Educational games have been increasingly used to improve students' computational thinking. However, most existing games have focused on the theoretical knowledge of computational thinking, ignoring the development of computational thinking skills. Moreover, there is a lack of integration of adaptivity into educational computer games for…

This article reports an empirical study that explores gender differences in both cooperative and collaborative social gaming in relation to achievements and attitudes. Another aim was to compare students' game attitudes, feelings toward group work, and achievements in cooperative versus collaborative digital game-based learning environments. One…

Pair programming is a collaborative learning mode to foster novice learners' computer programming. Previous empirical research has reported contrasting conclusions about the effect of pair programming on student learning. To further understand students' pair programming, this study uses a mixed method to analyze three contrasting pairs'…

The aim of this study was to design a digital game that imparts the concept of urban heat island effects to aid in environmental education. Within the play-time limits, gamers must be alert to signs of warning from the environment and keep the balance between economic growth and the temperature of the environment, so they can safely manage the…

Persistence has proven to be a great challenge in online learning environments. Gaming and interactivity have been suggested as essential features in reducing dropout and increasing persistence in online learning. Yet in interactive game-based learning environments, persistence in moving forward in the game may come at the expense of investing in…

As game-based learning continues to draw attention, students' perceptions toward classroom activities are vital in influencing the quality of learning. This study used the social cognitive theory to show the perception traits of learning and playing in game-based environments and for students to identify their self-efficacy toward game-based…

This Special Issue contains some substantially expanded versions of conference papers that were originally presented at the Immersive Learning Research Network's (iLRN) 2018 conference, along with others outside of the conference. iLRN is an international organization of developers, educators, and research professionals collaborating to develop…

When learning to write Chinese characters, it is essential for students to learn and maintain the correct order of the strokes. Chinese teachers often use computer-supported drill and practice to develop students' ability to write in the correct order, but such devices are rarely designed to stimulate learners' memory-manipulation in cognitive…

Learning physics often requires overcoming common misconceptions based on naïve interpretations of observations in the everyday world. One proposed way to help learners build appropriate physics intuitions is to expose them to computer simulations in which motion is based on Newtonian principles. In addition, playing video games that require…

The major goal of this study was to develop a game-like software application for phonological awareness training and to evaluate its role in improving phonological awareness skills at the kindergarten level, with the intention to eventually help reading acquisition in Turkish. The participants of the study came from two kindergarten classrooms in…

This study aimed to validate a systematic instrument to measure online players' motivations for playing online games (MPOG) and examine how the interplay of differential motivations impacts young gamers' self-concept and life adaptation. Confirmatory factor analysis determined that a hierarchical model with a two-factor structure of…