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# Designing Serious Games, Mobile Learning and Extended Reality Applications for and with teachers

Iza Marfisi-Schottman

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## To cite this version:

Iza Marfisi-Schottman. Designing Serious Games, Mobile Learning and Extended Reality Applications for and with teachers. Computer Science [cs]. Le Mans Université, 2023. tel-04302536v2

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Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
# HABILITATION À DIRIGER DES RECHERCHES

DE
LE MANS UNIVERSITÉ

SOUS LE SCEAU DE
LA COMUE ANGERS - LE MANS

ÉCOLE DOCTORALE N° 641

Mathématiques et Sciences et Technologies du numérique, de l'Information et de la Communication

Spécialité : Informatique

Par
Iza MARFISI-SCHOTTMAN

## Designing Serious Games, Mobile Learning and Extended Reality Applications for and with Teachers

HDR présentée et soutenue à Laval, le 20 novembre 2023

Unité de recherche : Laboratoire d'Informatique de l'Université du Mans

## Composition du Jury :

Élise LAVOUÉ

Roland KLEMKE

Wendy E. MACKAY

Baltasar FERNANDEZ MANJON

Sébastien GEORGE

Professeure des Universités, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3

Full Professor, Open University and TH Köln, Cologne Game Lab

Directrice de Recherche, INRIA

Full Professor, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Professeur des Universités, Le Mans Université

Rapporteure

Rapporteur

Examinatrice

Président

Garant
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Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches

Iza Marfisi-Schottman

LIUM

Le Mans Université

iza.marfisi@univ-lemans.fr

November 2023
Open Educational Resource

This manuscript is licensed under CC BY 4.0, Attribution 4.0 International. To view a copy
of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The text: CC BY 4.0 - Iza Marfisi-Schottman.

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The illustrations, for the four chapters: CC BY 4.0 - Iza Marfisi-Schottman and Alexandra Freitas-Alves.

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The illustrations of Komit: CC BY 4.0 - Iza Marfisi-Schottman, Bertrand Marne and Alexandra Freitas-Alves. Komit is the FORGE mascot, presented in chapter 4. The source documents can be found on the FORGE: https://forge.aeif.fr/lium/masquotte-castor-forge

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Abstract

This manuscript presents our main contributions in Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) and in particular how Serious Games, Mobile Learning and innovative Human-Computer Interactions, can be designed and used to improve learning at all levels, from pre-school to vocational training.

We have addressed two main challenges. First, we provide methods, models and tools to help all the necessary actors, including teachers, game designers and developers, to design effective TEL systems. Through multiple projects, tested in classrooms, we identified several design principles that contribute to the research community. Our second challenge is to facilitate the creation of TEL systems by teachers themselves and thus increase their acceptability and use in schools. In particular, we developed adaptable models and authoring tools to help teachers create two types of TEL systems: Mixed Reality educational activities and geolocated smartphone applications for field trips.

On the basis of these contributions, a research plan is presented for the future. In the short-term, I plan on exploring ways to encourage collaborative situated learning. In the middle-term, I plan to continue working on authoring tools with European partners. And, in the long-term, I would like to pursue a more ambitious challenge which is to increase the impact of TEL research in French schools. This implies proposing open-source software architectures to encourage collaboration among researchers, education technology companies and teachers.
Résumé long en Français

Ce manuscrit présente nos principales contributions dans le domaine des Environnements Informatiques pour l'Apprentissage Humain (EIAH). Dans le premier chapitre, nous présen-
tons brièvement l'historique de ce domaine de recherche. Il s'agit d'un domaine qui est, par
nature, multidisciplinaire puisqu'il repose sur des théories d'apprentissage et d'enseignement (is-
sues des sciences humaines et sociales), mais aussi sur des innovations techniques (issues de
l'informatique). Notre recherche contribue à trois sous-branches des EIAH : les Serious Games
(SG) (jeux sérieux), les applications mobiles (ML) et les Interactions humain-machine (IHM)
innovantes pour l'apprentissage. Ces branches soulèvent plusieurs défis de recherche communs :
une conception complexe et multidisciplinaire (impliquant des acteurs qui ne sont pas toujours
disponibles), des coûts de production élevés et la nécessité de démocratiser l'utilisation de ces
outils à l'école. Nous nous concentrons donc sur deux objectifs de recherche:

* Objectif 1 : Fournir des méthodes, des modèles et des outils pour aider tous les acteurs concernés à concevoir des EIAH efficaces.

* Objectif 2 : Fournir des modèles adaptables et des outils auteur afin de faciliter la création des EIAH par les enseignants eux-mêmes et ainsi augmenter l'acceptabilité et l'utilisation de ces outils dans les écoles.

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Nos projets de recherche, visant ces objectifs, ont tous été menés avec des collègues en sciences humaines et sociales. Nos EIAH ont également été conçus et testés en collaboration avec des enseignants pilotes et leurs apprenants.

Le deuxième chapitre rend compte de nos efforts pour atteindre notre premier objectif de recherche. Nous proposons d'abord plusieurs principes de conception qui permettent de mettre la technologie au service de la pédagogie. Ces principes sont issus de nos projets de recherche :
* **TurtleTable(t)** : utilisation de mécaniques de jeu et d'objets tangibles pour favoriser un apprentissage collaboratif des bases de la programmation informatique.

* **SMART-Fractions** : utilisation de mécaniques de jeu et de Réalité Mixte pour enseigner aux enfants à placer une fraction sur une droite graduée.

* **TGRIS** : utilisation d'un simulateur de Réalité Virtuelle pour aider les professionnels à gérer leurs émotions dans des situations compliquées.

Sur la base de notre expérience, nous proposons **une méthode pour faciliter la conduite de ce type de projet de recherche en EIAH** avec des usages numériques innovants. Cette méthode, nommée PI-DBR, est une mise en œuvre pragmatique de la Recherche basée sur la conception (Design-Based Reaserch, DBR) avec une implication progressive des chercheurs et des enseignants.

De plus, nous proposons **une méthode de formation et 10 « commandements » pour aider les enseignants à créer leurs propres Serious Games (numériques et non numériques)** sur mesure, avec les ressources et le personnel qu'ils ont à disposition. Ces propositions ont été développées et raffinées au cours de sept années d'animation de la formation professionnelle Ludifik'action. Plus de 104 enseignants et ingénieurs pédagogiques ont participé à cette fórmation qui a abouti à la création de plus de 32 Serious Games actuellement utilisés dans des établissements universitaires, partout en France.

Pour finir, nous proposons **JEN-Planet, un catalogue de Serious Game**, capable de se mettre à jour automatiquement, pour aider les enseignants et les chercheurs à trouver des Serious Game existants.

**Le troisième chapitre rend compte de nos efforts pour atteindre notre deuxième objectif de recherche, à savoir comment fournir des modèles adaptables et des outils auteur afin de faciliter la création d'EIAH par les enseignants eux-mêmes.** Nous soulignons, tout d'abord, les cinq principaux avantages des outils auteur : 1) Ils couvrent un large éventail de besoins et peuvent donc être utilisés par un grand nombre d'enseignants, 2) Ils permettent la conception collaborative d'EIAH et la création d'une communauté d'utilisateurs, 3) Ils produisent des EIAH que les enseignants peuvent s'approprier puisque ce sont ces derniers qui apportent leur propre contenu, 4) Ils produisent des EIAH réutilisables, car les enseignants peuvent modifier et mettre à jour le contenu. Et pour finir, 5) les outils auteur permettent de produire des EIAH bon marché, car les enseignants n'ont pas besoin d'autres ressources ou de personnel qualifié.

Cependant, les outils auteurs présentent deux défis de conception majeurs. Tout d'abord, il est difficile de créer un outil auteur offrant de nombreuses fonctionnalités qui soit à la fois simple et rapide à utiliser. De plus, les enseignants ont une tendance naturelle à utiliser les EIAH simplement pour recréer leurs paradigmes d'enseignement habituels. Il est donc difficile de les encourager à tenter de nouvelles méthodes d'enseignement et ainsi utiliser ces outils à leur plein potentiel pédagogique.

Nous tentons de trouver des solutions à ces défis dans le cadre de deux types spécifiques d'EIAH. Le premier cas est celui de la création **d'activités pédagogiques intégrant de la Réalité Mixte**. Nous proposons des modèles originaux d'activités qui conviennent non seulement à tous types de disciplines, mais également à tous publics, de la maternelle à l'université et également un outil auteur très simple (MIXAP). Ces éléments ont été co-conçus et testés avec 19 enseignants pilotes. Le deuxième cas concerne la création **d'applications mobiles pour**
l'apprentissage situé. Nous proposons un modèle de jeu éducatif mobile qui est extensible et adaptable à de nombreuses sorties, ainsi que plusieurs outils auteur qui permettent aux enseignants de créer leurs propres applications mobiles géolocalisées. Ces propositions, issues de trois projets de recherche consécutifs, qui se sont déroulés sur près de 10 ans, ont été co-conçues et validées par plus de 21 enseignants et 2000 apprenants. Le dernier de ces outils auteur, SituLearn, est maintenant assez mature, robuste et ergonomique pour être transféré au grand public et utilisé non seulement par les écoles, mais également par les musées et les offices de tourisme.

Enfin, sur la base de nos expériences, nous proposons **plusieurs principes de conception qui peuvent guider ceux qui souhaitent créer un outil auteur** en EIAH ainsi que des **conseils pour la gestion de tels projets de recherche**.

Dans le dernier chapitre, je présente les trois directions principales de mon futur programme de recherche.

À court terme, j'ai l'intention d'identifier davantage de principes de conception concernant l'utilisation d'IHM innovantes pour l'apprentissage collaboratif. Ce travail a déjà été entamé en collaboration avec mon dernier doctorant, qui est actuellement dans sa troisième année de doctorat.

À moyen terme, je poursuivrai mon travail sur les outils auteur. Tout d'abord, j'aimerais continuer le projet MIXAP au niveau européen et notamment explorer le potentiel de l'Intelligence Artificielle générative pour l'assistance à la création de contenu pédagogique. J'aimerais également développer un nouvel outil auteur qui permettrait la création d'activités de réalité virtuelle ou augmentée à utiliser dans le cadre de la formation professionnelle.

Enfin, à long terme, j'aimerais relever un défi plus large : réduire le fossé important entre nos projets de recherche et l'utilisation de la technologie dans les écoles françaises. Pour ce faire, je proposerais des architectures qui fédèrent des forges de logiciels libres afin d'encourager la collaboration entre les chercheurs, les entreprises Edtech (technologies de l'éducation) et les enseignants. J'ai déjà commencé à explorer plusieurs pistes grâce à mes récents contacts au Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale.
Acknowledgements

First, I would like to express my gratitude to the esteemed **jury members** of my accreditation diploma: Elise LAVOUE, Wendy E. MACKAY, Roland KLEMKE and Baltasar FERNANDEZ MANJON. They are all very busy researchers and I am very honored that they took some of their precious time to read my manuscript, write a report and travel to Laval for my oral defense. Their recognition of my work made me very proud of all that I have accomplished so far and their constructive feedback was very useful to help me improve the way I present my research.

I would also like to thank **my family** for their love and support.

I'm glad my parents, Daniel and Wendy, passed on their thirst for knowledge and their values of hard work and commitment. I have fond memories of spending hours in the house office, feeding sheets of paper to the printer, one at a time, as it processed the huge manuscript of my mothers' second PhD. I also remember the strange challenges my father used to present me with, such as calculating the length of the wound-up coil, which involved math that was clearly too advanced for my age. Looking back, I think I was clearly destined to do academic research and I'm definitely hooked on it now! My little sister, Nora, always inspires me with her numerous artistic projects carried out in parallel to an impressive professional career as an architect. Both her and my mother were very helpful proofreading my manuscript. If you still spot some typos, just bear in mind it was much, much worse before! My brain is just not hardwired for spelling ;)

My little brother, Deny, sadly not with us anymore, is still very present by my side. He pushes me to make the most out of life because you literally do not know when it will end.

I thank my partner, Yannick, who has put up with my occasionally excessive enthusiasm for research, over the past two decades. He has always been supportive of my career choices and followed me, without question, when I got a Posdoc in Stockholm and then an associate professor position in Laval, despite it not being ideal for his career. After experiencing research firsthand during his Master's degree in Nurse Practitioning, he now thinks I'm completely insane but this makes his support even more remarkable.

Our two boys, Liam and Sacha, were very patient throughout these past few months while I spent many evenings and weekends writing and preparing for this accreditation diploma. Liam, who is now eight, believes that my “book” is going to make me famous. He also told me the drawings were too babyish which is probably good editing advice. Sacha, six years old, considers it was a waste of time and wishes I had spent more time cuddling him. Kid number three, still in my belly, has also supported me throughout the process. Initially, subtly, by urging me to complete the manuscript before she is born and now, more vigorously, by kicking and keeping me awake at night to ensure I review my presentation, just in case I overlooked something.

Furthermore, I would like to thank **all the colleges I have worked with** since the start of my doctoral program.

I am especially thankful to have had the opportunity to work alongside Sébastian GEORGE. He was my PhD co-supervisor when we were both in the LIESP lab in Lyon. A few years later, we were both appointed positions at LIUM in Laval, with Sébastien assuming the rank of full professor and myself as an association professor. His advice and encouragement, throughout these years were very valuable. It was only natural for me to ask him to serve as the guarant of my accreditation diploma. It's been a pleasure working with him and he still managed to impress me by his kindness, diplomacy and leadership qualities. I already said this in my PhD
acknowledgements, but he is, more than ever, my professional role model.

It was also a great pleasure and inspiring experience collaborating with my PhD students: Aous KAROUI, Wielfrid MORIE, Sofiane TOUEL and Sebastian SIMON. A large proportion of the work presented in this manuscript was possible thanks to their commitment.

Over the past few years, I have collaborated with numerous teachers from preschool, middle school, high school, university and even vocational training. Their enthusiastic participation has given me a deep sense of purpose and fulfillment in my work. They welcomed us with open arms into their classes so we could observe how they teach and worked with us, for free, to design and test new tools. How many of us would do that? I was genuinely impressed by their patience, their passion and their remarkably crafty ideas to use technology for educational purposes. Witnessing them using the tools we co-designed, makes me feel like I am doing something useful for society.

Finally, I would like to thank all the colleges of the faculty at LIUM and Le Mans University: my research colleagues who put up with my sometimes original communication actions, my teaching colleagues of the IUT's computer science department, who did not complain in the least, each time I needed to adjust my teaching hours and responsibilities for maternity and research leaves. I would also like to extend my thanks to the administrative, technical and custodial staff. They have all contributed to creating a friendly and favorable work environment that has been highly productive for me these past 10 years.
# Contents

<table><tr><td>Part I</td><td>Curriculum Vitae</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Academic Degrees</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Professional Experience</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Research Activities</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>3.1</td><td>List of publications</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>3.2</td><td>Software registration</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>3.3</td><td>Invited talks and keynotes</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>3.4</td><td>Research projects</td><td>12</td></tr><tr><td>3.5</td><td>Organization of scientific events</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>3.6</td><td>Institutional responsibilities</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>3.7</td><td>Scientific societies</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>3.8</td><td>Program committee and review</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>3.9</td><td>Member of PhD defence jury</td><td>19</td></tr><tr><td>3.10</td><td>Scientific expertise</td><td>19</td></tr><tr><td>3.11</td><td>Scientific delegation</td><td>20</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Teaching Activities</td><td>21</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Impact on the Community</td><td>29</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Awards</td><td>34</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>Part II</td><td>Research Works</td><td>35</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Introduction</td><td>39</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Research context: Technology-Enhanced Learning</td><td>40</td></tr><tr><td>1.1</td><td>Teaching and Learning Theories</td><td>40</td></tr><tr><td>1.2</td><td>Evolution of TEL alongside technology</td><td>42</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Three research branches</td><td>43</td></tr><tr><td>2.1</td><td>Serious Games</td><td>43</td></tr><tr><td>2.1.1</td><td>Definition</td><td>43</td></tr><tr><td>2.1.2</td><td>History</td><td>44</td></tr><tr><td>2.1.3</td><td>Challenges</td><td>45</td></tr><tr><td>2.2</td><td>Mobile Learning</td><td>45</td></tr><tr><td>2.2.1</td><td>Definition</td><td>45</td></tr><tr><td>2.2.2</td><td>History</td><td>46</td></tr><tr><td>2.2.3</td><td>Challenges</td><td>47</td></tr><tr><td>2.3</td><td>Innovative Human-Computer Interactions for learning</td><td>47</td></tr><tr><td>2.3.1</td><td>Definition</td><td>47</td></tr></table>
<table><tbody><tr><td>2.3.2</td><td>History</td><td>48</td></tr><tr><td>2.3.3</td><td>Challenges</td><td>49</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Research objectives and projects</td><td>50</td></tr><tr><td>3.1</td><td>Research objectives</td><td>50</td></tr><tr><td>3.2</td><td>Research projects</td><td>51</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Research method</td><td>52</td></tr><tr><td>4.1</td><td>Working with colleagues in Social Sciences</td><td>53</td></tr><tr><td>4.2</td><td>Working with teachers and their students</td><td>55</td></tr><tr><td>4.3</td><td>Have fun</td><td>56</td></tr><tr><td>4.4</td><td>Content of the manuscript</td><td>57</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Methods, Models and Tools</td><td>61</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Introduction</td><td>61</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Research context and questions</td><td>62</td></tr><tr><td>2.1</td><td>Understanding how game mechanics, ML and HCI can be used to enhance learning</td><td>62</td></tr><tr><td>2.2</td><td>Providing an access to existing Serious Games</td><td>63</td></tr><tr><td>2.3</td><td>Helping teachers create their own innovative educational tools with the available resources and staff</td><td>65</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Contributions</td><td>66</td></tr><tr><td>3.1</td><td>Game mechanics, ML and HCI to support learning</td><td>66</td></tr><tr><td>3.1.1</td><td>TurtleTable(t): Collaborative game with tangible objects to learn the basics of computer programming</td><td>66</td></tr><tr><td>3.1.2</td><td>SMART-Fractions: Mixed Reality game to apprehend the representation of fractions on a number line</td><td>69</td></tr><tr><td>3.1.3</td><td>TGRIS: Authentic Virtual Reality simulation for emotional management in professional situations</td><td>72</td></tr><tr><td>3.1.4</td><td>Design method for identifying the adapted technologies and using them to their full educational potential</td><td>75</td></tr><tr><td>3.1.5</td><td>Discussion and positioning of the work</td><td>79</td></tr><tr><td>3.2</td><td>JEN-planet: A Serious Game catalogue to help teachers find suitable existing Serious Games</td><td>79</td></tr><tr><td>3.2.1</td><td>LGMD: an optimal metadata model for describing educational Serious Games</td><td>80</td></tr><tr><td>3.2.2</td><td>ADEM: an automatic indexing model for Serious Games</td><td>80</td></tr><tr><td>3.2.3</td><td>UDID: an interface design method by teachers</td><td>81</td></tr><tr><td>3.2.4</td><td>Experimentation with teachers</td><td>82</td></tr><tr><td>3.2.5</td><td>Discussion and positioning of the work</td><td>85</td></tr><tr><td>3.3</td><td>Support and follow-up method to help teachers create their own educational tools</td><td>86</td></tr><tr><td>3.3.1</td><td>Training and follow-up method</td><td>86</td></tr><tr><td>3.3.2</td><td>Guidelines to help teachers get started on a Serious Game project</td><td>89</td></tr><tr><td>3.3.3</td><td>Discussion and positioning of the work</td><td>91</td></tr><tr><td>3.4</td><td>Conclusions</td><td>92</td></tr><tr><td>3.5</td><td>Related publications</td><td>95</td></tr></tbody></table>

