Game-Based Learning, Gamification in Education and Serious Games

Video games have become one of the predominant forms of entertainment in our society, but they have also impacted many other of its social and cultural aspects. The new forms of interaction and communication in online multiplayer games, the millions of viewers of professional e-sports competitions, the huge following of gaming streamers through channels such as Twitch, and the communities of players that are formed around a specific title are just some examples of the impact of games in everyday life today.[...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

User modeling In adaptive hypermedia educational systems

This document is a survey in the research area of User Modeling (UM) for the specific field of Adaptive Learning. The aims of this document are: To define what it is a User Model; To present existing and well known User Models; To analyze the existent standards related with UM; To compare existing systems. In the scientific area of User Modeling (UM), numerous research and developed systems already seem to promise good results, but some experimentation and implementation are still necessary to conclude about the utility of the UM. That is, the experimentation and implementation of these systems are still very scarce to determine the utility of some of the referred applications. At present, the Student Modeling research goes in the direction to make possible reuse a student model in different systems. The standards are more and more relevant for this effect, allowing systems communicate and to share data, components and structures, at syntax and semantic level, even if most of them still only allow syntax integration

Creating Competitive Opponents for Serious Games through Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment

Competition is a basic element of our society. It drives us to rise above previously perceived limitations, increases our engagement and makes the world more interesting. Competition rewards our existing skills and prompts us to identify and improve our weaker skills. In games, player engagement is achieved, at least in part, by providing him/her with competition at the right amount of difficulty. Achieving and maintaining this exact level of challenge is one of the most difficult tasks for a game designer. The use of Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment techniques allows the game to dynamically adjust the challenge according to player performance, therefore keeping him/her always on edge, immersed and fully active. New information can then be more easily acquired, which is especially important in Serious Games. This paper describes how DDA techniques were used to create two strategic, goal-oriented computer-controlled (CC) players in order to deliver a higher level of competitiveness for the user in Transform@, a Serious Game aimed at developing entrepreneurship skills. As a result, the strength of the computer controlled player increased by more than 100%. By developing a good strategy for the AI and using DDA the game includes now a powerful opponent which has increased the engagement level of the player.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Uma proposta de ambiente de ensino distribuído

A recente transformação social, económica e cultural e a integração das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC) em todos os aspectos da vida actual tem implicações claras ao nível do Ensino sobretudo para as Instituições de Ensino Superior. Quando e de que forma introduzir o ensino/aprendizagem suportado por TIC nas Universidades tradicionais; qual a sua capacidade de adequação ao novo paradigma de ensino centrado no aluno; como promover o novo papel do professor - facilitador da aprendizagem; qual o papel destas Instituições na emergência dos campus virtuais? Estas são algumas das questões que estão em discussão em grande parte das Universidades e Politécnicos. O Ensino Distribuído [ED], como anteriormente o Ensino Aberto e/ou a Distância (EAD), já demonstrou ser um meio válido e eficiente de promover a aprendizagem para alunos impossibilitados de frequentar periodicamente acções de formação numa determinada instituição seja por razões geográficas, temporais ou mesmo de deficiência. A evolução tecnológica e pedagógica fez progredir o ED, tanto na quantidade de alunos abrangidos, quer na qualidade da formação oferecida. Do isolamento inicial, quebrado ocasionalmente por um contacto com o professor (normalmente por correio), evoluiu-se para um suporte assente em Redes Telemáticas capazes de proporcionar um nível de interacção com o professor e os outros colegas que conduzem ao estabelecimento de verdadeiras comunidades virtuais, geradoras de sinergias e de aprendizagem por contacto com os pares. Os alunos já não se encontram sozinhos no seu esforço de formação a distância. O trabalho de Doutoramento realizado pretende dar respostas a algumas das questões colocadas e demonstrar que a integração de Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação no Ensino Superior, como suporte de uma estratégia de complementaridade entre o Ensino Distribuído e o Ensino Presencial, pode, pelo menos em parte, solucionar alguns dos problemas. O trabalho apresentado parte da análise, concepção e implementação de um modelo de Ensino Misto (distribuído + presencial) assente num ambiente virtual capaz de prolongar o ambiente de ensino tradicional nos seus aspectos mais relevantes: promoção da informação, comunicação professor - alunos e alunos - alunos, aprendizagem, avaliação de conhecimentos, administração, etc... A implementação do protótipo no Departamento de Engenharia Informática do Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Instituto Politécnico do Porto e a avaliação do ambiente virtual de sala de aula numa disciplina do curso permitem extrapolar algumas conclusões sobre a metodologia adoptada e sobre a integração de TIC no Ensino Superior, tendo em devida atenção o caso muito particular do público-alvo atingido: alunos tecnologicamente motivados e já de certa forma experientes e capazes de intervir com conhecimento de causa no desenvolvimento e teste do modelo.The recent social, economic and cultural change and the integration of Information and Communication Technologies in all aspects of modern life have clear consequences for Education, especially for Higher Education Institutions. When and how to introduce ICT supported teaching and learning in traditional Universities; how to adapt to the new learner-centered paradigm; how to promote the new role of the teacher-facilitator of learning; what is the role of these Institutions in the appearance of virtual campus? These are some of the questions currently debated in Universities and Polytechnics. Distributed Learning, like Open and Distance Learning before, is proving to be a valid and efficient way of promoting learning for students unable to attend face to face training or teaching actions in an Institution, for geographical, time or other reasons. The technological and pedagogical evolution caused the progress of Distributed Learning in the number of students and the quality of the offered courses. From the initial student isolation of Distance Learning, only broken from time to time with a contact with the teacher [by mail] we have evolved into an ICT support capable of providing such an interaction level between students and teachers that lead to establishing virtual learning communities, creating synergies and peer learning. Students are no longer alone in their distance learning or training effort. This PhD thesis intends to answer some of the questions asked and to demonstrate that the use of ICT in Higher Education as support to a strategy that integrates face to face and Distributed Learning can be part of the answer. The work departs from the analysis, design and implementation of a Mixed Learning Model, based on a virtual environment that extends the traditional environment in its most relevant aspects: information promotion, teacher – students communication, learning, knowledge evaluation, management, etc... The prototype implementation on the Computer Science Department of the Engineering School of the Porto Polytechnic and the evaluation of the results obtained in its application to a discipline allowed to draw conclusions about the adopted methodology and the integration of ICT n Higher Education

