Pedagogy embedded in educational software design: report of a case study

Most educational software is designed to foster students' learning outcomes but with little consideration of the teaching framework in which it will be used. This paper presents a significantly different model of educational software that was derived from a case study of two teachers participating in a software design process. It shows the relationship between particular elements of the teachers' pedagogy and the characteristics of the software design. In this model, the ‘classroom atmosphere’ is embedded in the human–computer interface scenarios and elements, the ‘teaching strategy’ in the design of the browsing strategies of the software, and the ‘learning strategy’ in the particular forms of interaction with the software. The model demonstrates significant links between the study of Pedagogy and the study of Information Technology in Education and has implications for the relationship between these two areas of research and consequently for teacher training. The model proposes a perspective on educational software design that takes into consideration not only learning theories, but also teaching theories and practice.     

Time,engagement and video games: How game design elements shape the temporalities of play in massively multiplayer online role-playing games

Researchers and developers constantly seek novel ways to create engaging applications that are able to retain their users over the long term, make them desire to spend time using the application or go back to using it after a break. With this aim, video games can be an insightful source of inspiration, as they are specifically designed to maximise playing time, increase players' intentions of playing during the day or enhance their willingness to replay. In a gaming context, ‘time’ is an important factor for engagement because game designers can design the game time to retain players in the game environment. Drawing on social practice theory, which is increasingly used in Information Systems (IS) research, I conducted an ethnographic study in World of Warcraft (WoW) to understand how various temporalities are produced within a video game and the effects that they have on players' engagement. The findings show that game temporalities stem from the complex interaction between the design features of the game and the norms, routines and expectations that are part of the game practices. Moreover, these temporalities can engender temporal experiences that may stimulate engagement in various ways. The study contributes to IS literature by proposing a novel understanding of how time can be intentionally designed to sustain user engagement. Finally, it suggests that ‘time design’ in video games could inspire designs in broader IS contexts, such as in the gamification of online communities, crowdsourcing platforms and crowd working systems.     

Supporting creative and reflective processes

Creativity has long been seen as a mysterious process. A better understanding of the nature of creativity and the processes that underpin it are needed in order to be able to make contributions to the design of creativity support tools. In this paper, current theories of creativity and models of the creative process are discussed and an empirical study outlined of participants individually and collaboratively undertaking two creative tasks in different domains. The tasks ‘write a poem’ and ‘design a poster’ were carried out via two media; pen and paper and with the use of a computer and software tools. Schön's theory of reflection-in-action is applied to the study results. The research has generated software requirements for tools to support these specific creative tasks, and also initial design features to enable support for group reflection of evolving creative artefacts.     

Natural,practical and social contexts of e‐learning: a critical realist account for learning and technology

Much of the research in educational technology with a primary concern over how technology enhances learning has been criticized as privileging the immediate learning settings over the other dimensions of learners’ social life and the wider social and economic contexts in which learning and technology are located. The ability to develop a rich understanding of learning and technology in various contexts requires careful use of theory that might enable ‘looking beyond learning’. To meet this need, this paper proposes the use of a critical realistic account of learning and technology, in particular Margaret Archer's ‘three orders of reality’ and ‘personal Identity’. Drawing on an empirical case study for illustration, the paper argues that such an approach offers a ‘way out’ to unpack the relationship between learning and technology through a deep exploration of the interrelationship between individual practices of learning, with or without technology, and the bigger picture of how learning intervenes in other dimensions of social life and how other contexts come into play in learning settings.     

Implementation problems of Computer Based Training within the U.K. Government's Youth Training Scheme

With the introduction of the computer as an educational medium, Self[1] amongst others, has argued that four classes of people are now involved in Computer Base Training (BT): the medium designers, the material designers, the teachers, and learners. The degree of control is potentially, therefore, shared among all four. The extent to which this actually happens varies considerably and to a large degree depends on the users' (teachers' and learners') understanding of how to use such technology, as well as how it may or may not contribute to their overall educational objectives.Over the past four years, the authors have been examining two Government-funded projects concerned with the development and transferability of CBT within the Youth Training Scheme. In both projects. a case study approach was adopted for the purposes of our research. Our study has shown that within this particular learning milieu, there is a fifth class involved in this notion of ‘shared control’; the computer system's administrator or instructor. We have noted that the latter plays a significant role in determining how CBT is used within training. As the perceived expert, he or she is responsible not only for the provision of technical support, but also for the selection of, and access to, courseware.In this paper, we illustrate how CBT has been introduced into two different training contexts, our ease studies, and discuss the implications for the ultimate implementation of CBT as a training medium within youth training programmes.     

