Carina Soledad González

A Literature Review of Gamification Design Frameworks

This paper presents a review of the literature on gamification design frameworks. Gamification, understood as the use of game design elements in other contexts for the purpose of engagement, has become a hot topic in the recent years. However, theres also a cautionary tale to be extracted from Gartners reports on the topic: many gamification-based solutions fail because, mostly, they have been created on a whim, or mixing bits and pieces from game components, without a clear and formal design process. The application of a definite design framework aims to be a path to success. Therefore, before starting the gamification of a process, it is very important to know which frameworks or methods exist and their main characteristics. The present review synthesizes the process of gamification design for a successful engagement experience. This review categorizes existing approaches and provides an assessment of their main features, which may prove invaluable to developers of gamified solutions at different levels and scopes.

Use of Constructivism and Collaborative Teaching in an ILP Processors Course

Simulators are widely used to teach instruction level parallelism (ILP) topics. A simulator called SIMDE, which combines the superscalar and very long instruction word (VLIW) approaches to ILP processors in a single environment, has been developed. SIMDE has been validated and improved using feedback from students during two academic years. Although the simulator is a valuable tool in and of itself, this paper goes one step beyond by using SIMDE with an educational methodology based on constructivism and collaborative learning. This methodology has been applied in a computer architecture course that uses the Moodle platform as a framework for collaboration between students and teachers

Using KADS methodology in a simulation assisted knowledge based system: application to hospital management

Abstract This paper presents a knowledge-based system for aiding in the decision-making process that is carried out in hospital management. There are a number of reasons that have led us to choose a tool such as this one: the amount of information generated in a hospital, its great interrelation and the need of heuristic knowledge for its processing. The KBS has been designed following the KADS methodology. KADS has allowed us to obtain a structured representation of the knowledge, which makes easier both the construction and the debugging of the knowledge base. As a starting point, the decision-making task has been decomposed in four subtasks: monitoring; diagnosis; prediction of the possible solutions for the stated problem; and design of the solution. The prediction task can only be performed through a simulation program where the dynamics of the hospital is modeled. This allows the system to detect the consequences of the application of different possible solutions. The co-operation between simulation and artificial intelligence has proven to be an adequate technique for dealing with the decision-making tasks that are involved with the management of complex organizations.

Usability and User Experience: What Should We Care About?

Human-Computer Interaction HCI should be a basic part of the formative process of all Computer Science CS professionals. Usability and User Experience UX were redefined by many authors and well recognized standards. UX is usually considered as an extension of usability. To move from usability to UX seems to be a tendency lately. The lack of generally agreed formal definitions of HCI/usability/UX may have consequences on their development and recognition among CS communities, especially in regions where HCI is poorly developed, as Latin America. Practical activities are fundamental in complementing the theoretical foundations of HCI/usability/UX. The practice is usually more appealing and persuasive than the theory. The gap between HCI/usability/UX research and practice may be reduced by applied research, problem-oriented, or at least based on real case studies.

Learning healthy lifestyles through active videogames, motor games and the gamification of educational activities

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared obesity as a 21st-century epidemic after reaching global proportions. In Spain, this disease is suffered by 62% of the population, leading to the emergence of new health problems. Increasing childhood obesity in the world is a direct result of changes in the lifestyles of the population. Therefore, in this paper we present a gamification training program to prevent childhood obesity based on motor games, and active videogames developed for overweight children ages 8-12. The design of the program consisted of: group sessions in a school setting, individual sessions at home for the children, and developing healthy habits to help families. The motivation and the effectiveness of the gamification training program were studied. The results involving biometric variables, learning healthy habits and experience in the intervention were highly satisfactory. We design a training program based on a GBL and gamification approaches.We work in formal and informal contexts (school and home) as informal learning.We present a cuasi-experimental study developed with children from 8 to 12 years old.We analyze the experience from different dimensions (medical, learning and UX).

