EdCCDroid: An Education Pilot Prototype for Introducing Code-Combat using LUA

The current paper present a serious game prototype developed to assist the learning of programming at a university level. The game is called EdCCDroid, and is based on Code-Combat, currently the only game field targeting audience for programming learning compared to other games that would see users touch on the purely logically side of programming without having the user entering any code. Code Combat allows users to use script languages such as javascript, Lua, python etc. as input in order to progress through a small story or compete against other players. The paper reports on a “Learn & Play” game prototype that encourages students to understand the fundamentals of programming, through algorithmic design sceptic tasks, using Robots as Avatars to perform certain tasks within the game world. The paper explores the use of the UNITY 3D libraries to design the game, the real-time interactive platform used and the instructions in Lua format. The goal of the game is to produce an attractive game theme environment as part of the game simulation concept, targeting the development of an easy use Head Up Display (HUD) for writing the equivalent task code in Lua., Feedback is provided in case of errors and a visual output of the game state is being produced with the motion/interaction of the game world-bots. The paper also reports on the usability evaluation results from a pilot study conducted with 14 participants

An Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Perceptually Controlled Immersive Environment for Learning Acupuncture

This paper presents a basic but functional Perceptual User Interface (PUI) controlled immersive environment (IE) on an electronic learning platform (e-Learning) in order to deliver educational material relating to the NADA (National Acupuncture Detoxification Association) protocol for acupuncture. The purpose of this study is set out a proposed process for evaluating the learning efficacy of the PUI IE e-Learning application when compared with a typical Graphical User Interface (GUI) e-Learning IE application. Both are to be compared to a more traditional learning method. This paper evaluates user interface (UI) sentiment of the systems in advance of this proposed evaluation

Quiz Cube:an AR mobile learning application

The current paper presents the Quiz Cube application and its evaluation. The Quiz Cube application is an AR mobile learning application for students and teachers to easily make and use AR UI system using fiducial marker cubes. AR as a platform is just now reaching its full potential. Since smartphones and mobile devices are now at a sufficiently large user base, it is worth looking at the potential for an extremely small form factor delivery system that is flexible, easily modified, and used by educators and students. An easily modifiable AR learning experience will present an AR Mobile platform development, interactive museums, and the chosen subject in a new style. This method can be shown to improve not only knowledge of the chosen subject through investigation, but a better understanding of development potentials for the mobile devices now ubiquitous to students. The Quiz Cube application was evaluated in three different ways and the results are presented here

Immersive Learning Research Network

Computer games have now been around for over three decades and the term serious games has been attributed to the use of computer games that are thought to have educational value. Game-based learning (GBL) has been applied in a number of different fields such as medicine, languages and software engineering. Furthermore, serious games can be a very effective as an instructional tool and can assist learning by providing an alternative way of presenting instructions and content on a supplementary level, and can promote student motivation and interest in subject matter resulting in enhanced learning effectiveness. REVLAW (Real and Virtual Reality Law) is a research project that the departments of Law and Computer Science of Westminster University have proposed as a new framework in which law students can explore a real case scenario using Virtual Reality (VR) technology to discover important pieces of evidence from a real-given scenario and make up their mind over the crime case if this is a murder or not. REVLAW integrates the immersion into VR as the perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. The paper presents the prototype framework and the mechanics used to make students focus on the crime case and make the best use of this immersive learning approach

Hardware Interfaces for VR Applications: Evaluation on Prototypes

The advancement of recent developments over the VR with the expansion of new Head Mount Displays (H.M.D.) such as Oculus Rift and Morpheus have opened new challenges in the already active research filed of the industry of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) by exploring new means of communication with the support of the new hardware devices adjustable to body movements and hand position. The paper explores the hardware interactivity and VR H.M.D’s through two games designed to use the latest Oculus Rift SDK technology with alternative methods of hardware communication. A usability evaluation study was conducted with 18 participants and the results presented and discussed

Using serious games for learning sign language combining video, enhanced interactivity and VR technology

