EDUCATIONAL GAME FOR MOBILE PLATFORMS

Gaming can be a very effective tool for learning. Game-based-learning has been studied as an important alternative or supplement to traditional teaching. With people using their mobile devices for gaming so often and with such a favorable demographic split amongst sex and age, the time to introduce mobile gaming as a learning tool may already be here. Mobile game can teach education materials in a more effective and interactive way. Mobile platforms can differ in terms of size, function, brand and operating system, hence to create a universal educational game engine for multiple mobile platforms is not an easy task. This project is aiming to create a mobile educational game from scratch. From graphic design to programing, from non existent to an actual functioning game. It describes the game engine design that has the potential to be expanded in the future

Dimensions of Mobile Augmented Reality for Learning: A First Inventory

Specht, M., Ternier, S., & Greller, W. (2011). Dimensions of Mobile Augmented Reality for Learning: A First Inventory. Journal of the Research for Educational Technology (RCET), 7(1), 117-127. Spring 2011.This article discusses technological developments and applications of mobile augmented reality (AR) and their application in learning. Augmented reality interaction design patterns are introduced and educational patterns for supporting certain learning objectives with AR approaches are discussed. The article then identifies several dimensions of a user context identified with sensors contained in mobile devices and used for the contextualization of learning experiences. Finally, an AR game concept, “Locatory”, is presented that combines a game logic with collaborative game play and personalized mobile augmented reality visualization

EDUCATIONAL GAME FOR MOBILE PLATFORMS

Gaming can be a very effective tool for learning. Game-based-learning has been studied as an important alternative or supplement to traditional teaching. With people using their mobile devices for gaming so often and with such a favorable demographic split amongst sex and age, the time to introduce mobile gaming as a learning tool may already be here. Mobile game can teach education materials in a more effective and interactive way. Mobile platforms can differ in terms of size, function, brand and operating system, hence to create a universal educational game engine for multiple mobile platforms is not an easy task. This project is aiming to create a mobile educational game from scratch. From graphic design to programing, from non existent to an actual functioning game. It describes the game engine design that has the potential to be expanded in the future

Using Mobile Devices as a Supportive Tool to Engage and Interest Young Students in e-Health

Master's thesis Multimedia and Educational Technology MM500 - University of Agder 2019This thesis explores if mobile devices could be used as a supportive elementto engage and interest young students in e-health by developing a prototypeto handle simulations of e-health scenarios in a serious game setting. Theprototype was to be used as a supportive tool for the research projectHighSchool Students as Co-researchers in eHealth. An iterative design processwas deployed to develop the prototype, going through multiple steps periteration, focusing on design and development, testing, and evaluation. Theresults from all of the testing were examined, and compared with the researchquestions regarding whether or not mobile devices are useful as supportivetools to engage and interest students. It is hoped that the study encouragesfuture use of mobile devices in education and learning

Design of a location-based augmented reality game for the development of key 21st century competences in primary education

The use of augmented reality games (ARGs) in education has gained increased attention from curriculum developers, teachers, and researchers in the past decade. Research findings show that ARGs can promote meaningful learning environments that foster key competences for the 21st century. This paper presents the design process of “EcoAegean”, an ARG for mobile devices, which was implemented in primary classroom environments to support the development of students’ key competences in the context of sustainability. The game was created using an open augmented reality software platform and its design was based on contemporary theoretical underpinnings regarding the use of such games in educational contexts. In the first section of the paper, we describe the design procedures of the learning scenario as well as the game itself. In the last section of the paper, we offer a set of critical insights on the design and implementation of mobile augmented reality games for the purpose of supporting students’ development of key 21st century competences.</p