3 Adaptable Models and Authoring Tools 99
<table><tr><td>1</td><td>Introduction</td><td>99</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Research context and questions</td><td>103</td></tr><tr><td>2.1</td><td>What models and authoring tools can enable teachers to use Mixed Reality?</td><td>103</td></tr><tr><td>2.2</td><td>What models and authoring tools can enable teachers to create Mobile Learning applications?</td><td>104</td></tr><tr><td>2.3</td><td>What design methods are used to create authoring tools?</td><td>105</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Contributions</td><td>105</td></tr><tr><td>3.1</td><td>Models and authoring tools for educational Mixed Reality</td><td>105</td></tr><tr><td>3.1.1</td><td>Mixed Reality educational activity models</td><td>108</td></tr><tr><td>3.1.2</td><td>Educational Mixed Reality authoring tool</td><td>109</td></tr><tr><td>3.1.3</td><td>Experiments with teachers</td><td>110</td></tr><tr><td>3.1.4</td><td>Discussion and positioning of the work</td><td>111</td></tr><tr><td>3.2</td><td>Models and authoring tools to create Mobile Applications for field trips</td><td>112</td></tr><tr><td>3.2.1</td><td>Mobile Learning Game Model</td><td>113</td></tr><tr><td>3.2.2</td><td>Authoring tool for geo-located ML application for field trips</td><td>116</td></tr><tr><td>3.2.3</td><td>Helping teachers explore new teaching paradigms</td><td>119</td></tr><tr><td>3.2.4</td><td>Experiments of SituLearn</td><td>120</td></tr><tr><td>3.2.5</td><td>Discussion and positioning of the work</td><td>125</td></tr><tr><td>3.3</td><td>Design methods for creating authoring tools</td><td>126</td></tr><tr><td>3.3.1</td><td>Designing principles for TEL authoring tools</td><td>126</td></tr><tr><td>3.3.2</td><td>Guidelines for managing a project on authoring tools</td><td>127</td></tr><tr><td>3.3.3</td><td>Discussion and positioning of the work</td><td>130</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Conclusions</td><td>131</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Related publications</td><td>134</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Conclusion and Research Perspectives</td><td>137</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Review of contributions</td><td>137</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Research program</td><td>140</td></tr><tr><td>2.1</td><td>Short-term research program: tools and frameworks to foster collaborative learning</td><td>140</td></tr><tr><td>2.1.1</td><td>SPART: on-Surface Positioning for Augmented Reality</td><td>140</td></tr><tr><td>2.1.2</td><td>Collaborative learning framework</td><td>142</td></tr><tr><td>2.2</td><td>Medium-term research program: authoring tools to empower teachers</td><td>143</td></tr><tr><td>2.2.1</td><td>Further investigation on Mixed Reality for education</td><td>143</td></tr><tr><td>2.2.2</td><td>Authoring tools for Virtual Reality</td><td>146</td></tr><tr><td>2.3</td><td>Long-term research program</td><td>147</td></tr><tr><td>2.3.1</td><td>Open source software: the way to sustainable TEL systems?</td><td>150</td></tr><tr><td>2.3.2</td><td>Forges: this is the way</td><td>152</td></tr><tr><td>2.4</td><td>Very long-term research program and vision of research</td><td>155</td></tr><tr><td>2.4.1</td><td>Open software and source code</td><td>156</td></tr><tr><td>2.4.2</td><td>Open Educational Resources and Open data</td><td>156</td></tr><tr><td>2.4.3</td><td>Open Access to Publications</td><td>157</td></tr><tr><td>A</td><td>Appendix: posters of teacher's testimonies</td><td>163</td></tr></table>
CONTENTS
List of Figures

<table><tbody><tr><td>1.1</td><td>The many branches of Technology-Enhanced Learning</td><td>40</td></tr><tr><td>1.2</td><td>Merging the Zone of Proximal Development with the concept of Flow</td><td>42</td></tr><tr><td>1.3</td><td>Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience in its misconstrued and correct form</td><td>43</td></tr><tr><td>1.4</td><td>Serious Games for Learning</td><td>44</td></tr><tr><td>1.5</td><td>Mobile Learning</td><td>46</td></tr><tr><td>1.6</td><td>Human-Computer Interactions for learning</td><td>48</td></tr><tr><td>1.7</td><td>Challenges and research objectives</td><td>51</td></tr><tr><td>1.8</td><td>Contributions to three research branches of Technology-Enhanced Learning</td><td>52</td></tr><tr><td>1.9</td><td>Interactions and tensions in collaborative multidisciplinary TEL projects</td><td>54</td></tr><tr><td>2.1</td><td>First research objective</td><td>62</td></tr><tr><td>2.2</td><td>Interface and tangible objects for the TurtleTablet collaborative game</td><td>68</td></tr><tr><td>2.3</td><td>Comparative studies led with TurtleTable(t)</td><td>68</td></tr><tr><td>2.4</td><td>The Magic Cauldron game material</td><td>71</td></tr><tr><td>2.5</td><td>Three types of activities for learning fractions in the Magic Cauldron</td><td>72</td></tr><tr><td>2.6</td><td>Use of TGRIS for professional training</td><td>74</td></tr><tr><td>2.7</td><td>TGRIS Control interface, configured and controlled by peers</td><td>74</td></tr><tr><td>2.8</td><td>Basic phases of Design-Based Research</td><td>76</td></tr><tr><td>2.9</td><td>PI-DBR, a Pragmatic Implementation of the Design-Based Research method</td><td>77</td></tr><tr><td>2.10</td><td>Gradual implication of researchers and teachers in the design cycles</td><td>79</td></tr><tr><td>2.11</td><td>Learning Games Metadata Definition (LGMD) model</td><td>81</td></tr><tr><td>2.12</td><td>Steps of the ADEM (Automatic Description Extraction Metadata) model for SGs</td><td>82</td></tr><tr><td>2.13</td><td>Interface mockups from the design sessions</td><td>83</td></tr><tr><td>2.14</td><td>Catalogue JEN-Planet homepage</td><td>84</td></tr><tr><td>2.15</td><td>Distribution of evaluations by catalogue in the SUS score grid with interpretation</td><td>85</td></tr><tr><td>2.16</td><td>Proportion of the 50 participant teachers who found SGs and want to test them</td><td>86</td></tr><tr><td>2.17</td><td>Examples of Serious Games designed during Ludifik'action</td><td>87</td></tr><tr><td>2.18</td><td>Ludifik'action training session</td><td>88</td></tr><tr><td>2.19</td><td>10 commandments of the Serious Game Padawan</td><td>89</td></tr><tr><td>3.1</td><td>Second research objective</td><td>100</td></tr><tr><td>3.2</td><td>Advantages and design challenges of TEL authoring tools</td><td>102</td></tr><tr><td>3.3</td><td>Testimony of a pre-school teacher who used MIXAP</td><td>106</td></tr><tr><td>3.4</td><td>Testimony of a high-school teacher who used MIXAP</td><td>107</td></tr><tr><td>3.5</td><td>Steps for using the MIXAP authoring tool</td><td>108</td></tr><tr><td>3.6</td><td>Types of educational MR activities offered by MIXAP</td><td>109</td></tr><tr><td>3.7</td><td>Simple four-step workflow offered by MIXAP</td><td>110</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>3.8</td>
      <td>First session of the MIXAP experiments in the classroom</td>
      <td>111</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>3.9</td>
      <td>Steps for using the SituLearn authoring tool</td>
      <td>113</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>3.10</td>
      <td>Mobile Learning Game model</td>
      <td>114</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>3.11</td>
      <td>JEM-Inventor authoring tool interface</td>
      <td>116</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>3.12</td>
      <td>MOGGLE authoring tool interface</td>
      <td>117</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>3.13</td>
      <td>SituLearn authoring tool interface</td>
      <td>119</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>3.14</td>
      <td>Testimony of a middle-school teacher who used SituLearn</td>
      <td>123</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>3.15</td>
      <td>Testimony of a mediator who used SituLearn</td>
      <td>124</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>3.16</td>
      <td>Four guidelines for designing TEL authoring tools</td>
      <td>127</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>3.17</td>
      <td>Comparison of teacher involvement between three types of research projects</td>
      <td>131</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.1</td>
      <td>Overview of contributions</td>
      <td>138</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.2</td>
      <td>SPART: on-Surface Positioning for Augmented RealiTy</td>
      <td>141</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.3</td>
      <td>SPART-Mem (Mechanic and mobile)</td>
      <td>142</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.4</td>
      <td>SPART-ME Vertical</td>
      <td>143</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.5</td>
      <td>20 collaboration functionalities and their impact on collaboration dimensions</td>
      <td>144</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.6</td>
      <td>Three complementary AR/MR authoring tools</td>
      <td>145</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.7</td>
      <td>Anesthetist training with complementary tools and simulations</td>
      <td>147</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.8</td>
      <td>Non-destructive testing training system with smart glasses</td>
      <td>148</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.9</td>
      <td>Optimal life-cycle of a TEL research project</td>
      <td>150</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.10</td>
      <td>A federation of forges to unite researchers, Edtech companies and teachers</td>
      <td>154</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4.11</td>
      <td>Dialogue based on Flanary's video 'Academic Journals Doing Crime'</td>
      <td>158</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
List of Tables

<table><tr><td>1.1</td><td>List of colleagues in Social Sciences implicated in the research projects I have led</td><td>53</td></tr><tr><td>1.2</td><td>Number of pilot teachers involved in the projects I have led</td><td>56</td></tr><tr><td>2.1</td><td>Average scores for the comprehensiveness and completeness of the information, provided by the SG catalogues</td><td>84</td></tr><tr><td>3.1</td><td>Mobile Learning Games created by pilot teachers and mediators with SituLearn (first part)</td><td>121</td></tr><tr><td>3.2</td><td>Mobile Learning Games created by pilot teachers and mediators with SituLearn (second part)</td><td>122</td></tr></table>
# Part I

## Curriculum Vitae
<figure><img src="image_16.png" /></figure>
Iza MARFISI-SCHOTTMAN

<table><tr><td>Born</td><td>April 4th, 1985, Laxou, France, French and American nationality</td></tr><tr><td>Marital Status</td><td>Married (Pacs), 2 children</td></tr><tr><td>Work Address</td><td>IUT de Laval, Département Informatique<br>52 rue des Docteurs Calmette et Guérin<br>53020 LAVAL Cedex 9, France<br>Phone: +33 7 81 88 18 52<br>Email: iza.marfisi@univ-lemans.fr<br>Web: https://lium.univ-lemans.fr/team/iza-marfisi/</td></tr><tr><td>Pers. Address</td><td>33 chemin de la Lande<br>53970 L'huisserie</td></tr></table>

# 1 Academic Degrees

<table><tr><td>2013</td><td><strong>Qualification to apply to associate professor positions</strong><br>Section 27: Computer Science</td></tr><tr><td>2012</td><td><strong>PhD in Computer Science</strong><br>INSA de Lyon, Lyon<br>LIRIS Lab - computer science lab in image treatment and information systems<br>Title: Methodology, Models and Tools for Designing Learning Games<br>National merit scholarship</td></tr><tr><td>2008</td><td><strong>Master's degree in math and computer science</strong><br>University of Lyon, France<br>Specialized in computer science research</td></tr></table>
## 2 Professional Experience

2013 - present
**Associate Professor** (Maître de Conférences) in Computer
Science

Le Mans Université, IUT de Laval, LIUM Lab, Laval, France

2012 – 2013
**Postdoc Researcher**
Swedish Institute of Computer Science, Mobile Life
KTH Royal Institute of technology, Stockholm, Sweden
FP7 Marie Curie co-fund fellowship, project ABCDE (GA ID:
246016)

2012 – 2012
**Teaching and research assistant** (ATER) in Computer Science
LIP6 lab, UPMC University, Paris, France

2008 – 2012
**PhD student in Computer Science**
LIRIS Lab, Lyon, France
Teaching assistant (Monitrice) in Computer Science
INSA de Lyon, Computer Science departments and International
Master's degree of Lyon University, Lyon, France
# 3 Research Activities

My research is the field of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL). My projects cover a large variety of educational fields from pre-school to vocational training. My research program aims to overcome two main challenges. The first is to find more efficient ways of teaching by designing innovative TEL systems with teachers and experimenting them in class. My projects focus on Learning Games and innovative Human-Computer Interactions such as Mixed Reality, Virtual Reality and Tangible objects. The second challenge is to develop methods and authoring tool to enable teachers to create their own custom TEL systems.

<table><thead><tr><td>Type of communication</td><td>Number</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Edited books</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>International journals with editorial board</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>National journals with editorial board</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Book chapters</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>International conference with proceedings and program committee</td><td>21</td></tr><tr><td>National conference with proceedings and program committee</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>Short papers, workshops and demos</td><td>14</td></tr><tr><td>PhD thesis</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Master thesis</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Dataset</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>TOTAL</td><td>62</td></tr></tbody></table>

Here is the list of my publications. When available, the rank of the publication according to SCIMAGO, CORE or ATIEF's classification systems is provided. ATIEF is the French scholar society for TEL and I have been a member since 2008. All my publications are Open Access on HAL open access library.

## 3.1 List of publications

### Edited books

Mario A., Manuel G., Marfisi-Schottman I., Giusseppe C., Franck D., Special issue on Artificial Intelligence for Education, Frontiers in Education, 2023, in press. Q2SCIMAGO

Marfisi-Schottman I., Hamon L., Klemke R., Laforcade P., Bellotti F., Special Issue on GaLA Conf 2020, International Journal of Serious Games, vol. 8, Springer International Publishing, 2021. Q3SCIMAGO

De Rosa F., Marfisi-Schottman I., Hauge J. B., Bellotti F., Dondio P., Romero M., Proceedings of the 10th edition of the International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, vol. 13134, Springer International Publishing, 2021. BATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I., Bellotti F., Hamon L., Klemke R., Proceedings of the 9th edition of the International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, vol. 12517, Springer International Publishing, 2020. BATIEF
## International journals with editorial boards

Marfisi-Schottman I., TGRIS, Professional Training with a Virtual Reality Interview Simulator, Configured and Piloted by Peers, International Journal of Learning Technology, 2023, in press. Q3<sup>SCIMAGO</sup>

Marfisi-Schottman I., Touel S., George S., Designing a Mixed Reality Extension for an Educational Board Game on Fractions. International Journal of Virtual Reality, vol. 21, num. 1, IPI Press, 2021.

Morie W., Marfisi-Schottman I., Bi Tra G., Information Extraction Model to Improve Learning Game Metadata Indexing. International journal of Information Systems Engineering (Ingenierie des Systèmes d'Information), vol. 25, num. 1, Lavoisier, 2020, pp.11-19. Q3<sup>SCIMAGO</sup>

Karoui A., Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., JEM Inventor: A Mobile Learning Game Authoring Tool Based on a Nested Design Approach, Journal of Interactive Learning Environments, Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 2020, pp.1851-1878. A+<sup>ATIEF</sup> Q1<sup>SCIMAGO</sup>

Loup G., George S., Marfisi-Schottman I., Serna A., A Visual Programming Tool to Design Mixed and Virtual Reality Interactions. International Journal of Virtual Reality, IPI Press, vol. 18, num. 2, 2018, pp.19-29.

## National journals with editorial boards

Mercier C., Marfisi-Schottman I., Ez-Zaouia M. La réalité augmentée en classe au service des apprentissages des élèves. Médiations et médiatisations - Revue internationale sur le numérique en éducation et communication, vol. 15, 2023, in press.

Marfisi-Schottman I., Vinatier I., TGRIS, dispositif de formation professionnelle, outillé d'un simulateur d'entretien en Réalité Virtuelle, paramétré et piloté par les pairs. Sciences et Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication pour l'Éducation et la Formation (STICEF), vol. 29, num. 1, 2022. A+<sup>ATIEF</sup>

## Book chapters

Marfisi-Schottman, I., Games in Higher Education. Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies, pp.1-9, Springer, 2019.

Vinatier I., Marfisi-Schottman I., L'irruption des émotions entre conseillers pédagogiques et enseignants débutants : quelle conception de formation pour les mettre à distance ? L'analyse des interactions dans le travail, Vinatier I., Filiettaz L. et Laforest M., Raison et Passions, 2018, 26p.

## International conference with proceedings and program committee

Liu Y., Marne B., Marfisi-Schottman I., Galpin T., Caruso A., EscapeCell: Serious Game Integration to a University Biology Course on an E-learning Platform. Proceedings of the Games and Learning Alliance Conference (GALA), 2023, Dublin, Ireland, in press. B<sup>ATIEF</sup>

Longeon T., Furnon C., Marfisi-Schottman I., Designing and Evaluating a SG for Learning: a Subtle Balance between Designers and Learners, Proceedings of the International Simulation and Gaming Association (ISAGA), 2023, La Rochelle, France, pp.450-459. C<sup>CORE</sup>

Ez-Zaouia M., Marfisi-Schottman I., Mercier C., Authoring Tools: The Road To Democratiz-
ing Augmented Reality For Education, Proceedings of the International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU), 2023, Prague, Check Republic, pp.115-127. B^ATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I., Longeon T., Furnon C., Marne B., 10 Commandments of the Serious Game Padawan: Lessons Learned After 4 Years of Professional Training. Proceedings of the Games and Learning Alliance Conference (GALA), 2022, Tampere, Finland, pp.63-73. B^ATIEF

Ez-Zaouia M., Marfisi-Schottman I., Oueslati M., Mercier C., Karoui A., George S., A Design Space of Educational Authoring Tools for Augmented Reality. Proceedings of the Games and Learning Alliance Conference (GALA), 2022, Tampere, Finland, pp.258-268. B^ATIEF

Morie W., Marfisi-Schottman I., Bi Tra G., User-Centred Design Method for Digital Catalogue Interfaces, Proceedings of the European conference of the Games and Learning Alliance (GALA), 2020, Laval, France, pp.34-44. B^ATIEF

Touel S., Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., Analysis of Mixed Reality Tools for Learning Math in Primary and Secondary School, Proceedings of the European conference of the Games and Learning Alliance (GALA), 2020, Laval, France, pp.112-121. B^ATIEF

Morie W., Marfisi-Schottman I., Bi Tra G., LGMD: Optimal Lightweight Metadata Model for Indexing Learning Games. Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart Applications and Data Analysis for Smart Cyber-Physical Systems (SADASC), 2020, Marrakech, Morocco, pp.3-16.

Gicquel P.Y., Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., Lessons Learned from the Development of a Mobile Learning Game Authoring Tool. Proceedings of the European conference of the Games and Learning Alliance (GALA), 2019, Athens, Greece. pp.201-210. B^ATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., Leconte M., TurtleTable: Learn the Basics of Computer Algorithms with Tangible Interactions. Proceedings of the European conference of the Games and Learning Alliance, (GALA), 2018, Palermo, Italy. pp.291-300. B^ATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I., Vinatier I., Bevacqua E., Kébé M., Enabling Teachers to Create Authentic Interview Simulations. Proceedings of the World Conference on Educational Media and Technology (EdMedia), 2018, Amsterdam, Netherlands, pp.1506-1511. B^CORE

Gicquel P.Y., George S., Laforcade P., Marfisi-Schottman I., Design of a Component-Based Mobile Learning Game Authoring Tool, Proceedings of the European conference of the Games and Learning Alliance (GALA), 2017, Lisbon, Portugal, pp.281-291. B^ATIEF

Gicquel P.Y., Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., Meta Serious Game: Supporting Creativity Sessions for Mobile Serious Games, Proceedings of the European Conference on Game Based Learning (ECGBL), 2016, Peisly, Scotland, pp.407-415. B^ATIEF

Karoui A, Marfisi-Schottman I, George S., Mobile Learning Game Authoring Tools: Assessment, Synthesis and Proposals, Proceedings of the European conference of the Games and Learning Alliance (GALA), 2016, Utrecht, Netherlands, pp.281-291. B^ATIEF

Karoui A, Marfisi-Schottman I, George S., Towards an Efficient Mobile Learning Games Design Model, Proceedings of the European Conference on Game Based Learning (ECGBL), 2015, Steinkjer, Norway. pp.276-285. B^ATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I, George S., Tarpin-Bernard F., Evaluating Learning Games during their Conception", Proceedings of the European Conference on Game Based Learning (ECGBL), 2014, Berlin, Germany, pp.364-371. B^ATIEF
Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., Supporting Teachers to Design and Use Mobile Collaborative Learning Games, Proceedings of the Mobile Learning International Conference (mLearn), 2014, Madrid, Spain, pp.3-10. B^ATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I., Labat J.M., Carron T., Building on the Case Teaching Method to Generate Learning Games Relevant to Numerous Educational Fields, Proceedings of the International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT), 2013, Beijing, China, pp.156-160.
A^ATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., Tarpin-Bernard F., Tools and Methods for Efficiently Designing Serious Games", Proceedings of the European Conference on Games Based Learning (ECGBL), 2010, Copenhagen, Denmark, pp.226-234. B^ATIEF

Chi Dung T., George S., Marfisi-Schottman I., EDoS: An authoring environment for serious games design based on three models, Proceedings of the European Conference on Games Based Learning (ECGBL), 2010, Copenhagen, Denmark, pp.393-402. B^ATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I., Sghaier A., George S., Tarpin-Bernard F., Prévôt P., Towards Industrialized Conception and Production of Serious Games, Proceedings of the International Conference on Technology and Education (ICTE), 2009, Paris, France, pp.1016-1020.

