In recent years, mobile devices have become an integral part of our everyday life in various fields. The technology that powers them is used in various devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and PDAs. These devices hold extensive computation capabilities, along with advanced communication abilities, which are supported by an internet connection and diverse types of motion and location sensors. Mobile devices have changed the way people communicate with each other, for example by providing options to send instant text messages, perform live video calls with others in addition to voice conversations. These capabilities have encouraged educators to exploit mobile technology and promote new types of learning options. There are several new learning possibilities based on tools such as mobile dedicated applications, location-based learning activities, and interactive social related tasks. These new uses require adjustments to educational programs to allow support for this type of learning. The uniqueness of mobile learning, in contrast with the classic learning paradigm, is the ability to connect the learner through enhanced learning materials to the outside environment. This breaks the physical borders that exist in the traditional classroom and creates new learning possibilities, but it has its drawbacks. One of the difficulties that arise from this type of learning is the loss of contact in real time between teacher and student, especially when performing outdoor activities. The Treasure-HIT platform was conceived to create outdoor Treasure Hunt-based games, mainly for educational purposes, by introducing an authoring web platform and a supporting mobile application. The platform includes communication capabilities based on social interactions and cooperative learning with the integration of social networks, and yet real-time educator and student communication is still lacking. Adding real-time communication features provides a way to better support ongoing learning activities, and can take pressure off the learning process for the students, by providing them with a more personal experience and immediate support when needed. This thesis follows the process of addressing this concern in TreasureHIT, including the rationale, the background, the possible options and gradual development of a prototype solution to the problem under the existing Treasure-HIT infrastructure. In the thesis, the advantages of two features are explored: (1) the Realtime Group Tracking Map, which provides a way to monitor the movement and action of groups of players during game time, and (2) Instant Text Messaging service, which allows the game instructor to send custom text messages to the different game groups. The research findings indicate that the new monitoring options provide a solid tool for real-time analysis of the progress of the game and the ability to inform about various issues and solve them in real time. ii Furthermore, the instant message service feature received positive responses from the game-manager and players alike, on the grounds of major improvements to the general game flow and problem solving in real-time.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-27T19:12:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Rosi Meri Dornelles Brandao Costa.pdf: 29981045 bytes, checksum: a2373aff499cc9e78fe4be61d82ea511 (MD5) Rosi Meri Dornelles Brandao Costa.pdf.jpg: 3591 bytes, checksum: 719ad7f8b8035f4c8d8a5e8c34ef681c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-06-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This research it aimed to determine the contributions of class construction, in interaction with the use of media resources to enhance skills development and minimize gaps in mathematical knowledge in the final years of elementary school. In an attempt to overcome these shortcomings, the study occurred in two distinct stages of implementation of proposed activities: the first was the lesson and the teaching process, supporting and preparing for the second time, which included interactive activities through Treasure Hunt using the computer as a technological resource and its interfaces to better qualify collaborative learning. The study was conducted with students in the 6th grade of a public elementary school from the west area of Santa Maria city. Difficulties presented by them were concentrated primarily in the use of algorithms of the four operations and more particularly in the division operation. They had interpretive skills, but they had many difficulties to perform the calculations due to flaws on the field and understanding of mathematical operations that are fundamental to the continuation of any learning in this science. The participants in this study showed that gaps in teaching and learning needed and must be overcome to continue developing satisfactorily educational future steps. Technological resources are great tools that assist in the construction of knowledge, but they need a good base generated in the classroom promoted by teaching processes. At the end of this research it was possible to observe a great improvement on the use of technological resources (computer, internet, data show, hypertext and treasure hunt) the interpretation and analysis of problem situations, more safety, consistency and understanding in resolving four mathematical operations and their correct use. / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo verificar as contribuições da construção da aula, em interação com o uso dos recursos midiáticos para potencializar o desenvolvimento de habilidades e minimizar as lacunas do conhecimento matemático nos anos finais do Ensino Fundamental. Na tentativa de superação destas lacunas, a pesquisa ocorreu em dois momentos distintos de aplicação de propostas de atividades: o primeiro foi a aula e seu processo de ensinagem, servindo de suporte e preparação para o segundo momento, que contou com as atividades interativas por meio da Caça ao Tesouro, usando como recurso tecnológico o computador e suas interfaces para melhor qualificar a aprendizagem colaborativa. A investigação foi realizada com estudantes do 6º ano do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola pública municipal, no município de Santa Maria, RS, na região oeste desta cidade. As dificuldades por eles apresentadas estavam concentradas basicamente no uso dos algoritmos das quatro operações e mais especificamente na operação divisão. Eles tinham habilidades interpretativas, mas apresentavam muitas dificuldades para executarem os cálculos devido às lacunas existentes quanto ao domínio e entendimento das operações matemáticas, que são fundamentais para a continuidade de qualquer aprendizagem nesta ciência. Os participantes desta pesquisa mostraram que as lacunas de ensino e aprendizagem precisavam e deviam ser superadas para continuarem desenvolvendo satisfatoriamente as etapas educacionais futuras. Os recursos tecnológicos são ferramentas que auxiliam na construção do conhecimento, mas que precisam de uma boa base gerada na sala de aula promovida pelos processos de ensinagens. Ao final desta pesquisa foi possível observar um grande progresso em relação à utilização dos recursos tecnológicos ( computador, internet, data show, hipertextos e caça ao tesouro) à interpretação e análise de dados das situações problemas, mais segurança, coerência e entendimento na resolução das quatro operações matemáticas e o seu uso correto.

