Pirate plunder: game-based computational thinking using scratch blocks

Policy makers worldwide argue that children should be taught how technology works, and that the ‘computational thinking’ skills developed through programming are useful in a wider context. This is causing an increased focus on computer science in primary and secondary education. Block-based programming tools, like Scratch, have become ubiquitous in primary education (5 to 11-years-old) throughout the UK. However, Scratch users often struggle to detect and correct ‘code smells’ (bad programming practices) such as duplicated blocks and large scripts, which can lead to programs that are difficult to understand. These ‘smells’ are caused by a lack of abstraction and decomposition in programs; skills that play a key role in computational thinking. In Scratch, repeats (loops), custom blocks (procedures) and clones (instances) can be used to correct these smells. Yet, custom blocks and clones are rarely taught to children under 11-years-old. We describe the design of a novel educational block-based programming game, Pirate Plunder, which aims to teach these skills to children aged 9-11. Players use Scratch blocks to navigate around a grid, collect items and interact with obstacles. Blocks are explained in ‘tutorials’; the player then completes a series of ‘challenges’ before attempting the next tutorial. A set of Scratch blocks, including repeats, custom blocks and clones, are introduced in a linear difficulty progression. There are two versions of Pirate Plunder; one that uses a debugging-first approach, where the player is given a program that is incomplete or incorrect, and one where each level begins with an empty program. The game design has been developed through iterative playtesting. The observations made during this process have influenced key design decisions such as Scratch integration, difficulty progression and reward system. In future, we will evaluate Pirate Plunder against a traditional Scratch curriculum and compare the debugging-first and non-debugging versions in a series of studies

Holistic analysis of the effectiveness of a software engineering teaching approach

To provide the best training in software engineering, several approaches and strategies are carried out. Some of them are more theoretical, learned through books and manuals, while others have a practical focus and often done in collaboration with companies. In this paper, we share an approach based on a balanced mix to foster the assimilation of knowledge, the approximation with what is done in software companies and student motivation. Two questionnaires were also carried out, one involving students, who had successfully completed the subject in past academic years (some had already graduated, and others are still students), and other questionnaire involving companies, in the field of software development, which employ students from our school. The analysis of the perspectives of the different stakeholders allows an overall and holistic) view, and a general understanding, of the effectiveness of the software engineering teaching approach. We analyse the results of the questionnaires and share some of the experiences and lessons learned.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio