bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Creating Coherent Incidental Learning Journeys on Smartphones Using Feedback and Progress Indicators
Authors: Jones Ann , Gaved Mark , Kukulska-Hulme Agnes , Scanlon Eileen , Pearson Charlie , Lameras Petros , Dunwell Ian , Jones Jan
Published: March 2015

Although the motivating role of feedback and progress indicators is understood in formal learning, their role in supporting incidental mobile learning is less well understood. In this paper we argue that well-designed feedback and progress indicators (FPIs) offer guidance and structure that may encourage mobile app users to move from fragmented learning episodes towards a longer term, reflective learning journey. Drawing from relevant literature we consider how FPIs can be used in the EU-funded MASELTOV project which explores how a suite of smartphone apps can support recent immigrants to Europe to become integrated in their new cities. These apps allow learning episodes to be part of daily activities and interactions. The authors discuss what kinds of FPIs should be provided and introduce the SCAMP model which emphasises five types of FPIs- Social, Cognitive, Affective, Motivational and Progress. Finally, the authors provide examples of FPIs that will be used in the MASELTOV project.
A Literacy and Numeracy E-Learning Mobile Application for Pre-Schoolers
Authors: McCarroll Niall , Curran Kevin
Published: March 2015

The Northern Ireland pre-school curriculum promotes educational development through enabling learning environments and active learning through play and exploration. Enabling learning environments are rich in books, pictures, signs, symbols, rhymes, and multimedia technology. Through play and exploration, children are engaged in activities that interest and preoccupy them. The resources that are used as a context for play have an important bearing on the depth of learning experienced by a child. According to the Early Years Foundation Stage, from age 40 months, a child's literacy and numeracy can develop rapidly with the support of a wide range of interesting materials, activities, media, and technologies (Department for Education, 2008). The aim of this project is to create the “SmartFun” literacy and numeracy E-Learning application. “SmartFun” is a fun, engaging environment to promote the early learning of letters and numbers for pre-school and primary one children.
Modeling the Player
Authors: Konert Johannes , Gutjahr Michael , Göbel Stefan , Steinmetz Ralf
Published: March 2015

For adaptation and personalization of game play sophisticated player models and learner models are used in game-based learning environments. Thus, the game flow can be optimized to increase efficiency and effectiveness of gaming and learning in parallel. In the field of gaming still the Bartle model is commonly used due to its simplicity and good mapping to game scenarios, for learning the Learning Style Inventory from Kolb or Index of Learning Styles by Felder and Silverman are well known. For personality traits the NEO-FFI (Big5) model is widely accepted. When designing games, it is always a challenge to assess one player's profile characteristics properly in all three models (player/learner/personality). To reduce the effort and amount of dimensions and questionnaires a player might have to fill out, we proved the hypothesis that both, Learning Style Inventory and Bartle Player Types could be predicted by knowing the personality traits based on NEO-FFI. Thus we investigated the statistical correlations among the models by collecting answers to the questionnaires of Bartle Test, Kolb LSI 3.1 and BFI-K (short version of NEO-FFI). A study was conducted in spring 2012 with six school classes of grade 9 (12-14 year old students) in two different secondary schools in Germany. 74 students participated in the study which was offered optionally after the use of a game-based learning tool for peer learning. We present the results statistics and correlations among the models as well as the interdependencies with the student's level of proficiency and their social connectedness. In conclusion, the evaluation (correlation and regression analyses) proved the independency of the models and the validity of the dimensions. Still, especially for all of the playing style preferences of Bartle's model significant correlations with some of the analyzed other questionnaire items could be found. As no predictions of learning style preferences is possible on the basis of this studies data, the final recommendation for the development of game-based learning application concludes that separate modeling for the adaptation game flow (playing) and learn flow (learning) is still necessary.
Challenges in Game Design
Authors: Ursyn Anna
Published: March 2015

Electronic games and gaming can serve as the tools for visual solutions. It depends on the methods through which the games are delivered and the ways people think about electronic games. First, traditional and electronic gaming is described, and then, various goal-oriented game applications are discussed. Game features acting in favor of or against gaming complete this part of the book.
Green Chemistry
Authors: Coffey Mike
Published: March 2015

