Opiskelijoiden kokemuksia opetuspelin käytöstä projektinhallinnan opetuksessa

Tiivistelmä. Työn tavoitteena on tutkia projektinhallinnan opetukseen tehdyn tietokonepelin vaikutusta oppimiseen projektinhallinnan opetuksessa. Oppimista mitataan opiskelijoiden subjektiivisilla arvioilla ja tutkimusmenetelmänä käytetään laadullista sisällönanalyysiä. Aineisto kerättiin 47:ltä Stevens Institute of Technology:n opiskelijalta pelin jälkeen. Pelillä on tarkoitus opettaa ymmärrystä projektinhallinnan päätöksenteon monimutkaisuuteen, riskien vaikutusta projektin kustannuksiin, aikatauluun ja laatuun, sekä tuloksenarvo menetelmän soveltamista projektin arviointiin ja suunnitteluun. Laadullisen sisällönanalyysin mukaan suurin osa opiskelijoista kokee, että projektinhallintapeli auttaa ymmärtämään asioita, joita pelillä on tarkoituksena opettaa. Osa opiskelijoista kertoi oppineensa myös yleisiä taitoja pelatessa. Peli tuki oppimista, koska se on motivoiva ja interaktiivinen. Opiskelijat myös kilpailivat toisiaan vastaan, mikä sai heidät pelaamaan peliä enemmän. Lisäksi tunnistettiin asioita, jotka vaikuttavat kielteisesti oppimiseen ja oppimiskokemukseen. Näitä ovat muun muassa pelissä olevat virheet ja käyttöliittymä sekä ohjeiden ja kokousominaisuuden puute. Työn tuloksia voi hyödyntää pelin soveltamisessa opetuksessa ja pelin kehittämisessä.Student’s experiences of using an educational game in project management teaching. Abstract. The aim of this bachelor’s thesis is to study the effect a computer game made to teach project management has in project management teaching. Learning is measured by students’ subjective assessments and qualitative content analysis is used as a research method. The material was collected from 47 students studying in the Stevens Institute of Technology after they played the game. The game’s learning objectives are to understand the complexity of decision-making in project management, the impact of risks on project costs, schedule and quality, and the application of earned value method for project evaluation and project planning. According to the qualitative content analysis, most students feel that the project management game helps them better understand the things that the game teaches. Some students said they also learned soft skills while playing. The game supported learning because it was motivating and interactive. Students also competed against each other which made them play the game more. In addition, things that negatively affect learning and the learning experience were identified. These include the game’s bugs and interface as well as lack of instructions and meeting features. The results of the bachelor’s thesis can be used in the application of the game in teaching and development of the game

Quantifying ADHD Symptoms in Open-Ended Everyday Life Contexts With a New Virtual Reality Task

Objective: To quantify goal-directed behavior and ADHD symptoms in naturalistic conditions, we developed a virtual reality task, EPELI (Executive Performance in Everyday LIving), and tested its predictive, discriminant and concurrent validity. Method: We collected EPELI data, conventional neuropsychological task data, and parent-ratings of executive problems and symptoms in 38 ADHD children and 38 typically developing controls. Results: EPELI showed predictive validity as the ADHD group exhibited higher percentage of irrelevant actions reflecting lower attentional-executive efficacy and more controller movements and total game actions, both indicative of hyperactivity-impulsivity. Further, the five combined EPELI measures showed excellent discriminant validity (area under curve 88 %), while the correlations of the EPELI efficacy measure with parent-rated executive problems (r = .57) and ADHD symptoms (r = .55) pointed to its concurrent validity. Conclusion: We provide a proof-of-concept validation for a new virtual reality tool for ecologically valid assessment of ADHD symptoms.Peer reviewe

Quantifying ADHD Symptoms in Open-Ended Everyday Life Contexts With a New Virtual Reality Task