In this thesis we are presenting a design-based research aimed to extend an existing mobile-based environment named “Treasure-HIT”. “Treasure-HIT” is an environment which uses the available mobile technology to enable teachers to conduct pedagogical “Treasure Hunt” games for their students. At baseline (January 2013), “Treasure-HIT” was at its early stages and has not yet been officially released; only a few teachers were granted access to it. The goal of this thesis was to test the system with teachres in order to understand the actual needs to detect difficulties and usabily limitations and to improve the system accordingy.The sudy was conducted as a design-based research that included three iterations. Within each iteration we have identified needs expressed by teachers and improved the relevant system features. The outcome of this thesis was the design, development and implementation of 7 different features that increased the usability of the “Treasure-HIT” environment and its potential to effectievy support the creation and enactment of pedagogical location based activities.

There are a many examples of museums trying to create a playful environment for children, using Ubiquitous computing, Virtual Games and Physical Computing. However, are these cultural spaces creating a learning environment, which fosters Play?The first part of my thesis concentrates on the theoretical groundings of Play, Storytelling and Learning and examples of how technology supports the creation of a tangible interactive environment. I then interpret these findings and look at how they can be incorporated in creating a fun learning experience, incorporating cultural artefacts.The second half of the thesis shows empirical research in the area and the final design concept. The design process is formulated around a Participatory Design approach, and the final concept derived using a video scenario.

Communication is a fundamental social component of human life and constitutes an indispensable factor in the learning process as it allows the transfer of information between people. Communication supports the interactions that take place in different learning stages and settings and can encourage involvement and cooperation. The "Treasure-HIT" platform, a dedicated environment for designing pedagogical mobile location-based games, encourages social interaction and collaborative learning. This platform, which is social at its base, has limited communication capabilities. Adding such capabilities can overcome this difficulty by providing a more supportive and interpersonal interaction among the involved stakeholders. This thesis explores the users' communication needs for the preparation and enactment of "Treasure-HIT" activities. A design based research was used to analyze the needs in terms of design and technological specifications and develop and implement communication features. Three such features were developed in the course of this thesis: (1) Activities based map, (2) Social media sharing feature (Facebook tasks) and (3) Image gallery. All of those aimed at supporting communication between learners, instructors and their community, before, during and after the activities. Findings show that the developed capabilities enabled new means of communication and contributed to the user experience and learning process. Users appreciated the functionality and ease of use and positively adopted the new features.

