Educational Computer Games Research Articles

Iraqi EFL Students’ Perceptions Towards Entertainment And Rigorous Learning

This study aims to investigate Iraqi students’ perceptions towards entertainment and rigorous learning at the College of Education for the woman/university of Tikrit. Educational computer game research expanded rapidly as a result of the widespread perception among younger generations that games might provide several educational advantages. It is useful to understand how educational games can help strengthen the engagement and learning perceptions of our students towards technology in the light of intensive teaching activities and the actions of teachers to build a respectful, constructive learning atmosphere for the conduct of students towards each other and the rate and level of involvement of students in class discussion. The tool of the study is a questionnaire checklist from strongly agree to disagree strongly. The sample of the study consists of 82 (female) participants at the English department/university of Tikrit. This paper investigates two aspects of learning and comprehensive learning for educational games. The results demonstrated that the majority of students were more motivated to learn programming through the use of games than through traditional methods, fostering hopeful attitudes. Hopefully, the results would serve to enrich information in recognizing the attitudes of students about educational learning games, with the outcome of the exchange for rigorous learning revealing that students have negative perceptions about several points that respect teachers for students, weak cooperative work, and guidelines for respect during class conduct.

NanoAdventure: Development of a Text-Based Adventure Game in English, Spanish, and Chinese for Communicating about Nanotechnology and the Nanoscale.

Video games and immersive, narrative experiences are often called upon to help students understand difficult scientific concepts, such as sense of scale. However, the development of educational video games requires expertise and, frequently, a sizable budget. Here, we report on the use of an interactive text-style video game, NanoAdventure, to communicate about sense of scale and nanotechnology to the public. NanoAdventure was developed on an open-source, free-to-use platform with simple coding and enhanced with free or low-cost assets. NanoAdventure was launched in three languages (English, Spanish, Chinese) and compared to textbook-style and blog-style control texts in a randomized study. Participants answered questions on their knowledge of nanotechnology and their attitudes toward nanotechnology before and after reading one randomly assigned text (textbook, blog, or NanoAdventure game). Our results demonstrate that interactive fiction is effective in communicating about sense of scale and nanotechnology as well as the relevance of nanotechnology to a general public. NanoAdventure was found to be the most "fun" and easy to read of all text styles by participants in a randomized trial. Here, we make the case for interactive "Choose Your Own Adventure" style games as another effective tool among educational game models for chemistry and science communication.

Exploring the efficacy of video game training in developing adolescent reasoning abilities

ABSTRACT The benefits of video games in physical education have been extensively researched (Camunas-Vega & Alcaide-Risoto, 2020; Fang et al. 2020). However, little attention has been paid to the effectiveness of commercial video games combined with basketball practice in improving students’ reasoning skills (Chuang, Yeh, and Lin 2021; Rogers et al., 2020). In this paper, we present the results of an experimental study whose objective was to assess the effects of a programme that includes the use of a video game as the main learning tool to enhance the reasoning process of secondary education students in Physical Education. A total of 271 students participated in this study. A quasi-experimental pre-post design with a control group was used. The experimental group performed a specific training programme with the NBA 2K16 video game for nine weeks, once a week, 60 min per session. The results show that the students who participated in the programme achieved an improvement in deductive and spatial reasoning with a moderate effect possibly due to the use of a video game. Another conclusion was that sex differences in the spatial and deductive reasoning on the pretest disappeared on the post-test.

Defining perplexity and reflective thinking in a game-based learning environment

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the role of perplexity in young players’ experiences within an educational videogame and how reflective thinking can help them to get out of perplexing scenarios.Design/methodology/approachWe used a constructivist grounded theory approach and the lenses of Dewey’s conceptualization of perplexity and reflective thinking to examine young players’ in-game experiences.FindingsWe find that perplexity in gameplay is an experience that occurs when players encounter uncertainty about where to go or what to do next in the game. Findings reveal that while playing an educational game players engaged in two forms of perplexity – exploration-based and puzzle-based. Additionally, we unpack how players overcome these perplexing scenarios by reflecting on the information provided in the game.Research limitations/implicationsWhile in a state of perplexity, reflecting on the in-game information aids players to think and make meaning, thus supporting learning. We provide suggestions for how to better utilize perplexity as an in-game design mechanism to encourage young players to reflect on in-game information.Originality/valueThis empirical study is original in its context of studying the phenomenon of perplexity in videogames and young players’ in-game reflection experiences.