A concept map-embedded educational computer game for improving students' learning performance in natural science courses

Many recent studies have reported the benefits of educational computer games in promoting students' learning motivations. On the other hand, however, the effect of digital game-based learning in improving students' learning performance has been questioned. Several previous studies have reported that without properly integrating learning strategies into gaming scenarios, the effectiveness of educational computer games could be limited, or may be even worse than that of the conventional technology-enhanced learning approach. In this study, a concept map-embedded gaming approach is proposed for developing educational computer games by integrating concept mapping as part of the gaming scenarios to help students organize what they have learned during the game-based learning process. Moreover, a role-playing game has been developed for an elementary school natural science course based on the proposed approach. From the experimental results, it is found that the concept map-embedded gaming approach can significantly improve the students' learning achievement and decrease their cognitive load. Moreover, the students who learned with the proposed approach revealed a significantly higher degree of perceived usefulness than those who learned with the conventional game-based learning approach.     

Game-based Learning and 21st century skills: A review of recent research

Game-based learning and 21st century skills have been gaining an enormous amount of attention from researchers and practitioners. Given numerous studies support the positive effects of games on learning, a growing number of researchers are committed to developing educational games to promote students’ 21st century skill development in schools. However, little is known regarding how games may influence student acquisition of 21st century skills. This paper examines the most recent literature in regard to game-based learning and identified 29 studies which targeted 21st century skills as outcomes. The range of game genres and game design elements as well as learning theories used in these studies are discussed, together with the range of indicators, measures and outcomes for impacts on 21st century skills. The findings suggest that a game-based learning approach might be effective in facilitating students’ 21st century skill development. The paper also provides valuable insights for researchers, game designers, and educators in issues related to educational game design and implementation in general.     

The effectiveness of adaptive difficulty adjustments on students' motivation and learning in an educational computer game

Computer games that adaptively adjust difficulty are used to continuously challenge players according to their abilities. The adjustment of difficulty occurs automatically in response to a game's ongoing assessment of a player's performance. This approach to difficulty adjustment is likely to be of value in educational computer games as a means of scaffolding learning for students. However, there is limited research evaluating the effectiveness of educational computer games with adaptive difficulty adjustment when compared to non-adaptive difficulty adjustment. To expand on this research a quasi-experimental study was designed to isolate the impact of the difficulty adjustment game element on motivation and learning. A total of 234 secondary school students were allocated to one of three activities involving learning about Spanish cognates: an adaptive difficulty adjustment game, an incremental difficulty adjustment game that was non-adaptive, and a written activity. The three learning activities were designed following the same learning and motivation theories. The two games were identical apart from the difficulty adjustment mechanism. The results for motivation indicated that all students experienced high levels and there was no significant difference between the three learning activities. The pre- and post-tests results for learning indicated that significantly higher learning outcomes were achieved by students who played the adaptive game. Analysis of a game log recording the correctness of students' responses indicated that the adaptive difficulty adjustment game, in contrast to the non-adaptive incremental difficulty adjustment game, provided a scaffolding structure to enhance student learning.     

Evaluation of learning outcomes using an educational iPhone game vs. traditional game

In this paper, we present an initial study to determine the subject preferences for educational computer games for children, in which 150 education professionals participated. From the results of this first study, we have developed an iPhone game for transmitting knowledge as part of multiculturalism, solidarity and tolerance following established learning theories, several design principles, and the objectives and competences of the Spanish law for primary education. We also report on a second study to determine whether the iPhone game has better learning outcomes than a traditional game by analyzing the participation of 84 children ranging in age from 8 to 10 years old. The frequency of playing with consoles or computer games was also taken into account in this second study, and the worldwide trend of previous studies has been corroborated. For learning outcomes, the results did not show significant differences between the two groups. However, 96% of the children indicated that they would like to play with the iPhone game again, and 90% indicated that they preferred the experience with the iPhone game over the traditional one. From these results, we can conclude that the children achieved similar knowledge improvements using both the autonomous game (iPhone game) and the custom, guided game (traditional game). This could facilitate versatility in the learning process since the learning activity could be performed at any place and time without requiring supervision. Therefore, it could be a useful tool in the learning process and help teachers to fulfill students' training needs.     

Outcomes for design and learning when teenagers with autism codesign a serious game: A pilot study

Digital educational games research tends to lack ecological validity by not adequately taking into account the views and perspectives of children and young people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This paper is a pilot study that explores and analyses an academic‐based educational game that was co‐designed with and for young people with ASD. The serious game aims to help the players learn Geography‐specific knowledge and integrates several strategic features so that users can collaborate together against the computer or compete against each other. The educational game was evaluated over 5 sessions by 3 peer teams from 2 different special educational institutions, involving a total of 6 students with ASD. The participants were positive about their enjoyment, motivation, and social engagement. The results showed that the players' level of competitiveness not only influenced the experience within the game but also the interaction within the peer teams. The game mechanisms did help the participants with ASD increase their knowledge in Geography content. The main conclusion is that there are considerable benefits of including children with ASD in the design process and future research should explore more fully on how their involvement can enhance curriculum‐based learning as well as social engagement within the classroom.     

