Norasykin Mohd Zaid

The impacts of infusing game elements and gamification in learning

With its interactive feature that infuses fun to motivate its users, games have been considered useful to engage the current batch of Generation Z students. With games based learning methods such as digital game based learning, serious games and more recently gamification. Yet, with the increasing tasks of teachers nowadays, the use of gamification; game elements in non-gaming context, has been gaining momentum. Although there has been research that has shown the effects of gamification on learning, the fundamental of game elements on learning via traditional and online method has been less ventured into. Thus, a mixed method research was carried out using a gamification platform as a mediator for students learning Science. The eight week gamified online intervention was carried out in tandem with the traditional classroom. The game elements used were points and badges whilst leaderboard was reflected on the amount of points and badges. The findings based on the interviews with the participants found all the elements plays a part in engaging the interest of students in learning, more so badges and leaderboard. It was also identified that certain elements are preferred to acquire either online or offline.

Enhancing Student's Higher Order Thinking Skills HOTS through the Socratic Method Approach with Technology

Technologies have a potential to make learning more dynamic and capable of going conventional learning limits. With the utilization of online technologies for example, students can interact with teachers and other students, regardless of time and distance. The learning process can likewise happen in synchronize or asynchronies. Meaningful interaction is required in the Socratic method of learning because this is the concept of learning through question after question to build knowledge. The dialog collaboration, inquiries are either verbal or non-verbal. So this is where online innovation comes into the picture and allows students to always dialogue with certain individuals to construct new knowledge. Next, by using the Socratic method of learning, the high level of thinking can be increased which is emphasized in the field of education in Malaysia nowadays. This paper will discuss previous studies about the potential of technology in Socratic Methods to improve students level of thinking.

Gamification's Role as a Learning and Assessment Tool in Education

Gamification is a new and upcoming trend that is predicted by many to further enhance the field of educational technology in the new millennium. The use of gamification has fared well in the corporate world and is gradually transcending into the educational arena. The usage of game elements such as points, badges and leader board can assist in keeping the students not only motivated but also engaged to the teaching and learning process in the school. As learning and assessment come hand in hand as a knowledge acquiring process in a classroom, therefore it should be identified whether or not gamification can be truly utilized in the form of a learning and assessment tool in the teaching and learning process. This paper will discuss about the repercussions of using gamification as a learning and assessment tool based on the review of several studies carried out in the field of gamification.

“Online learning” potential in Socratic learning methods to empower Higher Level Thinking

The ability to think is a complex process as it requires us to use our mental capacity to resolve a problem. Malaysian Secondary school students involved with the assessment of Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011 and Programme International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2012 could not meet the standards that have been set by the Ministry of Education (MOE) seeing as Malaysias position is below the international average according to a report issued by the MOE. The new era of rapid technology has now made the learning process easier. Previous studies found that learning through Socratic Method can improve critical thinking skills, specifically that of higher-order thinking. With the use of technology such as “online learning” in learning Socratic Method, the learning process can be done optimally, whereby it is not limited to only the classroom. This paper will look at the potential of “online learning” technology combined with Socratic Method of learning in improving higher-order thinking.

Code puzzle: ActionScript 2.0 learning application based on problem based learning approach

Learning programming is difficult especially for novice programmers. The rapid development of mobile technology capabilities generates a new way of teaching called mobile learning. Thus, the purpose of this research was to develop a mobile game on the topic ActionScript 2.0 based on the Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach. The development of this Android mobile application uses ADDIE model as the reference model and Adobe Flash CS6 as the programming software. The respondents were 10 postgraduate students enrolled in an Authoring System course, one of the compulsory courses for the Master of Educational Technology program at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) where this study took place. The data analysis was conducted using the quantitative study approach and involved a motivational survey. The motivational survey comprising 16 items in the questionnaire adopted the ARCS Model of Motivation by [14]. This study found that through the implementation of PBL in the mobile game, students agreed that mobile games motivate them in learning programming, with mean value of 4.28 and standard deviation of 0.649.

The Nature of Student Group Online Interactions in Learning ICT Education

This study investigated the nature of student group interactions through the incorporation of online collaborative learning (OCL) initiative, with its aim to enhance students’ learning in a Malaysian tertiary multimedia and ICT education course. Data collected from questionnaires, interviews and online forum transcripts were the basis for an interpretive analysis of students’ interactions in online collaborative learning and to assess the extent to which it was successful in enhancing students’ learning. The results showed four types of student group interactions styles: strategic, task directed, peripheral and disengaged which in support of the students’ cognitive, social and emotional development. The research also found that the incorporation of online collaborative learning can lead to the facilitation of the student and student’s group learning process and potential constraints from the technology or the lack of social and verbal cues can lead to different working methods of communication and different styles of interactions and student’s engagement.

The Growth of Applied Knowledge with Integration of Group Activity Possess Elements of Critical Thinking

The purpose of this research is to determine whether the applied knowledge among university students is growing by integrating an activity based on elements of critical thinking as a Pedagogical Tool for active instructions. The research objectives are to employ current tools with integration of group activities in selected topics of the subject. This research focuses on how the applied knowledge is growing through the activities provided which aim to add value of meaning of content delivery. In this learning process, series of activities that contain critical thinking elements will be provided. By using the qualitative method, we have analysed and categorised the answers and compared them with the level of critical thinking appraisal. Findings show there is a pattern of growth of applied knowledge, influenced by integration of group activities.