Games in a variety of formats are viable educational tools for a range of disciplines and students of all ages. However, the adoption of serious games within sciences is limited, particularly so in higher education (HE). This chapter describes the classroom adoption of an educational board game based on chemical production, pollution mitigation and green chemistry principles. Design and development considerations in creating the Green Chemistry game are outlined. The game is available free-of-charge as print-and-play files. Environmental sustainability concepts modeled in the game are described. Questionnaire-based feed-back is presented from chemistry HE tutors and from students at three institutions which trialed the game. Responses indicate there is a desire for more game resources in chemical science HE and that the activity is enjoyable and instructional. The educational objectives of the game are partially met through play but are enhanced by using supplementary activities, examples of which are described.
Four Strategies for Remote Workforce Training, Development, and Certification
Authors: Gibson Robert
Published: March 2015

Companies and organizations are increasingly turning to remote-based teleworkers to fill vital positions. This is due to a variety of circumstances, including increasing difficulty in locating and attracting potential employees who possess the requisite skills required for positions, locating potential employees who reside in close geographic proximity to the corporate facilities, high costs associated with relocating employees across the country or globe, and high costs associated with supporting a large, localized workforce. Therefore, developing and supporting a strong remote workforce becomes a critical business strategy and an important component of the corporate Value Chain. Providing ongoing training, development, and credentialing for these remote teleworkers can be challenging for many companies – despite technological advancements in recent years. In response, many companies are increasingly taking it upon themselves to provide workforce education and certification – bypassing traditional education formats in favor of emerging models for training, development, and competency certification. Four strategies/models are proposed in this chapter for training and credentialing remote teleworkers, including utilization of Open Systems, which are gaining popularity in corporations such as Google, the Khan Academy, and Autodesk; Badging and Open Badging, which are commonly used in corporations such as Samsung, NASA, and Disney; Gamification and 3D Simulation Strategies, which are used in a variety of corporate training; and Learning Support Managers, which are used by companies such as Apple, Inc.
Causal Modeling to Foster E-Participation in the Policy Decision-Making Life-Cycle
Authors: Piera Miquel Angel , Buil Roman , Ramos Juan José , Moise Maria
Published: March 2015

Digital simulation techniques could contribute increasing citizen participation in urban policy design by transforming their opinions into valuable knowledge by means of evaluating certain decisions in a digital urban scenario that would facilitate the understanding of the impact of different choices not only in the urban scenario under study but also in different, hidden indicators (i.e. dynamics not considered by a citizen due to limited cognitive horizons). Furthermore, the trial and error experimental approach inherent in simulation models could act as an enabler of open deliberations between citizens to foster a mutual learning process of the complex urban dynamics. The aim of this chapter is to illustrate the benefits of causal modeling with respect to other commercialized approaches to develop simulation models that could fulfill the transparency and acceptability requirements to foster e-participation, taking into consideration the demands and skills of the multiple and heterogeneous users of urban policy models.
Game-Changer
Authors: Levitt Roberta , Piro Joseph
Published: March 2015

Technology integration and Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based education have enhanced the teaching and learning process by introducing a range of web-based instructional resources for classroom practitioners to deepen and extend instruction. One of the most durable of these resources has been the WebQuest. Introduced around the mid-1990s, it involves an inquiry-centered activity in which some or all of the information learners interact with comes from digital artifacts located on the Internet. WebQuests still retain much of their popularity and educational relevance and have shown remarkable staying power. Because of this, recontextualizing the WebQuest and situating it within the modern-day trend of the “gamification” of instructional design is examined, together with how the WebQuest can promote solid academic gain by placing students inside a learning space patterned after a multi-user virtual environment. This structure includes emphasis on teamwork and socially responsible problem-solving, intense task immersion, task game flow and scalability, and reward cycles. The authors also discuss how including an upgraded WebQuest informed by Common Core Grade-Specific Learning Standards in pre-service education curriculum can advance multiple facets of teacher education with candidates who are acquiring, learning, applying, and integrating pedagogical, technological, and content-area skills. Further, the authors offer suggestions for new directions in the use of web-based resources in 21st century education enterprise.
Thresholds of Transmedia Storytelling
Authors: Nottingham-Martin Amy
Published: March 2015

Much scholarly attention has been paid to how new media call for and influence the development of new literacies, but less focus has been given to exploring the underlying structure and mechanisms of projects that incorporate multiple media. Transmedia stories represent a particularly complicated and compelling type of multimedia project because of the high degree of integration among the components and resulting demand for sophisticated reading and interpretive practices. This chapter proposes a model for analysis of transmedia projects based on Gérard Genette's Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation and uses Scholastic, Inc.'s The 39 Clues as a case study for its application.
Adapting Cognitive Walkthrough to Support Game Based Learning Design
Authors: Farrell David , Moffat David C.
Published: March 2015