Submitted by JÚLIO HEBER SILVA (julioheber@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-12-19T16:59:00Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Gerson Carneiro de Farias - 2016.pdf: 3093324 bytes, checksum: 583f2c3e86392ff992d4f72609b67187 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2016-12-26T12:29:41Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Gerson Carneiro de Farias - 2016.pdf: 3093324 bytes, checksum: 583f2c3e86392ff992d4f72609b67187 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-26T12:29:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Gerson Carneiro de Farias - 2016.pdf: 3093324 bytes, checksum: 583f2c3e86392ff992d4f72609b67187 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-06 / The thesis of this study is that blind children and adolescents are seeking motor control and coordination of movements to favor the Orientation and Mobility (OM) process and the construction of Self-concept. The antithesis is that Blindness is a restriction factor to this process. And the synthesis is that the Orientation Game: " Treasure Hunt" (JO: CT) favors this construction, due to being a new Educational Technology (TE), which is at the service of solving the problem of the OM process of children and adolescents Blind, as well as involve mediation, media and publishing. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze the effects that a Orientation Game program: "Treasure Hunt" entails the development of the Self-concept and the Locomotion of two blind children and two adolescents attended at the Brazilian Center for Rehabilitation and Support for the Visually Impaired Of Goiás (CEBRAV/CAP), to give them greater autonomy and independence. The method used was a quasi-experimental research design, which has the subject as its own control, to favor the construction of the Self-concept and the Locomotion of two children and two blind adolescents, aged between eight and thirteen years, using the Orientation Game : "Treasure Hunt", in which the student must make a course in an unknown area, marked by circles, having in hand a special letter of adapted orientation and a cane, as shown in the figure below. - Exit: Reception P1 - Secretary Glass door P2 - Kitchen P3 - AVAS Room P4 - Drinking Fountain P5 - Gate Sports Court - Arrival Figure 01: Adapted Guidance Special Letter Source: FARIAS (2000). The evaluation of Self-Conception and Locomotion was performed by two observers, one permanent and the other sporadic, who established the degree of agreement between them, during the Baseline, Intervention and Follow-Up phases. The results show an improvement of the Self-concept and the Locomotion of two children and two blind adolescents in the categories of Competence, Personal Value, Autonomy, Independence and Lifestyle. The conclusions are that the Orientation Game: "Treasure Hunt" has a positive effect on the construction of the Self-concept and the Locomotion of blind children and adolescents to develop Autonomy and Independence, favoring Social Inclusion. / A tese desse estudo é que as crianças e os adolescentes cegos estão buscando o controle-motor e a coordenação de movimentos para favorecer o processo de Orientação e Mobilidade (OM) e a construção de Autoconceito. A antítese é que a Cegueira é fator de restrição a esse processo. E a síntese é que o Jogo de Orientação: “Caça ao Tesouro” (JO: CT) favorece essa construção, devido ser uma nova Tecnologia Educacional (TE), que está a serviço de solucionar o problema do processo de OM de crianças e adolescentes cegos, bem como por envolver mediação, mídia e publicação. Assim, o objetivo desse estudo foi analisar os efeitos que um programa de Jogo de Orientação: “Caça ao Tesouro” acarreta ao desenvolvimento do Autoconceito e da Locomoção de duas crianças e dois adolescentes cegos, atendidos no Centro Brasileiro de Reabilitação e Apoio ao Deficiente Visual de Goiás (CEBRAV/CAP), para lhes proporcionar maior autonomia e independência. O método utilizado foi um delineamento de pesquisa quase experimental, que tem o sujeito como seu próprio controle, para favorecer a construção do Autoconceito e da Locomoção de duas crianças e dois adolescentes cegos, com idades entre oito e treze anos, utilizando o Jogo de Orientação: “Caça ao Tesouro”, no qual o aluno deve realizar um percurso, em uma área desconhecida, marcada por círculos, tendo em mãos uma carta especial de orientação adaptada e uma bengala, como mostra a figura abaixo.  - Saída: Recepção. p1 - Porta de vidro da Secretaria. p2 - Cozinha p3 - Sala de AVAS p4 - Bebedouro p5 – Portão da Quadra de esportes - Chegada Figura 01: Carta Especial de Orientação Adaptada Fonte: FARIAS (2000). A avaliação do Autoconceito e da Locomoção foi realizada por dois observadores, um permanente o outro esporádico, que estabeleceram o grau do acordo entre eles, durante as fases da Linha de Base, na Intervenção e no Acompanhamento. Os resultados mostram uma melhora do Autoconceito e da Locomoção de duas crianças e dois adolescentes cegos nas categorias de Competência, Valor Pessoal, Autonomia, Independência e Estilo de Vida. As conclusões são as de que o Jogo de Orientação: “Caça ao Tesouro” tem efeito positivo na construção do Autoconceito e na Locomoção das crianças e adolescentes cegos para desenvolver Autonomia e Independência, favorecendo a Inclusão Social.