We developed an interactive exercise to teach students how to draw the structures of the 20 standard amino acids and to identify the one-letter abbreviations by modifying the familiar game of "Hangman." Amino acid structures were used to represent single letters throughout the game. To provide additional practice in identifying…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of goal specificity and scaffolding on the programming performance and self-regulation of elementary students engaged in learning game design. This study recruited 232 students for the experimental activities. Two levels of goal specificity were employed: specific and nonspecific.…

This position paper presents the first results of an on-going project, in which we explore rapid prototyping method to efficiently produce digital learning solutions that are commercially viable. In this first phase, rapid game prototyping and an iterative approach was tested as a quick and efficient way to create learning games and to evaluate…

Learning is facilitated by conversational interactions both with human tutors and with computer agents that simulate human tutoring and ideal pedagogical strategies. In this article, we describe some intelligent tutoring systems (e.g., AutoTutor) in which agents interact with students in natural language while being sensitive to their cognitive…

Gamification of learning and assessment will require new approaches to defining tasks as teachers will need to decide how to incorporate diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment components within a more holistic educational environment. Game theory will be blended with learning theory in curriculum design and will result in the redesign of…

Understanding and trouble-shooting microscopic processes involved in laboratory tests are often challenging for students in science education because of the inability to visualize the different steps and the various errors that may influence test outcome. The effectiveness of gamification or the use of game design elements and game-mechanics were…

The purpose of this study was to investigate future teachers' experiences and perceptions of using a virtual reality game for elementary math education. The virtual reality game was designed and developed to integrate a musical activity (beat-making) into the math learning of fractions. Five math education major students participated in this…

Researchers suggest that game-based learning (GBL) can be used to facilitate mathematics learning. However, empirical GBL research that targets young children is still limited. The purposes of the study is to develop a scenario-based digital game to promote children's route-planning ability, to empirically explore children's learning performance…

This paper adds to the small but growing body of research into the potential of augmented reality games for teaching and learning English as a foreign language (EFL). It explores the extent to which such games enhance the language learning experience of advanced level EFL learners. The author draws on his work developing "Mission not really…

There is a revolution taking place in teacher/learner/technology relations. At primary, secondary and tertiary education levels, teachers and students are being confronted by new technologies, new pedagogies, new relationships in teacher-student roles, as well as reconsiderations about how information is to be learned. The growth of information…

In this study we examined the effectiveness of a mobile game called MathDash for improving computational fluency as compared to a conventional drill and practice approach with computerized multiple-choice test items. An optical brain imaging method called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIR) was utilized to assess changes in neural…

This paper presents findings from a study carried out between May and October 2013. Based on a survey, which was developed by the MoGaBa VET project partners, the study aimed at understanding the factors that influence the way vocational instructors perceive and use game-based learning. A total of 267 trainers from eight European countries took…

"Virtual Interactive Student-Oriented Learning Environment" ("VISOLE") is a pedagogical approach to integrating constructivist online game-based learning (COGBLe) into formal teaching in school education. This paper reports a qualitative case study on the implementation of VISOLE (in secondary Geography education) in which we…

Development of digital resources is difficult due to their particular complexity relying on pedagogical aspects. Another aspect is the lack of well-defined development processes, experiences documented, and standard methodologies to guide and organize game development. Added to this, there is no documented technique to ensure correct…

In the last two decades there have been many attempts to integrate all kinds of mobile devices and apps to support formal as well as informal learning processes. However, most of the available apps still support mainly individual learning, using mobile devices to deliver content rather than providing learners with the opportunity to interact with…