Serious Games Network

[EN] “Serious games” can be defined as (digital) games used for purposes other than mere entertainment. Serious Games can be applied to a broad spectrum of areas, e.g. educational, healthcare, training in hazardous environments or situations. Game-based Learning, one aspect of Serious Games, are also more and more explored for all levels of education in different subjects, such as Ancient History. The SEGAN (SErious GAmes Network) will create a Community of Practice on the Serious Games subject. The main objective is to create a stable (but expanding) consortium to exchange ideas and experiences related to Serious Games. The SEGAN Network invites the people of the community of Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and Ancient History interested in Serious Games to join the net and to participate in their activities.[ES] Los “juegos serios" se podrían definir como aquellos juegos (digitales) utilizados para fines distintos del mero entretenimiento. El concepto de “juegos serios” se puede aplicar a un amplio espectro de áreas, por ejemplo la educación, la sanidad, la formación en entornos o situaciones peligrosas. Los juegos de aprendizaje también son cada vez más utilizados en todos los niveles de la educación y en prácticamente todos los temas, como por ejemplo la Historia Antigua. La red SEGAN (SErious GAmes Network) va a crear una comunidad de trabajo sobre el tema de los “juegos serios". El objetivo principal es crear un consorcio estable -pero en expansión- para intercambiar ideas y experiencias relacionadas con los Juegos Serios. La Red SEGAN invita a las personas de la comunidad de Arqueología, Patrimonio Cultural y la Historia Antigua interesado en juegos serios a unirse a la red y participar en sus actividades.This paper has been partly funded by the project “Serious Games Project – SEGAN”, no. 519332- LLP-1-2011-1-PT-KA3-KA3NW. Lifelong Learning. Education, Audiovisual and Culture Agency of the European Union. This paper has been funded by the project “Replikants: Towards a New Generation of Human‐like Agents”, TIN2011‐24660, S. G. P. I., Ministerio Ciencia e Innovación (Spain)Vaz De Carvalho, C.; Latorre Andrés, PM.; Serón Arbeloa, FJ. (2013). Serious Games Network. Virtual Archaeology Review. 4(9):174-180. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2013.4271OJS17418049ANDERSON, Eike Falk et al. (2010): "Developing Serious Games for Cultural Heritage: A State-ofthe- Art Review", Virtual Reality 14(4), Springer, pp. 255-275.FRANSSILA, H. & PEHKONNEN, M. (2005): "Why do ICT-Strategy implementation in schools fail and ICT-Practices do no develop?", in Media Skills and Competence Conference Proceedings. Tampere, Finland, pp. 9-16.HOUTHOFF BURUMA - The Game. http://www.ranj.com/content/werk/houthoff-buruma-thegameHUSSAIN, T.S. & FERGUSON, W. (2005): "Efficient development of large-scale military training environments using a multi-player game", in Proceedings of the 2005 Fall Simulation Interoperability Workshop, pp. 421-431. Orlando, FL, September.IBM Service Management Virtual Simulator http://www-01.ibm.com/software/tivoli/features/smsimulator/The Novicraft HRD game http://www.teamingstream.com/The SEGAN project http://seriousgamesnet.euMOLONEY, J. & AMOR, R.: "StringCVE: Advances in a Game Engine-Based Collaborative Virtual Environment for Architectural Design", in Proceedings of the International Conference on Applications of Virtual Reality, Blacksburg, 2003, September 156-168, pp. 24-26.SUSI, Tarja (2007): "Serious Games - An Overview", Technical Report HS- IKI -TR-07-001. School of Humanities and Informatics. University of Skövde, Sweden.The TIMEMESH Game http://timemesh.eu/WALLIN, E. (2005): "The Rise and Fall of Swedish Educational Technology1960-1980", in Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 5, pp. 437-460

