Purpose: This paper aims to examine whether the instructional message used to introduce game-based learning (GBL), prior knowledge, flow and prior gaming experience have an impact on secondary students' learning outcomes, perceived game utility and motivation to use the game. Design/methodology/approach: Fifty-four 9th grades students enrolled in…

Gender and prior knowledge may affect students' performance and motivation when simulations and games are used for learning. Accommodations should be made for students of different genders and with different levels of prior knowledge. A simulation digital game about the food chain concept geared for elementary school students was developed for…

Despite the prevalence of digital gaming as a leisure activity and research attesting to the affordances of digital game-based language learning (DGBLL) for English as a foreign language (EFL), the use of DGBLL remains low, especially outside the United States. A survey was carried out in order to understand both the beliefs and behaviors of…

The emergence of block-based environments aims to facilitate the problems caused by the abstractness of text-based languages. Recent studies generally focus on the effect of having block-based experience on programming education. This study is an attempt to observe the transfer of previous programming experiences (block-based vs. text-based) into…

The great value of applying digital games in language learning has been highlighted. However, there has been a lack of attention paid to the effects of prior knowledge in a contextual game-based language learning environment. To this end, this study developed an MMORPG-based educational game to facilitate English learning, aiming at investigating…

The aim of this article is to address how online tools and digital technologies can influence data collection opportunities. We are still at the early stages of piecing together a more holistic picture of the role of digital media in young people's everyday lives, especially regarding digital gaming among younger children. Digital technologies…

Autistic people are better at perceiving details. Major theories explain this in terms of bottom-up sensory mechanisms or in terms of top-down cognitive biases. Recently, it has become possible to link these theories within a common framework. This framework assumes that perception is implicit neural inference, combining sensory evidence with…

This article outlines a model for teaching both computer games and videogames in the classroom for teachers. The model illustrates the connections between in-game actions and youth gaming culture. The article explains how the out-of-school knowledge building, creation and collaboration that occurs in gaming and gaming culture has an impact on…

Game-like learning systems such as simulation games and digital toys are increasingly being applied to foster higher-level abilities in educational contexts, as they may facilitate an active learning experience. However, the effect of such game-like learning systems is not guaranteed because students may only be interested in the fantasy…

There is a limited literature on pre-school children's experiences with "digital technologies" at home and little discussion of the ways in which children harness these technologies for their own purposes. This paper discusses findings drawn from three studies that investigated the role of "domestic technologies" and…

This study developed an educational online game, Super Delivery, targeting knowledge about saving electricity, and conducted case studies of eight sixth-grade students using this game to explore the factors influencing the effectiveness of students' knowledge acquisition in digital game-based learning (DGBL). This study followed Miles and…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…