For any given Game Based Learning (GBL) project to be successful, the player must learn something. Designers may base their work on pedagogical research, but actual game design is still largely driven by intuition. People are famously poor at unsupported methodical thinking and relying so much on instinct is an obvious weak point in GBL design practice. Cognitive Walkthrough (CW) is a user-interface design technique that helps designers model how a type of user will understand an interface. The authors suggest that CW should be extended for use in any context where a designer must model a user's thinking. They present an extension of CW that is suitable for constructivist GBL and apply it to a previously evaluated game to understand why one section of the game was more successful than another. The CW extension explains hitherto puzzling results and suggests further development of CWs for designer support may be beneficial.
A Rating Tool for Sharing Experiences with Serious Games
Authors: Hendrix Maurice , Backlund Per , Vampula Boris
Published: March 2015

The potential of Computer Games for non-entertainment purposes, such as education, is well established. A wide variety of games have been developed for the educational market, covering subjects such as mathematics and languages. However, while a growing industry developing educational games exist, the practical uptake in schools is not as high as one would expect, based on current evidence of their effectiveness. The EduGameLab project investigates causes and solutions to the relatively low level of uptake in European schools. This paper describes a rating tool for sharing experiences about educational games among educators and parents, developed in the EduGameLab project. The ambition is that sharing knowledge about how games can be used in practice will stimulate practical use and acceptance. The development of this tool is based on a metadata schema for formally describing serious games and experiences with these games.
Video Game Consoles
Authors: Daidj Nabyla
Published: March 2015

This chapter introduces the main market trends of the video game sector and analyzes the mutations of this industry. Video game sector is characterized by very high network externalities, a lock-in phenomenon, and the increasing technological complexity of consoles, which are also subject to cycles, a structural increase in game development costs, and the predominance of strategic marketing. Since the beginning of the century, this industry has witnessed major developments: the arrival of Microsoft in 2001 onto the game console segment, a growing interest of game publishers in other platforms, the dramatic growth of new platforms (mobile terminals), and the rapid development of online and downloadable games. In addition, this chapter addresses some of the most important issues in the field of strategic management: value chains and business models. These concepts are applied to the video game industry in the context of competitive intensity and modification of market structures.
Multimedia Technologies in Education
Authors: De Paolis Lucio Tommaso , Vaškevičius Egidijus , Vidugirienė Aušra
Published: March 2015

As different means of information visualization become more popular and available both as commercial or open source products, there is an opportunity to use them in the education process by providing students with a larger variety of tools for mastering the required information and skills related to a learning object. The chapter discusses the use of various multimedia tools and edutainment (any entertaining application that has an educational role) in education and e-learning. The need and opportunities of applying 3D models, virtual and augmented reality, and certain means for controlling interactive learning environments are described in detail. Examples of 3D modeling, virtual, and augmented reality applications in history, arts, and medicine (surgery) education are provided.
The Quest for a Massively Multiplayer Online Game that Teaches Physics
Authors: Mena Ricardo Javier Rademacher
Published: March 2015

The last 10 years have seen explosive growth in the fields of online gaming. The largest of these games are undoubtedly the Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG), such as World of Warcraft or City of Heroes, which attract millions of users throughout the world every day. The last 20 years have also seen the growth of a new field of physics known as Physics Education Research (PER). This field consists of physicists dedicated to improving how we learn and teach the subject of physics. In this chapter, the author discusses his personal quest to combine PER with a MMOG and create an online virtual world dedicated to teaching Newtonian physics.
Minecraft as a Creative Tool
Authors: Cipollone Maria , Schifter Catherine C. , Moffat Rick A.
Published: March 2015

Many scholars are enthusiastic about the potential learning opportunities present in the sandbox-style gaming environment, Minecraft. In the following case study, the authors explored the use of Minecraft in a high school literature class and the presentation of characterization and plot in three student-made machinima, or films made in the game world. The authors demonstrate that Minecraft offers a unique opportunity for students to display their creativity and understanding of concepts in ways that are more feasible than if they were attempted in the “real” world. It is also relevant to point out that the epistemology associated Minecraft is constructionist in its nature, which implicates a different style of instruction than is typically employed in the U.S. classroom. The authors pose some questions about the diffusion of games like Minecraft in the future, based on their discussion of similar technologies in the past.
Gamification and Smart Feedback
Authors: Kickmeier-Rust Michael D. , Hillemann Eva C. , Albert Dietrich
Published: March 2015