The role of distance learning technologies in the organization of the educational process in Higher Educational Institutions of Ukraine in the conditions of the large-scale armed aggression russian federation against Ukraine

2022 has been a year of huge challenge for all Educational Institutions of Ukraine in terms of their ability to quickly organization of distance version of the educational process in connection with large-scale armed aggression russian federation against Ukraine with goal to destruction of Ukraine and its people. After February 24, 2022 when Russia-Ukraine war that began back in 2014 became the large-scale war and President of Ukraine announced of martial law, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (MD) and the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) of Ukraine recommended of all Educational Institutions of the country to use the distance learning technologies (DLT) for further continuation educational process. That’s why Institutions Higher Education (IHE) and Higher Military Educational Institutions (HMEI) of Ukraine actively use own developments and the best developments of the world’s leading companies which work in this direction (Google, Microsoft, ZOOM, Coursera, Udemy, edX, SpaceX, hp, Vodafone, Lifecell, Київстар, etc.) to improve the quality of distance learning in the conditions of the large-scale armed aggression russian federation against Ukraine. The wide opportunities of modern information technologies for the creation of simulation models of objects and processes (flash-animation, 3-D models, educational computer games etc.) allow visualization of information and make the content of the distance courses the most understandable and interesting for students and cadets. That’s why the task of researching the role of distance learning technologies in the organization of the educational process in Higher Educational Institutions of Ukraine in the conditions of the large-scale armed aggression russian federation against Ukraine is more relevant than ever [1-7].

Impact on Educational Effectiveness Using Digital Gamification

This study's objective was to evaluate the educational value and motivational pull of computer games created with Greek secondary school curricula in mind for the study of computer memory principles. Comparing it to related applications, computer science (CS) encompasses goals and substance. similar learning, but without the gaming element. This study also looks into possible gender differences in learning efficiency and the appeal of play as a motivator. The sample consisted of 88 students who were separated into two groups at random: one group that used game applications (Group A, N = 47) and one group that did not use game applications (Group B, N = 41). Both the pretest and the posttest employed the Computer Memory Knowledge Test (CMKT). The intervention was also seen by students. Additionally, following the intervention, students' opinions of the applications they had used were solicited via a feedback form. Data analysis revealed that compared to the non-game approach, the game approach was more effective in improving students' understanding of computer memory concepts and more motivating. The learning outcomes that boys and girls achieve through game use are not significantly different, and games were found to be the same. This is true even though boys have more involvement with, a greater preference for, and experience with computer games. They also have a greater prior knowledge of computers. girls' and boys' inspiration The findings demonstrate that, regardless of the gender of the students, educational computer games may be used as an effective and inspiring learning environment in secondary school CS.
 

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF ANDROID-BASED TRADITIONAL INDONESIAN CLOTHING IMAGE GUESSING GAME

In terms of cultural traditions, Indonesia is home to a wide variety of very diverse practices. As a result of different regions of the country, Indonesia is home to diverse cultural traditions. Traditional clothing is an important aspect of the Indonesian culture. The traditions and culture of each region are reflected in the clothes worn at traditional ceremonies; in addition, traditional clothing is a decisive feature of the culture of each region. Concern for the maintenance of national culture, which relates to the wearing of indigenous clothing, has been significantly reduced because of the passage of time. For example, one of the main reasons why people's interest in traditional clothing is not as strong as it used to be is because there is not enough socialization and presentation of Indonesian culture in society. The goal of this study project is to create a learning app for Android based on the guesswork of traditional Indonesian clothing. Research and Development techniques were selected as the proximity used for this investigation. Research and Development As a consequence of this research, an educational game that allows users to predict photos of traditional clothing from Indonesia will be produced on the Android platform. This game will also provide information to players about traditional musical instruments that can be found in Indonesia. It is hoped that educational video games will help in the process of exposing children to pre-existing cultures, and such games can also be seen as offering new perspectives to children. It is possible to draw the conclusion, based on the findings of tests conducted using the black box approach, that this application is capable of functioning in an appropriate way. Moreover, it can provide android smartphone customers with instructional games.

