Computers Graphics, and Learning

The first of the topics begins with an overview of instructional computer graphics. This leads into an overview of the status of instructional visual research including discussions on visual perception, visual cognition, and theories on storing visual information in short-term and long-term memory. More practical application information is found in the next few chapters covering when and how static and animated graphics should be integrated into computer based instruction. The book concludes with a consideration of the role visuals play with multimedia. The useful information of each chapter is delivered with a cautious and wise nature. Rieber introduces his book with the first principle of instructional graphics, which I found to be very insightful. It reads, “There are times when pictures can aid learning, times when pictures do not aid learning but do no harm, and times when pictures do not aid learning and are distracting

Portraying algorithms with Leonardo Web

In this paper we describe our own experience in preparing animated presentations of computer science concepts with Leonardo Web, a Java-based animation system that we have previously developed. Our discussion is aimed at highlighting how different visualization tools and techniques turned out to be useful in realizing effective Web-based teaching material. Our experience culminated in the preparation of an on-line repository of animated illustrations for a textbook on algorithms and data structures edited by McGraw-Hill in 2004

Training and Learning in e-Health Using the Gamification Approach: The Trainer Interaction

One of the basic conditions to learn is motivation. Thus it is essential for learning environments to motivate the students to proceed into the learning process. Several researches propose the inclusion of new technological trends, such as the Gamification, to engage the users. In this paper the solution adopted in UBICARE system, where the Gamification approach has been used for training and learning purposes, is presented. The Gamification was used in the simulation of clinical cases aimed to both empower the patients to adopt healthy life-style and train the medical and paramedical staff about diagnostic procedures, therapeutic interventions and follow-up of patients. In particular, the paper presents the trainer interaction that is useful in order to keep the system up to date over time and to allow the definition of clinical cases tailored on the basis of users’ needs

Achieving Game Goals at All Costs? : The Effect of Reward Structures on Tactics Employed in Educational Military Wargaming

A key motive in using gaming for educational purposes is to enhance user motivation and involvement to the subject matter. Within military education, games have always been utilized as a means to think clearly about military operations. However, some research results have shown that gaming, regardless of what the game is supposed to portray, is a meaningful activity in itself, and this can distract the learner away from the educational objective. Playing the game, then, becomes similar to competition, such as in sports where the objective is to only win the game. The player directs actions to achieving game goals even though some actions are inappropriate from a learning perspective. To shed light on the discrepancy between playing a game to win and playing a game to learn, we conducted an experiment on cadets playing an educational wargame. By varying the conditions of the game, playing with or without points, while still in line with the learning objective, we were interested to see what impact it had on the tactics employed by cadets. The results showed that adding reward structures, such as points, changed the outcome of the game, that is, groups playing with points played the game more aggressively and utilized the military units more extensively. These findings suggest that changes in the game design, although educationally relevant, may distract learners to be more oriented towards a lusory attitude, in which achieving the game goals becomes players' biggest concern