Sustainability of Open Educational Resources: the eCity case

[EN]The promotion of Open Educational Resources (OER) as reusable tools for teachers and students is highly relevant but the nature of the income model requires specific strategies to maintain and update those resources. eCity is a city simulation game that supports a Problem Based Learning (PBL) pedagogical methodology in secondary schools and, at the same time, fosters the interest of students in following an Engineering career. The game is freely available through online stores and the generated interest (about 100.000 downloads so far) has raised the need to discuss and adopt a sustainability strategy for the maintenance of the game and the development of new versions. This article presents possible alternatives for that strategy

A semantic approach for learning objects repositories with knowledge reuse

In this paper we discuss how the inclusion of semantic functionalities in a Learning Objects Repository allows a better characterization of the learning materials enclosed and improves their retrieval through the adoption of some query expansion strategies. Thus, we started to regard the use of ontologies to automatically suggest additional concepts when users are filling some metadata fields and add new terms to the ones initially provided when users specify the keywords with interest in a query. Dealing with different domain areas and having considered impractical the development of many different ontologies, we adopted some strategies for reusing ontologies in order to have the knowledge necessary in our institutional repository. In this paper we make a review of the area of knowledge reuse and discuss our approach

Sustainability of Open Educational Resources: the eCity case

[EN]The promotion of Open Educational Resources (OER) as reusable tools for teachers and students is highly relevant but the nature of the income model requires specific strategies to maintain and update those resources. eCity is a city simulation game that supports a Problem Based Learning (PBL) pedagogical methodology in secondary schools and, at the same time, fosters the interest of students in following an Engineering career. The game is freely available through online stores and the generated interest (about 100.000 downloads so far) has raised the need to discuss and adopt a sustainability strategy for the maintenance of the game and the development of new versions. This article presents possible alternatives for that strategy

Addressing the Gender Gap in Computer Programming Through the Design and Development of Serious Games

The gap between male and female participation in computer science education and careers is a worldwide issue that must be addressed by introducing early methodological learning interventions that make computer science attractive to all, that is by answering the following issues: a) misperception among educators, learners, parents and youngsters on the suitability of computer science careers to girls and b) a wrong assumption of an insufficient preparedness to do it successfully. This article presents a European initiative - CODING4GIRLS - that proposes to teach coding through a game design and development process based on a design thinking methodological approach that is linked to creativity and human-centered solutions. In this methodology, students address increasingly complex real-life challenges by designing and developing awareness raising serious games for which they need to learn specific coding concepts.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

O e-Learning no Ensino Superior: um caso de estudo

A introdução de e-learning no Ensino Superior é um processo com alguma sistematização e algum sucesso a nível mundial. Mesmo em Portugal a generalidade das Instituições de Ensino Superior apresenta já iniciativas de e-learning embora o âmbito das mesmas seja extremamente diverso e sendo poucas as que promovem efectivamente alternativas reais de aprendizagem baseadas em tecnologias de informação e comunicação. Pelo contrário, estas iniciativas centram-se essencialmente no uso das plataformas de e-learning no apoio documental às disciplinas académicas presenciais. O carácter exploratório da iniciativa de e-learning do Instituto Superior de Ciências Empresariais e do Turismo (ISCET), um Instituto do Ensino Superior Politécnico privado, tem características próprias que promovem o seu interesse científico e académico. Por um lado, porque a iniciativa decorre da visão estratégica do Instituto e da necessária adequação da sua prática académica ao paradigma de Bolonha. Por outro lado, porque a sua dimensão (número de alunos, professores e cursos) permitiu uma abordagem holistica, com uma avaliação permanente de todo o processo. Este artigo descreve precisamente essa avaliação ao longo do semestre inicial de arranque em que se procedeu à disponibilização de ambientes online para a totalidade do corpo de disciplinas oferecidas no ISCET e à definição dos modelos pedagógicos adaptados às especificidades de cada disciplina. Palavras-Chave: ensino superior, processo de Bolonha, e-learning. --- MAGANO, J., CASTRO, A. V., & VAZ DE CARVALHO, C. (2008). O e-Learning no Ensino Superior: um caso de estudo. In Educação, Formação & Tecnologias; vol. 1(1), pp. 79-92. Disponível em http://eft.educom.pt. --