Roadmap for the Development of EnLang4All: A Video Game for Learning English

Nowadays, people are more predisposed to being self-taught due to the availability of online information. With digitalization, information appears not only in its conventional state, as blogs, articles, newspapers, or e-books, but also in more interactive and enticing ways. Video games have become a transmission vehicle for information and knowledge, but they require specific treatment in respect of their presentation and the way in which users interact with them. This treatment includes usability guidelines and heuristics that provide video game properties that are favorable to a better user experience, conducive to captivating the user and to assimilating the content. In this research, usability guidelines and heuristics, complemented with recommendations from educational video game studies, were gathered and analyzed for application to a video game for English language learning called EnLang4All, which was also developed in the scope of this project and evaluated in terms of its reception by users.

Effectiveness of Digital Health Tools to Prevent Bullying among Middle School Students

Bullying is a widespread public health problem with significant behavioral and mental health consequences. The current study tested the effectiveness of combining interactive digital material for students, educators, and parents with class sessions to prevent bullying among middle school students. Fourteen middle schools were randomly assigned to intervention and comparison conditions. Both conditions received a classroom-based drug and violence prevention program that taught social skills, self-management skills, and social resistance skills. The intervention condition included class material on bullying and an educational video game for students that reinforced the classroom program; it also included digital material on bullying for parents and school staff. All students completed online pre- and post-test surveys to assess bullying-related behavior, knowledge, and life skills. Results indicated that students in the intervention schools reported significantly less bullying and cyberbullying perpetration and increased life skills knowledge relative to comparison schools. This study provides evidence that a school-based drug abuse and violence prevention program, when enhanced with a set of digital tools for students, parents, and school staff, holds considerable potential for addressing bullying among middle school adolescents.

The effect of educational computer games on the academic resilience, academic self-regulation, and academic achievement of EFL students.

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the field of educational computer games (ECGs). Although ECGs have been researched, more analyses still need to be performed on these variables to check their effects on language learning. To this end, 74-third grade female state high school students from two schools in Zanjan were selected through a two-stage cluster random sampling method. The number of students in each class was 37. One of the classes (control group) was trained traditionally and the other was for one semester through the researchers-made ECGs. After completing the training, the research tools were performed as a post-test on the experimental and control groups. The data collection stage took place for about 6 months. Based on the results from the research questions, the use of training computers has been effective in increasing AR, ASR, and AA. It has significant implications for teachers and learners in the EFL context and opens interesting opportunities for administrators and curriculum developers to explore when planning EFL courses.

ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕ КОМПЬЮТЕРНЫХ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНЫХ ИГР В ВЫСШЕМ ЮРИДИЧЕСКОМ ОБРАЗОВАНИИ (ОПЫТ ОДНОГО ЭКСПЕРИМЕНТА)

The article analyzes the cognitive effect of the use of computer educational games in the future lawyers training at university. The relevance of studying this issue is due to the search for modern higher education of optimal educational practices that allow one to achieve the goals it faces. The authors of the article put forward a hypothesis that computer educational games have a significant cognitive effect. The article describes an experiment aimed at establishing the cognitive result of using a game in the educational process when conducting classes with students of the Faculty of Law from the subjective (students’ opinion) and objective (teachers’ opinion) points of view. For this purpose, in their own pedagogical practice, the authors use the computer educational game “Criminal Case” developed by them, designed to train lawyers’ professional competencies of an investigator. The authors conduct a study in which, using the methods of pedagogical observation, interviewing, questioning, as well as the method of expert assessments, they evaluate the ability of a computer educational game, using the example of the game “Criminal Case”, to train a student the professional competencies of an investigator. The results obtained during the experiment confirmed a high cognitive effect of the use of computer educational games in teaching lawyers, both in the opinion of students, who indicated that they acquired new knowledge, systematization of existing knowledge after training through the game, and in the opinion of teachers, based on objective data from the results of testing students to determine their level of knowledge. As a result, the authors formulate the conclusion that computer educational games have many positive qualities that affect both the acquisition of theoretical knowledge and practical skills, and therefore they can successfully supplement traditional forms of education. The results of the study can be used to study this issue further.

