In this paper, we present SCAMP -- Social Configuration Affordances for Museum Play -- an analytical framework we develop and use to highlight the relationship between designed affordances at interactive museum exhibits and different social playful behaviors they trigger and support. We do this through a selective case study analysis of Rainbow…

Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) is considered a central affective factor influencing English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning. This study thus developed an online simulation game to create a virtually situated learning environment for reducing EFL primary school students' FLA levels and improving their English vocabulary learning. A total of…

Marine education comprises rich and multifaceted issues. Raising general awareness of marine environments and issues demands the development of new learning materials. This study adapts concepts from digital game-based learning to design an innovative marine learning program integrating augmented reality (AR) technology for lower grade primary…

Digital games have the potential to create active and engaging environments for learning, supporting problem-solving, communication and group activities, as well as providing a forum for practice and learning through failure. The use of game techniques such as gradually increasing levels of difficulty and contextual feedback support learning, and…

Carefully engineered playable games can serve as vehicles for students and practitioners to learn and explore the programming of advanced computer architectures to execute applications, such as high performance computing (HPC) and complex, inter-networked, distributed systems. The article presents families of playable games that are grounded in…

In this invited autobiography, the author describes the impact that educational gaming and simulation has had on his professional career. He begins by reviewing his early life and education in Aberdeen and his subsequent work as a research scientist, schoolteacher, and physics lecturer. He then shows how he changed disciplines from physics to…

Does using a computer game improve students' motivation to learn classroom material? The current study examined students' motivation to learn history concepts while playing a commercial, off-the-shelf computer game, Civilization III. The study examined the effect of using conceptual scaffolds to accompany game play. Students from three ninth-grade…

Multiuser immersive learning scenarios hold strong potential for lifelong learning as they can support the acquisition of higher order skills in an effective, efficient, and attractive way. Existing virtual worlds, game development platforms, and game engines only partly cater for the proliferation of such learning scenarios as they are often…

The serious games community is moving toward research focusing on direct comparisons between learning outcomes of serious games and those of more traditional training methods. Such comparisons are difficult, however, due to the lack of a consistent taxonomy of game attributes for serious games. Without a clear understanding of what truly…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 12th International Conference on Mobile Learning 2016, which was organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society, in Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal, April 9-11, 2016. The Mobile Learning 2016 Conference seeks to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of…

Describes a set of six instructional simulation games in economics. Identifies simulation goals as increasing students' understanding of economic variables and political policy issues and enabling students to question, express views, and hold decision makers accountable. Suggests that by increasing economic awareness, the games will promote the…

Describes and contrasts the two authors' teaching styles. Proposes dimensions on which simulation teaching style and game administration design might vary. Argues that teaching style and game design have a considerable impact on learning-related outcomes from simulation. Recommends that the relationship between teacher/administrator behaviors,…

For the thirty-sixth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

Describes adventure games, a genre of computer simulation games that require the use of creative and intuitive approaches similar to those used in online database searching, and suggests that they can be used in training online searchers to develop creative problem solving skills. Reviews of several available adventure games are included. (EJS)

Use of educational games to supplement traditional classroom lectures is purported by some researchers to increase interest, motivation, and retention, as well as to improve higher order thinking and reasoning skills. This paper reviews proposed benefits of using games as cognitive tools, and discusses the complexities of assessing those benefits.…