Gamification is a recent trend in the field of game-based learning that accounts for development effort, costs, and effectiveness concerns of games. Another trend in educational technology is learning analytics and formative feedback. In the context of a European project the developed a light weight tool for learning and practicing divisions named Sonic Divider. This simple app is based on features of gamification. More importantly, it features formative assessment and feedback functions based on Competence-based Knowledge Space Theory. The authors applied and evaluated the tool in Austrian classrooms and found some evidence for the motivational aspect of the gamification elements, in particular scoring. They also found positive effects of an individualized and meaningful feedback about errors. Finally, there occurred certain gender difference, for example, girls were much less attracted by competition elements (e.g., by comparing high scores) then boys, however, more attentive towards feedback coming from the tool.
Instructional Technology and the Nature of the Gifted and Talented
Authors: Willis Jana , Steel Douglas J. , Seriki Vanessa Dodo
Published: March 2015

This collective case study explores the use and impact of instructional technology on fourth grade Gifted and Talented (GT) students' engagement and motivation to learn. Through this exploration, the authors were able to modify their use of instructional technology to suit the needs of the heterogeneous group of GT learners. Although the level of use, purpose for use, and how students used the instructional technology varied between the courses, this case reveals that the heterogeneous nature of the GT students necessitated a flexible approach to instruction and use of IT in order to maintain high levels of engagement and motivation. While these findings are not novel, they add to the discourse regarding teachers' perceptions of GT students and how those perceptions inform instructional practices. This chapter intends to stimulate critical self-reflection regarding perceptions of GT students and the impact those perceptions have on instructional practices.
The MORPG-based Learning System for Multiple Courses
Authors: Liu Kuo-Yu
Published: March 2015

This study aimed at developing a Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game-based (MORPG) Learning system which enabled instructors to construct a game scenario and manage sharable and reusable learning content for multiple courses. It used the curriculum of “Introduction to Computer Science” as a study case to assess students' learning effectiveness on the subject of “computer network”. The sample was 56 freshman students, who were randomly assigned to two groups, one of which used the game-based learning and the other one the Web-based video lectures. Furthermore, this study also conducted the System Usability Scale (SUS) to measure satisfaction, usability and learnability of the developed management system for instructors. Five instructors were invited to participate in the practical use and evaluation. The results showed that game-based learning could be exploited as effective learning environments and game design system was usable and learnable for instructors to create learning games.
Engaging in Play through Assistive Technology
Authors: Baker Fiona S.
Published: March 2015

The importance of play for all infants and toddlers should not be underestimated. However, owing to barriers and tensions in Assistive Technology (AT) in early intervention, opportunities are often limited for infants and toddlers with special needs to play, and where early intervention exists, it is slow to develop with AT. This chapter first discusses the importance of play and then draws attention to some issues and tensions that limit play and AT in early intervention for infants and toddlers with special needs. It then discusses how crucial it is to explore the potential of play for infants and toddlers with disabilities and gives research and practice-based suggestions to enact the spirit of the law: the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA): Part C – Early Intervention program for infants and toddlers using AT. It concludes with some thoughts for the future of AT through research, early intervention play-based practices, and on-going education and development of early intervention providers and parents of infants and toddlers with special needs.
Assistive Technologies for Brain-Injured Gamers
Authors: Colman Jason , Gnanayutham Paul
Published: March 2015

This chapter surveys assistive technologies which make video games more accessible for people who have an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). As medical care improves, an increasing number of people survive ABI. Video games have been shown to provide therapeutic benefits in many medical contexts, and rehabilitation for ABI survivors has been shown to be facilitated by playing some types of video game. Therefore, technologies which improve the accessibility of games have the potential to bring a form of therapy to a larger group of people who may benefit. Hardware technologies which may make games more accessible for brain injury survivors are considered. Complementing these devices is the inclusion of accessibility features into games during the development process. The creation of best practice accessibility guidelines among game development practitioners is a nascent field, considered important by the authors. Play testing is common practice during game development. We consider the ethical issues involved when the play testers are brain injury survivors. Overall, the aim of this chapter is to improve the accessibility of future games, and thus their therapeutic potential, for brain injured and other disabled gamers.
A Formal Representation System for Modelling Assistive Technology Systems
Authors: Gilligan John , Smith Peter
Published: March 2015