Analysis of methods for developing educational computer games

The article discusses methods for developing educational computer games and analyzes them in order to determine the main features of each method when developing such games. The key aspects of methods for developing educational computer games are presented and the features of each aspect are identified. Detailed diagrams of the components of game design development, learning concepts, interactivity and adaptability, and the use of multimedia have been constructed. A comparison of educational and entertaining computer games was made. As a result of the analysis, the main features of each method under consideration for educational computer games were identified, the main differences between educational and entertaining computer games were identified in terms of target orientation, audience covered, content, scenario and methods used. In the course of the analysis, a theoretical conclusion was made about what features of the development of each of the methods of educational computer games are the main ones and their impact on the effectiveness

Modeling Learners to Early Predict Their Performance in Educational Computer Games

Data mining approaches have proven to be successful in improving learners’ interaction with educational computer games. Despite the potential of predictive modelling in providing timely adaptive learning and gameplay experience, there is a lack of research on the early prediction of learners’ performance in educational games. In this research, we propose an early predictive modelling approach, called GameEPM, to estimate learners’ final scores in an educational game for promoting computational thinking. Specifically, the GameEPM approach models the sequence of learners’ actions and then uses a limited sequence of the actions to predict the final score of the game for each learner. The findings from our initial trials show that our approach can accurately and robustly estimate the learners’ performance at the early stages of the game. Using less than 50% of learners’ action sequences, the cross-validated deep learning model achieves a squared correlation higher than 0.8 with a relative error of less than 8%, outperforming a range of regression models like linear regression, random forest, neural networks, and support vector machines. An additional experiment showed that the validated deep learning model can also achieve high performance while tested on an independent game dataset, showing its applicability and robustness in real-world cases. Comparing the results with traditional machine learning methods revealed that, in the validation and application phases, up to 0.30 and 0.35 R2 gain is achieved in favor of the deep learning model, respectively. Finally, we found that while the lengths of action sequences influence the predictive power of the traditional machine learning methods, this effect is not substantial in the deep learning model.

EDUCOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF VIDEO GAME ACTIVITIES IN THE MODERN EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Based on educational ideas about the complex, integrated nature of the education system, the article suggests the author's vision of the place and role of video games as an important element of the educational process, which affects the formation of a modern educational environment. The article says that the video game, as a type of game activity, is a complex socio-cybernetic phenomenon, a specific phenomenon in the modern life of society which requires in-depth scientific research in order to clarify its methodological potential in the education system. It has been emphasized that in modern conditions, especially on online learning platforms, the use of video game methods in the educational process is of great importance, as they allow learning new knowledge, acquiring skills and abilities much more effectively and without any external coercion. The innovative ways of forming education seekers’ creativity, interactivity, motivational activity during learning by means of video games has been considered. The examples of the use of genre video games in education have been provided, allowing increasing motivation significantly, form skills of cooperation, creativity, competition, and mutual assistance in the participants of the educational process.

ALGORİTMA ÖĞRETİMİNE DAYALI EĞİTSEL OYUNLARIN ORTAOKUL ÖĞRENCİLERİNİN PROBLEM ÇÖZME BECERİLERİNE YÖNELİK ALGILARINA ETKİSİ

The apprehension of problem solving skills is accepted in the literature as a future-century skill that is thought to affect academic and life-sustaining success through the life of the individuals. How the power of these algorithms effects of the people’s skills individually in the field of technological problem solving remains a crucial research topic. Therefore, the research aims to examine the effects of algorithm-based educational computer games on students' perceptions of problem solving skills within the scope of the curriculum developed for the "Problem Solving and Programming" units of the Information Technologies and Software course of the 5th and 6th-grade secondary school students. The study group of the research consisted of a total of 131 secondary school students. The "Perception Scale for Problem Solving Skills for Secondary School Students" developed by Ekici and Balım (2013) was used as a data collection tool in the study. As a result of the research, it was seen that both the experimental and control groups had high perceptions of problem solving skills in terms of the main and sub-factors of the scale. After the application, it was found that there was no significant difference between the students' problem solving skills scale total perception and perception sub-factor scores within and between groups. It was determined that there was a significant difference in favor of the experimental group in the mean scores of the willingness stability perception factor both before and after the application.

Impact of game-based learning on STEM learning and motivation: Two case studies in Europe

The number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related jobs is increasing all around the world and especially in Europe. However, teachers face many difficulties in making STEM related classes more attractive and motivating the students to learn. This paper presents two case studies involving 116 students from two European countries (Slovakia and Ireland). The studies investigated the impact of a new educational computer game called Final Frontier on learning process and students’ motivation. We found that there are no significant differences between the two countries in terms of students’ interest in STEM, although the students in Slovakia achieved slightly better grades than those in Ireland. We also found that in both countries, the students using the Final Frontier game outperformed those not using the game in improving their subject knowledge after the study. Furthermore, the impact of game-based learning on students’ motivation for STEM differed in the two countries.

