Towards Mapping Competencies through Learning Analytics: Real-time Competency Assessment for Career Direction through Interactive Simulation

Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 201, pp. 1-13

Brief history of serious games

Serious Games are now an established field of study. In this field most would attribute the rise of Serious Games to Clark C Abt’s creation of the term in 1970, or indeed Ben Sawyer’s popularization of it in 2002. However, considering the rich history of purposing non-digital games, itself preceded by discussions of purposing play that are traceable to the work of Plato, it can be said that Serious Games is a contemporary manifestation of centuries old theories and practices. In this chapter, we explore the pre-history of Serious Games, beginning with the suggested purpose, and purposing of play. Throughout this historical review we identify key in research and practice that are apparent in the contemporary Serious Games field

Participatory game prototyping – balancing domain content and playability in a serious game design for the energy transition

Game design mostly engages future players as users and testers, whereas in the field of serious game design, approaches involving players more substantially are slowly emerging. This paper documents the participatory prototyping process of Energy Safari, a serious game for the energy transition in the Province of Groningen, and reports on the differences of the contributions made to the game development by separate groups of stakeholders. Each group contributed the most to the game elements that are most relevant to their interests. Overall, this study points to the potential of participatory game prototyping as a method to develop serious games that are balanced both in terms of domain content and playability, are meaningful for future players, and well embedded in the local context

Learning from multimedia and hypermedia

Computer-based multimedia and hypermedia resources (e.g., the world wide web) have become one of the primary sources of academic information for a majority of pupils and students. In line with this expansion in the field of education, the scientific study of learning from multimedia and hypermedia has become a very active field of research. In this chapter we provide a short overview with regard to research on learning with multimedia and hypermedia. In two review sections, we describe the educational benefits of multiple representations and of learner control, as these are the two defining characteristics of hypermedia. In a third review section we describe recent scientific trends in the field of multimedia/hypermedia learning. In all three review sections we will point to relevant European work on multimedia/hypermedia carried out within the last 5 years, and often carried out within the Kaleidoscope Network of Excellence. According to the interdisciplinary nature of the field this work might come not only from psychology, but also from technology or pedagogy. Comparing the different research activities on multimedia and hypermedia that have dominated the international scientific discourse in the last decade reveals some important differences. Most important, a gap seems to exist between researchers mainly interested in a “serious” educational use of multimedia/ hypermedia and researchers mainly interested in “serious” experimental research on learning with multimedia/hypermedia. Recent discussions about the pros and cons of “design-based research” or “use-inspired basic research” can be seen as a direct consequence of an increasing awareness of the tensions within these two different cultures of research on education

Immersive digital games: the interfaces for next-generation e-learning?

peer reviewedThe intrinsic motivation to play, and therefore to learn, that might be provided by digital educational games teases researchers and developers. However, existing educational games often fail in their attempt to compete with commercial games and to provide successful learning. Often some learning is added to digital games or some gameplay is added to educational applications. Successful educational games, however, require merging professional game design with sound pedagogical strategies, creating a new hybrid format. Moreover, a methodology is required that allows continuously balancing gaming and learning challenges and the learner's abilities and knowledge in order to retain an immersive gaming experience. In this article we introduce approaches to game design and didactic design, as well as a framework for adaptive interventions in educational games.ELEKTRA (Enhanced Learning Experience and Knowledge Transfer

LEA in private: A privacy and data protection framework for a learning analytics toolbox

Journal of Learning Analytics, Vol. 3, Nr. 1 (2016), S. 66-90To find a balance between learning analytics research and individual privacy, learning analytics initiatives need to appropriately address ethical, privacy, and data protection issues. A range of general guidelines, model codes, and principles for handling ethical issues and for appropriate data and privacy protection are available, which may serve the consideration of these topics in a learning analytics context. The importance and significance of data security and protection are also reflected in national and international laws and directives, where data protection is usually considered as a fundamental right. Existing guidelines, approaches, and regulations served as a basis for elaborating a comprehensive privacy and data protection framework for the LEA’s BOX project. It comprises a set of eight principles to derive implications for ensuring ethical treatment of personal data in a learning analytics platform and its services. The privacy and data protection policy set out in the framework is translated into the learning analytics technologies and tools that were developed in the project and may be used as best practice for other learning analytics projects

The ELEKTRA project: Towards a new learning experience

peer reviewedELEKTRA (Enhanced Learning Experience and Knowledge Transfer

Performance assessment in serious games

Göbel, S., Hugo, O., Kickmeier-Rust, M. D., & Egenfeldt-Nielsen, S.(2016). Serious game: Economic and legal issues. In R. Dörner, S. Göbel, W. Effelsberg, & J. Wiemeyer (Eds.), Serious games: Foundations, concepts and practice (pp. 273-302). Berlin: Springer