What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy

Although there is a consensus on the instructional potential of Serious Games (SGs), there is still a lack of methodologies and tools not only for design but also to support analysis and assessment. Filling this gap is one of the main aims of the Games and Learning Alliance (http://www.galanoe.eu) European Network of Excellence on Serious Games, which has a focus upon pedagogy-driven SGs. This paper relies on the assumption that the fundamental aspect of SG design consists in the translation of learning goals/practices into mechanical element of gameplay, serving to an instructional purpose beside that of play and fun. This paper proposes the Learning Mechanics–Game Mechanics (LM-GM) model, which supports SG analysis and design by allowing reflection on the various pedagogical and game elements in an SG. The LM-GM model includes a set of pre-defined game mechanics and pedagogical elements that we have abstracted from literature on game studies and learning theories.

Designers and analysts can exploit these mechanics to draw the LM-GM map for a game, so as to identify and highlight its main pedagogical and entertainment features, and their interrelations. The tool may also be useful for teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of a given game and better understand how to implement it in educational settings. A case study is reported to illustrate the framework's support in determining how gameplay and pedagogy intertwine in an SG. Finally, the paper presents the results of two comparative user tests demonstrating the advantages of the proposed model with respect to a similar state-of-the-art framework.

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Mapping learning and game mechanics for serious games analysis

There is a consensus that serious games have a significant potential as a tool for instruction. However, their effectiveness in terms of learning outcomes is still understudied mainly due to the complexity involved in assessing intangible measures. A systematic approach--based on established principles and guidelines--is necessary to enhance the design of serious games, and many studies lack a rigorous assessment. An important aspect in the evaluation of serious games, like other educational tools, is user performance assessment. This is an important area of exploration because serious games are intended to evaluate the learning progress as well as the outcomes. This also emphasizes the importance of providing appropriate feedback to the player. Moreover, performance assessment enables adaptivity and personalization to meet individual needs in various aspects, such as learning styles, information provision rates, feedback, and so forth. This paper first reviews related literature regarding the educational effectiveness of serious games. It then discusses how to assess the learning impact of serious games and methods for competence and skill assessment. Finally, it suggests two major directions for future research: characterization of the player's activity and better integration of assessment in games.

https://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ahci/2013/136864.pdf

Assessment in and of serious games: an overview

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01120560/document

Learning cultural heritage by serious games

There are currently a number of models, frameworks and methodologies for serious games analysis and design that provide useful interpretations of the possibilities and limitations offered by serious games. However, these tools focus mostly on high-level aspects and requirements and do not help understand how such high-level requirements can be concretely satisfied. In this paper, we present a conceptual model, called Activity Theory-based Model of Serious Games (ATMSG), that aims to fill this gap. ATMSG supports a systematic and detailed representation of educational serious games, depicting the ways that game elements are connected to each other throughout the game, and how these elements contribute to the achievement of the desired pedagogical goals. Three evaluation studies indicate that ATMSG helped participants, particularly those with gaming experience, identify and understand the roles of each component in the game and recognize the game's educational objectives. We present a model for serious games analysis and conceptual design, called ATMSG.Activity theory is used as the underlying theoretical framework.ATMSG supports a systematic and detailed representation of educational serious games.ATMSG depicts how the combination of serious games elements supports pedagogical goals.A taxonomy of serious games elements is presented to assist the analysis of SGs.

An activity theory-based model for serious games analysis and-conceptual design

Serious games present a promising opportunity for learning, but the genre still lacks methodologies and tools for efficient and low-cost production, particularly for teacher and domain experts This article gives an authoring framework that aims to provide structured support, from content design to final implementation In particular, we have abstracted a conceptual model—the SandBox Serious Game - which relies on a generalization of task-based learning theory The model invites players to perform cognitive tasks contextually while exploring information-rich virtual environments We consider it particularly suited for cultural heritage entertainment applications The model defines games that are set in realistic virtual worlds enriched with embedded educational tasks, which we have implemented as minigames This approach simplifies the authoring work, which can easily be supported by visual authoring tools for ontology-based urban 3D modeling and implementation tasks, thus allowing an approach similar to the mind-maps concept We propose a top-down methodology for content preparation, starting from a city-level analysis down to the single points of interest and associated tasks, which are instances of simple predefined minigame/quiz typologies We provide examples and discuss criteria for selecting task typologies according to the authors' cognitive targets Finally, we discuss the results of a user test, which took place in a lab, aimed at verifying the acquisition of cultural heritage knowledge in a pleasant and engaging way Games appear particularly suited for supporting the study of images, especially of iconography Compared to reading text, a game forces the player to focus more strongly on problems, which favors knowledge acquisition and retention Learning complex concepts requires an investigative attitude, which can be spurred by well-designed games Good design involves usability, graphic appeal, appropriate content, and the presence of connections which a player must discover in the content Players should be asked to pay attention to and reason about their whole game activity - including the relationships between the game content, the brief introduction, and concluding texts More comprehensive tests are needed to better investigate the educational effectiveness—however, the first results are promising, especially in terms of user motivation and creation of new opportunities for learning about CH

Annamaria D'ursi

Papers

A serious game model for cultural heritage