## National conference with proceedings and program committee

Ez-Zaouia M., Marfisi-Schottman I., Mercier C., MIXAP : Un outil auteur d'activités éducatives en réalité augmentée, Actes de la conférence sur les Environnements Informatiques pour l'Apprentissage Humain (EIAH), 2023, Brest, France, pp.100-111. A^ATIEF

Furnon C., Longeon T., Marfisi-Schottman I., Le jeu, un développeur de compétences à prendre au sérieux. Actes de la conférence Internationale Game Evolution (CIGE). 2022. Online, France, 19p.

Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., Leconte M., TurtleTablet : un jeu collaboratif et tangible sur tablette pour l'initiation à la programmation. Actes de la conférence Didapro, 2020, Lille, France, 10p. A^ATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I., Vinatier I., Bevacqua E., TGRIS : Outil de simulation pour la gestion des émotions dans la formation à l'entretien des conseillers pédagogiques. Actes de la conférence sur les Environnements Informatiques pour l'Apprentissage Humain (EIAH), 2019, Paris, France. pp.307-318. A^ATIEF

Vinatier I., Marfisi-Schottman I., Conception d'un outil de simulation d'entretien réaliste piloté en temps réel par un conseiller pédagogique », Actes de la rencontres internationales du réseau de recherche en éducation et en formation (RÉF), 2017, Paris, France, 12p.

Gicquel P.Y., George S., Marfisi-Schottman I., « Technologies sémantiques pour l'apprentissage de la botanique en mobilité ». Actes de la conférence SemWebPro, 2016, Paris, France, 6p.

Karoui A., Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., Éléments pour la conception de Jeux Éducatifs sur Mobile, Actes de la conférence sur les Environnements Informatiques pour l'Apprentissage Humain (EIAH), 2015, Agadir, Maroc, pp.312-323. A^ATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I., Labat J.M., Carron T., Approche basée sur la méthode pédagogique des cas pour créer des Learning Game pertinents dans de nombreux domaines d'enseignement, Actes de la conférence sur les Environnements Informatiques pour l'Apprentissage Humain (EIAH),
2013, Toulouse, France, 2013, pp.156-160. A<sup>ATIEF</sup>

Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., Tarpin-Bernard F., Prévôt P. Comment évaluer la qualité d'un Learning Game pendant sa conception ?, Actes de la conférence Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication pour l'Enseignement (TICE), 2012, Lyon, France, pp.80-90. B<sup>ATIEF</sup>

Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., Tarpin-Bernard F., Un profil d'application de LOM pour les Serious Games, Actes de la conférence sur les Environnements Informatiques pour l'Apprentissage Humain (EIAH), 2011, Mons, Belgique, pp.81-94. A<sup>ATIEF</sup>

Marfisi-Schottman I., Environnement informatique pour la conception, la production et le suivi de Serious Games, Actes de la rencontre Jeune chercheurs, Environnement informatique pour l'apprentissage Humain (RJC-EIAH), 2010, Lyon, France, pp.53-58. B<sup>ATIEF</sup>

Short papers, workshops and demos

Simon S., Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., Towards Linking Tool Functionalities to Processes of Collaborative Learning, Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS), 2023, Montreal, Canada, in press. A<sup>+</sup><sup>ATIEF</sup>

Simon S., Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., Towards A Comprehensive Framework for Situ-
ated Collaborative Learning Tools. Doctoral Consortium of the European Conference on Tech-
nology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL), 2022, Toulouse, France. 10p.

Simon S., Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., A Conceptual Framework for Creating Mobile Collaboration Tools. Proceedings of the European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL), 2022, Toulouse, France, pp.601-607. A<sup>+</sup>ATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I., Laine A., Laforcade, P., George, S., Simon, S., May, M., Zammit, M., & Blin, L., Towards an Authoring Tool to Help Teachers Create Mobile Collaborative Learning Games for Field Trips. Proceedings of the European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL), 2022, Toulouse, France, pp.550-557. A<sup>+</sup>ATIEF

Karoui A, Marfisi-Schottman I, George S., JEM INVENTOR: a Mobile Learning Game Authoring Tool based on a Nested Design Approach. Proceedings of the World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning (mLearn), 2017, Larnaca, Cyprus, 4p. B<sup>ATIEF</sup>

Karoui A, Marfisi-Schottman I, George S., A Nested Design Approach for Mobile Learning Games. Proceedings of the European conference of the Games and Learning Alliance (GALA), 2017, Lisbonne, Portugal, pp.1-4. B<sup>ATIEF</sup>

Sanchez E., Piau-Toffolon C., Oubahssi L., Serna A., Marfisi-Schottman I., Loup G., George S., Toward a Play Management System for Game-Based Learning, Proceedings of the European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL), 2016, Lyon, France, pp.484-489.
A<sup>+</sup>ATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I, Gicquel P.Y., Karoui A., George S., Idea to Reality: Extensive and Executable Modelling Language for Mobile Learning Games, Proceedings of the European Con-ference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL), 2016, Lyon, France, pp.428-433. A+ATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I, Piau-Toffolon C. Extraire et réutiliser des patrons de conception à partir de Learning Games existants, Atelier méthodologies de conception collaboratives des EIAH, de la Conférence Environnements Informatiques pour l'Apprentissage Humain, conférence EIAH, 2015, Agadir, Maroc, pp.2-5. A+<sup>ATIEF</sup>
Marfisi-Schottman I., George S., Modèles de jeux sérieux collaboratifs et mobiles, Actes de la conférence Environnements Informatiques pour l'Apprentissage Humain (EIAH), 2015, Agadir, Maroc, pp.306-311. A+ATIEF

Marfisi-Schottman I., Karlsson G., Celander Guss J., Opphos – a participative light and sound show using mobile phones in crowds, Proceedings of the ExtremeCom international conference, 2013, Thórsmörk, Iceland, pp.47-48.

Marne B., Carron T., Labat J.M., Marfisi-Schottman I., MoPPLiq: A Model For Pedagogical Adaptation of Serious Game Scenarios, Proceedings of the International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT), 2013, Beijing, China, pp.291-293. B<sup>ATIEF</sup>

Tarpin-Bernard F., Marfisi-Schottman I., Habieb-Mammar H., AnAmeter: The First Steps to Evaluating Adaptation, Proceedings of the User-Centred Design and Evaluation of Adaptive Systems Workshop (UMAP), 2009, Trento, Italy, pp.11-20. A+<sup>ATIEF</sup>

Marfisi-Schottman I., Sghaier A., George S., Prévôt P., Tarpin-Bernard F., Vers une industrialisation de la conception et de la production de Serious Game, Actes du Workshop Jeux Sérieux : conception et usages Conférence de la conférence EIAH, 2009, Le Mans, France, pp.75-84. A<sup>ATIEF</sup>

## PhD thesis

Marfisi-Schottman I., Méthodologie, modèles et outils pour la conception de Learning Games, Thèse de doctorat en informatique, INSA de Lyon. 2012, Lyon, France.

## Master thesis

Marfisi-Schottman I., AnAmeter: a tool for Characterizing and Quantifying the Adaptability and Adaptivity of software, Computer Science MS, Université Lyon 1, 2009, Lyon, France.

## DataSet

Marfisi-Schottman I., Dataset: Augmented Reality Activities Paper-prototyped by Teachers, Medeley, 2022.

## 3.2 Software registration

2023 **The Magic Cauldron**, a Mixed Reality Game to learn fractions
IDDN.FR.001.200020.000.S.P.2023.000.10000

2023 **Quizz App**, a digital version of the Serious Game The Potions Workshop
IDDN.FR.001.200021.000.S.P.2023.000.10000

2022 **MIXAP**, authoring tool to create educational activities with Augmented Reality
IDDN.FR.001.500020.000.S.P.2022.000.10000

2022 **SituLearn**, authoring tool to create smartphone applications for educational field trips, museums and cultural centers
IDDN.FR.001.500021.000.S.P.2022.000.10000
<table><tr><td>2021</td><td>TurtleTablet, a collaborative game to learn the principals of computer programming<br>IDDN.FR001.380005.000.S.P.2021.000.10000</td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>Jem-Inventor, authoring tool to create geolocated smartphone applications for educational field trips<br>IDDN.FR.001.080005.00.S.A.2020.000.10000</td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>LEGADEE, a collaborative tool to design Serious Games<br>IDDN.FR000.490009.000S.0.2015.000.10000</td></tr></table>

### 3.3 Invited talks and keynotes

<table><tr><td>2023</td><td><strong>EATEL summer school keynote</strong> “Authoring tools for Technology-Enhanced Learning: giving the creative power back to teachers!”, 120 participants, La Manga, Spain.</td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td><strong>Talk at MIT STEP Lab</strong>, “Serious Game and Innovative HCI for learning”, Boston, USA</td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td><strong>Talk at DOMUS Lab</strong>, “Design methods for authoring tools”, Sherbrooke, Canada</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td><strong>Talk at LINE Lab</strong> “Design of Serious Games and Extended Reality applications for and with teachers”, Nice, France</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td><strong>Conference keynote</strong> “10 commandments of the Serious Game Padawan”, teacher training seminar on teaching with games, 200 participants, Rennes, France</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td><strong>Talk at Deeptech</strong>, research & entrepreneur event organized by Bpifrance, 400 participants, Paris, France</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td><strong>Talk at CHU Nantes</strong> research seminar “TGRIS – Teacher-Guided Realistic Interview Simulator: a tool and a method”, Nantes, France</td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td><strong>Talk at CIREL lab</strong> “TurtleTable: learning the computer programming with tangible objects”, Lille, France</td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td><strong>Conference keynote</strong> “How to help teachers create their own games for their classes”<br>Symposium on alternative higher education, 300 attendees, UBL, Rennes, France</td></tr></table>
3.4 Research projects

**2021 – present**

**MIXAP: Authoring tool for educational Mixed Reality Applications**

https://mixap-lium.univ-lemans.fr/

**Funding institution:** Rising Star grant of the Pays de la Loire region, France

**Budget:** (Le Mans University only): 126 k€

**Partners:** CREN (Le Mans) and Réseau Canope (Laval)

**Description:** This project aims at designing authoring tools for educational Augmented Reality applications and measuring the impact of such a tool on teachers and learners. This project is lead in close collaboration with 10 pilot teachers.

**My role and contributions:** Principal Investigator, Le Mans University. After obtaining the funding from the rising star program, I set up a partnership with the Réseau Canopé, a national teacher training association. They were in charge of finding pilot teachers in various fields of education. I also involved a researcher in educational science for CREN. I set up several meetings with all the pilot teachers to understand their needs and co-design the educational Augmented Reality activity models. With the Post-doctorate I hired, we developed the MIXAP authoring tool and tested it in all 10 classes.

**2021 – present**

**SituLearn: Authoring tool to help teachers create mobile games for field trips**

https://situlearn.univ-lemans.fr/

**Funding institution:** Funding institution: young researcher grant of the French national research agency (ANR JCJC)

**Budget:** (Le Mans University only): 222 k€

**Partner:** CREN (Nantes)

**Description:** This project aims to help teachers enrich their educational field trips with mobile applications. The models and tools that we offer apply to all the fields of education that require situated learning (History, Botany, Geology, etc.) from kindergarten to vocational training. They promote fun and collaborative learning experiences. The project involves nine pilot teachers.
**My role and contributions:** Principal Investigator, Le Mans University. After obtaining the funding with a team of researchers in computer science and social sciences, I found pilot teachers who were used to doing educational field trips. I organized several meetings and work sessions to identify their needs and create a generic education model for this type of outings. This model was inspired by those created during the former ReVeRIES project and Jem-Inventor, my first PhD student's project. I also hired a new PhD student, Sebastian SIMON, to design tools to promote collaborative learning during field trips. This led to exploring multiple technical solutions to add digital augmentations to a paper map, including one in collaboration with the LAUM acoustics lab. I also initiated a partnership with the department archives, the local Manas art museum and the Laval tourism center. In total, this project involves 11 researchers, 9 pilot teachers and 19 students so far.

2020 – 2023

## SMART-Fractions: Mixed Reality game for learning fractions

https://smart-fractions.univ-lemans.fr/

**Funding institution:** funding from the Plaisir Math Company

**Budget:** (Le Mans University only): 9 k€

**Partners:** Plaisir Math Company

**Description:** This project aims to investigate the effectiveness of Mixed Reality and games to learn fractions, one of the most complicated and stressful subjects for children.

**My role and contributions:** Principal Investigator, Le Mans University. I obtained private funding from the Plaisir Math Company to design and develop *Quizz App*, a digital extension of their board game, *The Potions Workshop*, for learning fractions. After conducting the state of the art and identifying the difficulties related to learning fractions with pilot teachers, we designed a Mixed Reality game: *The Magic Cauldron*. I co-supervised Sofiane TOUEL, a PhD student on this project. When the company abandoned the project for financial reasons, during the COVID pandemic, I found ways to improve the game's interface design, create the game material and also to test this game with local schools (more than 200 students).
2016 – 2021

**TGRIS: Teacher-Guided Realistic Interview Simulator**

https://lium.univ-lemans.fr/tgris/

Funding institution: Atlanstic 2020 funding

Budget: (Le Mans University only): 12 k€

Partners: CREN (Nantes), Lab-sticc (Brest)

Description: This project aims at providing training methods to help professionals deal with stressful and emotional situation. We designed a Virtual Reality simulation tool, configured and piloted by the trainees themselves.

My role and contributions: Principal Investigator, Le Mans University. I initiated the project after discussing with and college from CREN who was in charge of the training program of educational counselors in the Nantes academy. After conducting a state of the art, I contacted a colleague for Lab-Sticc who was working on embodied conversational agents. With the help of a master's student, we created TGRIS by adding an interface to configure and pilot the agent in real time. All the content for TGRIS was provided by a group of educational counselors, after analyzing and extracting "problematic situations" from real interviews they had led. We tested the tools every year, for four years, during their annual training program and improved it along the way.

2017 – 2020

**TurtleTable(t): A collaborative game to learn the basics of computer programming**

https://turtletablet.univ-lemans.fr/

Funding institution: IUT de Laval internal funding

Budget: (Le Mans University only): 6 k€

Partners: Volumique Company

Description: This project aims at investigating the use of tangible objects to encourage collaboration. We developed four versions of the TurtleTable game for computers, interactive tabletops and tablets with and without tangible objects.

My role and contributions: Principal Investigator, Le Mans University. One of my interns developed a framework capable of detecting the rotation and movements of a tangible object on interactive tabletops. I used this code to create TurtleTable, a collaborative game for learning the basics of computer programming. Collaboration is encouraged through the game mechanics but also through the fact that the players need to manipulate their own tangible object to win the game. After the first encouraging experimentations with four classes, I obtained internal funding to create TurtleTablet: a new modified version of the game for tablets, a device that is already available in many schools. I set up a partnership with the Volumique Company who had a framework for recognizing objects on tablets and redesigned the game to fit a smaller screen. I set up more experimentations with this version that is currently still used in schools.
2017 – 2020
**ReVeRIES: Fun, interactive and educational plant recognition on smartphones**

https://reveries-lium.univ-lemans.fr/

Funding institution: ANR

Budget: 643 k€

Partners: LIRIS (Lyon), EVS (Saint-Etienne), LISTIC (Chambery), IRHS (Angers)

Description: This project aims at investigating the use of game mechanics and mobile applications to help citizens learn about the plants that surround them. The applications uses semi-automatically recognition of tree species from picture the users take of leaves, flowers or bark. The secondary objective was to collect data for participatory inventories.

My role and contributions: Researcher, LIUM. I was in charge of a WP related to designing the authoring tool to create fun educational outings. I set up brainstorming sessions with teachers and natural park owners to understand their needs and propose generic models. I also helped set up the experimentations.

2014 – 2018
**JEN.Lab: Tools and methods for designing digital epistemic games**

http://jenlab.fr/

Funding institution: ANR

Budget: 525 k€

Partners: icar (Lyon), ifé (Lyon), LIRIS (Lyon), Symetrix Company

Description: This project aims at proposing models and methods to facilitate the design of digital epistemic games. These games place the learners in authentic situations where they need to use a variety of professional skills. The project created three of these games in various domains: for professional training, for civic education in middle school and for technical education in high school.

My role and contributions: Researcher, LIUM. I proposed an extension of the model designed during my PhD to help design the epistemic game scenarios. I also helped a PhD student design the toolkit to facilitate the development of such games.
**2012 – 2013**

**CrowdFlash: A participative light and sound show using mobile phones in crowds**
http://free.iza.free.fr/research_CrowdFlash.php
Funding institution: KTH, Stockholm, Sweden
Budget: 3 k€
Description: This project aims at creating an immersive and collective emotional experience where each person in the audience plays an important role. CrowdFlash uses a peer-to-peer opportunistic network to spread information among mobile phones in the audience.
My role and contributions: Principal Investigator, Mobile Life Lab (Stockholm). I was in charge of designing and developing a mobile application based on an opportunistic network designed by my supervisor. After studying the behavior in concerts and sports stadiums, I proposed an interaction model and a multi-agent algorithm to create an immersive interactive experience. After obtaining internal funding from KTH, I was also in charge of a Master's student.

**2012 – 2013**

**Generic Serious Games: Enabling teachers to design Serious Games in any field**
http://free.iza.free.fr/research_GenericSeriousGame.php
Funding institution: Investissements d'Avenir, French government
Budget: 355 k€
Partners: UNF3S, UNIT, UNJF, UVED, UNISCIEL, AUNEGE (group of French universities), Editions Lavoisier, Strass and Kokopelli companies (France)
Description: This project aims at designing a generic model that allows university teachers to create their own Learning Games with very little or no help from developers and graphic designers.
My role and contributions: Post-doctorate researcher, LIP6 (Paris). I was in charge of identifying the needs of the six French universities by leading group meetings and brainstorming sessions. I then proposed a Serious Game model based on case studies, which is a standard teaching method. This model was designed in collaboration with university teachers in various fields: medical care, law, engineering and finance.
**2009 – 2011**
**Learning Game Factory:** Reusing parts or entire Learning Games
http://free.iza.free.fr/research_LearningGameFactory.php
**Funding institution:** FEDER, European funding
**Budget:** 1188 k€
**Partners:** SYMETRIX (Lyon), DAESIGN (France), SBT (France), LES TANUKIS (France), GENEZIS (France), LIG lab (Grenoble), ESC lab (France) and SYSCOM lab (France)
**Description:** This project aims at providing an environment for the design, development, dissemination and reuse of entire Learning Games or parts of them.
**My role and contributions:** PhD student, LIRIS (Lyon). My contribution to this project was to propose the LOMFR-LG metadata, which facilitates the identification and reuse of Learning Game software components.