Number sense educational game design for dyscalculia and low numeracy children

Dyscalculia is a specific educational difficulty which affects an individual’s acquisition of basic concepts of numbers and prevents them to understand and apply number facts. Dyscalculia can effect on different aspects of learning and performance mathematical skills, but number sense is the most affected issue by Dyscalculia. Studies indicate that approximately 5–8% of school-aged children experience difficulties to understand number sense. Mobile devices with installed educational games help these individuals feel more comfortable and relaxed doing and understanding mathematical skills. The main objective of this study to propose an effective educational game design guideline for learning number sense for Dyscalculia and low numeracy children. The methodology of this study has five stages which are: awareness of problem, suggestion, development, evaluation and conclusion. Every stage involves activities and output. This study also describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of the 123GO app a mobile educational app that is designed and developed based on the guideline. The principle design of 123GO app based on used the interaction design (IxD) that allowed to identify and apply for an educational game app that can be used by children that have difficulties with low numeracy and thus number sense problem. The evaluation of the app suggests that it is useful and easy-to-use. In conclusion, based on the evaluation results, it is found that the 123GO app is effective in helping Dyscalculia children with number sense difficulties

Mapping Learning and Game Mechanics for Serious Games Analysis in Engineering Education

In a world where students are increasing digitally tethered to powerful, ‘always on’ mobile devices, new models of engagement and approaches to teaching and learning are required from educators. Serious Games (SG) have proved to have instructional potential but there is still a lack of methodologies and tools not only for their design but also to support game analysis and assessment. This paper explores the use of SG to increase student engagement and retention. The development phase of the Circuit Warz game is presented to demonstrate how electronic engineering education can be radically reimagined to create immersive, highly engaging learning experiences that are problem-centered and pedagogically sound. The Learning Mechanics–Game Mechanics (LM-GM) framework for SG game analysis is introduced and its practical use in an educational game design scenario is shown as a case study

Public Engagement Technology for Bioacoustic Citizen Science

Inexpensive mobile devices offer new capabilities for non-specialist use in the field for the purpose of conservation. This thesis explores the potential for such devices to be used by citizen scientists interacting with bioacoustic data such as birdsong. This thesis describes design research and field evaluation, in collaboration with conservationists and educators, and technological artefacts implemented as mobile applications for interactive educational gaming and creative composition. This thesis considers, from a participant-centric collaborative design approach, conservationists' demand for interactive artefacts to motivate engagement in citizen science through gameful and playful interactions. Drawing on theories of motivation, frequently applied to the study of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and on approaches to designing for motivational engagement, this thesis introduces a novel pair of frameworks for the analysis of technological artefacts and for assessing participant engagement with bioacoustic citizen science from both game interaction design and citizen science project participation perspectives. This thesis reviews current theories of playful and gameful interaction developed for collaborative learning, data analysis, and ground-truth development, describes a process for design and analysis of motivational mobile games and toys, and explores the affordances of various game elements and mechanics for engaging participation in bioacoustic citizen science. This thesis proposes research into progressions for scaffolding engagement with citizen science projects where participants interact with data collection and analysis artefacts. The research process includes the development of multiple designs, analyses of which explore the efficacy of game interactions to motivate engagement through interaction progressions, given proposed analysis frameworks. This thesis presents analysed results of experiments examining the usability of, and data-quality from, several prototypes and software artefacts, in both laboratory conditions and the field. This thesis culminates with an assessment of the efficacy of proposed design analysis frameworks, an analysis of designed artefacts, and a discussion of how these designs increase intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for participant engagement and affect resultant bioacoustic citizen science data quantity and quality.Non

Motivation, interaction and perceived learning: assessing the impact of an urban game with 7th grade geography students

The increasing development of mobile technology devices is revolutionizing education. In this context emerge the mobile location-based games. This research was carried out in an effort to understand the importance of mobile location-based games in informal learning and involved the design of an urban game - “MobiGeo”. MobiGeo was implemented for an outdoor pedagogical activity and enrolled a group of 173 seventh grade geography students. In order to collect data, a questionnaire was developed and validated measuring three dimensions related to educational games: motivation, interaction and perceived learning. Results show that this urban game was an adequate activity to use in informal learning environments because it engaged students in gaming with high degrees of motivation and interaction. In fact, while solving the tasks proposed by MobiGeo, students´ developed their perceptions of learning, consolidating and acquiring new knowledge about the European Union.CIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, IE, UMinho (FCT R&D unit 317), PortugalNational Funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) and co-financed by European Regional Development Funds (FEDER) through the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program (POCI) through CIEC (Research Centre on Child Studies, of the University of Minho) with the reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-00756