The influence of the level of free-choice learning activities on the use of an educational computer game

Employing a mixed-method explorative approach, this study examined the in situ use of and opinions about an educational computer game for learning English introduced in three schools offering different levels of freedom to choose school activities. The results indicated that the general behaviour of the children with the game was very different for each of the schools while there were no significant differences in subjective opinions or previous computer game experience as measured with a questionnaire. The gaming records and interviews informed that children do enjoy playing the game in comparison with other formal learning activities, but appreciate it less as a leisure-time activity. Furthermore it appears that children used to teacher-initiated activities tend to depend on their teacher’s directions for how and when to play. The study highlights the level of choice as one of the important aspects to consider when introducing a game in the classroom. The study also points out some suggestions for the design of educational games, such as providing communication possibilities between players and integrating fast-paced motor-skill based games with learning content in a meaningful way.     

投票理论研究现状及其展望

社会选择理论是研究如何表达和聚合个体选择的一门学问.而社会选择理论与计算机科学的融合产生了称为计算社会选择的交叉学科,该学科成为社会计算的重要研究内容之一,在人工智能、经济和计算性理论领域引起了轰动.其一方面引入了复杂性分析和算法设计等计算机学科中常用的技术来对社会选择机制进行研究;另一方面也通过引入社会选择理论中的概念来推动计算机技术的发展,特别是在多智能体系统研究中有着成功的应用.投票理论是计算社会选择中最重要的研究主题之一.首先介绍常见的投票方法以及投票理论的形式化框架;再对投票理论中所关心的操纵问题做分析;然后介绍在组合域上的投票;最后对其他相关问题作简要介绍,并对该领域未来的发展与应用做出展望.     

From Cognitive Load Theory to Collaborative Cognitive Load Theory

Cognitive load theory has traditionally been associated with individual learning. Based on evolutionary educational psychology and our knowledge of human cognition, particularly the relations between working memory and long-term memory, the theory has been used to generate a variety of instructional effects. Though these instructional effects also influence the efficiency and effectiveness of collaborative learning, be it computer supported or face-to-face, they are often not considered either when designing collaborative learning situations/environments or researching collaborative learning. One reason for this omission is that cognitive load theory has only sporadically concerned itself with certain particulars of collaborative learning such as the concept of a collective working memory when collaborating along with issues associated with transactive activities and their concomitant costs which are inherent to collaboration. We illustrate how and why cognitive load theory, by adding these concepts, can throw light on collaborative learning and generate principles specific to the design and study of collaborative learning.     

Interactive story authoring: A viable form of creative expression for the classroom

The unprecedented growth in numbers of children playing computer games has stimulated discussion and research regarding what, if any, educational value these games have for teaching and learning. The research on this topic has primarily focused on children as players of computer games rather than builders/constructors of computer games. Recently, several game companies, such as BioWare Corp. and Bethesda Softworks, have released game story creation tools to the public, along with their games. However, a major obstacle to using these commercial tools is the level of programming experience required to create interactive game stories. In this paper, we demonstrate that a commercial game story construction tool, BioWare Corp.’s Aurora Toolset, can be augmented by our new tool, ScriptEase, to enable students in two grade ten English classes to successfully construct interactive game stories. We present evidence that describes the relationship between interactive story authoring and traditional story authoring, along with a series of factors that can potentially affect success at these activities: gender, creativity, intellectual ability, previous experiences with programming, time playing computer games, and time spent online. Results indicate that students can successfully construct sophisticated interactive stories with very little training. The results also show no gender differences in the quality of these interactive stories, regardless of programming experience or the amount of time per week playing computer games or participating in general online activities, although a subset of female students did show a slightly higher level of performance on interactive story authoring. In the educational context of this study, we show that ScriptEase provides an easy-to-use tool for interactive story authoring in a constructionist learning environment.     

Rethinking Technology-Enhanced Physics Teacher Education: From Theory to Practice

This article discusses how modern technology, such as electronic response systems, PeerWise system, data collection and analysis tools, computer simulations, and modeling software can be used in physics methods courses to promote teacher-candidates' professional competencies and their positive attitudes about mathematics and science education. We show how modeling technology-enhanced deliberate pedagogical thinking in physics methods courses can improve teacher-candidates' subject-specific pedagogical knowledge and their positive attitudes about science learning. We also discuss potential challenges that must be addressed in order to help teacher-candidates successfully implement these pedagogies during the practicum and in their early years of teaching.     

Assessing implicit science learning in digital games

Building on the promise shown in game-based learning research, this paper explores methods for Game-Based Learning Assessments (GBLA) using a variety of educational data mining techniques (EDM). GBLA research examines patterns of behaviors evident in game data logs for the measurement of implicit learning—the development of unarticulated knowledge that is not yet expressible on a test or formal assessment. This paper reports on the study of two digital games showing how the combination of human coding with EDM has enabled researchers to measure implicit learning of Physics. In the game Impulse, researchers combined human coding of video with educational data mining to create a set of automated detectors of students' implicit understanding of Newtonian mechanics. For Quantum Spectre, an optics puzzle game, human coding of Interaction Networks was used to identify common student errors. Findings show that several of our measures of student implicit learning within these games were significantly correlated with improvements in external postassessments. Methods and detailed findings were different for each type of game. These results suggest GBLA shows promise for future work such as adaptive games and in-class, data-driven formative assessments, but design of the assessment mechanics must be carefully crafted for each game.