## 3.5 Organization of scientific events

**2023**
**General chair of the LIUM Edtech conference**
One day of workshops and conferences for researchers, teachers and the general public, 120 participants, laval, France

**2023**
**Program co-chair of the Workshop on authoring tools for Augmented Reality**
IHM conference, Troyes, France

**2022**
**Program co-chair of the winter school on research methods in TEL**
Leysin, Switzerland

**2021**
**Program co-chair of the Games and Learning Alliance international conference**
La Spézia, Italy

**2020**
**General Chair of the Games and Learning Alliance international conference (GALA)**
Online in the Laval Virtual World, including an interactive exhibition and a serious game competition, 500 attendees

**2019**
**Competition Chair of the Games and Learning Alliance international conference**
Athens, Greece

**2018**
**Competition Chair of the Games and Learning Alliance international conference**
Palermo, Italy

**2011**
**Organization committee of the international Game-Based Learning summer school**
Autrans, France

**2009**
**Organization committee of the IHM conference**
Grenoble, France
## 3.6 Institutional responsibilities

<table><tr><td>2022 – present</td><td>Elected vice director of research of the Claude Chappe Computer Science Institute</td></tr><tr><td>2021 – present</td><td>Elected member of the international Serious Game Society board</td></tr><tr><td>2021 – present</td><td>Elected member of IKIGAI's board, association that promotes Educational Games</td></tr><tr><td>2021 – present</td><td>Elected to the LIUM's laboratory council</td></tr><tr><td>2016 – present</td><td>Head of communication for LIUM's IEIAH team<br>Website, social media, encouraging internal and external communication</td></tr><tr><td>2016 – 2021</td><td>Elected to Le Mans University's Research commission</td></tr><tr><td>2013 – 2018</td><td>Responsible for the team's bi-annual article writing workshops<br>Encouraging article writing, organizing internal reviewing process</td></tr><tr><td>2014 – 2017</td><td>Organization of monthly scientific seminars for the team<br>Contacting participants, planning their trip, filming, communicating (23 in all)</td></tr><tr><td>2010 – 2012</td><td>Head of communication for the Doc'Up PhD student association<br>Designing comic trips, posters, flyers, logos to promote projects and events</td></tr></table>

## 3.7 Scientific societies

<table><tr><td>2020 – present</td><td>Member of the EATEL Society</td></tr><tr><td>2018 – present</td><td>Member of the Serious Game Society</td></tr><tr><td>2008 – present</td><td>Member of the ATIEF (French research society on Technology Enhanced Learning)</td></tr></table>

## 3.8 Program committee and review

<table><tr><td rowspan="11">Journals</td><td>International Journal of Serious Games (IJSG)</td></tr><tr><td>Review committee member since 2018</td></tr><tr><td>Multimedia Tools and Applications</td></tr><tr><td>Reviewer: 2021</td></tr><tr><td>IEEE Transactions on Learning Technology (IEEE TLT)</td></tr><tr><td>Reviewer: 2021</td></tr><tr><td>IEEE Access</td></tr><tr><td>Reviewer: 2018</td></tr><tr><td>Interactive Design and Architecture Journal</td></tr><tr><td>Reviewer: 2019</td></tr><tr><td>International journal on Virtual Reality (IJVR)</td></tr><tr><td>Reviewer: 2019</td></tr><tr><td>TREMA</td></tr><tr><td>Reviewer: 2014</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td rowspan="10">Int. Conferences</td><td>Games and Learning Alliance Conference (GALA)</td></tr><tr><td>Program committee member since 2018</td></tr><tr><td>European conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL)</td></tr><tr><td>Reviewer: 2014, 2018</td></tr><tr><td>Virtual Reality International Conference (VRIC)</td></tr><tr><td>Reviewer: 2013, 2014, 2019</td></tr><tr><td>European conference on game-based Learning (ECGBL)</td></tr><tr><td>Reviewer: 2014</td></tr><tr><td>International Conference on Computer Supported Education</td></tr><tr><td>Reviewer: 2015</td></tr><tr><td>Colloque International Game Evolution (CIGE)</td></tr><tr><td>Reviewer: 2022, 2023</td></tr><tr><td>The Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS)</td></tr><tr><td>Nat. Conferences</td><td>Reviewer: 2014</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Environnement Informatique pour l'Apprentissage Humain (IEAH)</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>&amp; RJC-EIAH</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Program committee member since 2016</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Ludovia conference</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Program committee member since 2018</td></tr></table>

## 3.9 Member of PhD defence jury

<table><tr><td>2021</td><td>Wilfried MORIE, LIUM<br/>Co-supervisor: July 1st</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>Damien BRUN, LIUM/TELUQ<br/>Examiner: November 18th</td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>Aous KAROUI, LIUM<br/>Co-supervisor: September 21st</td></tr></table>

## 3.10 Scientific expertise

<table><tr><td>2022, 2023</td><td>Evaluation of a RIPEC bonus<br/>Le Mans Université</td></tr><tr><td>2022 – present</td><td>Follower committee of Jérôme HERNANDEZ’s PhD thesis<br/>Sorbonne Université</td></tr><tr><td>2020 – present</td><td>Follower committee of Sebastian GAJEWSKI’s PhD thesis<br/>Université de Lille</td></tr><tr><td>2017 – 2020</td><td>Follower committee of Quentin COULAND’s PhD thesis<br/>Le Mans Université</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>Evaluation of an Hors Class graduation<br/>Le Mans Université</td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>Evaluation of a master’s thesis<br/>TELUQ, Quebec, Canada</td></tr><tr><td>2014, 17, 19</td><td>Evaluation of an ANRT/CIFRE project proposal</td></tr></table>
3.11 Scientific delegation

2018 Participation in the RFI Ouest Industrie Créative delegation to Quebec, 10 researchers selected from the Western region of France
# 4 Teaching Activities

## Recent and ongoing classes

I have mainly been teaching at the Computer Science department of the Laval IUT since 2013. This technical school only provides Bachelor degree type classes. I also teach a few hours in the computer science master's degree at Le Mans Université (1 hour from Laval). In 2020, I also started tutoring student projects at the ENSIM engineering school in Le Mans. Furthermore, since 2017, I've been involved in the creation of a partnership between the IUT and the Law School in Laval for which I give several classes. Finally, for the past 6 years, I've been running the Ludifik'action professional training course that is hosted in two universities: Le Mans and Rennes.

I teach approximately 210 hours per year, except for years with maternity leaves (2015, 2017) and reduced teaching hours given for research projects. In 2022, I obtained two 6-months CRCT teaching leaves, one from my university and one from the University National Council (CNU). The SituLearn ANR JCJC project also provides the Principal Investigator (me) with 3 years of reduced (50%) teaching hours.

The table below summarizes the courses given since 2013.

<table><thead><tr><th>Training program</th><th>Level</th><th>Course</th><th>L</th><th>P</th><th>H</th><th>T</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td rowspan="5">Computer Science dept., Laval IUT</td><td rowspan="5">1st - 2nd year</td><td>Mobile programming</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Object Oriented Modeling</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Advanced Data Bases</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Tutored project</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Internship</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Computer Science Faculty, Le Mans</td><td>5th year</td><td>Serious Game design</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>ENSIM engineering school</td><td>5th year</td><td>Tutored project</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Law School, Laval campus</td><td>1st - 3rd year</td><td>Basics of Computer Science</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Le Mans et Rennes Université</td><td>Prof. training</td><td>Ludifik'action</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

L: lecture – P: practical session – H: hands-on lab session – T: tutoring

<table><tr><td rowspan="2">2014 – present</td><td><strong>Mobile programming. Coordinator</strong></td><td>Hours: 4h. L, 30h. P, 48h. H (50 students)<br>Content: Android development, access to smartphone sensors, responsive interface design, data bases.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Object Oriented Modeling. Coordinator</strong></td><td>Hours: 9h. P, 30h. H (50 students)<br>Content: UML diagrams, tools to create diagrams, plugins to automatically generate diagrams, tools and methods for code documentation.</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td>2013 – present</td><td><strong>Tutored project</strong><br>Hours: 15h. of tutoring (12 students) at Laval IUT + 15h. (15 students) at ENSIM<br>Role: providing a project subject and a client specification document, tutoring during the development and evaluation of the documents and final product.</td></tr><tr><td>2013 – present</td><td><strong>Internship</strong><br>Hours: 20h. of tutoring (4 students)<br>Role: regular follow-up during the internship, visiting the company, evaluating the final report and the presentation.</td></tr><tr><td>2017 – present</td><td><strong>Basics of Computer Science. Coordinator</strong><br>Hours: 2h. L, 5h. P, 2h. T (20 students)<br>Content: Basics of computer programming and languages, computer hardware, information transfer through Internet, demystifying Artificial Intelligence, hand-on project in collaboration with the computer science students from the Laval IUT.</td></tr><tr><td>2017 – present</td><td><strong>Ludifik’action. Coordinator</strong><br>Hours: 14h. L, 18h. T (9 to 20 trainees)<br>Content: Basics of game design, Serious Game design, creation of game material in collaboration with a FabLab, custom advice and follow-up sessions at the trainees school, experimentation of the designed Serious Game prototype in class.</td></tr><tr><td>2015 – 2020</td><td><strong>Serious Game design</strong><br>Hours: 5h. of practical sessions (16 students)<br>Content: Serious Game testing and evaluation, Serious Game design methods and tools, creation of a Serious Games.</td></tr><tr><td>2013 – 2014</td><td><strong>Advanced Data Base</strong><br>Hours: 27h. P, 18h. H (50 students)<br>Content: advanced SQL.</td></tr></table>

## Innovative teaching methods

I take it upon myself to try innovative teaching methods and tools whenever it is possible for all of my courses. Even though this is very time consuming, I believe this is essential to provide the best quality teaching and is it also closely related to my research subject.
**2015 – present** **Gamification**

Object Oriented Modelling is perceived as boring and useless by students in computer science. It is therefore a very challenging class. When I started teaching it, I therefore added several game mechanics and transformed the classic lectures into practical sessions where students work in groups. I also styled the Moodle online course and the slides to create a coherent gaming experience. Furthermore, I use a smartphone application to give and receive custom-made trophies. This application was designed by a colleague for the KatasTROPHYk project. The trophies promote good behavior in class and can be exchanged against advantages (e.g. choosing the session they will be evaluated on, peeping at least year's exam) and tokens that can be used in the arcade machine set up in the computer science department.

**2017 – present** **Classes in English**

After discussion with my colleagues, I decided to give the course on Object Oriented Modelling entirely in English. I was contacted by Le Mans Université to present my experience in a video and write a report. The objective was to encourage other teachers to do the same. Both are accessible online.

**2013 – present** **Online videos and Open Educational Resources**

Ever since I started creating my own course content, I share it online and license it with a Creative Commons Attribution. I also created several course videos during the COVID pandemic. All of these are accessible online.

**2013 – present** **Tutored projects with real clients and end-users**

Whether it is for undergraduate students at Laval IUT or graduate students at ENSIM engineering school, I like to provide them with real projects. I sometimes propose them to develop parts of prototypes for my research projects but I prefer putting them in contact with local teachers who have a real need for custom Serious Games. The students therefore have real clients that are counting on them and the possibility to test their applications with end-users. It usually takes several student projects to create a final usable application but I believe the coordination effort is worth it for all parties. The created games are freely available online (e.g. *Chimory*, *EcrisTonZoo*, *Aux couleurs de l'océan*, *Get Your BUT*, *2048 Atom*).
2017 – present

**Project-based training with the help of university staff**

The *Ludifik’action* professional training course is original in the sense that it provided custom advice and follow-up for each trainee. The participants, who are teachers, are expected to create their own Serious Game and test it, in their class, during the duration of the training session (over a semester). They are also expected to sign up as a team. They can sign up with another colleague teacher for example but I recommend them to team up with an educational designer of their institutions, support staff they are often unaware of. During the training session, they are also asked to work with the university’s FabLab manger to create the game material or the university’s digital resource center if the game is digital. This training method was gradually improved over the years and is now part of my research contributions.
## Collective responsibilities

**2019 – 2021**
**Responsible for promoting the Professional Test and Quality graduate degree**

Creation of communication material (posters, brochures, slideshows, videos), presentations of the program in high schools through the Greater West region of France and organization of an open day.

**2018 – 2022**
**Co-creation of the Ethical and Digital Law program**

In collaboration with the Faculty of Law, we set up a new program for law undergraduates. The aim of this course is to prepare law students for the major changes caused by digital technology and AI, and to help them understand the ethical and legal risks involved.

**2014 – 2021**
**Organization of the student forum**

I organized an annual forum during which students in the Computer Science and Multimedia department of Laval IUT (200 students) can meet representatives from approximately fifteen universities and engineering schools.

**2016 – present**
**Responsible of the Laval IUT tablet fleet**

I am in charge of the fleet of 60 tablets that the IUT provides to students for their classes and projects. As such, I manage loans, software updates, but also the annual renewal of the tablets by writing funding requests to the region. I also make the extra non-trivial effort of donating the tablets we no longer use to local schools.

**2016 – 2019**
**Elected to Laval IUT's council**

I participated in monthly meetings to discuss and make decisions regarding the four departments of the IUT school.

**2017**
**Organization committee of the ATIEF's TEL MOOC**

I participated in the creation of the TEL MOOC by shooting videos and interviewing researchers to create the introduction and the final video of the MOOC. I also presented my research projects in three other videos. This MOOC is still used in half a dozen masters specialized in TEL in French-speaking countries.

**2014 – 2016**
**Head of communication committee of the new Claude Chappe Institute**

This institute regroups several labs, schools and universities. I organized meetings to find a name, set up the website and managed a contest to create the logo.
## Co-supervision of PhD students

<table><tr><td>2021 – present</td><td><strong>Sebastian SIMON</strong><br/>Title: “Augmented Reality interactions for mobile collaborative learning”<br/>Director: Sebastien GEORGE (50%)<br/>Funding: ANR JCJC SituLearn project</td></tr><tr><td>2019 – present</td><td><strong>Sofiane TOUEL</strong><br/>Title: “Mixed Reality interactions for teaching fractions”<br/>Director: Sebastien GEORGE (50%)<br/>Funding: personal funding, working full time</td></tr><tr><td>2017 – 2021</td><td><strong>Wilfried MORIE</strong><br/>Defended on July 1st at Institut National Polytechnique, Ivory Coast<br/>Title: “Indexing tools and methods for finding educational games”<br/>Director: M. GOORE Bi Tra, Institut National Polytechnique, Ivory Coast (10%)<br/>Funding: national scholarship Ivory Coast and Campus France<br/>Current position: Associate Professor at Université Nangui, Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire</td></tr><tr><td>2014 – 2018</td><td><strong>Aous KAROUI</strong><br/>Defended on September 21st at LIUM<br/>Title: “JEM Inventor: an authoring tool for mobile learning games”<br/>Director: Sebastien GEORGE (50%)<br/>Funding: national grant<br/>Current position: CEO of Mindful House, a company he founded after his PhD</td></tr></table>

## Supervision of Bachelor and Master Students

I have supervised the internships of 9 Master students (BS), 9 Bachelor students (BS) and one teacher doing a University Diploma (DU). The high proportion of BS is explained by the facts that it is hard to attract interns in Master's degree since Laval is a small city with no university. I hire students in computer science to produce functional TEL prototypes and students in multimedia and game design to improve the interface and interactions which are very important for projects related to Serious Games. They also work on guides and tutorials to help teachers understand the functionalities of the TEL tools and how they can use them to their full education potential. Finally, I also hire students in social sciences, who are co-supervised with colleagues from the CREN, to analyze the use and the impact of TEL in class. When it is possible, I offer my PhD students and post-doctorates the possibility to co-supervise interns with me.
<table>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>2023</td>
      <td><strong>Moise BERTHE</strong> (MS, computer science, Université Lyon 2)<br>Title: "A dashboard to visualize emotions during learning with Augmented Reality"<br>Co-supervision: Mohamed EZ-ZAOUIA (post-doctorate)<br>Funding: MIXAP</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2023</td>
      <td><strong>Mouhamed SOW</strong> (BS, social sciences, Université de Tours)<br>Title: "Usage analysis of Mixed Reality on schools"<br>Co-supervision: Cendrine MERCIER (CREN)<br>Funding: MIXAP</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2023</td>
      <td><strong>Alexandra FREITAS ALVE</strong> (BS, multimedia, IUT de Laval)<br>Title: "Promotion of research projects"<br>Funding: SituLearn</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2023</td>
      <td><strong>Guillaume BOUCHER</strong> (BS, multimédia, IUT de Laval)<br>Title: "Design and development of a demonstrator for the SPART technology"<br>Co-supervision: Sebastian SIMON (PhD student) and Alice DINSENMEYER (LAUM)<br>Funding: collaboration grant to promote inter-laboratory collaboration</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2022</td>
      <td><strong>Marielle DROUIN</strong> (BS, multimedia, IUT de Laval)<br>Title: "Graphical design for promoting research projects"<br>Funding: MIXAP</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2022</td>
      <td><strong>Moez ZAMMIT</strong> (MS, social sciences, Université de Nantes)<br>Title: "Analyzing individual and collective learning activities during field trips"<br>Co-supervision: Christine VIDAL-GOMEL (CREN)<br>Funding: SituLearn</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2022</td>
      <td><strong>Maysa OUESLATI</strong> (MS, computer science, ESPRIT engineering school Tunisia)<br>Title: "Augmented Reality for mobile serious games"<br>Co-supervision: Mohamed EZ-ZAOUIA (post-doctorate)<br>Funding: Mindful-House Company</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2022</td>
      <td><strong>Milushka CHAMOCHUMBI</strong> (MS, social sciences, Université de Nantes)<br>Title: "Analyzing the use of TurtleTablet in an ecological setting"<br>Co-supervision: Christine VIDAL-GOMEL (CREN)<br>Funding: TurtleTable(t)</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2021</td>
      <td><strong>Ulysse CHENUT</strong> (BS, multimedia, IUT de Laval)<br>Title: "Graphic design of the Magic Cauldron application and its game material"<br>Co-supervision: Sofiane TOUEL (PhD student)<br>Funding: SMART-Fractions</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2020</td>
      <td><strong>Clément BOUSSARD</strong> (BS, computer science, IUT de Laval)<br>Title: "A dashboard to visualize the usage tracks of TurtleTablet"<br>Funding: TurtleTable(t)</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
<table>
  <tr>
    <td>2020</td>
    <td><strong>Rozenn DAGORNE</strong> (BS, multimedia, IUT de Laval)<br>Title: "TurtleTablet: a collaborative educational game"<br>Funding: TurtleTable(t)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>2020</td>
    <td><strong>Gaëlle CORGNET</strong> (DU, neurosciences and Learning, Université d'Angers)<br>Title: "Teaching emotions with Virtual Reality: analysis and improvements of TGRIS"<br>Funding: TGRIS</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>2020</td>
    <td><strong>Baptiste JAMET</strong> (BS, computer science, IUT de Laval)<br>Title: "TurtleTablet: recognizing tangible objects on a tablet"<br>Funding: TurtleTable(t)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>2019</td>
    <td><strong>Quentin HERMANN</strong> (MS, social sciences, Université de Nantes)<br>Title: "Usage analysis of TurtleTablet in an ecological setting"<br>Co-supervision: Géraldine BODY (CREN)<br>Funding: TurtleTable(t)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>2019</td>
    <td><strong>Adrien DUPORGE</strong> (MS, game design, Gamarora school)<br>Title: "Game mechanics to promote collaboration"<br>Co-supervision: Sébastien GEORGE (LIUM)<br>Funding: TurtleTable(t)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>2018</td>
    <td><strong>Mamadou KEBE</strong> (MS, computer science, Université de Sfax, Tunisia)<br>Title: "Piloting interface for an interview with an embodied virtual agent"<br>Funding: TGRIS</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>2017</td>
    <td><strong>Evan MOTTAIS</strong> (BS, computer science, IUT de Laval)<br>Title: "Tangible objects on Interactive tabletops"<br>Co-supervision: Sébastien GEORGE (LIUM)<br>Funding: TurtleTable(t)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>2014</td>
    <td><strong>Emna JEMLI</strong> (MS, ESAIP engineering school, Angers)<br>Title: "Mediated collaboration with smartphones in crowds »<br>Funding: none</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>2013</td>
    <td><strong>Jonas CELANDER GUSS</strong> (MS, computer science, KTH, Stockholm)<br>Title: "A Participative Light and Sound Show using Mobile Phones in Crowds"<br>Co-supervision: Gunar KARLSSON (SICS)<br>Funding: CrowdFlash</td>
  </tr>
</table>

In addition to these internships, I also supervise 2 to 5 groups of student projects per year, in my computer science department of the Laval IUT but also in the multimedia department of the Laval IUT and the ENSIM engineering school in Le Mans. I offer subjects in relation to my research projects such as developing exploratory functionalities of TEL prototypes or creating logos and visuals for the projects.
# 5 Impact on the Community

## Science outreach

When I was child, I wanted to be an "inventor". I wasn't yet familiar with the term "researcher", but I can now say that it really is the job I've been dreaming of. It's a fascinating job that combines intellectual challenges with technical progress and, in my case, produces TEL tools and methods that can be immediately applied in schools. The pay is decent, but above all, it gives me the feeling of being useful to society, and I am convinced that many other young men and women could have the same vocation. I have therefore been communicating about my profession since the very beginning of my PhD, 15 years ago, by organizing and taking part in events in addition to publishing articles in the general press.

<table><thead><tr><td>Type of communication</td><td>Number</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>General press</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>Book chapters</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Radio interviews and podcasts</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>Animations</td><td>31</td></tr><tr><td>Videos</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>Portraits and exhibitions</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>Invited talks</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>Event organization</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>TOTAL</td><td>60</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Specific actions to promote women in STEM

As a teacher, I can only observe the lack of girls in Computer Science (1 or 2 maximum per promotions of 60 students). And yet, the digital sector offers numerous employment opportunities. This situation can be changed, as in other countries, such as Tunisia and Lebanon where there are more women than men in the field. Over the past six years, I have therefore set up specific initiatives to encourage young girls to take up computer science. In addition to national campaigns, I am also an active member of the Women in Science 53 initiative organized by the local science museum. Specific actions to promote women in STEM are identified with the ⚡️ in the following lists.