This chapter describes a formal representation scheme which can be used to model Assistive Technology (AT) Systems. At the heart of any system is a conceptual model of domain of application. Where AT is involved, the conceptual model must embrace all the elements of AT systems which are defined as “consisting of an AT device, a human operator who has a disability and an environment in which the functional activity is to be carried out” (Cook and Hussey, 1995, 2002, 2007). In order to explore the interaction between the components of AT systems in dynamic simulations of AT deployment, there is a need for a suitable representation of the underlying concepts. While the representation scheme presented here is generally applicable, examples and issues to do with representing AT systems for those with motor limitations, in particular are considered. The proposed representation scheme uses Coloured Petri-Nets (CP-Nets) and is based on the WHO International Classification of Functioning (ICF). This chapter looks at how CP-Nets may be used to represent the elements of AT systems as described by Cook and Hussey. These are Person, Activity, AT and Context. Both informal and formal representations using CP-Nets are considered. The ICF is at the heart of the proposed formal representation scheme. Its effectiveness for this purpose is analysed. Enhancements and innovative approaches are offered where there are challenges presented in using the ICF.
A Step toward Assistive Technology Evidence-Based Practices
Authors: DaCosta Boaventura , Seok Soohnwa
Published: March 2015

In an attempt to meet the need for validation research that contributes to Assistive Technology (AT) evidence-based practices, this chapter presents the findings of a study aimed to identify latent dimensions of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that can serve as the basis for the eventual development of a standardized instrument for ICT assessment and selection in the context of AT. The ICT preferences and practices of 1,258 postsecondary students across 7 major universities were examined. A confirmatory factor analysis within the framework of structure equation modeling revealed the 5 latent dimensions: communicating, socializing, downloading and sharing, gaming, and learning. These dimensions examined in the context of age, gender, and income, further reveal that these demographics, as sole determinants of ICT usage, are not supported. Noteworthy findings were also found with regard to participant's preferences for ICT, to include a tendency to text over all other technologies surveyed.
Serious Gaming for User Centered Innovation and Adoption of Disaster Response Information Systems
Authors: Meesters Kenny , Van de Walle Bartel
Published: March 2015

Global profusion of information technology has spawned a large and varied number of tools and systems to aid disaster responders in managing disaster-related information. To adequately study the conception, development and deployment of such tools and systems, the user and the operational context in which user tasks are performed play a central role. As natural disasters however happen unexpectedly, often occur in remote areas and always impose working conditions of high time pressure and high situational volatility, user involvement is difficult to achieve for adequately studying tools and systems in disaster conditions. Current approaches for adoption in disaster conditions are therefore either resource intensive or lack realism, or both. This paper proposes the use of serious games to balance the realism of a disaster situation with an efficient and effective study setup and execution. Building on existing literature for serious gaming, it presents a serious game that focuses on the information management and decision making processes in an urban search and rescue setting. Through several game instances that have been played in the past three years, it examines the usefulness of serious games as a method to conduct research, to facilitate user centered development and to support dissemination activities.
Beyond Gaming
Authors: Patel Roma P. , Lin Jerry , Khaderi S. Khizer
Published: March 2015

The interest around the utilization of video games as a component of rehabilitative therapy has dramatically increased over the past decade. Research efforts have confirmed the positive effects of repetitive gaming in improving visual outcomes; however, there is limited knowledge on the mechanism of action delivered by repetitive gaming. Utilizing knowledge of the visual system, including targeting specific cells in the retina with visual stimuli, the authors captured the training effects of gaming to augment pre-selected skills. Specifically, the authors embedded a homerun derby style baseball game with a contrast threshold test, to stimulate parvocellular retinal ganglion cells. Parvocellular cells are the first line of the ventral, or “what” pathway of visual processing. Repetitive stimulation of the parvocellular system shows promising preliminary results in improving batting performance.
The Play Theory and Computer Games Using in Early Childhood Education
Authors: Gerkushenko Svetlana , Gerkushenko Georgy
Published: March 2015

The article describes the role of play in child's development and identifies the characteristics of mature play in preschool age. The paper gives an overview of the computer games for preschool children used in Russian kindergartens. The research conducted with 50 Russian kindergarten teachers provides the analysis of the most important factors of computer programs selection made by teachers for their classroom activities. It is analyzed whether the factors concern the theory of children's play and whether the kindergarten teachers need the scaffolding program for choosing computer games appropriate for children's development. It is described the essence of the scaffolding program. They are formulated the criteria for evaluating computer games to make classroom activities developmentally appropriate.
Levelling (Up) the Playing Field
Authors: Das Sarmista
Published: March 2015

