Game-based Learning In Education Research Articles

Educational benefits of digital game-based learning: K-12 teachers' perspectives and attitudes

This study aims to examine K-12 teachers’ perspectives and attitudes toward the benefits of adopting and integrating digital game-based learning in education. The study involves 158 teachers of primary education and secondary education who filled in a 37-question questionnaire. Overall, teachers had significantly positive perspectives and attitudes. In contrast to their age and level of education in which they taught, teachers’ educational background, gender, and teaching experience were correlated with their responses. Based on the results, most teachers were familiar with digital games and their use in educational settings and had previous experience in adopting digital game-based learning in their classrooms. The lack of equipment, digital skills, and training emerged as the primary challenges that they face. Concerning its general benefits in education, digital game-based learning emerged as an effective educational approach that can be applied in various subjects and offer interactive and student-centered learning environments. Regarding the benefits it can yield for teachers, digital game-based learning emerged as a useful educational approach that can facilitate and enrich the teaching process as it improves teachers’ communication and digital skills and enables them to create motivational virtual learning environments that would consciously engage and encourage students to actively participate in educational activities and that would promote collaborative learning. In terms of the educational benefits that it can yield for students, digital game-based learning was evaluated as a valuable pedagogical approach that can enhance students’ cognitive and social-emotional development, enhance their digital competencies, improve their learning motivation, engagement, and achievements, and increase their joy, autonomy, critical thinking, creativity, and imagination. Finally, digital game-based learning emerged as an effective educational approach that can be used at all educational levels and in both face-to-face and online learning to meet the new educational requirements, provide benefits for teachers and students, and improve the overall quality of education.

Adaptive game-based learning in education: a systematic review

The advent and abundance of mobile devices and network connectivity have provided learners of all ages with access to potentially unlimited sources of educational material, from pre-school activities to conventional and after-school courses and continuing education. One of the challenges that learners face is how to locate and access interesting contents suited to their preferences and, more importantly, to the level of expertise and individual needs. From the point of view of content creators and educators, adapting the content and the experience to each learner usually leads to better user retention and a more meaningful and deeper learning experience. In this study, we utilized the PRISMA review methodology to examine research on content and experience adaptivity in educational contexts and report on the authors' findings. Consisting of well-defined steps (keyword-based retrieval, study scope definition, result filtering, and grouping and analysis), the systematic nature of this methodology ensures its objectivity and replicability at a future stage or replicated by other researchers.

The effect of stimulation smart book educative game tool on improving fine motor skills for early childhood

<p><strong><em>Background: </em></strong><em>The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a global wave of crises that have a massive impact on all aspects of life. The world of education, especially learning activities, is also an impact that is in the spotlight. The change in learning activities from face-to-face to distance learning makes it difficult for early childhood education levels. Studies prove the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on disorders of fine motor development in children aged 3-4 years with a high category of 60.71%. Early age is the golden age of rapid child development, so positive stimulation is needed for optimal growth and development. An important aspect that affects the overall development of children is fine motor skills. Fine motor skills can be developed through various fun activities through the smart book educational game tool.</em><em></em></p><p><strong><em>Objectives: </em></strong><em>The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of smart book educational game stimulation on fine motor skills in early childhood.</em></p><p><strong><em>Methods: </em></strong><em>This research was an action research with nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Stimulation using smart books was carried out for five days with 90 minutes. The number of samples was 80 PAUD children, consisting of 40 children in the intervention group who were given smart book stimulation and 40 children in the control group without smart book stimulation only using conventional educational game tools that are usually done in everyday schools. Statistical test using general linear model + posthoc bonferroni.</em><em></em></p><p><strong><em>Results: </em></strong><em>The results showed that there was a significant effect on the fine motor skills of early childhood who were given smart book stimulation and those that were not given with a p value of 0.001.</em><em></em></p><p><strong><em>Conclusions: </em></strong><em>Educational game-based learning can be used to stimulate children's fine motor skills and is expected to be integrated into children's learning activities with various methods.</em><em></em></p>

Educational Game as An Effort to Accelerate Learning After The Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic that occurred forced us to carry out the learning process through the internet network (online or online). Learning carried out online creates many problems, so it is considered ineffective and causes learning loss. Various methods have been taken to overcome this learning loss, including collaborating with various parties and issuing various regulations. In addition, teachers are also required to provide a new spirit in creating and innovating to provide effective, efficient, and competitive learning media. One way is to do educational game-based learning. Educational games are considered adequate for overcoming learning losses because learning media with educational games require players to participate in determining outcomes, have an entertainment side, and can increase creativity and problem-solving skills. The planned research method stages for collecting the required data are observation, interviews, and literature study. As for the development of educational games in this study, the prototype development method will be used. This study's result is that the Educational Game design has produced output that meets the needs. In future research, when this design is implemented, it is hoped that it will be an alternative medium for accelerating post-pandemic learning.

