Understanding the role of competition in video gameplay satisfaction

One of the key elements in many video games is competition. Based on Self-Determination and Flow theories, this paper explores the process through which competition makes a video game satisfying. A structural model that examines the impacts of Situational Competitiveness (manipulated via modes of competition) and Dispositional Competitiveness (as a personality trait) on gameplay experience is proposed and validated. The results show that the perception of video game competitiveness has a strong effect on Flow experience and Satisfaction. While an individual’s personality impacts the perception of a game’s competitiveness, this perception can also be influenced by the mode of competition.     

Instructional design or school politics? A discussion of ‘orchestration' in TEL research

This paper argues that the emphasis on orchestration as a metaphor for teaching in technology‐enhanced learning (TEL) environments, featured in recent academic discussions, is an opportunity to broaden the scope of the inquiry into educational technology. Drawing on sociological literature and research that investigated the systemic factors that influence the uptake of information and communication technologies in formal and informal learning contexts, the paper contends that a focus on instructional design does insufficient justice to the complexities of actual technology use in classrooms and after‐school programs. It is suggested, instead, that orchestration might better be used as a heuristic device to deepen our understandings of the relationships between power, bestowed on teachers or claimed by them through a number of strategies, educational technology, and teaching practices. The paper concludes that to fully understand this relationship and to support teachers, concern should be given equally to the existing political and cultural dynamics of TEL environments. Examples of orchestration as a political, cultural process are provided, illustrating how teachers appropriate technology and ‘innovative’ pedagogies to negotiate power.     

Constant companions: Instant messaging conversations as sustainable supportive study structures amongst undergraduate peers

Universities are facing severe cuts in funding and a transformation of both the economic model underpinning higher education and the relationship between students, tutors and universities and the traditional forms of support for students’ learning may be eroded. At the same time, mobile communications, instant messaging and social networking are now widespread amongst students and offer possible opportunities for developing new models of support. This paper reports on the use of instant messaging amongst peers, as part of a study of digitally-mediated communication and collaborative activities, crossing formal and informal boundaries, amongst campus-based undergraduate students, at a large university in the UK. It is argued that instant messaging conversations offers a means of sustainable peer support for students by demonstrating how they emerge from everyday practices, drawing on existing relationships and shared histories and redrawing the boundaries between formal and informal settings and practices. The importance of time is highlighted, showing how longitudinal, dialogic conversations were important for both practical and empathetic support. The potential of the instant messaging conversations in supporting the co-creation of artefacts, meaning making, motivation and affective support are also demonstrated, drawing on detailed examples of authentic conversations. However, such peer support practices remain largely invisible and therefore need acknowledging, fostering and encouraging, working alongside students to understand and develop these ideas so that peer support in universities can build on the existing practices of students themselves.     

Examining the pedagogical foundations of modern educational computer games

This study examines the pedagogical foundations of modern educational (computer video) games. Specifically, Cooper’s [Cooper, H. (1985, Mar 31–April 4). A taxonomy of literature reviews. In Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL] literature review framework was used to locate and examine relevant literature and games (published between the years 2000 and 2007) and to organize and report findings. A total of 50 articles and 55 educational games met specified selection criteria. The pedagogical foundations of the games were further investigated by contacting the authors of the games. Twenty-two games were based on established learning theories or instructional strategies and two games included basic instructional events that were not associated with any particular theory or strategy. No information regarding the pedagogical foundations of the 31 games was found or received. Analysis of the games and supporting literature revealed several patterns of practice that may be used to guide future research and development of educational games.     

A Pedagogy of Play: Integrating Computer Games into the Writing Classroom

Traditional distinctions between work/play and classroom/gamespace create barriers to computer games’ integration into academic settings and the writing classroom in particular. For a writing class, the work/play distinction often relegates games to an object of analysis in which students critique the games but have little invested in the gameplay itself. After examining briefly how historical changes in education created these distinctions, we offer an alternative position that places play and gamespace within the realm of the classroom. In so doing, we open up a gap for computer game theory to inform the pedagogy that can be practiced in a writing classroom. We show one such example of game theory informing writing pedagogy—the theory of emergent gaming. We then offer an example of an enacted emergent pedagogy in which students play the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft throughout the term, composing self-determined, rhetorically focused writing projects informed by play and written for other game players.     

