Multiplayer Serious Games Supporting Programming Learning

Computational thinking (CT) is crucial in education for providing a multifaceted approach to problem-solving. However, challenges exist such as supporting teachers' knowledge of CT and students' desire to learn it, particularly for non-technical students. To combat these challenges, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) has been introduced in classrooms and implemented using a variety of technologies, including serious games, which have been adopted across several domains aiming to appeal to various demographics and skill levels. This research focuses on a Collaborative Multiplayer Serious Game (MSG) for CT skill training. The architecture is aimed at young students and is designed to aid in the learning of programming and the development of CT skills. The purpose of this research is to conduct an empirical study to assess the multiplayer game gameplay mechanics for collaborative CT learning. The proposed game leverages a card game structure and contains complex multi-team multi-player processes, allowing students to communicate and absorb sequential and conditional logics as well as graph routing in a 2D environment. A preliminary experiment was conducted with four fourth-graders and eight sixth-graders from a French school in Morocco who have varying levels of understanding of CT. Participants were split into three groups each with two teams and were required to complete a 16-question multiple-choice quiz before and after playing the same game to assess their initial structural programming logics and the effectiveness of the MSG. Questionnaires were collected along with an interview to gather feedback on their gaming experiences and the game’s role in teaching and learning. The results demonstrate that the proposed MSG had a favourable effect on the participants’ test scores as the scores of 4 of the teams increased and 1 remained the same. All students performed well on the sequential and conditional logics, which was significantly better than the achievement of the Bebras test of the graph routing. Furthermore, according to the participants, the game provides an appealing environment that allows players to immerse themselves in the game and the competitive aspect of the game adds to its appeal and helps develop teamwork, coordination, and communication skills

Serious gama for integration in higher education

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informática e Computação. Universidade do Porto. Faculdade de Engenharia. 201

Gaming techniques and the product development process : commonalities and cross-applications

The use of computer-based tools is now firmly embedded within the product development process, providing a wide range of uses from visualisation to analysis. However, the specialisation required to make effective use of these tools has led to the compartmentalisation of expertise in design teams, resulting in communication problems between individual members. This paper therefore considers how computer gaming techniques and strategies could be used to enhance communication and group design activities throughout the product design process

The relationship between video games, problem-solving skills, and academic performance from IT students’ perspective

Abstract. The advancement in information technology has contributed to growth in different industries. One such industry that has gained prominence in recent years is the gaming industry. The game industry today has become a major platform of entertainment, amassing a large community of players across the globe. As most people consider video game play only as a form of entertainment, the existential educational benefits are missed. While it is true that violent games could negatively affect the psychological health of its players, playing games right can contribute positively to the improvement of skills and academics. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between video game play, problem-solving, and academic performance on Information Technology (IT) students and to understand the kinds of video games that affect their problem-solving skills in their studies. A quantitative research method was used, collecting quantitative data from students of the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ITEE) of the University of Oulu through an online survey. The results of the study indicate that strategy and puzzle games significantly improve the problem-solving skills of students through analytical, logical, and creative thinking. The results of this study can be used in the future to investigate other phenomena such as how video games differently affect students with IT background from other students and how video games could be used as an effective educational tool for IT students

Multiplayer Game Development Approaches for Student Integration in Universities

Tese de Mestrado. Multimédia. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 201

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

Effectiveness of Digital Game Based Learning Strategy in Higher Educational Perspectives

Digital game-based learning strategy is now widely used in various fields such as education, marketing and advertising. This learning strategy has attracted great attention from scholars and practitioners in recent years due to its effectiveness in various educational fields. As more research studies favored the constructive impact of games on the learning process, more and more investigators are dedicated to developing digital educational games to enhance learning skills for 21st century requirements. The objectives of the current investigation were: to present a comprehensive and systematic review of the literature of previous studies on the effectiveness of digital game-based learning strategy in a higher educational context; to report the role of various adult learning theories in digital game-based learning strategy; to highlight some barriers and their solutions in digital game-based learning strategy. A total of 20 previous studies on digital game-based learning strategy in higher educational perspectives published from 2008-2021 were selected by inclusion and exclusion criteria for conducting this investigation. The results of the current investigation revealed that digital game-based learning strategy has deep effects on the learning skills of the learners in higher educational perspectives. The digital game-based learning strategy is a better option for the improvement of engagement of learners towards learning and critical thinking skills

Gamifying the First Programming Class: Outcomes and Antecedents of Continued Engagement Intention

Gamification is applying games in non-game contexts. This study uses card game plays to gamify assessment activity in the first programming class. An experimental study with one-group and post-test are conducted to test the perceived usefulness of the gamifying evaluation method and verify the proposed research model, based on Expectation Confirmation Theory; IT Continuance Model. Students perceive the usefulness of gamifying take-home exams in terms of increasing understanding, problem solving, creativity, and confidence more than the traditional ones. This study provides empirical supports for the relationship between performance and satisfaction and the influence of satisfaction on continued engagement intention of the game plays in classroom settings. The results could be applied to relax students’ anxiety in the programming course\u27s testing

Hour of Code”: Can It Change Students’ Attitudes Toward Programming?

The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science organized by Code.org, a non-profit dedicated to expanding participation in computer science. This study investigated the impact of the Hour of Code on students’ attitudes towards computer programming and their knowledge of programming. A sample of undergraduate students from two universities was selected to participate. Participants completed an Hour of Code tutorial as part of an undergraduate course. An electronic questionnaire was implemented in a pre-survey and post-survey format to gauge the change in student attitudes toward programming and their programming ability. The findings indicated the positive impact of the Hour of Code tutorial on students’ attitude toward programming. However, the students’ programming skills did not significantly change. The authors suggest that a deeper alignment of marketing, teaching, and content would help sustain the type of initiative exemplified by the Hour of Code