### General press

* 2023 "MIXAP: an augmented reality creation tool for teachers", RA'Pro blog

* 2022 "The contribution of public research", Edtech thematic publication, SATT Ouest Valorisation
<table><tr><td>2022</td><td>"SituLearn: for educational outings on Smartphone", Ambition IUT Magazine</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>"She creates educational applications for teachers", Le Maine Libre</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>"I want to be an astronaut" with five other ESA candidates, Le Parisien</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>Portrait in Transistor magazine's special issue on youth and culture</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>"Students create an application to teach children colors", Ouest France</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>"TGRIS: Virtual Reality Simulator for Managing Emotions", Laval Virtual Blog</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>"GALA, international conference dedicated to Serious Games", Laval Virtual Blog</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>"TurtleTablet, a Mixed Reality game for learning programming", Laval Virtual Blog</td></tr></table>

## Book chapter

<table><tr><td>2022</td><td>Chapter « At the heart of the algorithm » in the book Algorithms, Predictive Justice and Robot Judges, S. Lebreton-Derrien et R. Raher, édition Enrick B., 104 p.</td></tr></table>

## Radio interviews

<table><tr><td>2023</td><td>"LIUM's Edtech Conference", l'Autre Radio</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>"The objectives of the MIXAP project", Radio Alpa</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>"Advantage of digital tools for learning during COVID", Radio Alpa</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>"GALA International Scientific Conference", l'Autre Radio</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>Presentation of my research and career, Indéscience podcast</td></tr></table>

## Animations

<table><tr><td>2023</td><td>MIXAP stand at the Edtech Grand Ouest event, Rennes</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>Workshop at the IFSEC teacher training day, Rennes</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>Workshop at the Maison pour la Science professional teacher training day, Rennes</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>Radio France live broadcast "In duplex from the ISS with Thomas PESQUET", Paris</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>Participation in the Speed Searching session, European Researchers' Night</td></tr><tr><td>2017, 18, 21, 23</td><td>Stand at the Laval Virtual international exhibition</td></tr><tr><td>2016 - present</td><td>Annual visits to local schools</td></tr><tr><td>2008 - present</td><td>Animations at the national science fair (Fête de la science) since the start of my PhD</td></tr></table>
## Videos

<table><tr><td>2021</td><td>Participation in the video on women in science in the Greater West, Atlanstic2020</td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>Teaser video to promote the Doc'Up PhD student association festival, Paris</td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>Short film made for my PhD, Doc'Up PhD student association festival, Paris</td></tr></table>

## Portraits and exhibitions

<table><tr><td>2019</td><td>Portrait in the “Wonen in digital science” exhibition, Atlanstic2020</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>“Research under lockdown”, Le Mans Université, European Researcher’s Night</td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>Portrait in the These’s art project, Lyon 1</td></tr></table>

## Invited talks

<table><tr><td>2023</td><td>“MIXAP: an authoring tool for Augmented Reality educational applications”, National day on Open Educational Resources (Libre éducatif), Rennes, 200 teachers</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>“Digital technology as a creative tool”, Digital'ON festival, Allonnes</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>“Digital + Game + Education = Serious Games”, NSI Day, organized by the French Association of Computer Science Teachers</td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>“Research projects: augmented reality by teachers”, series of webinars on gender equality, Ministry of Education</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>“Digital professions”, Laval jobs week, 400 high school students</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>Round table, digital careers day, Science center, Laval, 500 high school girls</td></tr></table>

## Event organisation

<table><tr><td>2021</td><td>Co-organization of Aurélie JEAN's visit to Laval “Do algorithms make the law?”, 500 students</td></tr></table>
# Open Educational Resources

## Free, and sometimes open-source, TEL tools

<table><tr><td>2023</td><td><strong>MIXAP</strong>: an authoring tool for teachers to create Augmented Reality applications<br>Freely accessible at <a href="https://mixap.univ-lemans.fr/">https://mixap.univ-lemans.fr/</a> + teacher guide<br>Open-source code on the national education FORGE at <a href="https://forge.aeif.fr/">https://forge.aeif.fr/</a></td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td><strong>SituLearn</strong>: an authoring tool for teachers, museums and cultural centers to create smartphone applications for field trips and interactives visits<br>Freely accessible at <a href="https://situlearn-editor.univ-lemans.fr/">https://situlearn-editor.univ-lemans.fr/</a> + teacher guide<br>Open-source code on the national education FORGE at <a href="https://forge.aeif.fr/">https://forge.aeif.fr/</a></td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td><strong>The Magic Cauldron</strong> and <strong>Quizz App</strong>: two games that can be used, in autonomy to work on the notion of fractions<br>Freely accessible at <a href="https://smart-fractions.univ-lemans.fr/">https://smart-fractions.univ-lemans.fr/</a></td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td><strong>TurtleTable</strong> (for interactive tabletops) and <strong>TurtleTablet</strong> (for tablets, smartphones and computers): a collaborative game to introduce the basics of computer programming<br>Freely accessible at <a href="https://turtletablet.univ-lemans.fr/">https://turtletablet.univ-lemans.fr/</a> + teacher guide</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td><strong>JEN-Planet</strong>: a catalogue to help teachers find Learning Games<br>Freely accessible at <a href="https://jen-planet.univ-lemans.fr/">https://jen-planet.univ-lemans.fr/</a></td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td><strong>WriteYourZoo</strong> (<em>Ecris ton zoo</em>): a game to teach children how to read (student project)<br>Freely accessible at <a href="https://lium.univ-lemans.fr/ecris-ton-zoo/">https://lium.univ-lemans.fr/ecris-ton-zoo/</a></td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td><strong>Ocean colors</strong> (<em>Aux couleurs de l'océan</em>): a game to help children learn the names of colors (student project)<br>Freely accessible at <a href="https://lium.univ-lemans.fr/aux-couleurs-de-locean/">https://lium.univ-lemans.fr/aux-couleurs-de-locean/</a></td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td><strong>GetYourBUT</strong>: a game to present the Laval IUT Computer Science department at the open house, science fair and student forums (student project)<br>Freely accessible at <a href="https://lium.univ-lemans.fr/get-your-but/">https://lium.univ-lemans.fr/get-your-but/</a></td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td><strong>2048 Atomes</strong>: a game to learn Mendeleev's periodic table (student project)<br>Freely accessible at <a href="https://lium.univ-lemans.fr/atomes/">https://lium.univ-lemans.fr/atomes/</a></td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td><strong>Chimory</strong>: a game to help university students review chemical transformation and an editor so teachers can update or add transformations (student project)<br>Freely accessible at <a href="https://la-chimory.univ-lemans.fr/">https://la-chimory.univ-lemans.fr/</a></td></tr></table>
2017 **TimeLine generator**: an editor that allows teachers to create a timeline-like game with a list of events and dates.
Freely accessible at
[https://lium.univ-lemans.fr/timeline-editor/](https://lium.univ-lemans.fr/timeline-editor/)

## Course material and video tutorials

Material Course material available at
[http://free.iza.free.fr/teaching.php](http://free.iza.free.fr/teaching.php)

Videos 8 videos with course content and 17 videos on research projects (project presentation, demos and teacher tutorials)
Available on [https://www.youtube.com/](https://www.youtube.com/)

## Transfer to the private sector

2023 Transfer of SituLearn to the Ozytis company
2023 Transfer of Quizz App and The Magic Cauldron to the Plaisir-Math company
2018 Transfer Jem-inventor to the Mindfull House spinoff company created by Aous KAROUI after his PhD thesis.
2019 Professional training for the GESTAMP company for creating a custom Serious Game for their internal training program.
2019 Custom professional training on Serious Games from the University of Saint-Etienne.
## 6 Awards

2023 **Prize Foundation Grand Ouest**, in the category "encouragement", for the MIXAP project.

Organized by the Banque Populaire de l'Ouest, Rennes, France

2023 **Best poster award** at the European ECTEL conference for the short paper "Towards an authoring tool to help teachers create mobile collaborative games for field tips"

1/21 poster rewarded, Toulouse, France

2023 **Trophy innovation campus Le Mans – Angers**, in the category "transition", for the Jem-Inventor project with Sébastien GEORGE.

Organized by the SATT Ouest Valorisation, Le Mans, France

2022 **Best paper award** at the international Games and Learning Alliance conference (GALA), for the paper "10 Commandments of the Serious Game Padawan: Lessons Learned After 4 Years of Professional Training".

1/27 paper rewarded, Tampere, Finland

2022 **3rd prize at the International Serious Game competition** of the Games and Learning Alliance for The Magic Cauldron, in the category "research"

3/26 games rewarded, Tampere, Finland

2021 **Awarded Rising Star** of the Pays de la Loire region, France Program to encourage young researchers to submit an ERC European project

2021 **1st prize at the European Conference on Game Based Learning (ECGBL)**, for TurtleTablet, in the category "games installed on devices"

4/32 games rewarded, Brighton, UK

2020 **1st prize at the photo contest** "Research under lockdown" Organized by Le Mans Université, European Researcher's Night, Le Mans, France

2018 **PEPS Prize** - Passion for Pedagogy in higher education, national competition for the Ludifik'action training program

6/125 projects rewarded, Paris, France

2013 **Selected for an ERCIM Marie Curie excellence postdoctoral scholarship**

European Marie Curie co-fund fellowship, Stockholm, Sweden

2010 **Audience Award at the short film festival** made for my PhD Organized by the Doc'Up PhD student association, Paris, France
# Part II

## Research Works
<figure><img src="image_17.png" /></figure>
<figure><img src="image_18.png" /></figure>
<figure><img src="image_19.png" /></figure>

# CHAPTER 1
## Introduction

Exploring the potential of serious games, mobile learning and innovative human-computer interactions for learning
CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Exploring the potential of Serious Games, Mobile Learning and
Innovative Human-Computer Interactions for Learning

Contents

<table><tr><td>1</td><td>Research context: Technology-Enhanced Learning</td><td>40</td></tr><tr><td>1.1</td><td>Teaching and Learning Theories</td><td>40</td></tr><tr><td>1.2</td><td>Evolution of TEL alongside technology</td><td>42</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Three research branches</td><td>43</td></tr><tr><td>2.1</td><td>Serious Games</td><td>43</td></tr><tr><td>2.2</td><td>Mobile Learning</td><td>45</td></tr><tr><td>2.3</td><td>Innovative Human-Computer Interactions for learning</td><td>47</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Research objectives and projects</td><td>50</td></tr><tr><td>3.1</td><td>Research objectives</td><td>50</td></tr><tr><td>3.2</td><td>Research projects</td><td>51</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Research method</td><td>52</td></tr><tr><td>4.1</td><td>Working with colleagues in Social Sciences</td><td>53</td></tr><tr><td>4.2</td><td>Working with teachers and their students</td><td>55</td></tr><tr><td>4.3</td><td>Have fun</td><td>56</td></tr><tr><td>4.4</td><td>Content of the manuscript</td><td>57</td></tr></table>

This manuscript gives an overview of the research we<fnref n="1" /> have conducted in the field of **Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)**. The research has been mainly conducted in the computer science laboratory of Le Mans University (Laboratoire d'Informatique de l'Université du Mans, LIUM) in France. As will be explained throughout this manuscript, the research has been carried out in collaboration with teachers, PhD students and colleagues in the fields of Computer Science and Humanities and Social Sciences. As depicted in *Figure 1.1*, TEL is, by essence, a multi-disciplinary field of research. The TEL tree of knowledge is nourished by technological advances in **Computer Science** as well as learning and teaching theories that come from various disciplines of **Humanities and Social Sciences** (e.g., Didactics, Educational Sciences, Psychology). As we will see later, a more accurate representation would look like a graph because

<footnote n="1">¹"We" is used in this manuscript when referring to research conducted by my colleagues and myself. "I" is used in the last chapter, as it deals with my own research perspectives even though they will most certainly be led in collaboration with other researchers.</footnote>
the branches can merge, but let us use this simplified vision for the time being. Even though we will focus on our Computer Science contributions in this manuscript, all our projects involved Social Sciences researchers. This essential collaboration, at times difficult, will be discussed in *section 4*, which focuses on our research method. In *section 1.1*, we will briefly introduce the field of *TEL* and its main branches. In *section 2*, we will focus on the three branches to which we have contributed (Serious Games, Mobile Learning and novel Human-Computer Interactions for learning) and in *section 3*, we present our two main research objectives: creating effective and efficient educational tools and empowering teachers!

<figure><img src="image_20.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1.1: The many branches of Technology-Enhanced Learning</figcaption></figure>

# 1 Research context: Technology-Enhanced Learning

TEL is a fairly new field of research. The dates in *Figure 1.1* locate its major theories and technological advances on a timeline. And even though some date back to the 1950s, the field only flourished as of the 1990s with the invention of Hypertext, the Internet and the advent of personal computers in homes and schools. *TEL* is not merely a product of technological advances; it is nurtured by learning and teaching theories, that are often much older. Let us briefly present the main theories to better understand how they have shaped the field.

## 1.1 Teaching and Learning Theories

First, there are three major learning theories worth mentioning. In the early 1900s, **Behaviorism** became the predominant learning theory (Watson, 1913). It is based on the belief that knowledge
is exterior to the learner and that learning is achieved by providing them with stimulus (negative or positive feedback) until they change their behavior. The famous experiment Pavlov led with a dog is a very good example of how this theory can be implemented. In the 1960s, a new theory, called **Cognitivism** (Piaget, 1967), appeared. Unlike behaviorism, it focuses on the idea that learners process information and, little by little, build their own mental models. Finally, the theory of **Constructivism** appeared in the 1970s. The main difference with cognitivism is the role of social context. While cognitive theory views learning as a purely internal and mental process, constructivism views learning as a combination of cognitive development and human interaction (in our case interaction with the teacher and with fellow learners) that contributes to constructing knowledge (Vygotsky, 1980). A sub-branch of Constructivism, called **Social-Constructivism**, even identifies the relationship with others as the most important factor of learning.

Koschmann introduces his book by explaining how these learning theories have modeled the field of research in TEL, from simple instructional tools, to intelligent tutoring system and finally to open words and simulations with tools to foster collaborative learning (Koschmann, 1996).

More recent teaching and learning theories have also contributed to shaping the field of TEL. Situated-Learning, for example, is an instructional approach that claims students are more inclined to learn by actively participating (Lave and Wenger, 1991). Field trips, where students actively take part in the learning activities set in natural environments, are a good example of this approach. The concept of Situated-Learning became the corner stone for research in Mobile Learning, an approach that offers new ways of learning on-site with mobile technology. Another recent theory, Connectivism, addresses learning in the digital age (Siemens, 2005). It emphasizes how internet technologies such as web browsers, wikis or networks created on forums and social media contribute to new ways of learning. Lately, theories dealing with Embodied Cognition have also been used to justify the benefits of using digital tools and tangible objects (Shapiro and Stolz, 2019).

Several key ideas of these learning theories are recurrent in all branches of TEL research. In particular, three key notions are identified by Lev Vygotsky, the father of Constructivism.

The notion of the **more knowledgeable other** is the foundation of Intelligent Tutoring Systems and all TEL systems that provide automatic help and feedback. A computers can provide a student with helpful and timely information. And, unlike a human, it is always available and does not get tired of endlessly repeating itself. TEL can also provide collaborative tools to put learners in contact with one another, thus freeing teachers and giving them more time to focus on students with specific tutoring needs.

The nature of the given information and the right moment to provide it can be generated by **scaffolding** models. This notion refers to the way teachers identify when a student needs help and the right amount and type of help that should be provided, while keeping in mind that the objective is to remove the scaffolding once the concept has been mastered. The learning that occurs with this scaffolding is referred to as the **Zone of Proximal Development** (ZPD), in other words, what the learner can do with guidance (Figure 1.2).

But TEL cannot be reduced to computer science and learning theories. When developing tools for TEL, fun and engagement are at the heart of the design, especially with Serious Games (i.e., games to learn). This entire branch of research uses the concept of **Flow**. Developed by the psychologist Csikszentmihalyi, it refers to a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). This concept is used to design learning activities, also
called “game levels” in the field of Serious Games, and adapt them to the learners. The idea is to
keep the learners in a productive flow channel, between boredom (generated by activities that are
too easy) and anxiety (generated by activities that are too difficult). The notion of flow presents
several similarities with that of Zone of Proximal Development and several researcher have even
proposed merging them (Basawapatna et al., 2013) (Figure 1.2).

<figure><img src="image_21.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1.2: Merging the Zone of Proximal Development with the concept of Flow</figcaption></figure>

Let us present one last learning model that is frequently used in TEL research, but is often
misconstrued! Edgar Dale's **Cone of Experience** is usually cited to support the fact that TEL
systems are more effective than traditional lectures (Dale, 1946) and is presented as in the left
side of Figure 1.3. However, this cone includes elements that are not in the original publication
(Subramony et al., 2014). The original cone, presented on the right side of Figure 1.3, does not
have any suspiciously-round numbers or any mention of memory. It simply shows the progression
of learning experiences from the abstract to concrete. For example, Verbal symbols (top of the
cone) are considered abstract whereas Contrived experiences (2nd level from the bottom) refers to
activities with mockup-models or simulators that provide experiences that are as close to reality
and as concrete as possible. Having said this, the main idea behind the frequent misconstruction,
illustrated by the cone on the left, is not totally wrong. Indeed, studies have shown that when
more senses are involved in processing information, the brain is more solicited, thus forming a
better neural network in the brain (Johnson and Mayer, 2009)(Clark and Paivio, 1991). The
original cone also advocates the notion of active participation in realistic or real environments.
These types of activities can be recreated in TEL, especially with new immersive technologies
such as Virtual Reality (Tracey et al., 2010).

1.2 Evolution of TEL alongside technology

While research in TEL is nurtured by learning and teaching theories, it is also very much influ-
enced by technological advances. If a new technology fosters new ways of learning, a new branch
in TEL research generally appears. If this research yields favorable results, the branch flourishes
and creates yet more branches that explore new TEL systems. But sometimes, the branch just
dies out. For example, the invention of TV in 1927, and especially its massive appearance in
households after 1945, gave birth to a research branch devoted to educational TV. Even if there
are still a few projects such as *Lumni*<fnref n="2" /> or *L'université de tout les savoirs*<fnref n="3" />, this branch mainly

<footnote n="2">²https://www.lumni.fr/, consulted on the 5th of September 2023</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³https://www.canal-u.tv/, consulted on the 5th of September 2023</footnote>
<figure><img src="image_22.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1.3: Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience in its misconstrued and correct form</figcaption></figure>

died out only 10 years later. It is primarily the invention of hypermedia, in the 1980s, and the Internet, in the 1990s, that launched the TEL research community. As is depicted in Figure 1.1, dozens of research communities started working on broad topics such as computer-assisted learning or more precise topics such as e-learning. The research branch devoted to Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) has its roots in the constructivist theory and continues to grow with the development of embodied conversational agents and numerous innovations in Artificial Intelligence. The branch related to Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) developed based on the social-constructivism theory. Try to imagine this as a magical tree where the branches intertwine and sometimes merge with one another.

In the next section, we will provide more information on the development of the three branches we have contributed to.

# 2 Three research branches

Our research relates to three research branches within TEL: **Serious Games** (SGs), **Mobile Learning** (ML) and innovative **Human-Computer Interactions** (HCI) for learning. For each of these branches, we will provide a definition, its history, explain when and why we started working in this branch and, finally, point out its major research challenges. We focus mainly on the challenges related to Computer Science that we have tried to tackle during our research projects and that will be presented in this manuscript.

## 2.1 Serious Games

### 2.1.1 Definition

Our first topic of study is **Serious Games for learning (SGs)**. Another, more precise, but not as popular name is Learning Games. As shown in *Figure 1.4*., SGs combine the properties of learning environments, games and simulations. The main idea is to use game mechanics (e.g., competition, collaboration, social recognition, collection, exploration) and the simulation possibilities of computer programs to create engaging and rich learning-by-doing environments.
The simulation part is not necessarily visible, like in a flight simulator, but the SG should contain some type of activity or behavioral model related to the targeted skills. SGs can be used in all educational fields, from kindergarten to vocational training (Saunders, 1996). Thanks to the game mechanics, learners become central actors in their training, in contrast to the passive position they occupy most of the time in traditional education (remember Edgar Dale's Cone of experience). Moreover, as a study by the National Research Council (National Research Council, 2000) shows, learners become emotionally engaged in SGs, which facilitates the imprinting of their actions and decisions in their memory. SGs can therefore be used to facilitate the learning of certain skills for which traditional teaching methods are not satisfactory (Federation of American Scientist, 2006). Many studies have shown that, when well designed, SGs increase engagement, motivation and learning (Mayo, 2007), (Dondlinger, 2007).