Gamification in intelligent tutoring systems

Gamification is the use of game mechanics and strategies in nongame contexts. Currently, according to various reports, is an emerging trend in many application fields, including education. It seeks to encourage people, behavior change and improve troubleshooting. Furthermore, mobile and ubiquitous learning make possible to extend the teaching-learning beyond formal contexts such as classrooms. Moreover, while the intelligent tutoring systems have been shown to improve student achievement and enhance learning, they still have major problems in their use and need further investigation. Among them, one of the main problems found is the inappropriate use of these systems by the students, perhaps due to boredom, lack of interest or motivation and monotony, which among other factors, cause the student to behave incorrectly when interacting with these kind systems. For this reason, in this paper we present a conceptual architecture proposal for an Intelligent Tutorial System (ITS) known as EMATIC (Mathematics Education through ICT) that includes gamification elements as key components of the system.

Integrating an educational 3D game in Moodle

Different approaches have demonstrated that learning improves when implemented in a constructivist and social way. In addition, electronic games and simulations are perceived to have high educational value because of their motivational and emotional factors. This potential value can be developed by defining appropriate scenarios in which players are presented learning objectives with playable goals using different strategies. The authors introduce a prototype intended to include such scenarios in learning flows, partially integrating the learning management system Moodle and BioWares game Neverwinter Nights. First, the authors analyze the reasons and background that support their proposal. They then provide a description of the motivational and cognitive factors that influence human interaction with video games (especially 3D games) and learning. The implemented prototype is then introduced, taking into account scenarios, roles, environments, and how collaboration is implemented. Finally, the authors present their conclusions.

Learning subtraction and addition through digital boards: a Down syndrome case

AbstractThis paper examines key issues involving the interaction, design and usability of a digital whiteboard interface to support Down syndrome (DS) students in their learning of addition and subtraction algorithms. The research goals include (a) to identify the main interaction difficulties present when executing addition and subtraction operations and (b) to improve the interaction design of the digital whiteboard interface to adapt it to DS characteristics. In order to achieve these goals, several studies (usability and educational) were conducted with experts and children. These methods and techniques included prototyping, questionnaires (pre-post), thinking out loud, video-recording and structured observation. As regards the interaction aspects with the whiteboard, the items evaluated included (a) mouse use, (b) placement of numbers and balls, (c) ball deletion and crossing out, (d) placement of the sign of the operation and (e) use of sensitive areas established in the worksheet. In addition, the paper presents the main strategies, procedures and errors of DS students for carrying out addition and subtraction algorithms that are more predominant in the DS population. Some relevant findings and results are presented, such as the importance of visual aids (graphics, balls, fingers, etc.) in teaching addition and subtraction to individuals with DS, the advantages of using the whiteboard for students who have difficulty writing, as they can focus on the operation at hand and forget their difficulties with handwriting, or mathematical errors arising from interaction issues.

Computer Supported Collaborative MOOCs: CSCM

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a recent but hugely popular phenomenon in the online learning world. Collaborative Learning is an old idea that is becoming part of many educational settings. This paper presents a new proposal named CSCM (Computer Supported Collaborative MOOCs), including collaboration aspects into MOOCs. Moreover, an extensive analysis of MOOCs platforms and learning theories is presented.

Gamification: a systematic review of design frameworks

Learner’s motivation difficulties are recognized as a problem in diverse educational scenarios, reaching up to university degrees. Among other techniques that are often applied by instructors to counteract this issue, those related to the use of gaming elements seem to very promising. In this context, considering the use of game-like properties in learning scenarios, known as gamification, has received increasing interest by academia in recent years. However, its application in higher education can be challenging, due to some unwanted effects caused by the lack of proven design methodologies have been detected. Choosing the adequate formal process for gamification design has become an important success requirement. This work presents a systematic review of the gamification design frameworks discussed in the literature, providing a useful resource to educational practitioners as well as gamification designers and researchers. A total of 2314 unique works are initially recorded, based on queries in databases, libraries, journals and search engines. After applying a systematic filtering process, a definitive list of 40 works is more closely analysed. Next to review over relevant literature, an assessment of the main features found in the discussed approaches is given, while also categorizing them according to their main application field and its suitability in higher educational environments.