Abstract
Abstract. This paper presents the findings from a study aimed at understanding whether video games (or serious games) can be effective in enhancing volcanic hazard education and communication. Using the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent, we have developed a video game – St. Vincent's Volcano – for use in existing volcano education and outreach sessions. Its twin aims are to improve residents' knowledge of potential future eruptive hazards (ash fall, pyroclastic flows and lahars) and to integrate traditional methods of education in a more interactive manner. Here, we discuss the process of game development including concept design through to the final implementation on St. Vincent. Preliminary results obtained from the final implementation (through pre- and post-test knowledge quizzes) for both student and adult participants provide indications that a video game of this style may be effective in improving a learner's knowledge. Both groups of participants demonstrated a post-test increase in their knowledge quiz score of 9.3 % for adults and 8.3 % for students and, when plotted as learning gains (Hake, 1998), show similar overall improvements (0.11 for adults and 0.09 for students). These preliminary findings may provide a sound foundation for the increased integration of emerging technologies within traditional education sessions. This paper also shares some of the challenges and lessons learnt throughout the development and testing processes and provides recommendations for researchers looking to pursue a similar study.
Highlights
Education and communication play a vital role in improving the resilience of vulnerable populations at risk from natural disasters (Johnston et al, 1999; Ronan and Johnston, 2003; Shaw et al, 2004; Paton et al, 2008)
This section presents the preliminary results of the knowledge quizzes, session observations and preliminary results from the in-built game analytics for the adult participants
The percentage completion for the two knowledge quizzes demonstrates an increase in percentage of questions answered between the pre-test and post-test quizzes of 12.8 % for student participants and 17.7 % for adult participants
Summary
Education and communication play a vital role in improving the resilience of vulnerable populations at risk from natural disasters (Johnston et al, 1999; Ronan and Johnston, 2003; Shaw et al, 2004; Paton et al, 2008) Such awareness-raising activities are delivered in a number of guises – typically leaflets, posters, presentations, maps, TV and radio broadcasts. A fresh generation of learners – sometimes called the Net Generation or Net Gen (Tapscott, 1998) – are accustomed to a digital age in which information, news and entertainment are obtained instantaneously and delivered directly to them on personal devices (e.g. mobile phones, tablets and laptops) This has led to a rise in innovative teaching techniques in the classroom, such as the use of video games, in an effort to better motivate this new generation to learn (Prenksy, 2001)
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