Using Serious Games in Higher Education: Reclaiming the Learning Time

Today's technology provides learners with full control of when, where and how they will access the learning material. Although the advantages are apparent , there are also some “side-effects”. One of them is that the “learning time” is not explicitly defined anymore. It is the design of the learning application that should consider for this, reclaim the learning time and create the necessary conditions for the “learning momentum”. The aim of this paper is to present a serious game that has been created for Law students at the University of Westminster, London, and to discuss the cognitive processes it activates. Serious games aim to teach students, using techniques from the game industry. Gamified elements are used alongside educational theories. The game presented here is a simulation of a tutorial that teaches the “Law of murder”. Students are presented with a case, they are asked to apply the law and decide if this is a murder or not. During the game the main principle of “learning by doing” is applied. One of the objectives of the game is to make students to focus on the topic and make the best use of the “learning momentum”

The use of a cyber campus to support teaching and collaboration: An observation approach

The research reported in this paper is work in progress describing the experiences of the authors while using a cyber campus to support online learn- ing collaborative activities and investigate if a Transactive Memory System can be developed among group members, working together within a cyber campus in several pre-set tasks

Design methodology for 360° immersive video applications: the case study of a cultural heritage virtual tour

Three hundred sixty–degree (360°) immersive video applications for Head Mounted Display (HMD) devices offer great potential in providing engaging forms of experiential media solutions especially in Cultural Heritage education. Design challenges emerge though by this new kind of immersive media due to the 2D form of resources used for their construction, the lack of depth, the limited interaction and the need to address the sense of presence. In addition, the use of Virtual Reality (VR) headsets often causes nausea, or motion sickness effects imposing further implications in moderate motion design tasks. This paper introduces a methodological categorisation of tasks and techniques for the design of 360° immersive video applications. Following the design approach presented, a testbed application has been created as an immersive interactive virtual tour at the historical centre of the city of Rethymno in Crete, Greece, which has undergone user trials. Based on the analysis of the results of this study, a set of design guidelines for the implementation of 360° immersive video virtual tours is proposed

Engaging immersive video consumers: Challenges regarding 360-degree gamified video applications

360-degree videos is a new medium that has gained the attention of the research community imposing challenges for creating more interactive and engaging immersive experiences. The purpose of this study is to introduce a set of technical and design challenges for interactive, gamified 360-degree mixed reality applications that immerse and engage users. The development of gamified applications refers to the merely incorporation of game elements in the interaction design process to attract and engage the user through playful interaction with the virtual world. The study presents experiments with the incorporation of series of game elements such as time pressure challenges, badges and user levels, storytelling narrative and immediate visual feedback to the interaction design logic of a mixed reality mobile gaming application that runs in an environment composed of 360-degree video and 3D computer generated objects. In the present study, the architecture and overall process for creating such an application is being presented along with a list of design implications and constraints. The paper concludes with future directions and conclusions on improving the level of immersion and engagement of 360-degree video consumers

Using serious games for learning sign language combining video, enhanced interactivity and VR technology

One in every six persons in the UK suffers a hearing loss, either as a condition they have been born with or they disordered they acquired during their life. 900,000 people in the UK are severely or profoundly deaf and based on a study by Action On Hearing Loss UK in 2013 only 17 percent of this population, can use the British Sign Language (BSL). That leaves a massive proportion of people with a hearing impediment who do not use sign language struggling in social interaction and suffering from emotional distress, and an even larger proportion of Hearing people who cannot communicate with those of the deaf community. This paper presents a serious game (SG) that aims to close the communication gap between able hearing people and people with a hearing impediment by providing a tool that facilitates BSL learning targeting adult population. The paper presents the theoretical framework supporting adult learning based on which a SG game using Virtual Reality (VR) technology has been developed. It explains the experimental framework of the study and presents the creation of the research instruments to facilitate the study comprising of a SG that integrates video and conventional video based educational material. It reports and analyses the study results that demonstrate the advantage of the SG in effectively supporting users learning a set of BSL signs and it presents qualitative outcomes that inform the further development of the game to serve learning needs. The paper closes with conclusions, directions for further development of this educational resource and future studies

Transformation of Hotel Food Waste into Animal Feed: Two Operational Periods of the Food for Feed Pilot Unit

Food waste represents 25–35% of the European Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), thus its diversion into innovative utilization streams is critical for sustainable waste management and the achievement of circularity. Opportunities are even higher in the island of Crete, Greece, where landfilled food waste is 39% of MSW. In this context, the LIFE-F4F Project implements a pilot scale modified solar drying process that provides an innovative, low-tech and low emissions method for safe transformation of source separated food waste into animal feed

Evaluation of a dynamic role-playing platform for simulations based on Octalysis gamification framework

The use of serious games (SG) in education and their pedagogical benefit is being widely recognized. However, effective integration of SGs in education depends on addressing two big challenges: successful incorporation of motivation and engagement that can lead to learning; and high cost and specialised skills associated with customised development to achieve the required pedagogical results. This paper presents a SG platform that offers tools to educators to dynamically create three dimensional (3D) scenes and verbal and non-verbal interaction with fully embodied conversational agents (ECA) that can be used to simulate numerous educational scenarios. We then evaluate the effectiveness of the platform in terms of supporting the creation of motivating and engaging educational simulations based on the Octalysis gamification framework. The latter includes a number of game design elements that can be used as appropriate in the optimization of the experience in each phase of the player’s journey. We conclude with directions of the further extension to our platform to address the aforementioned gamification framework, as well as directions for further development of the Octalysis framework

In Vivo Assessment of Culprit Lesion Morphology in Acute Coronary Syndrome Using Optical Coherence Tomography

Autopsy studies suggest that acute myocardial infarction is provoked by sudden disruption of thin-cap fibroatheromas, known as vulnerable plaques followed by subsequent thrombosis. The pathological characteristics of vulnerable plaques include a thin fibrous cap with macrophage infiltration and a large lipid pool. These findings are based largely on postmortem studies because it has previously not been possible to accurately define coronary plaque morphology in vivo. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an optical analogue of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) that has recently been proposed as a high-resolution imaging method for plaque characterization. Its resolution is approximately 10 to 20 μm, which is about 10 times higher that IVUS. The histology controlled studies have shown that OCT can evaluate the characteristics of culprit lesions such as fibrous cap thickness, fibrous cap macrophage density, lipid core and intracoronary thrombus.In this case report we used OCT for in vivo assessment of culprit lesion morphology in a patient with acute coronary syndrome

In Vivo Assessment of Culprit Lesion Morphology in Acute Coronary Syndrome Using Optical Coherence Tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an optical analogue of intravascular ultrasound that has recently been proposed as a high-resolution imaging method for atheromatous plaque characterization. In this case report we used OCT for in vivo assessment of culprit lesion morphology in a patient with acute coronary syndrome