Objective: To quantify goal-directed behavior and ADHD symptoms in naturalistic conditions, we developed a virtual reality task, EPELI (Executive Performance in Everyday LIving), and tested its predictive, discriminant and concurrent validity. Method: We collected EPELI data, conventional neuropsychological task data, and parent-ratings of executive problems and symptoms in 38 ADHD children and 38 typically developing controls. Results: EPELI showed predictive validity as the ADHD group exhibited higher percentage of irrelevant actions reflecting lower attentional-executive efficacy and more controller movements and total game actions, both indicative of hyperactivity-impulsivity. Further, the five combined EPELI measures showed excellent discriminant validity (area under curve 88 %), while the correlations of the EPELI efficacy measure with parent-rated executive problems (r = .57) and ADHD symptoms (r = .55) pointed to its concurrent validity. Conclusion: We provide a proof-of-concept validation for a new virtual reality tool for ecologically valid assessment of ADHD symptoms.</p

Using a virtual reality-based tool Epeli for the assessment of ADHD in children

Tavoitteet. Aktiivisuuden ja tarkkaavuuden häiriö (engl. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD) on lapsuusiässä alkava kehityksellinen neuropsykiatrinen häiriö, jonka ydinoireita ovat tarkkaamattomuus, yliaktiivisuus ja impulsiivisuus. ADHD:n diagnostisessa arvioinnissa hyödynnetään oirekyselyjä ja neuropsykologisia testejä, joiden avulla pyritään tekemään päätelmiä häiriöön liittyvien oireiden ja kognitiivisten vaikeuksien vaikutuksesta lapsen suoriutumiseen arkielämässä. Näihin perinteisiin arviointimenetelmiin liittyy ongelmia, kuten oirekyselyiden subjektiivisuus ja neuropsykologisten testien heikko yleistettävyys, minkä vuoksi tarvitaan uusia objektiivisia ja ekologisesti valideja arviointimenetelmiä. Tämän tutkielman tavoitteena oli tarkastella arkielämän tilanteita simuloivan Epeli-virtuaalitodellisuusmenetelmän soveltuvuutta ADHD:n arviointiin lapsilla. Menetelmät. ADHD-oireita 9–12-vuotiailla lapsilla arvioitiin Epeli-menetelmällä vertaamalla ADHD-diagnoosin saaneiden lasten (n = 37) ja terveiden verrokkien (n = 42) välisiä eroja motorisessa aktiivisuudessa. Lisäksi lineaaristen sekamallien avulla tarkasteltiin, miten Epelin aikana esiintyvä motorinen aktiivisuus ja tehtäviin liittyvät häiriöt vaikuttivat ryhmien suoriutumiseen Epelissä. Lisäksi tutkittiin Epelissä suoriutumisen yhteyttä ADHD-RS-IV-oirekyselylomakkeella (engl. ADHD Rating Scale-IV) arvioituihin ADHD-oireisiin ja suoriutumiseen jatkuvan suorituksen tehtävässä (engl. Continuous performance test, CPT). Tulokset ja johtopäätökset. Lapsilla, joilla oli diagnosoitu ADHD, havaittiin enemmän motorista aktiivisuutta Epelin aikana kuin verrokeilla, arvioituna peliohjainta käyttävän käden liikkeistä ja peliohjaimen painalluksista. Ohjainkäden liikkeistä ja ohjaimen painalluksista arvioidun motorisen aktiivisuuden havaittiin olevan häiriöiden ohella yhteydessä Epeli-suoriutumiseen, heikentäen suoriutumista ADHD-ryhmällä enemmän kuin verrokeilla. Lisäksi tämän motorisen aktiivisuuden määrän havaittiin olevan yhteydessä ADHD-RS-IV:llä arvioituihin ADHD-oireisiin, mutta vain osittain CPT-tehtävässä suoriutumiseen. Ryhmien välillä ei havaittu eroja pään liikkeissä, eivätkä ne ennustaneet suoriutumista Epelissä. Tulosten perusteella Epeli tarjoaa uusia mahdollisuuksia lasten ADHD:n arviointiin objektiivisella ja ekologisesti validilla tavalla.Objectives. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental neuropsychiatric disorder with childhood-onset, characterized by inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. In the diagnosis of ADHD, rating scales and neuropsychological testing serve to make inferences about the impact of a given patient’s symptoms, cognitive deficits, and abilities on everyday functioning. These traditional assessment methods have their limitations, as rating scales have been criticized by the lack of objectivity, and neuropsychological testing due to the limited ecological validity. For these reasons, new objective and ecologically valid assessment methods are needed. The aim of the current study was to examine the utility of Epeli, a new virtual reality-based assessment method that simulates everyday tasks, in the assessment of ADHD in children. Methods. ADHD symptoms were assessed with Epeli by comparing the differences in gross motor activity between 37 children diagnosed with ADHD and 42 typically developing children, aged between 9 and 12 years. Linear mixed models were used to examine how the children’s gross motor activity and distractors presented in the virtual environment affected groups performance in Epeli. Furthermore, it was investigated whether the motor activity variables of Epeli were correlated with the scores in traditional ADHD assessment methods: the continuous performance test (CPT), and ADHD Rating Scale IV (ADHD-RS-IV). Results and conclusions. Children diagnosed with ADHD made more movements of the hand using the game controller and controller clicks than the control group, and thus expressed more gross motor activity during Epeli. This gross motor activity measured from controller movements and clicks was associated with Epeli performance along with the distractors, weakening the performance in children with ADHD more than in typically developing children. Furthermore, the motor activity correlated with ADHD symptoms assessed with ADHD-RS-IV but only marginally with CPT measures. Head movements during Epeli did not reveal differences between the groups and were not associated with Epeli performance. The results suggest that Epeli offers new possibilities to assess children’s ADHD in an objective and ecologically valid way

