Collaboration and fuzzy-modeled personalization for mobile game-based learning in higher education

Abstract

Mobile game-based learning constitutes a hot issue in the related scientific literature since it promotes learning through an entertaining way and fosters student motivation to increase engagement in the educational process. As such, it can enhance the learning process and improve student participation. Towards this direction, this paper investigates how mobile learning and game-based learning can be utilized in higher education settings and analyzes the pedagogical affordance of their adoption. As a testbed for our research, we designed and implemented Quiz Time! which is an intelligent mobile game-based learning application for assessing and advancing learners' knowledge in the programming language C#. Quiz Time! employs an assessing knowledge module for testing the knowledge of learners, a vectorial-based recommendation module for proposing personalized collaboration in group playing, a dynamic fuzzy logic-based advice generator for tailored assistance to learners' profile and misconceptions, and a cognitive learner modeler supporting the aforementioned modules. Quiz Time! was used in a higher education institution for an academic semester and was evaluated by students and computer science experts using an established framework and the statistical hypothesis test. Regarding the evaluation results, the computer science experts validated the pedagogical adequacy of the application and the students highlighted its positive impact on learning and its usefulness. A major conclusion is that incorporating personalization and collaboration in mobile game-based learning can further assist students in higher education towards advancing their knowledge level.