One in every six persons in the UK suffers a hearing loss, either as a condition they have been born with or they disordered they acquired during their life. 900,000 people in the UK are severely or profoundly deaf and based on a study by Action On Hearing Loss UK in 2013 only 17 percent of this population, can use the British Sign Language (BSL). That leaves a massive proportion of people with a hearing impediment who do not use sign language struggling in social interaction and suffering from emotional distress, and an even larger proportion of Hearing people who cannot communicate with those of the deaf community. This paper presents a serious game (SG) that aims to close the communication gap between able hearing people and people with a hearing impediment by providing a tool that facilitates BSL learning targeting adult population. The paper presents the theoretical framework supporting adult learning based on which a SG game using Virtual Reality (VR) technology has been developed. It explains the experimental framework of the study and presents the creation of the research instruments to facilitate the study comprising of a SG that integrates video and conventional video based educational material. It reports and analyses the study results that demonstrate the advantage of the SG in effectively supporting users learning a set of BSL signs and it presents qualitative outcomes that inform the further development of the game to serve learning needs. The paper closes with conclusions, directions for further development of this educational resource and future studies

Performance Evaluation of a Statistical and a Neural Network Model for Nonrigid Shape-Based Registration

Shape-based registration methods frequently encounters in the domains of computer vision, image processing and medical imaging. The registration problem is to find an optimal transformation/mapping between sets of rigid or nonrigid objects and to automatically solve for correspondences. In this paper we present a comparison of two different probabilistic methods, the entropy and the growing neural gas network (GNG), as general feature-based registration algorithms. Using entropy shape modelling is performed by connecting the point sets with the highest probability of curvature information, while with GNG the points sets are connected using nearest-neighbour relationships derived from competitive hebbian learning. In order to compare performances we use different levels of shape deformation starting with a simple shape 2D MRI brain ventricles and moving to more complicated shapes like hands. Results both quantitatively and qualitatively are given for both sets

Adult Learning Sign Language by combining video, interactivity and play in a 3D game platform

One in every six persons in the UK suffers a hearing loss, either as a condition they have been born with or a disorder they acquired during their life. 900,000 people in the UK are severely or profoundly deaf and based on a study by Action On Hearing Loss UK in 2013 only 17 percent of this population, can use the British Sign Language (BSL). That leaves a massive proportion of people with a hearing impediment who do not use sign language struggling in social interaction and suffering from emotional distress, and an even larger proportion of Hearing people who cannot communicate with those of the deaf community. This paper presents a theoretical framework for the design of interactive games to support learning BSL supporting the entire learning cycle, instruction, practice and assessment. It then describes the proposed design of a game based on this framework aiming to close the communication gap between able hearing people and people with a hearing impediment, by providing a tool that facilitates BSL learning targeting adult population. The paper concludes with the planning of a large scale study and directions for further development of this educational resource

Evaluation of a dynamic role-playing platform for simulations based on Octalysis gamification framework

The use of serious games (SG) in education and their pedagogical benefit is being widely recognized. However, effective integration of SGs in education depends on addressing two big challenges: successful incorporation of motivation and engagement that can lead to learning; and high cost and specialised skills associated with customised development to achieve the required pedagogical results. This paper presents a SG platform that offers tools to educators to dynamically create three dimensional (3D) scenes and verbal and non-verbal interaction with fully embodied conversational agents (ECA) that can be used to simulate numerous educational scenarios. We then evaluate the effectiveness of the platform in terms of supporting the creation of motivating and engaging educational simulations based on the Octalysis gamification framework. The latter includes a number of game design elements that can be used as appropriate in the optimization of the experience in each phase of the player’s journey. We conclude with directions of the further extension to our platform to address the aforementioned gamification framework, as well as directions for further development of the Octalysis framework

Using Serious Games for Learning British Sign Language Combining Video, Enhanced Interactivity, and VR Technology

One in every six persons in the UK suffers a hearing loss, either as a condition they have been born with or they disordered they acquired during their life. 900,000 people in the UK are severely or profoundly deaf and based on a study by Action On Hearing Loss UK in 2013 only 17 percent of this population, can use the British Sign Language (BSL). That leaves a massive proportion of people with a hearing impediment who do not use sign language struggling in social interaction and suffering from emotional distress, and an even larger proportion of Hearing people who cannot communicate with those of the deaf community. This paper presents a serious game (SG) that aims to close the communication gap between able hearing people and people with a hearing impediment by providing a tool that facilitates BSL learning targeting adult population. The paper presents the theoretical framework supporting adult learning based on which a SG game using Virtual Reality (VR) technology has been developed. It explains the experimental framework of the study and presents the creation of the research instruments to facilitate the study comprising of a SG that integrates video and conventional video based educational material. It reports and analyses the study results that demonstrate the advantage of the SG in effectively supporting users learning a set of BSL signs and it presents qualitative outcomes that inform the further development of the game to serve learning needs. The paper closes with conclusions, directions for further development of this educational resource and future studies