<figure><img src="image_23.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1.4: Serious Games for Learning</figcaption></figure>

2.1.2 History

The SG research field developed in the 1990s and is based on the theory of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) and storytelling models. The field has also been strongly influenced by research in non-digital educational games (Thiagarajan and Thiagarajan, 2003). The SG field of research really only took off around 2005, with the massive development of video games and research on game mechanics (Marczewski, 2015). The first famous SG was America's Army: a video game intended to promote the US military while attracting potential new recruits. In France, the first PhDs related to SGs where defended in 2007. I was part of this first generation, starting work on my PhD on methods and tools for designing Learning Games in 2008. SGs are still one of my main research topics and the research community has since grown very strong. Around 2015, a new sub-branch devoted to gamification appeared. It explores ways to make learning more engaging and fun by adding a layer of game mechanics on top of educational activities without changing
them. It is important to say that SGs and Gamification are not necessarily digital and therefore englobe a large community of educators and teachers who develop these methods in their classes.

### 2.1.3 Challenges

The main research challenge in SGs is the **choice and integration of well-adapted game mechanics** (C¹SG) in order to reach the targeted educational objectives while providing a coherent gaming experience. Once the game mechanics are chosen, one needs to seamlessly integrate the educational activities into the game experience in order to promote intrinsic motivation (Szilas and Sutter Widmer, 2009), (Fabricatore, 2000). Simply sugar-coating the exercises with game mechanics, also referred to as “chocolate-covered broccoli”, is not enough to create an engaging and effective learning experience. In fact, you can quite easily make a SG that is “worse” than a traditional class experience (Sawyer, 2002).

The second challenge is proving the **SGs' efficiency** (C²SG). Even though games are a natural way for humans to learn, the use of game mechanics is still frowned upon in schools, even in primary schools. It is therefore paramount to explain why the game mechanics are being used and to reassure teachers, colleagues, directors, parents and even students that they are not “wasting their precious time at play”.

The third challenge in the field of SGs is the **very high production cost** (C³SG) for a very minimal return on investment (George, 2010). Producing SGs requires the same team of game-designers, developers and graphic artists necessary to develop a commercial video game ($32.8 million for America's Army), including at least one education expert (i.e., teacher). However, the difference with video games is that most SGs focus on a specific learning content, such as nosocomial diseases (Ney and Balacheff, 2008), which drastically reduces the target audience. And even for SGs that deal with very broad subjects such as fractions (Liu et al., 2013), the potential buyers are schools, which often have a limited budget.

Finally, the last challenge is to **democratize the use of SGs by teachers and professional trainers** (C⁴SG). This is still very complex, due to the aforementioned design complexity and production cost. Another difficulty for mass adoption in schools is the fact that teachers need to adopt the SGs and feel at ease with them. Preferences for game mechanics is a very personal matter and a SG designed for one teacher will almost certainly not suit another.

After ten years of research, the research community has concluded that SGs have a positive effect on learning if they are designed and used correctly. The goal now is to provide guidelines and SG models that can, not only help create replicable positive results, but also lower production costs. To achieve this goal, research is now focused on developing technical toolkits, frameworks and Artificial Intelligence with interactive non-player characters and intelligent tutors.

## 2.2 Mobile Learning

### 2.2.1 Definition

Our second field of research is **Mobile Learning** (ML), also referred to as m-learning. This term covers any type of TEL tool that can be used on smartphones or tablets (Figure 1.5). Nowadays, with the improvement in network coverage, this term refers not only to smartphone applications but also web applications that are accessible on mobile devices. The potential to obtain infor-
mation anytime and anywhere introduces a shift in the philosophical developments of learning (Herrington and Herrington, 2007). ML is a very broad field and we only focus on a subcategory: namely ML systems that harness mobility-related functionalities or other functionalities that use smartphone sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, audio recorder, calls and instant messaging. These functionalities offer many advantages for learning. Geo-location, for example, is especially useful to provide just-in-time information and situated activities, when the learner is physically in front of the object of interest (i.e., castle, tree). It also encourages students to physically move in order to discover information which is a good game mechanic and helps them to remember information (Hubbard, 2007), (Schwabe and Göth, 2005). The smartphone's camera can also be used to project augmentation on an archeological site or a building for educational purposes (Pombo et al., 2018), (Loiseau et al., 2013). Finally, the smartphone's calling and instant messaging functionalities are very useful to promote collaborative learning (Huizenga et al., 2007).

<figure><img src="image_24.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1.5: Mobile Learning</figcaption></figure>

2.2.2 History

Research related to ML has its origin in the Situated Learning theory. Even though their are
earlier projects with PDAs, it really developed in the early 2000s along with mobile technology
(tablets and smartphones). I became involved in this community in 2012, during my post-
doctorate at the Mobile Lab of the Swedish Institute of Computer Science. I worked on an
interactive light show for crowds that uses an opportunistic network to connect smartphones
directly with one another. At a concert or sporting event, the crowd would create a dynamic
and fluctuating light show with their connected cell phone screens. Since then, the software and
hardware in smartphones have evolved at incredible speed, providing many new functionalities for
situated learning such as 3D cameras, precise GPS location, movement sensors and NFT readers.
### 2.2.3 Challenges

The main challenge we have pursued in ML is to find ways to **foster authentic situated-learning** (C¹ML) by making a judicious choice of smartphone functionalities and educational activities. It does not suffice to simply show geo-located information or ask learners to answer questions when they arrive at a point of interest. The educational content needs to be redesigned to take into account the fact that students are on the move (in potentially dangerous environments such as city streets) and cannot therefore be required to take notes or read long texts on small screens. Activities also need to be designed in such a way that learners need to be on site and observe their surroundings in order to complete them (Klopfer and Squire, 2008).

The second challenge is to **integrate the use of Mobile Learning in schools** (C²ML). Currently, most ML tools are provided by museums and cities. Very few are used by teachers even though they could be very useful for their educational field trips. At the very least, teachers in natural sciences, history and sports could benefit from using ML on a regular basis. However, the adoption of such tools in schools is far from simple, for several reasons. First of all, smartphones are strictly prohibited, by law, in middle and high-schools (JOFR, 2018). Even though an exception can be made for educational purposed, teachers and school principals usually prefer to strictly enforce the law. Using personal devices can create inequities among students, and teachers will therefore only consider using school tablets, if they are available. However, these tablets often have restrictions that block downloading new apps and no SIM card for mobile data connection, which pretty much eliminates all geo-located applications that could be of interest for teachers’ local field trips. Several groups of researchers have therefore started working on authoring tools that would allow teachers to create their own educational geo-located applications that could work on school tablets, but there is still much to be done.

**Democratizing the use of ML in schools** (C³ML), but also **museums and cities** is the last challenge of this field. Current applications are custom made for one museum or city and cannot easily be shared because the content is location-dependent. Several private companies offer their services for the creation of such applications but only very large museums and cities can afford such services. Authoring tools should offer a solution to this problem since they do not require developers and the content can be created by teachers or the museum and city staff themselves.

## 2.3 Innovative Human-Computer Interactions for learning

### 2.3.1 Definition

Finally, we are also involved in the field of innovative Human-Computer Interactions (HCI) for learning. This field is very wide and we will only focus on a very limited portion of technologies, namely Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) including tangible object for learning. These technologies offer many advantages for learning. Virtual Reality provides very realistic simulations of situation that are sometimes impossible, very expensive, or dangerous to create in reality (Huguet et al., 2016). This technology typically requires Virtual Reality headsets and is well adapted to medical training or technical maintenance in dangerous environments. Augmented Reality has the capacity of showing feedback directly on real objects, in their natural environment (Da Costa et al., 2019). This technology is used, for example, with special AR glasses to help mechanics repair a car while they are manipulating the car parts. It
is also what you use on your smartphone when you add rabbit ears to your face on Snapchat or when you play Pokemon GO. Several educational applications also use projectors to project augmentations directly on manipulated objects (Palaigeorgiou et al., 2019), (Beşevli et al., 2019). Mixed Reality can be situated on a continuum between Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (Milgram and Colquhoun, 1999), (Kruijff et al., 2010). It blurs the boundaries by connecting real object manipulation with virtual elements. This combines the advantages of digital applications for learning with the advantages of manipulating real objects, which is paramount for acquiring certain concepts, especially when the learner is a child (Wilson, 2002), (Chandler and Tricot, 2015). Mixed Reality can be implemented on a variety of devices such as AR glasses, smartphones and tablets but also with sensors or conductive paint that are added to real tangible objects.

The term “eXtended Reality” (XR), covers Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality and everything in between (Figure 1.6). This term has become necessary, even among experts, as the boundaries between all these technologies has become less clear with the arrival of Virtual Reality headsets that also support Augmented Reality (Meta Quest Pro in 2022) and enable users to interact with virtual objects with simple hand gestures instead of using controllers (Apple Vision Pro in 2023).

To make this manuscript easier to read, these technologies will be referred to as (HCI) even thought we agree this acronym covers a larger variety of tools.

<figure><img src="image_25.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1.6: Human-Computer Interactions for learning</figcaption></figure>

### 2.3.2 History

The research branch related to HCI is much older than the two other ones since it started in the 1960s. The theory of Embodied Cognition, published in 2019, gave a new impetus to this field, by
providing a theory to explain why the use of tangible objects was so effective for learning (Radu and Antle, 2017). We joined this branch of research when Virtual Reality headsets started to become affordable in 2014. A few years later, in 2017, we also carried out a project on interactive tabletops with tangible objects. We quickly realized that, even though Virtual Reality headsets and interactive tabletops offer great potential for learning, these devices are currently not suitable for the majority of schools. The main reasons are the very limited suitable educational content available on these devices (Araiza-Alba et al., 2022) and the high cost (more than 2000 euros for an interactive tabletop). From then on, we therefore concentrated on HCI technology that could be used with the school's tablets, with the students' smartphones or that could be produced with Do-It-Yourself (DIY) methods or with 3D printers that are now mainstream in French schools. We have created several Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality applications and they are currently used in a dozen schools. In several recent projects, we also created authoring tools that enable teachers to create their own educational content.

### 2.3.3 Challenges

The main challenge in the field of HCI for learning is to **improve the quality of learning by using the appropriate interactions** (C1CHI). HCI can also be used as a way to enhance another approach such collaborative learning (CSCL). Because HCI implies additional organizational and technical constraints for teachers, its use must be counterbalanced with educational benefits.

The second challenge is more technical: **developing HCI is still quite complex and requires developers that are specialized in these technologies** (C2CHI). Researchers have therefore been working on technical frameworks to help basic developers use these technologies (Loup et al., 2018). Several researcher have even gone further by creating “no-code” applications that allow the creation of innovative HCI content without programming (Dengel et al., 2022). The principle is the same as authoring tools, but they often remain too complex and not necessarily well-adapted to teacher’s needs (Ez-Zaouia et al., 2022).

The last challenge is to **democratize the use of innovative HCI in schools** (C3CHI). Like SGs and ML applications, HCI tools are custom designed for one teacher and their current class. Several private companies (e.g., Foxar, Eastern Peak) and research projects offer Augmented Reality applications that cover entire curriculums but the content is rarely suited to other teachers who have not participated in their design. Schools and universities will sometime advertise the fact that they use innovative VR or AR applications for the anatomy classes, for example, but their effective use remains anecdotal (Ley et al., 2022). The main reason is the fact that the content cannot be changed by teachers. How can we expect teachers to use applications that they cannot change, customize or even slightly adapt to their specific pedagogical objectives and needs?

This last question actually calls for a more profound reflection on how we perceive teachers: do we see them as parrots who merely repeat course content provided by others or do we see them as craftsmen and women who create customized content and activities? This is actually a wider question that is related to all branches of TEL research so I will keep it for the next subsections related to our research objectives.
# 3 Research objectives and projects

## 3.1 Research objectives

As you may have notices, some of the challenges in the fields of SGs, ML and HCI are similar. In particular, **all of their design processes are challenging**: whether it is choosing the right game mechanics for SGs and seamlessly integrating them into the educational content ($C2^{SG}$), choosing the correct smartphone sensors to foster situated learning ($C1^{ML}$) or choosing the right HCI according to the learning objectives ($C1^{CHI}$).

In the case of SGs, the design process is particularly complicated because it also needs to be backed up with arguments and proof of the game mechanics’ effectiveness for learning ($C4^{SG}$). This design complexity is, of course, partly related to the fact that we are conducting exploratory research in relatively new fields or with new technologies. If it was simple, it would not be research! However, the designing of these TEL systems includes an additional layer of complexity because of their multidisciplinary nature. They involve a combination of models and theories from computer science and social sciences (games, didactics, education...) but also integrate hardware and software, without forgetting the real life constraints of teachers and schools. They therefore need to be designed by researchers in computer science and in social sciences but also with the collaboration of teachers and specialists in game mechanics (game designers), mobile technology and innovative HCI (specialized developers). **Our first research objective is therefore to provide methods, models and tools to help all these actors design effective TEL.** This objective is pursued by carrying out exploratory projects lead with a small number of pilot teachers. After a state of the art on similar TEL systems and co-design sessions with all the stakeholders, we formulate hypotheses and develop prototypes to test them in the classroom. This type of project provides insight into the most effective ways of using game mechanics, mobile sensors or HCI to foster learning.

The second challenge, that is recurrent in TEL systems, is related to their expensive production and their adoption by teachers and schools. For SGs, the main challenge is the high production cost ($C2^{SG}$). For HCI, it is the fact that the development must be carried out by highly qualified developers who are not available because they usually work in private companies for an impressive salary ($C2^{CHI}$). For ML, the difficulty is to get schools to accept the use of mobile devices ($C2^{ML}$) and, for all of these TEL systems, the last challenge is to democratize their use among teachers and other potential users ($C4^{SG}$, $C3^{ML}$ and $C3^{CHI}$). All these challenges can be addressed with a single solution: **authoring tools.** Authoring tools are built on models that come from exploratory projects such as those cited above. They enable teachers to create TEL systems, on their own, by integrating all these models and the technical knowledge of developers. They also allow teachers to be placed in the central role of content creators, making it easy for them to modify and update the content so as to adapt it to their needs or theirs students’ profiles. The fact that the TEL systems are created by local teachers is also the best way to encourage schools to use them since they become part of the educational resources, just like exercise sheets. These types of projects can only be carried out on more mature research and are usually led with a larger number of pilot teachers to ensure the tool is well adapted to a large variety of profiles and needs. **Our second research objective is therefore to provide adaptable models and authoring tools to facilitate the development of TEL systems, and thus increase their acceptability and use by teachers.** In this manuscript the term “acceptability” is used to refer to the degree of acceptance demonstrated by the users. It is measured with standardized
questionnaires, video analysis and self-confrontation interviews with users.

*Figure 1.7* illustrates which challenges related to SGs, ML and HCI are addressed by this first and second research objective.

<figure><img src="image_26.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1.7: Challenges and research objectives</figcaption></figure>

## 3.2 Research projects

*Figure 1.8* illustrates a selection of projects I have taken part in or led during my career as leaves of the three research branches presented above. Some of these projects are more exploratory, and aim to achieve the first research objective (RO 1) by providing methods, models and tools to help design effective *TEL* systems. Others projects are more mature and aim to achieve the second objective (RO 2) by creating authoring tools for specific types of *TEL* systems.

As you can see from the project distribution in *Figure 1.7*, **my main field of research is Serious Games for learning (SGs)** but I have diversified and combined it with other fields of *TEL*. During my PhD, I was already working on methods, models and tools for designing SGs (RO 1). With my second PhD Student, Wielfrid MORIE, we worked on another tool: JEN-Planet (RO 1), an automatically-updating catalogue that helps teachers find existing SGs that could satisfy their pedagogical objectives and constraints. For the last six years, I have also set up and animated the Ludifik'action professional training course with several colleagues. It consists in accompanying teaches, for a period of five months, in the creation of custom SGs (digital or non-digital). Year after year, we have managed to perfect a custom SG design method (RO 1).

I started working in **Mobile Learning (ML)** during my post-doctorate. This is a field we continued to explore at LIUM, with my first PhD student, Aous KAROUI, who worked on the Jem-Inventor project. The objective was to enable teachers to create educational mobile applications for their field trips. Aous developed a generic model for educational field trips and
<figure><img src="image_27.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1.8: Contributions to three research branches of Technology-Enhanced Learning</figcaption></figure>

an authoring tool (RO 2). With the help of other colleagues, we perfected this model during the ReVeRIES project (RO 2) with game mechanics and additional types of outings adapted to botany. Later, this model was further improved, during the current SituLearn project (RO 2), which is also aimed at museums and cultural centers.

Furthermore, we have several projects related to the branch of **innovative HCI for education**. TGRIS explores the potential of a Virtual Reality headset for dealing with emotions in professional settings (RO 1). Along the same line, we are currently designing the MIXAP authoring tool (RO 2) to help teachers create their own Mixed Reality educational applications.

At the **intersection between SG and HCI**, we have also made several contributions. The effectiveness of tangible objects to encourage collaboration was measured in the TurtleTable(t) project (RO 1). We designed, developed and tested several versions of the same SG aimed at teaching the basics of computer programming on various devices (interactive tabletops, computers and tablets), with and without tangible objects. Finally, the SMART-Fractions project explores the use of a Mixed Reality SG designed to learn fractions (RO 1).

Now that we have presented our research objectives and projects, let us describe the way these projects were conducted.

# 4 Research method

In this subsection, we will present three fundamentals that have defined our research method for all the previously mentioned projects:

* The first is essential yet difficult to master: working with colleagues in Social Sciences.
* The second is all too rare yet so enlightening: working with teachers and their students.

* The third will give you wings but will also help you keep your feet on the ground: working while having fun!

## 4.1 Working with colleagues in Social Sciences

As you are bound to fave understood by now, research in TEL is, by nature, multidisciplinary. It is at the crossroads between Computer Science and Social Sciences including didactics, educational science and psychology. I have systematically collaborated with colleagues in these domains for all the projects I have led.

Table 1.1 shows the colleagues with whom I have felt real collaboration that benefits the two parties and not just cooperation on the same research object. Collaborating does not always work out the way it is intended and some partnerships are much harder to implement than others. However, the time invested is well worth it, for the higher quality and complementarity of the research generated.

<table><caption>Table 1.1: List of colleagues in Social Sciences implicated in the research projects I have led</caption><thead><tr><th>Project I have led</th><th>Colleagues in Social Sciences</th><th>Precise field of expertise</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>TurtleTable(t)</td><td>Géraldine BODY</td><td>Psychology and ergonomics</td></tr><tr><td>TGRIS</td><td>Isabelle VINATIER</td><td>Professional training didactics</td></tr><tr><td>SMART-Fractions</td><td>Nicolas PELAY</td><td>Math didactics</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="3">SituLearn</td><td>Christine VIDAL-GOMEL</td><td>Educational Science</td></tr><tr><td>Aurélie LAINE</td><td>Psychology and ergonomics</td></tr><tr><td>Robin HERON</td><td>Psychology and ergonomics</td></tr><tr><td>MIXAP</td><td>Cendrine MERCIER</td><td>Educational Science</td></tr></tbody></table>

Without claiming to be experts in multi-disciplinary collaboration, one of these colleagues and I wrote a paper on our experience for a workshop on TEL research epistemology (Marfisi-Schottman and Vinatier, 2020). This workshop lead to several contributions such as an overview of the answers provided by Computer Science and Social Sciences researchers related to research methods, tools and objectives (Mandran, 2023). The objective of our contribution was to provide a guideline to help young (and not so young) researchers in TEL set up collaborative projects. Our feedback is summarized as seven points of interactions or tensions that may exist between researchers in these two fields (Figure 1.9). Let us briefly present each of these points.

<figure><img src="image_28.png" /></figure>

**Research objectives:** Each researcher has more or less long-term objectives throughout their research career, such as our two research objectives presented above. In order to have consistency in their research, researchers will favor certain types of projects and only partially invest in others. In order for a collaborative project to be successful, it must be in line with the personal objectives of each researcher involved. For example, in our TGRIS project, Isabelle VINATIER's objective was to make educational counselors more autonomous in their professional
<figure><img src="image_29.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1.9: Interactions and tensions in collaborative multidisciplinary TEL projects</figcaption></figure>

training and my objective was to create authoring tools to enable teachers to create their own educational tools. Our goals were perfectly in line with one another.