Improving the authentic learning experience by integrating robots into the mixed-reality environment

The main aim of the modern popular teaching method of authentic learning has been to provide students with everyday-life challenges that develop knowledge and skills through problem solving in different situations. Many emerging information technologies have been used to present authentic environment in pedagogical purpose. However, there are few studies that have been discussed the sense of authenticity and characters in scene and how students interact with the characters involved in the task. We designed a system, RoboStage, with authentic scenes by using mixed-reality technology and robot to investigate the difference in learning with either physical or virtual characters and learning behaviors and performance through the system. Robots were designed to play real interactive characters in the task. The experiment of the study conducted with 36 junior high students. The results indicated that RoboStage significantly improved the sense of authenticity of the task and also positively affected learning motivation. Learning performance was conditionally affected by RoboStage.     

Evidence-based guidelines for the informal use of computers by children to promote the development of academic,cognitive and social skills

The use of computers in the home has become very common among young children. This paper reviews research on the effects of informal computer use and identifies potential pathways through which computers may impact children's development. Based on the evidence reviewed, we present the following guidelines to arrange informal computer experiences that will promote the development of children's academic, cognitive and social skills: (1) children should be encouraged to use computers for moderate amounts of time (2–3 days a week for an hour or two per day) and (2) children's use of computers should (a) include non-violent action-based computer games as well as educational games, (b) not displace social activities but should instead be arranged to provide opportunities for social engagement with peers and family members and (c) involve content with pro-social and non-violent themes. We conclude the paper with questions that must be addressed in future research.

Practitioner Summary: This paper reviews research on the effects of informal computer use on children's academic, cognitive and social skills. Based on the evidence presented, we have presented guidelines to enable parents, teachers and other adults to arrange informal computer experiences so as to maximise their potential benefit for children's development.     

On the usability and likeability of virtual reality games for education: The case of VR-ENGAGE

Educational software games aim at increasing the students’ motivation and engagement while they learn. However, if software games are targeted to school classrooms they have to be usable and likeable by all students. Usability of virtual reality games may be a problem because these games tend to have complex user interfaces so that they are more attractive. Moreover, if the games acquire an educational content they may lose the attractiveness and appeal that they have on users who are familiar with commercial games. Consequently, likeability may also be questioned. In this paper, we address the issue of usability and likeability of a virtual reality game that is meant to teach students geography. We describe the evaluation experiments conducted, which involved three categories of students in terms of their level of game-playing expertise: novice, intermediate and expert game players. The evaluation results showed that the game was indeed usable and likeable but there was scope for usability and likeability improvement so that the educational benefits may be maximised for all categories of students. The evaluation studies reported in this paper, revealed important issues about further research on virtual reality educational games.     

Universal Design for Learning: meeting the challenge of individual learning differences through a neurocognitive perspective

The traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach to curriculum denies the vast individual differences in learning strengths, challenges, and interests. The focus of this article is a novel approach, called Universal Design for Learning, to addressing the challenge of individual learner differences. Cognitive science research suggests the joint action of three broad sets of neural networks in cognition and learning: one that recognizes patterns, one that plans and generates patterns, and one that determines which patterns are important. These networks, referred to in this paper as recognition, strategic, and affective networks, are subject to individual differences that impact how individual students learn. This paper describes these networks and how the Universal Design for Learning framework makes use of this networks-based perspective to structure the consideration of individual learner differences and guide the design of a flexible, technology-rich curriculum that provides rich options for meeting diverse student needs.

如何在中专计算机课堂教育中融入生本教育观念

郭思乐教授提出的生本教育理念对传统教育理念形成巨大的冲击,成为新时期现代课堂教育理念的必然发展趋势,也是附合社会经济发展对教育新需求的教育理念。中专教育是以人的个性发展和能力发展为目标的教育,生本教育理念的提出和应用对中专教育的发展和改革有着极高的价指。本文以中专计算机课堂教育为基点,对生本教育理念的应用进行了探讨。     

Networks of Science and Technology in India: The Elite and the Subaltern Streams

The paper investigates the structure and functioning of the science and technology (S&T) system in India as it has evolved in the post-independence period (1947 onwards). The networks of entities involved in S&T actions, the paper argues, can be categorised, in terms of adopted approaches to agenda and priority setting and accounting for actions, into two streams. The origins and expansion of the two streams are traced. One, the ‘Elite’ stream (high profile and visibility linked to big industry), adopting what the paper has generically termed the ‘Nehruvian’ model of development, is shown to have emerged as a dominant network. The other socially powerful ‘Subaltern’ stream (less visible, closer to ground realities and linked to village and cottage industry), adopting the ‘Gandhian’ model of development, still remains dispersed and outside the consideration of high-level decision-making bodies. The paper stresses the importance of moving the support and attention from the dominant stream to efforts that attempt a synthesis between the dominant and the subaltern.