This ethnographic study explores how feminist video game players mobilise in online environments. The main research questions of this chapter involve identity and learning. How are identities formed in online feminist gaming communities, how much of one's identity is disclosed, what determines these choices in identity disclosure, and for what purpose? What kind of informal learning is promoted and produced in online feminist gaming communities, and how does this learning take place? After analysing posts, articles, comments, and interview responses from members of feminist gaming blog The Borderhouse, it was found that feminist gamers prefer identity disclosure to concealment. While identity disclosure can be traumatic for some feminist gamers in non-feminist online gaming communities, identity disclosure is encouraged in feminist gaming online forums, as it contributes to a member's credibility and garners trust from other members. The trust and credibility garnered affects the learning that takes place, as those who are trusted help influence the content and production of discussion. Furthermore, it was found that informal learning occurs with participants of the blog through regular informal feedback, networking, and the encouragement of critical thinking skills.
Games for Top Civil Servants
Authors: Stubbé Hester , van de Ven Josine G. M. , Hrehovcsik Micah
Published: March 2015

In designing De BurgemeesterGame—The Mayor Game—we aimed to develop a game that would be used and appreciated by a target population that was hardly used to being trained and had little affinity with applied gaming: mayors. To make sure that the (learning) goals, the context, the characteristics of the target population, and the creative design were all integrated into the game, we chose to work in a consortium with a focus group. We included engaging elements like simple gameplay based on actual processes, authentic scenarios presented in the way of dilemmas, time pressure, and collaboration. This resulted in a game that was accepted by the target population and has been played by more than half of all mayors in The Netherlands. Mayors feel the game challenges them to explore their decision making during crisis management and stimulates them to discuss this with other mayors.
Identifying Group Processes and Affect in Learners
Authors: Thompson Kate , Markauskaite Lina
Published: March 2015

In the last five years, the analytical techniques for identifying the processes of online learning have developed to the point where applications for the assessment of learning can be discussed. This would be most appropriate for twenty-first century skills—such as collaboration, decision-making, and teamwork skills—which are the core learning outcomes in immersive learning environments. The state of the art in this field is still at the stage of discovering patterns of the processes of learning, identifying stages, and suggesting their meaning. However, already it is important to consider what technologies can offer and what information teachers need in order to evaluate students' situated performance and to provide useful feedback. This chapter describes an imagined virtual world, one that affords the range of twenty-first century skills, in order to illustrate types of analyes that could be conducted on learning process data. Such analytical methods could provide both descriptive information about the performance of learners and depict structures and patterns of their learning processes. The future assessment of learning in immersive virtual worlds may draw on data about deep embodied processes and multiple senses that usually underpin professional skills, such as affect, visual perception, and movement. This type of assessment could also provide deeper insights into many psychological processes in collaborative learning, decision-making, and problem-solving in virtual worlds, such as motivation, self-efficacy, and engagement. Overall, the view of the assessment presented in this chapter extends beyond the formal learning outcomes that are usually required by tertiary education quality and standards agencies and assessed in traditional courses in higher education to include a range of new capacities that may not be required but are essential for successful performance in contemporary workplaces.
Rhetoric of Game
Authors: Tran Ben
Published: March 2015

The Tavistock method, commonly known as group relations, was originated from the work of British psychoanalyst Wilfred Ruprecht Bion. The Tavistock method's basic premise is that an aggregate cluster of persons becomes a group when interaction between members occurs. Within a group, there is organizational politics, and there are two features of organizational politic that should be considered when investigating its relationships with employee attitudes and behaviors. First, perceptions are more important than reality. Second, organizational politics may be interpreted as either beneficial or detrimental to an individual's well-being. Thus, organizational politics perceptions may result in differing responses to organizational policies and practices depending on whether politics are viewed as an opportunity or as a threat. How well one survives within an organization is correlated with how well one navigates these organizational politics. The Tavistock method is utilized as a game to assess and train individuals on organizational politics.
Driving Home the Message
Authors: Downs Edward
Published: March 2015

A pre-test, post-test experiment was conducted to determine if using a popular racing game on a PlayStation® 3 video game console could change a player's intent to drive distracted. Results indicated that those who were driving distracted (texting or talking) in a video game driving simulator had significantly more crashes, speed violations, and fog-line crossings than those in a non-distracted driving control group. These findings are consistent with predictions from the ACT-R cognitive architecture and threaded cognition theory. A follow-up study manipulated the original protocol by establishing a non-distracted baseline for participants' driving abilities as a comparison. Results demonstrated that this manipulation resulted in a significantly stronger change in attitude against driving distracted than in the original procedure. The implications help to inform driving safety programs on proper protocol for the use of game consoles to change attitudes toward distracted driving.
Rehabilitation Systems in Ambient Assisted Living Environments
Authors: Middleton A. M. , Harte R. P. , Ward T. E.
Published: March 2015