On the role of digitalization and globalization for the development of mobile video games in the education of the future: trends, models, cases

The global world processes of digitalization have influenced the development of educational services and products market. To provide qualified education modern educational institutions need to use effective tools for organizing, managing, and facilitating the educational process with the help of mobile video games. The article aims to analyze the modern processes of education digitalization and the role and prospects of mobile video games in the education. The implementation of mobile applications in the educational process can provide a competitive advantage for higher education, as well as enhance the quality of individual student learning, and be useful for teachers and educators who intend to improve the methodology of the educational process. The results of the study show the growing of the market for mobile video games in education, the increase of investment and the formation of market leaders over the past 5 years. Based on the research methodology, the specifics of mobile video games use in today's global space were conducted, and the involvement of information giants such as Google, Amazon, and other companies actively involved in the digitalization of education was investigated. It is determined that modern models of the educational process should be integrated with digital ones, actually forming a mixed model, between traditional and digital, which can improve the professional students’ qualification. The conclusions and suggestions indicate that the key areas of mobile video games in education will be the creation of applications for mastering technical specialties, the demand for which is rapidly growing in the world. The practical part of the article consists in the analysis of the mobile video games development prospects and the characteristics of their key advantages and main trends in the educational market.

«Цифровой поворот» в культурной дипломатии Италии

 The paper examines the changes observed in the implementation of cultural diplomacy. The pandemic and the forced isolation associated with it have accelerated the ongoing processes of digitalization in the field of culture. Due to the fact that according to UNESCO, culture is one of the most affected areas of activity, governments, to one degree or another, are striving to intensify this type of foreign policy activity.  According to research articles and a case study on the development of cultural diplomacy during past two years in the Italian Republic as a state in whose territory approximately 40% of cultural heritage monuments are located, allow us to conclude that cultural diplomacy uses almost all key developments in the field of digitalization and digital diplomacy. The author concludes that, despite the universal set of tools of the implementation of digital cultural diplomacy (virtual tours of museums, broadcasting of various concerts, online lectures and various educational events, video games and quests aimed at knowledge of culture, etc.) each state faces such obstacles as insufficient funding, lack of specialized personnel, ethical side of digitization (whose software should be used).

STEAM Dijital Oyun Platformunda Bulunan Eğitici İçerikli Dijital Oyunların Elektrik-Elektronik Mühendisliği Öğretim Müfredatına Entegrasyonu İçin Öneriler

Bu makalede eğitici içeriğe sahip dijital video oyunları ele alınmış olup Elektrik-Elektronik Mühendisliğine entegrasyonu için STEM (Bilim, Teknoloji, Mühendislik, Matematik) felsefesi içinde bazı değerlendirilmeler yapılmıştır. STEM kavramına daha sonradan sanat kavramı da eklenerek genişletilen STEAM (Bilim, Teknoloji, Mühendislik, Sanat, Matematik) felsefesiyle aynı ismi taşıyan STEAM dijital oyun dağıtım platform 30.000’i geçen sayıda oyun sunmaktadır. Bu platform ayrıca en fazla eğitici içerikli dijital video oyunu sunan platform olarak dikkat çekmektedir. Eğitici içeriğe sahip dijital oyunlar öğrencilerin derse daha fazla katılımını sağlayarak motivasyonun arttırılmasına, alan yeterliliğine ve takım çalışmasına olumlu katkı sunmaktadır. Eğitici içerikli oyunların belirlenmesi için STEAM oyun platformu içinde 100’den fazla oyun değerlendirmeye alınmış ve eğitici içeriğe sahip olanlar belirlenmiştir. Örnek olarak seçilen bazı oyunlar için incelemeler sunulduktan sonra en fazla indirilme ve olumlu yorum alma durumlarına göre değerlendirilmiştir. Literatürde seçilen eğitici içerikli oyunlar için bir sınıflandırma yapılmadığı için öneride bulunulmuştur. Yapılan incelemeler sonunda belirtilen oyunların Elektrik-Elektronik Mühendisliği bölümü müfredatına eklenebileceği ancak dikkate alınması gereken eksiklikler bulunduğu belirtilmiş ve öneriler sunulmuştur.

Use of video games in elementary school: A systematic review

<p>It shows the results of a research developed at the University of La Sabana, with the aim of identifying the uses that have been given to video games in primary education in the world. A systematic review of literature published in scientific journals between 2000 and 2019 was carried out. The results show that the area of greatest use of video games is natural sciences, and that their use favors interaction and innovation in educational practices.</p><div><p> </p></div>