EPELI: a novel virtual reality task for the assessment of goal-directed behavior in real-life contexts

A recently developed virtual reality task, EPELI (Executive Performance in Everyday LIving), quantifies goal-directed behavior in naturalistic conditions. Participants navigate a virtual apartment, performing household chores given by a virtual character. EPELI aims to tap attention, executive function, and prospective memory. In the present study, we examined several key properties of EPELI in 77 typically developing 9–13-year-old children, namely its internal consistency, age and gender differences, sensitivity to gaming experience, head-mounted display (HMD) type, and verbal recall ability, as well as its relationships with parent-rated everyday executive problems. Of the eight EPELI measures, the following six showed good internal consistency: task and navigation efficacy, number of correctly performed tasks and overall actions, time monitoring, and controller movement. Some measures were associated with age, gender, or verbal encoding ability. Moreover, EPELI performance was associated with parent-rated everyday executive problems. There were no significant associations of gaming background, task familiarity, or HMD type with the EPELI measures. These results attest to the reliability and validity of this new virtual reality tool for the ecologically valid assessment of attention, executive functions, and prospective memory in children

Epeli: a novel virtual reality task for the assessment of goal-directed behavior in real-life contexts

A recently developed virtual reality task, EPELI (Executive Performance in Everyday LIving), quantifies goal-directed behavior in naturalistic conditions. Participants navigate a virtual apartment, performing household chores given by a virtual character. EPELI aims to tap attention, executive function, and prospective memory. To ensure its applicability to further research and clinical work and to study its relationship to relevant background factors, we examined several key properties of EPELI in 77 typically developing 9-13-year-old children. These included EPELI's internal consistency, age and gender differences, sensitivity to gaming experience, head-mounted display (HMD) type, and verbal recall ability, as well as its relationships with parent-rated everyday executive problems. Of the eight EPELI measures, the following six showed acceptable internal consistency: task and navigation efficacy, number of correctly performed tasks and overall actions, time monitoring, and controller movement. Some measures were associated with age, gender, or verbal encoding ability. Moreover, EPELI performance was associated with parent-rated everyday executive problems. There were no significant associations of gaming background, task familiarity, or HMD type with the EPELI measures. These results attest to the reliability and ecological validity of this new virtual reality tool for the assessment of attention, executive functions, and prospective memory in children.Peer reviewe