This chapter reviews Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) in the context of movement-based rehabilitation. The authors analyse the need for AAL solutions and how they can overcome many of the drawbacks associated with traditional rehabilitation. They discuss the benefits and challenges of rehabilitation within the AAL paradigm and the well-known benefits that the telerehabilitation and telemedicine models have already established. The authors review the top ambient technologies in use today, detailing their advantages and shortcomings. The review focuses primarily on areas such as motion capture, serious games, and robotic rehabilitation. The authors carry out a structured search of two well-known databases to find the most recent advances and present the most interesting lines of research and development. Finally, the authors discuss the review findings and draw conclusions on the future of personalised rehabilitation within an AAL paradigm.
Games for and by Teachers and Learners
Authors: van Rosmalen Peter , Wilson Amanda , Hummel Hans G.K.
Published: March 2015

With the advent of social media, it is widely accepted that teachers and learners are not only consumers but also may have an active role in contributing and co-creating lesson materials and content. Paradoxically, one strand of technology-enhanced learning (i.e. game-based learning) aligns only slightly to this development. Games, while there to experience, explore, and collaborate, are almost exclusively designed by professionals. Despite, or maybe because, games are the exclusive domain of professional developers, the general impression is that games require complex technologies and that games are difficult to organise and to embed in a curriculum. This chapter makes a case that games are not necessarily the exclusive domain of game professionals. Rather than enforcing teachers to get acquainted with and use complex, technically demanding games, the authors discuss approaches that teachers themselves can use to build games, make use of existing games, and even one step beyond use tools or games that can be used by learners to create their own designs (e.g. games or virtual worlds).
Exploratory Play in Simulation Sandbox Games
Authors: Tornqvist Dominicus
Published: March 2015

There is a kind of seemingly nonsensical play behavior found in the simulation sandbox game genre. This behavior is very spontaneous and impulsive and associated with self-initiated learning, and here the author seeks to better understand what it is, and why it seems associated with simulation sandbox games. That is: What purpose does it serve, and what might provoke it? This requires a review of the literature on this play behavior, and that of the simulation sandbox genre, respectively. From this review the author concluded firstly that there is strong support that exploratory play is for discovering the structure and behavior of systems, and secondly that the observable characteristics of exploratory play make it a highly probable candidate for the bizarre behavior observed in simulation sandbox games. Moreover, several hypotheses were generated by identifying many characteristics of the genre (e.g. system complexity and responsiveness) that are directly relevant to the theorized motivations for exploratory play, suggesting some directions for future research into what conditions and designs might encourage exploratory play. Knowledge of the relationship between this genre and this form of play could prove invaluable for designing games for learning, because despite being centrally relevant to many studies on game-based learning, exploratory play has been neglected. It has been needlessly isolated in distinct strands of research on its components, which will be unified here to provide a comprehensive account of this behavior and its importance to future research in this area.
Leadership Behaviors among Gamers and Student Leaders
Authors: Tshen Ho Wei , Khoo Angeline
Published: March 2015

This study explored the relationship between leadership in video games and in real-life. The effects of motivation of play, prosocial orientation, and the social context of play on leadership behavior were also investigated. A Game Leadership Behavior questionnaire was constructed to measure game leadership. Other measures included the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire, the Motivation of Play questionnaire, Prosocial Orientation Questionnaire (POQ), and questions identifying the type of game play participants were involved in. A total of 321 students participated in the study. All participants held leadership positions in school. Findings showed that game leadership behavior was positively correlated with real-life leadership and emerged as a predictor of real-life leadership, together with prosocial behavior and social game motivation.
Simulation Games as Interventions in the Promotion of Social Skills Development among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Authors: Kinsell Carolyn , DaCosta Boaventura , Nasah Angelique
Published: March 2015

It has been suggested that game technology can be successfully used to aid in social skills development among those with special needs. Based on the body of research available, such technology has been used in social skills development with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Furthermore, there is research to suggest that certain game technology, such as simulation-based games, can enhance learning and the retention of knowledge, which is of important benefit, given children with ASD show great difficulty in generalizing newly learned skills and knowledge from the instructional to the functional setting. However, at the time of this publication, very little empirical evidence exists that has specifically investigated the use of simulation-based games as interventions in the promotion of social skill development among children with ASD.
Time Factor Assessment in Game-Based Learning
Authors: Usart Mireia , Romero Margarida
Published: March 2015