<figure><img src="image_30.png" /></figure>

**Learning theory:** It is also important that researchers agree on a common learning theory such as those presented in the first part of this chapter. For example, in the SituLearn project, our objective was to create digital tools to encourage collaborative situated learning during school field trips. For this project, we agreed with our colleges in psychology to work with the socio-constructivist and the situated learning theories.

<figure><img src="image_31.png" /></figure>

**Use of digital tools:** Researchers should also agree on the way the digital environment is going to be used and the identity of the primary end-user. This has an impact on the contributions of each partner. One possible stance is that the digital tool detains all the knowledge and is intended to be used by learners autonomously (e.g., TurtleTable(t) and SMART-Fraction). For these projects, computer scientists and social scientists design the TEL environment together and analyze the way the tools are used, or misused, by the students to improve them. The second
stance involves authoring tools that enable teachers to create their own digital tools and person-
alize the content (e.g., SituLearn and MIXAP). In this situation, teachers are the final users. For
these projects computer scientists design the models and authoring tools adapted to the needs
of teachers and researches in social science focus firstly on the appropriation of these tools by
teachers, and then on their impact on students.

<figure><img src="image_32.png" /></figure>

**Research evaluation method:** Evaluation methods are open to discussion. Indeed, there are many ways to evaluate the relevance of research, but they are more or less recognized in each discipline. Following a pragmatic constructivist research method, we combined multiple evaluation methods to obtain experimental data. For instance with the TGRIS project, we conducted a comparative study with a test group. We developed a pre-test and post-test to evaluate learning outcome in addition to using interviews, questionnaires and fine-grain video analysis. When it is possible, we also conduct medium-term experiments in which the tools are left with the teachers for a couple of months (e.g., SMART-Fractions).

<figure><img src="image_33.png" /></figure>

**Publication strategy:** It goes without saying that the success of a project is measured, in part, by the number of publications it produces. In a multidisciplinary team, this can quickly become a point of friction, as there are very few conferences and journals that are recognized in more than one research domain (CNU sections in France). The practice we have is to each publish in our own field whilst including our fellow researchers as co-authors. This positive strategy has allowed us to multiply the number of accepted papers.

<figure><img src="image_34.png" /></figure>

**Research financing:** The future of multidisciplinary projects such as ours depends entirely on funding. Because funds are notoriously difficult to obtain in Social Sciences, all of our projects were funded exclusively by the computer science team. Inter-laboratory contracts were set up in order to transfer part of the money to our fellow researchers in Social Sciences and thus even out the funding balance.

<figure><img src="image_35.png" /></figure>

**Interpersonal relationships:** Finally, for a collaboration to work well, people must respect and trust each other. These strong interpersonal relationships are essential in creating a positive working environment where skills are recognized and solutions are found when tensions arise. It is necessary to go beyond mutual understanding in order to build something together. Each researcher must "make room and leave space" for the other (others). This is only possible if each researcher knows how to silence his ego ;)

## 4.2 Working with teachers and their students

We create TEL systems in order to serve teachers and, in no way, to replace them. We co-design and test all our TEL systems with teachers as well as their students. Our research fully embraces the School-University partnerships philosophy (also called SUP), that aims at improving the quality of teacher education and research by sharing knowledge and experiences (Burton and Greher, 2007). Like Egenfeldt-Nielsen (2004) and Marne (2014), we believe that in order for a TEL system to be fully effective and adopted by teachers, the latter must have a central place
in their design, whether it be from the very beginning of the process (RO 1), or by providing them with authoring tools so that they can create their own digital applications autonomously or modify them if they already exist (RO 2). As shown in Table 1.2, all the projects I have led involve pilot teachers. The exploratory projects (RO 1) involve a small number of pilot teachers (3 to 6) and the projects on authoring tools (RO 2) much more (17 in total for SituLearn and 19 for MIXAP). The *Ludifik’action* project involves 104 teachers and education designers since it takes the form of a training course carried out over several years.

<table><caption>Table 1.2: Number of pilot teachers involved in the projects I have led</caption><thead><tr><td>Project I have led</td><td>Number of pilot teachers involved</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>TurtleTable(t)</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>TGRIS</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>SMART-Fractions</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>Jen-planet</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>SituLearn</td><td>21 - 7 for Jem-INVENTOR, 4 for REVERIEs and 10 for SituLearn</td></tr><tr><td>MIXAP</td><td>19</td></tr><tr><td>Ludifik’action</td><td>104 teachers and educational designers</td></tr></tbody></table>

The method used to work with these pilot teachers is inspired by the Design-Based Research (DBR) method (Carroll, 1996). This method was developed to address several central issues of TEL such as the need to find solutions with the end-users (teachers and students) and the need to study learning phenomena in the real world rather than in a laboratory (Collins et al., 2004). Although DBR is a powerful paradigm for addressing these needs, it also presents us with two major challenges. First of all, it implies co-designing the tools with the end-users in an iterative way. Researchers therefore need to develop not one, but several prototypes, in close collaboration with the end-users. It is therefore essential to identify a group of pilot teachers willing to participate in the design and the pre-testing of all the tools. This is not so easy given the fact that there is no simple official way of paying pilot teachers with funding from research projects. DBR also emphasizes the fact that the tools should be tested in real-world learning environments. The developed tools therefore need to be robust and functional on all types of mobile devices. In addition, these tools need to last long after the research project if we want to benefit from the teachers’ full collaboration. Our experience with several projects have proved how important it is to have robust tools for the experiments (Gicquel et al., 2019). After a few years of working with teachers, we therefore developed variations of the DBR method and strategies to be more efficient. These will be presented in the following chapter of this manuscript.

## 4.3 Have fun

We are so lucky to have a job in which we are given total liberty of thought and action. In any case, this is the way I feel in my research team at LIUM and I am very grateful for this.

I have found that having fun at work is an excellent way to motivate myself and get outstanding results. And even when the results are not as good as expected, the process was enjoyable
and failure can easily be put into perspective. I was first initiated to this philosophy during
my post-doctorate at the Swedish Institute of Computer Science. They would organize weekly
fun group activities related to research (pre-experimenting tools) or not (ping-pong tournament,
yoga, ice-skating and eating ice-cream).

As a researcher on SGs, I also feel we should use SGs for our everyday work when it is
possible, not only because we have proof of their effectiveness, but also to remain credible! This
is why I use gamification and game mechanics for some of my classes (UML and professional
training) and I try to use them as often as possible in my research projects. I have applied
the same principle to this accreditation diploma to supervise research (HDR) you are currently
reading so you might find some of the passages or its format a bit unusual. I felt the need to
transform this exercise into something more personal and fun. I hope it will also make it more
enjoyable to read ;)

## 4.4 Content of the manuscript

This manuscript is composed of four chapters. You have just read the first introductory chapter that presents the research content and objectives. The next two chapters present a synthesis of our main contributions and limitations. *Chapter 2* focuses on the first research objective (RO 1) and presents the methods, models and tools we have created to help design effective TEL. *Chapter 3* focuses on the second research objective (RO 2) and presents the adaptable models and authoring tools we created for specific types of TEL systems. The last chapter takes a detailed look at my future research plans.

If you want to discover several TEL systems to learn fractions, the basics of computer
programming or how to control your emotions, go to page 61, (Chapter 2).

I want to skip the early projects and understand how we designed several authoring
tools for teachers, go to page 99, (Chapter 3).

If you are the curious type and just want to know about the future, go to page 137, (Chapter 4).

If you are feeling lazy, you can always just scroll through this manuscript until you find the
“Take away message” page at the end of each chapter.
TAKE AWAY MESSAGE

Our research is in the field of **Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL)**. This field is, by nature, multi-disciplinary as it is built on learning and teaching theories (from Social Sciences) but also technical innovations (from the Computer Science).

Our research contributes to three branches of Technology-Enhanced Learning:

* Serious Games

* Mobile Learning

* innovative Human-Computer Interactions for learning

These branches raise several common research challenges such as complex and multi-disciplinary design that involves actors who are not always available, high production costs and the need to democratize their use in schools. We therefore focus on two main research objectives:

* RO 1: Provide methods, models and tools to help all necessary actors design effective TEL systems.

* RO 2: Provide adaptable models and authoring tools to facilitate the development of TEL systems, and thus increase their acceptability and use by teachers.

Our research projects, aimed at these objectives, were all conducted with colleagues in the Social Sciences. The TEL systems were also co-designed and tested with pilot teachers and their students and last but not the least: we had fun!
<figure><img src="image_36.png" /></figure>
<figure><img src="image_37.png" /></figure>

# CHAPTER 2

## Methods, Models and Tools

Facilitating the design of effective technology-enhanced learning systems
CHAPTER 2

# METHODS, MODELS AND TOOLS

## Facilitating the Design of Effective Technology-Enhanced
Learning Systems

### Contents

<table><tr><td>1</td><td>Introduction</td><td>61</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Research context and questions</td><td>62</td></tr><tr><td>2.1</td><td>Understanding how game mechanics, ML and HCI can be used to enhance learning</td><td>62</td></tr><tr><td>2.2</td><td>Providing an access to existing Serious Games</td><td>63</td></tr><tr><td>2.3</td><td>Helping teachers create their own innovative educational tools with the available resources and staff</td><td>65</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Contributions</td><td>66</td></tr><tr><td>3.1</td><td>Game mechanics, ML and HCI to support learning</td><td>66</td></tr><tr><td>3.2</td><td>JEN-planet: A Serious Game catalogue to help teachers find suitable existing Serious Games</td><td>79</td></tr><tr><td>3.3</td><td>Support and follow-up method to help teachers create their own educational tools</td><td>86</td></tr><tr><td>3.4</td><td>Conclusions</td><td>92</td></tr><tr><td>3.5</td><td>Related publications</td><td>95</td></tr></table>

## 1 Introduction

This chapter focuses on our efforts to achieve the first research objective, which is to provide methods, models and tools for designing effective TEL systems (Figure 2.1). It will be recalled that this research objective corresponds to challenges in our three main research branches. For Serious Games (SGs), the challenges are choosing the right game mechanics and integrating them correctly into the educational content ($C1^{SG}$) and proving the effectiveness of these game mechanics which are constantly called into question in educational contexts ($C2^{SG}$). For Mobile Learning (ML), the challenge addressed is to use geolocation and augmentations, available thought smartphone sensors, to foster authentic situated learning ($C1^{ML}$). And finally, for innovative Human-Computer Interactions (CHI) for learning, the challenge concerned here is to choose the appropriate technology according to the educational objectives ($C1^{CHI}$).
<figure><img src="image_38.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2.1: First research objective</figcaption></figure>

We try to achieve this first objective by focusing on three main research axes. First of all, we have led several exploratory projects aimed at **identifying the best game mechanics, ML and HCI to enhance learning**. These projects have allowed us to explore the potential of innovative TEL systems in specific domains in order to provide design guidelines for future research. We have also proposed a practical implementation of the Design-Based Research method to find the appropriate game mechanics, ML and HCI with the help of teachers and other stakeholders.

The second axes we have pursued is to **help teachers find existing TEL systems**. Even though this is not strictly related to designing effective TEL, existing systems can be reused in new educational contexts or provide inspiration for the design of new TEL systems. It is therefore in line with our first objective. To be more precise, we will focus on helping teachers find one specific type of TEL systems: SGs. We have developed an automatically-updating SG catalogue with a data extraction model capable of scraping information from websites. This catalogue can also be used by researchers to find existing SGs and analyze them to build on this experience. As you will see, finding existing SGs is currently not that easy.

The third and last research axes we have chosen is to propose a **training method to help teachers create their own TEL systems with the available resources and staff**. We primarily focus on the creation of SGs at a university level, but the proposed method could be used in other contexts.

# 2 Research context and questions

## 2.1 Understanding how game mechanics, ML and HCI can be used to enhance learning

Understanding how game mechanics, ML and HCI can be used to enhance learning is a tricky question that is far from being answered. In his book, Jesse Schell explains that game design is currently more of an art than a science (Schell, 2019). There is no unified theory of game design and no straightforward formula to make a game. He compares the current situation to that of the ancient alchemists. Before Mendeleïev discovered the periodic table that links all the elements together, alchemists would use a combination of methods learned through experimentation. These methods were incomplete, sometimes erroneous and mystical, but alchemists were capable of obtaining impressive results and it was their determination to understand the
underlying mechanisms that led to modern chemistry.

This is pretty much the situation in SG design (essentially game design with an extra dose of educational complexity) but also for TEL design with innovative technologies such as ML and HCI. There is currently no unified theory. But do not get me wrong, the TEL community has been working hard on finding one and we already have a great number of **design principles** that can be applied. These design principles are the bricks that TEL researchers can build on to discover new principles and elaborate wider theories. Producing good quality bricks is essential and researchers in educational sciences have turned to a method called **Design-Based Research (DBR)**. This method, developed in the early 2000s, is composed of several iterative cycles of design, testing, evaluation and reflection. It is fundamentally **user-center** (teachers are involved from the very beginning of the project) and **grounded in real world settings** (the tests are carried out in real classrooms) (Collective, 2003).

The use of DBR in TEL also takes inspiration from older methods, such as action research (Wann 1953) but also User-Experience design (UX-design), participatory design and co-design methods. However, DBR is quite vague concerning the ways that it can be used, especially for designing complex TEL systems that implicate many actors. Should all actors be implicated from the start? At what stage should the technology be introduced so as not to curb the imagination process?

We therefore have two research questions:

- RQ1. How can we use game mechanics, ML and HCI to enhance learning?

- RQ2. What practical design method should we use to create effective TEL?

To answer the first research question, we propose to participate in this epic journey towards a unified TEL design theory by adding a few bricks of design principles for specific educational contexts and objectives. Through three research projects, we have explored the potential of TEL systems for enhancing collaboration among middle-school students learning the basics of computer programming (TurtleTable(t) project), for facilitating the comprehension of fractions on a number line (SMART-Fractions project) and for helping professionals control their emotions in complicated situations (TGRIS project). After using the DBR method for these three projects, we also propose a practical implementation of this method for innovative TEL, by identifying the important work sessions and productions that should be carried out during each phase and the actors that should participate.

## 2.2 Providing an access to existing Serious Games

The objective of this second research axis is to help teachers use SGs in their class without having to create them, which is a very costly and time-consuming endeavor.

Today, more than 800 SGs are available, in a wide range of educational fields, from kindergarten to professional training (Morie et al., 2020c). And yet, there is no easy way to find them. Indeed, on a common search engine, one only finds well-referenced SGs, which are quite expensive and require specific equipment (e.g., a game console). Often teachers do not have this type of equipment in their schools and the SGs are not always suitable for their pedagogical needs (Marfisi-Schottman et al., 2011), (Palé, 2018). Teachers may also come upon a few SG catalogues, but these have several serious limitations.

One issue is that there is no common data offering a large selection and variety of SGs.
The four catalogues that presently provide more than 50 SGs also reference SGs that are not
related to learning at all (but rather designed for advertising, politics or recruiting). For instance,
the *SeriousGameClassification* catalogue provides 3 300 SGs, with only 12% educational oriented
SGs, while the *MobyGames* catalogue provides 120 342 SGs, with only 0,2% addressing education.
This makes it very hard for teachers to find educational SGs (Gibson et al., 2007). A second
issue is that catalogues, that only list educational SGs, provide a limited selection because they
only focus on one specific subject or specific user age. For example, *Vocabulary Spelling City* has
42 SGs *that focus exclusively on* English spelling. Similarly, catalogues provided by educational
SG publishers such as *IKIGAI* (with 14 SGs) or *MIT Arcade* (with 7 SGs) only list the few SGs
they have developed.

In addition, each catalogue uses its own metadata schema to describe the information about SGs and none of them meet teachers’ needs. For example, the *SeriousGameClassification* catalogue uses the G/P/S (Gameplay/Purpose/Scope) schema (Djaouti, 2016). Gameplay provides information about the game’s graphic and the type of game. Purpose details the targeted market (e.g., health, military, education, politics). Finally, scope refers to the age and category of the targeted users (e.g., students, professionals) (Alvarez et al., 2017). The *MobyGames* catalogue classifies games according to the platform (e.g., PC, Android, or Nintendo), the year of publication, the type of game (e.g., visual, board game or shooter) and the legal rating of the game (e.g., PEGI). It is clear that these classification criteria are of very limited use when one is interested in the pedagogical aspects of SGs. For instance, there is no information available about the discipline or the educational objectives. These metadata models, designed to describe mostly non-educational SGs, do not provide relevant information for teachers (Aouadi et al., 2015), (El Borji and Khaldi, 2014).

Finally SG catalogues need to be user-friendly. Many existing catalogues use limited search-
ing tools. For example, in *SeriousGameClassification*, all filters are in checkbox format with
predefined values, regardless of the information described. Offering only this format forces the
user to check boxes among those available even if their values do not correspond to their real
needs. For example, a teacher who wants SGs for learners aged 6 to 13 will have to check the
boxes 3 to 7, 8 to 12 and 13 to 16. The search will then return SGs outside the required age
range. Another example, taken from the *MobyGames* catalogue: the filters offer endless value
lists, without the possibility of searching by keyword. To find SGs that work on tablets or smart-
phones, teachers need to go through the list of 270 platforms offered. In addition, the search
filters disappear from the result page, forcing teachers to go back to the previous page to adjust
the search if the results are not satisfactory.

All these issues can be summaries by three additional research questions:

-RQ3. What metadata schema is most suitable for educational SGs?

-RQ4. What models are needed to automatically extract information about SGs on the Internet?

-RQ5. What catalogue interface will best help teachers find existing SGs?

Our approach to tackling these questions is pragmatic. We have created a new metadata
schema for SGs by merging several existing SG metadata schemas in the literature. With the help
of teachers and, based on information provided by SG publishers, we then reduced the number of
entries (initially more than 80) to a functional minimum (23) in order to encourage SG publishers
to fill out this minimal information. We also developed an automatic indexing model capable of
extracting information automatically from existing catalogues and web pages. Concerning the
catalogue's interface, we have designed an original method allowing teachers to edit filters and decide on their type and position on the interface. All these propositions have been implemented in **JEN-planet**, an automatically-updating educational-SG-exclusive catalogue with more than 800 SGs.

### 2.3 Helping teachers create their own innovative educational tools with the available resources and staff

Teaching needs to evolve towards using more active and interactive methods so as to keep students motivated and involved in school (Kurganovna et al., 2022), (Niemi, 2002). Many teachers therefore feel the need to change the activities they offer or the way they teach. Some of them have heard of SGs or Gamification through the media or publications. Educational escape games were a big hit a few years ago. Others hear of tools used by their colleagues or promoted by their school or university such as Moodle (e-learning platform), H5P (mini-game editor), Moovly (animated video editor) or Wooclap and Kahoot (voting systems on smartphones to use during lectures). But how to get started? What is the right educational tool? Who can they contact to get help? To create a SG, for example, teachers ideally need to work with a game designer and an entire team of developers, but where can they find such a team and how can they possibly pay for their services? Teachers often feel at a loss and need help identifying the resources and contacts they need before engaging on their quest. As we have scientific proof of the effectiveness of SGs, we believe it is crucial to encourage them.

This leads to two additional research questions:

- RQ6. What is the most efficient method to help teachers create their own innovative educational tools with the available resources and staff?

- RQ7. What guidelines can we provide to encourage teachers to get started on a SG project?

Seven years ago, the universities in the western region of France decided to merge (Université Bretagne Loire) to set up common services, including professional training. At that time, our lab was identified as a TEL expert and I was asked to set up a first training session to help university teachers create SGs. The training session, which we called *Ludifik'action*, helped teachers create their own SGs with the available resources and staff members of the university. They objective is to help them create a prototype and test it with their students within five months. The type of SG was chosen based on each teacher's needs and constraints. Some would create card games, board-games, role-playing games or even simple digital games with free editors and tools found online. Even though the training session did promote SGs, some teachers created ML applications or used HCI with QRCodes. The training session, which still goes on today, produces all types of innovative educational tools, not necessarily digital TEL systems, and not necessarily SGs. It is obviously just a first step since the design of a proper educational tool requires several iterations, but the objective is to give the participating teachers a positive experience and motivate them to continue. As you will see, 35% of them did continue by perfecting their prototype, creating other educational tools or even by helping colleagues create their own tools.

In the middle of the first training session, the universities unmerged for political reasons, but I wanted to finish what I had started. The results were so unexpectedly remarkable that I decided to continue the year after. After seven years, with more than 100 teachers trained and 32 educational tools created, I believe we have perfected a training method that can be used by
other trainers and in other contexts. We have also identified 10 simple guidelines to help teachers
get started on their adventure.

