Playing in the special education school: from gamers to game designers

In a one year old study, students with mild and moderate intellectual disability, used serious games in their educational practice. Communication, interaction, participation and motivation have been documented in a qualitative study using two different classrooms as case studies. In this paper we describe the documented process of these endeavors, as students turned from gamers into game designers. During the study we were able to document changes in the educational atmosphere, including change of roles and communication re-enforcement between students and teachers. Co-operative game design workshops were organized, as part of the European Project Code RED , targeting students in the risk of early school leaving (ESL), by using game design workshops as a tool of motivation and inclusion

LUDI. Play for children with disabilities

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Integrating Serious Games in the Educational Experience of Students with Intellectual Disabilities: Towards a Playful and Integrative Model

The purpose of this paper is to present a series of observations made by researchers and educators on the integration of serious games in the educational experience of users with intellectual disabilities (ID). Data were gathered from four different studies and different games were used, in order to identify a successful model of games based learning application. Moreover, results that highlight the motivational importance of playful integration towards the promotion of self determination in students with ID, will be presented. According to the authors’ findings, special education can be benefited from the successful integration of digital games in the educational scenario, creating a safe and personalized educational environment for the students, as well as a valuable motivational tool for the educator - especially when the educator takes a threefold role, able to support a hybrid model of digital and non digital play. Trying to assist the educational efforts of special education teachers, the authors will present the results of a series of case studies and applications, the role of the educator, as well as practical considerations that resulted in the sketch of a model of playful game-based learning integration

Fingers on the Screen: game Based learning for students with intellectual disabilities

Game Based Learning in the special education classroom is still regarded with skepticism by educators, or has been used mainly as an extrinsic reinforcement. This communication presents a series of observations made by researchers and educators on the motivational impact of games in the educational experience of users with intellectual disabilities

Wolbachia-induced reproductive parasitism and applications

Οι συμβιωτικές σχέσεις εντόμων-μικροοργανισμών (και ιδιαίτερα βακτηρίων) είναι ένα ευρέως διαδεδομένο φαινόμενο με ποικίλες συνέπειες στη βιολογία του ξενιστή, θετικές ή αρνητικές. Ένα από τα πιο διαδεδομένα και καλά μελετημένα βακτήρια είναι το βακτήριο Wolbachia. Το βακτήριο Wolbachia είναι ένα υποχρεωτικά ενδοκυττάριο και μητρικά κληρονομούμενο βακτήριο που συμβιώνει με ένα μεγάλο εύρος ειδών ασπόνδυλων όπως ακάρεα, αράχνες, ισόποδα, νηματώδεις της φιλαρίασης και κυρίως έντομα. Μελέτες έχουν δείξει ότι το βακτήριο Wolbachia πιθανώς συμβιώνει με το 70% όλων των ειδών των εντόμων, καθιστώντας το ως τον πιο διαδεδομένο συμβιωτικό οργανισμό του πλανήτη. Οι αλληλεπιδράσεις του βακτηρίου με τον ξενιστή κυμαίνονται μεταξύ της αμοιβαίας συμβίωσης και της επαγωγής αναπαραγωγικών ανωμαλιών όπως θηλυκοποίηση, παρθενογένεση, θανάτωση των αρσενικών ατόμων ή κυτταροπλασματική ασυμβατότητα. Παρά την ευρεία εξάπλωση και τις επιδράσεις του βακτηρίου στη βιολογία του ξενιστή, στην ειδογένεση και στην οικολογική ποικιλότητα, λίγα είναι γνωστά για τους μοριακούς μηχανισμούς της αλληλεπίδρασης του ξενιστή με το συμβιωτικό αυτό βακτήριο. Πρόσφατες μελέτες εστιάζουν στη δυνατότητα ανάπτυξης μεθόδων βιολογικού ελέγχου εντόμων γεωργικής, περιβαλλοντικής ή ιατρικής σημασίας, οι οποίες βασίζονται στις ιδιότητες του βακτηρίου Wolbachia.Insects have been reported to be associated with a broad variety of microorganisms, affecting the host biology in many different ways. Among them, Wolbachia, an obligatory intracellular and maternally-inherited symbiont, has recently attracted a lot of attention. Beside insects, Wolbachia are found in association with a wide variety of other invertebrate species, including mites, scorpions, spiders, crustaceans, filarial nematodes. Several surveys have indicated that Wolbachia may be symbiont of up to 70% of all insect species, rendering Wolbachia the most ubiquitous intracellular symbiotic organism on Earth. Wolbachia-host interactions range from many forms of reproductive parasitism to mutualistic symbioses. Different Wolbachia strains have been found to induce a number of reproductive alterations such as feminization, parthenogenesis, male-killing or cytoplasmic incompatibility. Despite their common occurrence and major effects on host biology, speciation and ecological diversity, little is known on the molecular mechanisms that mediate Wolbachia-host interactions. Recent studies focus on the potential of Wolbachia-based methods for the biological control of insect pests and disease vectors of agricultural, environmental and medical importance

The motivational circle of games: integrating location based games and computer games in the educational experience of users with educational disabilities

The purpose of this paper is to present a series of observations made by researchers and educators on the incorporation of games in the educational experience of users with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities (ID). We will describe findings that sketch motivational alteration of users with intellectual disabilities, as well as the role of the educator and caretakers regarding the integration of games in their educational scenarios. In a period of five years we had the opportunity to observe the application of serious games in classrooms and day care centers for students with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities. in four different studies. Specifically designed serious games were applied in different educational settings, in order to identify the motivational power of digital games in Special Education. During these four different studies, children and young adults with intellectual disability used digital online and standalone pc games, as well as location based games specifically designed for users with intellectual disability in formal and informal educational and social training settings. The outcomes revealed that games have the potentials to be a motivational tool for Special Education, especially when applied along with playful analog narrative as a holistic approach