De la présence à l’incarnation: proposition d’un méta-modèle pour la réalité virtuelle

Les sentiments de présence et d’incarnation sont deux dimensions centrales de l’expérience utilisateur en environnement virtuel immersif. Suite à une revue de littérature portant sur ces deux concepts, nous en proposons une articulation théorique au sein d’un méta-modèle « Présence – Incarnation ». L’introduction de ce modèle aboutit à la proposition d’un questionnaire permettant l’évaluation subjective des sentiments de présence et d’incarnation d’utilisateurs immergés dans une application de réalité virtuelle. Les implications méthodologiques de ce modèle et ses perspectives applicatives sont ensuite évoquées afin d’introduire la ligne directrice de nos travaux futurs

Eu morro, tu morres, eles morrem : heurísticas para uma boa experiência de fracasso nos videojogos

A indústria dos videojogos está a passar por uma transição onde considera igualmente importante a satisfação dos desejos dos hardcore gamers e a dos jogadores inexperientes (casual gamer). Com a crescente ampliação de jogadores ativos, mas inexperientes, e menos resistentes ao fracasso que os hardcore gamers, torna-se cada vez mais pertinente o estudo do fracasso nos videojogos. O fracasso nos videojogos apresenta tanto efeitos positivos (e.g. aprendizagem, motivação) como negativos (e.g. estado de desamparo aprendido, saída) na experiência de jogo. Como não existem guidelines que auxiliem os designers a potenciar os efeitos positivos do fracasso, nesta dissertação criou-se e discutiu-se um conjunto de heurísticas para o design dos momentos de fracasso nos videojogos. Para construir as heurísticas, foi efetuado um pequeno estudo exploratório acerca das indústrias portuguesas e brasileiras, e executada uma revisão da literatura diversificada e abrangente a toda a experiência de jogo, por forma a enquadrar a experiência do fracasso de forma holística e sistemática. Desta revisão resultaram vários modelos explicativos adaptados aos videojogos, de onde destacamos o modelo MAF, que ilustra os processos cognitivos e emocionais pelos quais o jogador passa quando perante o fracasso repetido, ou o modelo SAEV, que demonstra como se segmentam eventos nos jogos. As 19 heurísticas finais descendem de 3 elementos chave onde os designers se devem focar quando a desenhar a experiência do fracasso: o sentido de autoeficácia do jogador, os modelos mentais que os jogadores fazem dos eventos do jogo, e a utilização do humor durante e entre fracassos.The video game industry is undergoing through a transition where it is of the same importance the satisfaction of both hardcore and casual gamers. Due to the increasing number of active but inexperienced and less failure resistant gamers (than hardcore gamers), it is of growing importance to study failure in video games. Failure in videogames can induce effects on player experience that are considered as positive (e.g. player learning, motivation) or negative (e.g. learned helplessness). Regarding that there are no guidelines to help designers enhance the positive effects of failure, in this thesis a set of heuristics, specially oriented to the design of failure moments in video games, was created and discussed. The process of heuristics creation included a small exploratory study about Brazilian and Portuguese gaming industry, and a diversified and broad literature review of theories and studies related to player experience, learning, psychology (and others) to frame the failure experience systematically and holistically. From this literature review many theoretical game adapted models was proposed, like MAF model, that illustrates the cognitive and emotional processes by which the player passes when facing repeated failure, or the SAEV model that demonstrates how to segment events in videogames. The resulting 20 heuristics descend from 3 key elements that designers should focus when designing games failure experience: players sense of self-efficacy, player’s mental models of events taking place in the game world, and the use of humor during and between failures

Remote access laboratories for preparing STEM teachers: A mixed methods study

Bandura’s self-efficacy theory provided the conceptual framework for this mixed methods investigation of pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) self-efficacy to teach Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. The Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B (STEBI-B) was modified to create the Technology Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (T-TEBI). Pre-test and post-test T-TEBI scores were measured to investigate changes in PSTs’ self-efficacy to teach technology. Interviews and reflections were used to explore the reasons for changes in pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy. This paper reports results from a pilot study using an innovative Remote Access Laboratory system with PSTs