An Integration of Game-based Learning in a Classroom: An Overview (2016 - 2021)

Games are increasingly becoming common in learning environments, and to match the requirements of developing a course as a game, a variety of technologies have been developed. Besides education, game-based learning has been popular in other settings, including professional training and social media. By introducing gaming elements as a training method, game-based learning platforms will boost students’ engagement, motivation, and productivity. Game-based learning is more than just making games for students to play on the surface; it is also about establishing learning activities that gradually teach subjects and lead users to achieve goals. This paper reviews the two research elements: the instruments used and disciplines done by 21 researchers on the game-based learning approach. The findings show that most studies have remarkable results in developing the game-based learning method. Generally, game-based learning in education strikes the perfect balance between subject matter and gameplay and the students’ capacity to retain and apply that knowledge in real life. Nevertheless, more research in game-based learning qualities and elements is required to provide extensive knowledge on the adaptability of current technological systems.

Using the Concept of Game-Based Learning in Education

A modern school deals with a generation of students who were born and grown up in a digital environment and require other teaching methods. Changes in the technological and social conditions of modern society need new professional skills, which are often called “21st century skills”. These skills should be devel-oped starting from the primary school, as they are psychological and behavioural, rather than practical. Game-based learning and gamification are effective means of such skills development. The use of video games in teaching practice is studied multifaceted, along with formats and requirements of educational game, methods for effectiveness assessment, and the effect of games on students. The controver-sial nature of game-based learning effect on students require deeper research, as the increase in motivation and learning efficiency cannot be disputed, as well as the negative impact of a long gaming on cognitive abilities, emotional state and social skills of students. The study tested both an increase in the motivation and attraction of school students for the learning process, and the impact on the prac-tical results of information assimilation. There was conducted a survey on the re-sults of the application of game training to determine the motivation and attraction of students. Likewise, we counted time, spent by the study and control group, for mastering the main educational material and the post-class study of game content and the educational material it presents. A comparative test was conducted on the results of educational material comprehension to determine the effectiveness of the methodology in mastering knowledge. The group, with game-based learning and gamification applied, showed an increase in motivation and attraction to learning, students paid additional efforts for assimilating the material studied, and also showed significantly higher learning outcomes compared to the control group.

Types of Game-Based Learning in Education: A brief state of the art and the implementation in Greece

The interest towards game-based learning (GBL) is continuously growing worldwide. However, several countries still face difficulties to efficiently implement GBL approaches in their Educational Institutions. This literature review is focused on the identification of the main types of GBL approaches that have been recently implemented in educational contexts, by providing one representative game-example for each case. The study also examines the implementation of GBL in educational contexts in Greece, identifying game-based learning popular tools and approaches. A qualitative content analysis is used to investigate the general characteristics of the identified GBL types and the representative example-games, as well as the main benefits and drawbacks that render GBL implementation impracticable in several countries. Overall, this study contributes in the research attempt towards the recognition of the main GBL types, focusing on their drawbacks or other features that seem to­ affect their broad implementation in several countries and educational contexts.

Conscientiousness in Game-Based Learning

Background. An increasing number of studies support a mediating influence of personality on video-game preferences and player experiences, and in particular, traits associated with playfulness, such as extraversion. Educational institutions, however, tend to reward serious personality traits, such as conscientiousness. Aim.To discern how students respond to Game-Based Learning (GBL) in the classroom, and to understand if and how conscientiousness mediates GBL, we performed a field study at a leading university of technology in northeast China. Method. In May 2019, 60 bachelor and executive students in public-administration studies consecutively played two digital serious games, TEAMUP (multiplayer) and DEMOCRACY3 (single player). Data accrued through surveys with pregame measurements of personality (conscientiousness), mediating factors (motivation, player experience), learning effectiveness (cognitive and non-cognitive learning), and GBL acceptance. Results. Analysis showed a strong overall learning effect for both games. Conscientiousness significantly related to cognitive learning in both games and noncognitive learning in the multiplayer game only. Conscientiousness also significantly related to player experiences in the multiplayer game. Furthermore, the conscientiousness facet of perfectionism was a dominant factor in player experience and learning. We discuss the findings in light of several aspects around GBL that require more attention and research, especially that, alongside other factors, conscientiousness may be an important dimension to consider in the design and implementation of GBL in education, and GBL can have a positive role in the modernization of education in non-Western countries.