From primary school levels to lifelong learning, the use of games for educational purposes has been an increasing focus of interest for instructional designers, teachers, and researchers. One of the factors that can be assessed in Game-Based Learning (GBL) is the time factor. In this chapter, time is considered as the time used by players (time-on-task) and as psychological time perceived by students (time perspective). Time Perspective (TP) is a cognitive aspect of players, defined as the manner in which individuals divide time into past, present, and future. This variable can be considered as an individual difference; players with a temporal perspective focused on the future may play games differently than students oriented to the past or present. This chapter aims to study how Serious Games (SG) can help in assessing time-on-task by learners and time perspective. After a theoretical review of these aspects, a case study of MetaVals is presented as an example of time assessment in SG. This game was designed by ESADE's learning innovation team and monitors player times for individual and collaborative phases of the game. The results focus on the key aspects for assessing time in the class use of GBL and offer designers and teachers a reliable instrument for better personalising and implementing of SG tasks in the context of time.
Women and Men in Computer Science
Authors: Denner Jill , Ortiz Eloy , Werner Linda
Published: March 2015

Playing digital games is described as a pathway to computer science (CS) classes and majors, but not all gamers want to study CS. The goal of this chapter is to explore which gaming motivations and practices are most strongly related to an interest in studying computer science, and whether the connection between gaming and computer science is similar for men and women. The data are from 545 male and female gamers taking an introductory computer science class at one of 15 community colleges in the US. Survey responses were analyzed to provide a picture of what, how often, and why they play, and interviews from 39 of the most avid gamers were analyzed for why and how they play. The results show that, on average, men play more frequently than women, and there are gender differences in the type of games they like to play and why they play them. However, playing more frequently was not associated with greater interest in studying CS for either gender. Interest in CS was highest among men who were motivated to play in order to increase skills, be with friends, connect with the game features, and by the art or graphics. However, CS interest was highest among women who consider themselves to be more serious gamers, play racing and puzzle games, play on a game console, and are motivated by fun, relaxation and social interaction. The results can inform efforts to increase the number of women that pursue computer science. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future research on how game play and interest in CS are related.
A Case for Integration
Authors: Moseley Alex
Published: March 2015

There is growing interest in assessment of student learning within education, not least because assessment practice within some sectors (the UK higher education sector for example) is stagnant: many courses designed independently to the assessment method and assessed through a small number of traditional methods. Games-based learning has shown little deviation from this pattern – games themselves often removed from assessment of the skills they are designed to teach, and in the worst cases from the intended learning outcomes: gamification being a particularly formulaic example. This chapter makes the case for an integrated approach to assessment within learning games and the wider curriculum, drawing on elements within game design that provide natural opportunity for such integration. To demonstrate and evaluate such an approach, integrated assessment case studies (including a full study from the University of Leicester) are presented and discussed.
Assistive Systems for the Workplace
Authors: Korn Oliver , Funk Markus , Schmidt Albrecht
Published: March 2015

Recent advances in motion recognition allow the development of Context-Aware Assistive Systems (CAAS) for industrial workplaces that go far beyond the state of the art: they can capture a user's movement in real-time and provide adequate feedback. Thus, CAAS can address important questions, like Which part is assembled next? Where do I fasten it? Did an error occur? Did I process the part in time? These new CAAS can also make use of projectors to display the feedback within the corresponding area on the workspace (in-situ). Furthermore, the real-time analysis of work processes allows the implementation of motivating elements (gamification) into the repetitive work routines that are common in manual production. In this chapter, the authors first describe the relevant backgrounds from industry, computer science, and psychology. They then briefly introduce a precedent implementation of CAAS and its inherent problems. The authors then provide a generic model of CAAS and finally present a revised and improved implementation.
A Look inside the Current Climate of the Video Game Industry
Authors: Pugh Vachon M.C.
Published: March 2015

The issue of the lack of women in the video game industry has been a hot topic for quite some time. For the past twelve years, Game Developer Magazine has published their annual Game Developer Salary Survey, which not only lists the average salaries for each department; but also breaks down each department by gender. By examining the salary surveys for the past four years (2009-2012), an initial assessment can be made on the amount of women working in the game industry, and in what disciplines. The purpose of this chapter is to assess the current climate of the video game industry, and briefly discuss possible causes of the lack of women in this particular field.