# 3 Contributions

## 3.1 Game mechanics, ML and HCI to support learning

The research presented in this section tackles:

- RQ1. How can we use game mechanics, ML and HCI to enhance learning?

- RQ2. What practical design method should we use to create effective TEL?

As explained in the introduction, designing innovative TEL systems is not easy and requires
more empirical studies and experiments to provide clear design principles and models. We have
participated in this research by designing several innovative TEL systems with the **Design-Based Research (DBR)** method to investigate the effectiveness of game mechanics, ML and
HCI for learning in various context. In the next sections, we will present three projects.

The **TurtleTable(t)** project uses game mechanics and tangible objects to encourage collaborative learning of basic computer programming in middle school. The second project, **SMART-Fractions**, uses game mechanics and Mixed Reality to teach fractions in primary and middle school (my third PhD student, Sofiane TOUEL is currently writing his thesis on this particular project). The last project, **TGRIS**, uses Virtual Reality in order to help adults better manage their emotions in complicated professional situations.

We will briefly present the findings for each project. What was the practical problem we wanted to address? What were the state of the art design principles that our work was based on? What is our proposed TEL system? And lastly, what are the new design principles (new bricks for the research community) that were developed?

Finally, after using the DBR method for these three projects (and the four other projects presented in the next chapter), we propose a **pragmatic implementation of DBR** with clear work sessions and productions for each phase. This implementation is specifically intended for TEL projects that use innovative technology such as Mixed Reality or Virtual Reality, which teachers are not familiar with.

### 3.1.1 TurtleTable(t): Collaborative game with tangible objects to learn the basics of computer programming

**Practical problem**

Computer programming was added to the official curriculum in French middle-schools in 2016 while the program to train teachers to computer programming only started in 2019 and there are still very few positions for recruiting such teachers. Consequently, computer programming is taught by teachers who are not trained and this will realistically still be the case for a while. There is an urgent need for course material and activities that can self-correct.

Such an early introduction to computer programming also aims at encouraging more girls to embrace careers in this field (Mannila et al., 2022). However, many children, and especially young girls, experience anxiety related to math and more generally scientific-related activities (Owolabi
et al., 2014). It is therefore important to make this first contact with the field as enjoyable as
possible

State of the Art

Teachers currently use computer programming activities provided in books. They mainly use
block coding and unplugged activities, which can be done without a computer or special equip-
ment. One example is the collaborative game *StupidRobot*. Played by three players, one pupil
constructs an algorithm with "move forward", "turn-right" and "turn-left" cards, another exe-
cutes it by pointing at the current card, and the last pupil makes the moves on a board or a tiled
floor. Like this game, all unplugged activities are carried out in teams of two or three students,
and collaboration plays an important role. Not only is collaboration an important skill in the
curriculum, but it increases motivation and significantly improves student performance (Johnson
et al., 1981), (Cassone et al., 2021).

Finally, several researches offer empirical evidence that the use of tangible objects on interac-
tive tabletops fosters student motivation and may also enhance collaborative learning, especially
for children who are used to learning by manipulating objects (Kubicki et al., 2015), (Schubert
et al., 2012).

Propositions: *TurtleTable*(t), a collaborative game with tangible objects

*TurtleTable(t)* is a collaborative game inspired by the *StupidRobot* game presented above. The players need to move **pawns on a grid, following the instructions of the program** on the screen (Figure 2.2). The game indicates if the instructions were executed correctly or not, in real-time (the code line is colored green or red), thus allowing players to understand the principles of how a computer executes a program. Each time the pawn moves, it draws a line that, little by little, create a drawing (in reference to the *LOGO turtle*). The total number of errors is summed up and small animations appear as a reward when the level is completed without errors. This encourages players to think before acting.

The game offers 20 levels that progressively introduce algorithmic concepts (variables, loops and conditions). The difficulty increases as the codes become longer and concepts are combined (as in the last level shown in *Figure 2.2*).

In order to encourage collaboration between players, the game can be played with **tangible objects that are recognized by the screen**. The use of such objects have shown great potential for learner engagement and learning outcome (Kubicki et al., 2015), (Schubert et al., 2012). We also believed that the fact that each player has a personal object they need to manipulate, in turn, to advance in the game, would encourage collaboration. In *TurtleTable(t)*, the objects are used to move and turn the paws on the grid and the game is designed in such a way that the players need to coordinate their actions to progress. We developed several versions of the game for interactive tabletops, tablets and PCs, for 2 to 3 players. The game also works with tactile interactions (using fingers) or the mouse and arrows on the keyboard.

Experimentation

*TurtleTable(t)* was developed over three years of iterative cycles and testing in classes. The first version, called *TurtleTable*, was developed for interactive tabletops. The pilot teachers were so enthusiastic that we adapted the game to tablets, which are much more affordable. This forced us to rethink the entire interface but also to find new technical solutions to recognize tangi-
<figure><img src="image_39.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2.2: Interface and tangible objects for the TurtleTablet collaborative game</figcaption></figure>

ble objects on the tablets' capacitive screens, which are very different from interactive tabletop screens. Comparative experiments were led with more than 300 students to analyze the effect of the interactions (tangible objects, tactile interactions, mouse and keyboard) and the size of the screens (tablet vs. interactive tabletop) (Figure 2.3). Some students even built and customized their own tangible objects, with a 3D printer and conductive paint, by following the construction guide. The students answered pre-test and post-test questions after playing the game (1-hour session). Interesting observations were also made after analyzing the interactions between players through videos and self-confrontation interviews.

<figure><img src="image_40.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2.3: Comparative studies led with TurtleTable(t)</figcaption></figure>

## Design principles

The experiments and results are described in detail in (Marfisi-Schottman et al., 2018). Here are
the main design principles that were formulated based on the results of this project.

* The use of personal tangible objects can **encourage collaboration** among learners in situations where one student is in difficulty. The other students will be more likely to provide help by explaining, verbally, what the code means and the movements they should be doing instead of simply doing the movement themselves.

* The positive effect of personal tangible objects seems to apply not only to large interactive displays but also to **small affordable tablet screens**.

* The use of tangible objects seems to have a **positive effect on mastering the change of spatial reference system** that is a competency used in computer programming but also in geometry and logic.

### 3.1.2 SMART-Fractions: Mixed Reality game to apprehend the representation of fractions on a number line

#### Practical problem

Fractions are one of the most complex and challenging notions for children to master and can often lead to frustration and a revulsion for mathematics in general (Behr and Post, 1993). The ultimate objective is to understand the concept of fractions as **rational numbers** (p divided by q), that can be placed on a **number line** (Gunderson et al., 2019). However, this notion is too complex for children. Fractions are therefore usually first introduced as **parts of an object** (e.g., parts of pizza or cake). This simplified representation helps children grasp the concept but creates several didactic obstacles such as misunderstanding that a fraction cannot be greater than one. The fact that the objects are different can also lead to a misunderstanding of fraction equivalences. Indeed, a portion of pizza and a portion of cake do not seem equivalent, even if the pizza and the cake have the same weight. Children therefore need didactic tools that can help them understand the links between the various representations of fractions (Silver et al., 1983) to overcome these difficulties (Cramer et al., 2002). In addition, these didactic tools should be presented in a fun and empowering context, to motivate even the most reluctant children.

Several SGs have been designed to teach fractions in a fun way such as the *Potion Workshop*, a board game designing by math didacticians and used in more than 2000 French schools (Boissiere and Pelay, 2018). The objective of this game is to make a magic potion by finding the right fractions of ray, frog, spider and snake. The learners manipulate geometric shapes representing these four animals, and can test if their answer is correct by placing the pieces of ingredients on shapes drawn in the answer key grimoire. If the potion is correct, the pieces cover the entire shape exactly, without going over the lines or leaving a visible section. Even though this validation method is ingenious, it limits the combination of math activities that can be proposed and the teachers that use this game felt the need to constantly help students by providing additional feedback that could not be given by the board game (Pelay, 2019). In addition, the *Potion Workshop*, like all the other fraction games we have encountered, only focuses on one form of representation (i.e., parts of an object) and does not help connect several forms (i.e., the number line). Yet, the Rational Number Project Collective clearly states that children understand fractions better when they are taught with several representations and by making connections between them (Cramer et al., 2002), (Behr and Post, 1993).
State of the Art

Based on previous research, Mixed Reality (MR) seems to be a good solution to all of these problems. First of all, this technology can provide immediate contextualized feedback (Andrea et al., 2019) and auto-correction (Palaigeorgiou et al., 2019) because it can recognize the game pieces chosen by the players and display virtual information on top of them. In addition, the fact that MR can be used with real objects facilitates learning, according to the theory of embodied cognition. Secondly, concerning fractions, MR can be used to display several forms of representation dynamically. It can recognize parts of an object (e.g., ¼ pizza) and immediately display another form of representation (e.g., rational number or a position on a number line) thus helping students make the connection. This design principle is already used in several fields such as 2D and 3D geometry (Andrea et al., 2019), (Liou et al., 2017) but not yet for fractions. Finally, MR can increase student motivation and engagement (Chen, 2019), which could reduce math anxiety.

Proposition: The Magic Cauldron Mixed Reality game

The *Magic Cauldron* is a MR SG for learning fractions. It is intended for children from 9 to 11 years old and provides a 30 to 45-minute game scenario that can be played in autonomy. The scenario puts the players in the shoes of a sorcerer's apprentice who discovers a magic cauldron. Unfortunately, Arkan, a devilish creature, freezes the cauldron's magic and the children have to recalibrate it by completing several math activities. As shown in *Figure 2.4*, learners manipulate game pieces that are sections of geometric shapes, representing four types of animals: ray, frog, spider and snake. These game pieces are inspired by the *Potion Workshop* presented above. The experts in math didactics who designed this game participated in our project. Our intention was to keep the same game pieces to help students transfer the knowledge acquired on fractions with the board game to the next part of the curriculum: the number line. When the game pieces are placed in the cauldron, under the tablet, augmentations appear on the screen such as the value of the piece (e.g., "1/4") and the equivalent section on the number line below (e.g., a quarter of the number line from 0 to 1). Depending on the exercise, the values displayed at the beginning and end of the number line, called the "magimeter", can vary (e.g., 0 to 1 or 0 to 2), and it can also be broken down into sections (half, third, quarter, etc.). Students can ask Ekko, the little ghost who has been guarding the cauldron for 1000 years, for help at any time, by clicking on the "?" button. These aids were defined by the pilot teachers after testing the game with a first class.

The game consists of three types of learning activities (Figure 2.5). In the first type of activity, the children need to place a fraction on the number line. If they need help, they can use the game pieces (a representation that they are familiar with). When the pieces are placed in the cauldron, the equivalent section appears on the number line (red section in the first image of Figure 2.5) and the learners simply have to move the cursor to the end of it. The second activity follows the same principle. However, this time, learners cannot use the ingredients. Instead, they can divide the number line in 1 to 10 sections (not all options are always available). When children move the cursor on the number line, the application shows, in Augmented Reality, the shapes of the ingredients in the cauldron (same shape and size as the real game pieces). Finally, the third type of activity consists in finding and placing the right ingredients in the cauldron to match the value indicated by the cursor on the number line. Learners need to accomplish six exercises for each of these activity types. They gradually become more difficult, including fractions greater than one.
<figure><img src="image_41.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2.4: The Magic Cauldron Game material</figcaption></figure>

**Experimentation**

Several experiments have measured the impact of the *Magic Cauldron* on learning. The first helped adjust the activities, simplify the game material and identify the moments when the students potentially needed help in order to create the feedback provided by Ekko. The second involved 228 students in three different schools. It was a comparative study to measure the level of progression among students who used the *Magic Cauldron* and among those who were in a classic learning setting. The last experiment took place over a period of several months with the same students. The objective was to see if the teachers would reuse the SG and how.

**Design principles**

The experiments and results are described in detail in Touel et al. (2023) and in the PhD thesis Sofiane TOUEL is currently writing. Here are the main design principles that were discovered during this project.

* The use of Mixed Reality **helps learners progress in the comprehension of fractions** as well as a classic course, provided by a teacher, does.

* The use of Mixed Reality and game mechanics **reduces math anxiety** as much as a classic course.

* The feedback and automatic corrections provided by Mixed Reality **give learners more** autonomy than in a classic course.
<figure><img src="image_42.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2.5: Three types of activities for learning fractions in the Magic Cauldron</figcaption></figure>

* The use of a storyline and endearing characters makes the learning process **more enjoyable** for learners than in a classic course.

### 3.1.3 TGRIS: Authentic Virtual Reality simulation for emotional management in professional situations

#### Practical problem

In France, **pedagogical counselors** meet with novice teachers two to five times a year. They usually observe a teaching session and discuss what can be improved during a counseling session. However, when faced with displays of aggression, defeat or even tears (which happens about 20% of the time) some counselors feel destabilized and powerless. In 2014, 15 pedagogical counselors in the Nantes region took the initiative of sharing their experience in order to solve this problem, in collaboration with a Social Science research laboratory (CREN). They started recording and transcribing the parts of their counseling sessions that they considered as problematic. The analysis of these transcripts showed that the problem came from **their difficulty to understand and deal with the emotions displayed by the novice teachers** (Vinatier, 2015). In addition, dealing with someone else's emotions is complex because they inevitably **trigger our own emotions**. This is due to the mirror neurons effect identified by Rizzolatti et al. (2007). Emotions can also be very difficult to express because they are made of multiple intertwined mechanisms and related to **subjective experiences** (Cahour, 2008). Learning how to deal with someone's emotions therefore implies being capable of identifying and understanding one's own emotions.

Unfortunately, the professional training program for pedagogical counselors in France does not help them deal with emotions. The transcripts do not contain any information about the teacher's posture, gestures, facial expression or voice intonation, which are all essential in identifying emotions. The counselors felt the need for a new approach to help them recognize and deal with the emotions at stake during counseling sessions, both those of the novice teachers and their own. But how can one simulate realistic situations and generate emotions?

#### State of the Art

In the field of TEL, numerous researchers have proposed models and tools to automatically identify and represent students' emotions on dashboards for teachers (Leony et al., 2013), (D'Mello and Graesser, 2013). EMODASH, for example, is a multimodal dashboard that helps teachers identify and take into account the emotions of their students (remote teaching) when writing their
weekly reports (Ez-zaouia et al., 2020). In these research projects, the tools detect and show the
emotions to the teachers. This method is not adapted to our context because the pedagogical
counselors need to feel the emotions themselves in order to identify them and find a way to deal
with them.

Virtual environments, such as *VTS Editor* aim to simulate realistic situations to improve professional skills (Lucas et al., 2013). In particular, **Embodied Conversational Agents** are often used to practice communication and interview skills. However, these interview simulations are far from authentic. Indeed, the learners alternatively watch a virtual agent or a video of a real actor and then choose a predefined answer. This has three major disadvantages for teaching. First of all, the learners do not work on their oral communication skills. Second, they do not work on constructing their own sentences and finally, the learners do not practice their non-verbal communication, such as intonation, posture or facial expressions.

*ViTA* (Burke et al., 2018), *TARDIS* (Anderson et al., 2013) and *MACH* (Hoque et al., 2013) offer much more natural interactions. These systems allow learners to train for job interviews by freely formulating answers to the questions of a virtual recruiter. These systems are capable of detecting certain key words to adapt the interactions. However, this logic only works for simulating interviews where the agent leads the conversation and there is only a slight need to adapt the reactions to what the learner says.

**Virtual Reality (VR)** is the latest breakthrough in interview simulations. VR headsets allow immersive and emotional simulations to be created. Several researchers have proven the effectiveness of such environments for teaching prompt decision making in stressful environments (Ponder et al., 2003), helping people with psychiatric disabilities train for job interviews (Bell and Weinstein, 2011) and helping people overcome their social phobia (Brinkman et al., 2012). These studies show that VR simulations are capable of triggering emotions that are very similar to those felt in the real world settings. In order to create authentic simulations that trigger these emotions, the virtual agents and the elements of the virtual environment are piloted, in real time, by a teacher or a therapist.

**Proposition: TGRIS – Teacher-Guided Realistic Interview Simulator**

The goal of *TGRIS* (Teacher-Guided Realistic Interview Simulator) is to allow pedagogical coun-
selors to experience problematic counseling interviews. Ideally, these simulations will help them
relive emotions they felt in similar situations and, with the help if their peers, find a way to deal
with these complex and subjective feelings. It is not intended to replace either the analysis of
the transcribed interviews or the role-play sessions that are currently used to train counselors.
As shown in *Figure 2.6*, the pedagogical counselor wears a VR headset and talks directly to
the embodied conversational agent (playing the role of a novice teacher). Before starting the
simulation, the trainer chooses the appearance of the virtual agent and selects a context (e.g.,
the teacher is not paying attention and the kids are climbing on the tables). Before starting
the simulation, counselors are given time to remember a real similar situation that they were
confronted with, in order to immerse themselves in the simulation. The other counselors observe
the simulation which will be analyzed collectively during the debriefing session that follows each
simulation.

During the simulation, the virtual agent's reactions are triggered, in real time, by the trainer,
through the control interface. The trainer controls the sentences, the non-verbal reactions such
as crossing arms, raising shoulders or looking down and the emotions displayed by the agent
<figure><img src="image_43.png" /></figure>

The leaner does the simulation, piloted, in
real-time, by a peer, while the others watch.

<figure><img src="image_44.png" /></figure>

<figure><img src="image_45.png" /></figure>

The learner talks about their experience
and discusses strategies during a
debriefing session with peers.

<figure><img src="image_46.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2.6: Use of TGRIS for professional training</figcaption></figure>

(anger, anxiety, panic, joy or sadness). In order to simplify the control interface, the sentences are grouped in six categories. For example the category “refusal” contains sentences such as “I’m tired of such questions; you should be telling me.” The trainer can add new sentences as well as multi-modal interactions (sentence with the associated emotion and gestures) by editing a text file. All the content (sentences, gestures and emotions) available in the control panel were provided by the counselors themselves. They spent several months transcribing and analyzing more than 15 real interviews that were considered problematic, in order to extract the questions or answers that triggered these problems. TGRIS was used in the context of several peer-training sessions: these are led by a group of experienced counselors who have analyzed their own practice for over three years. They played the role of the trainer and spontaneously decided to play this role by groups of two (Figure 2.7).

<figure><img src="image_47.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2.7: TGRIS Control interface, configured and controlled by peers</figcaption></figure>
The virtual agent was developed with the GRETA system (Pelachaud, 2009). It has the specificity of providing a very large pallet of multimodal emotions, combining the tone of voice, facial expression and body language. In addition, the GRETA agents react to the sound of the learner's voice by nodding and shifting eye contact, giving the impression they are really listening. Thanks to these features, the virtual agents convey emotions and seem to have their own personality.

**Experimentation**

TGRIS went through four iterations of development and experiments from 2018 to 2022. The experiments took place every year, in June, during the counselors' professional training session. In total, 32 counselors tested TGRIS, including six expert counselors who also played the role of the trainer and piloted the agent. We led comparative studies between TGRIS simulations and the role-playing sessions the counselors usually use, but also between a VR and a screen version of TGRIS to measure if the use of a VR headset was really worth the extra cost and setup time.

**Design principles**

The experiments and results are described in detail in (Marfisi-Schottman, 2023). Here are the main design principles that were discovered during this project.

* Configuring a simulator with sentences and gestures extracted from real problematic situations enables **learners to relive emotions** they have felt before.

* The fact that the simulator only contains problematic situations and the virtual agent delivers them with no social filter creates **much harsher and destabilizing simulations** and this leads to richer debriefing sessions with peers.

* Virtual Reality helps **immerse the learners in the simulation**. They feel more emotions and are capable of better identifying them and hence reflecting on them during the debriefing session.

### 3.1.4 Design method for identifying the adapted technologies and using them to their full educational potential

The three projects presented above (TurtleTable(t), SMART-fractions and TGRIS), and the four projects that will be presented in the next chapter, all followed the **Design-Based Research (DBR)** method. However, all the articles and books we found on this method are very theoretical and do not offer practical guidelines as to how researchers and teachers should organize themselves. As presented in *Figure 2.8*, the DBR method is typically presented as four iterative phases (Reeves, 2006), (Wang and Hannafin, 2005), (Scott et al., 2020), (Sanchez and Monod-Ansaldi, 2015):

* 1. **Reflect**: analysis of practical problems and existing tools by researchers and teachers.

* 2. **Co-design**: collaborative design and development of solutions informed by existing design principles and technological innovations.

* 3. **Test**: iterative cycles of experimenting and refining of solutions in practice.