Application of Game-Based Learning in the Teaching Process of Disaster Medicine for Medical Students

Introduction:Classroom instruction of disaster medicine for medical students is complicated and lacks attraction. Nowadays a novel method, which is named Game-Based Learning (GBL), has been used in other fields and received good feedback.Aim:To apply GBL to the teaching process of disaster medicine and discuss the effect of its application.Methods:A computer game was devised based on a syllabus of disaster medicine and employed it in classes of disaster medicine for medical students. Then a questionnaire about the application of GBL in education was used inquiring the demands of medical students for the designing of GBL in disaster medicine, including their platform and game mode preferences. Feedback was collected and data was analyzed after the class.Results:201 questionnaires were issued, and the valid rate was 100%. From the responses, 77% of medical students considered the application of GBL in education on disaster medicine was necessary, and 73% of the respondents thought it was practical. Furthermore, over 90% of medical students expressed their expectation for the adoption of GBL. According to another survey of 51 medical students we conducted, after attending a class about knowledge of injury classification with one board game adopted, most of the students believed GBL was better than traditional methods of teaching.Discussion:There is a high approbation degree among medical students to the adoption of GBL in the teaching process of disaster medicine, which suggests a great possibility for the application of GBL in medical education. It is concluded that GBL can be used in the teaching process of disaster medicine.

Educationally Game-Based Learning Encourages Learners to be Actively Engaged in their Own Learning

In our schools and universities today, learners have been exposed to a lot of technology applications; therefore, the natural order of learning could be enhanced by the use of games. Using games through the application of technology provides the learner with lots of hands-on activities. Gaming activities are highly engaging and it helps the learner to find ways of solving problems by various means. Using technology games gives the learner also immediate feedback of a skill obtained or mastered. Educationally game-based learning is designed with the purpose of helping the learner to interact within an organizational experience by learning skills and knowledge to improve literacy. Educational game-based learning is just another way to incorporate learning through the instructional process facilitated by teachers. Teachers must continue to seek ways to address how learners learn best. By using game related activities, the teacher has the opportunity to add value to a variety of instructional enhancers. With the effort of improving literacy, the teacher can use games to help the learner gain a variety of literacy experiences in an engaging and confident manner in a number of subjects or disciplines across the curriculum. Using a variety of games does not have to be expensive. Teachers could select some off the shelf games or online, if incorporated properly, could be effective for use to drive learning performance and instructional activities (Sandford, Ulicsak, Facer & Rudd, 2006). The intent of this article is to give research findings related to game-based learning. This study will focus specifically on definition of game-based learning, theorists framework, value and benefits, learning strategies, simulations and application, enhancing multiple learning styles, literacy booster, engagement and motivation, linkage and impact, and how scholarly significant is game-based learning.

SIMPLIFICATION OF GAME DEVELOPMENT LEARNING VIA MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES (MOOC): A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS

The complication of game development tools creates barriers of entry for the majority of students to eliminate a potential creative platform. Generally, this leads to students’ lack of interest in game development. Creativity among students remains highly untapped without a platform for creative development and engagement. Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) offers a platform to teach a variety of courses without boundaries of time, space, and cost, including game development learning. Therefore, a preliminary analysis is conducted to identify current game development tools that can facilitate in the simplification of game development for students, to understand students’ perception on game development and their interest in engagement with it. The analysis is also to determine obstacles and hurdles they face in embracing it, to establish learning possibilities, and solutions that can be incorporated into a university program in hope that these tools can invigorate creative talents of students. This paper presents the review of literature on MOOCs and self-organized learning. The methodology of preliminary analysis is also discussed. Finally, the analysis of results and findings on student’s perceptions on applying game-based learning in education and their interest in game development courses, perception of game development-based learning are presented. The game development tool is evaluated to rate its specific features. The findings of preliminary analysis are hope ton help to improve enrolment, the suitability of MOOCs to engage students in creative learning of game development learning.

Integrating a Mobile-Based Gaming Application into a Postsecondary Forest Ecology Course

Increased disengagement of the current generation of postsecondary students (sometimes referred as “net generation”) from traditional instruction coupled with on-going popularity of games and mobile technologies have prompted interest in game-based learning in education. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate the viability of a mobile game-based learning quest, based on the Questogo platform (website and mobile app) in an undergraduate Forest Ecology course offered at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver. The disturbance ecology (DE) quest was designed as a self-study activity that supports field-based laboratory sections of the course. The quest included instructional, location-based, and question- and answer-type of tasks that tested students’ knowledge of forest and disturbance ecology in an outdoor setting. After completing the DE quest, students provided feedback via an online survey. The majority of students found the DE quest to be a useful self-study tool, with 81% of respondents indicating that they were able to successfully engage with the mobile game-based learning technology. Sixty-six percent of the students would like to also see quests incorporated into other courses and 28% would like to have additional quests in the Forest Ecology course. This study provides a framework for incorporating mobile game-based learning into outdoor learning activities that offer students an engaging self-study educational experience.

Evaluating Efficacy and Validating Games for Health.

The field of games for health is growing rapidly, but many games for health are not validated for their use as a tool to improve outcomes. The few research studies that do exist are often poorly designed, and their conclusions cannot be considered valid evidence to support or refute efficacy. Based on lessons learned from the field of digital game-based learning in education and recent efforts to systematically review games for health in meta-analyses, guidelines are suggested for conducting high-quality efficacy studies on games for health.