In the current study, we synthesize recent research on digital game-based learning and itspotential effect on the speaking and interaction skills of young learners of English as a secondlanguage. Various relevant studies enlisting different methodologies are reviewed todetermine how digital games affect speaking and interaction skills and the role of motivationin the process. A common conclusion from the reviewed results is that digital games motivatelearners to develop their speaking and interaction skills. In addition, the studies reveal thatlearners who play digital games tend to have a higher level of proficiency.

The feature to “pet” animals in digital games is highly requested by players in online discourse, but there is a lack of research on its utility from a game design perspective. This thesis aims to gain a preliminary understanding of the effects of optional, sociable animal interaction to further inform game design decisions. Using a qualitative mixed methods research design, the possible impacts of sociable virtual animal interactions on the player experience are investigated. Five game-literate participants were observed during gameplay, which included an interactable virtual dog, and interviewed in-depth on their subjective experiences. The findings suggest that the interaction can be moderately beneficial to the player experience, but that it was also found lacking. The feature can offer a break from goal-oriented gameplay and improve players’ sense of agency. It may enhance the emotional value if the player feels a connection to the virtual animal. More life-like behavior and greater gameplay value might enable this connection, thereby making the interaction more desirable and beneficial to the player experience.

Schools in general have been digitized to a large extent and the inclusion of digital tools is becoming more and more common. The purpose of this study is to find out what different studies say about the inclusion of digital games-based learning and the impact they have on students' vocabulary learning and motivation in English teaching. It’ll also mention where the different studies have been implemented and which methods have been used. The method used in this study is a literature review that has been collected from ERIC (EBSCO), JSROR, ERIC (ProQuest), and IEEE Explore. The results showed that the implementation of digital games-based learning focusing on vocabulary learning motivates students to learn and improves their English language more than analog learning. It has also been shown that digital games have been effective in developing students' English language skills. This is because the students experience learning as enjoyable, unlike analog teaching where they feel analog learning takes place within a strict framework. The conclusion of this study shows that the students gain increased motivation and interest in learning English as a foreign/second language through digital games.

The research reported here is a qualitative case study aimed to identify the position of digital game-based learning (DGBL) in the public and private preschools of Stockholm. The research is placed within the broader framework of digital game-based learning and the practical implementation of digital games in education, while the emphasis of the study is given to the role of the teachers in the practical implementation of digital games into the classroom. The research examines the attitude of the teachers towards digital games and investigates the role of these attitudes in the implementation of DGBL. The empirical findings of the study are analyzed and discussed through the prism of the existing literature on the field.The study shows that the perception of teachers on digital games and on the use of technology in early childhood education is the main factor that influences the implementation of digital games in preschools. The attitudes of the teachers can be distinguished in two categories: the positive teachers and the sceptical teachers. Furthermore, there are several other barriers that prevent the spreading of DGBL in the education institutions. Regardless of the teachers’ stance and the existing barriers, teachers are aware of the existence of digital games applicable to the early childhood education and many of them do make use of them. In this study, the ways of implementation of the digital games are also presented. However, teachers do not discuss digital games with the parents, while the discussion among colleagues is limited. The lack of information and appropriate training reveal a gap between the research community and the educational practice of DGBL.

abstract: This dissertation examines how young children engage with digital games at home and how parents think and talk about their children's digital gaming. This is an ethnographic case study of the digital game playing of six three-year-old children in six families. This study combines ethnographic methods and critical perspectives to construct analyses that have the potential to rethink young children's digital game play. The focus of this study is on understanding how digital gaming functions in children's everyday lives. This study shows that young children's digital game play takes place in the interstices of their everyday family life. Digital games do not entirely change or displace other practices in early childhood, but they are integrated into existing young children's everyday practices in their family life. Digital games as a source of young children's imagination enrich young children's play rather than substitute for young children's spontaneous non-digital play. Young children and their parents tactically use young children's mobile game play to cope with their modern life. Negotiating over game selections, time, and space between young children and their parents is an everyday practice of families and digital games are a site not only for family power struggles but also of shared activity. Digital games reflect the dominant culture in which they are produced. However, this study shows that young children do not passively receive the messages in the games but rather make sense of the game contents according to their everyday local experiences. Digital games are now a part of everyday practices for both adults and young children, and young children's digital game play reflects contemporary society. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Curriculum and Instruction 2015

Games are increasingly becoming a powerful and effective tool for training. The use of games as a training tool increase intrinsic motivation which enhances learning. This study concerns why people play and why they continue play. The study consists of two parts; a focus group and a web questionnaire. The results suggest that people prefer playing together with others, and that they play mainly because of entertainment, fellowship and pastime. Results also show that the participants come to an agreement of five different characteristics a game must have in order for the participants to play; a pleasant game feeling  i.e.- effects like sounds, characters and environments, variation in tasks, successively increased difficulty, a exciting story and that the game must be understandable. These findings are important because these are factors that game designers must take into consider when designing training games. After all, entertainment and intrinsic motivation in games is some of the general reasons why people play and why they learn, and therefore, a game only designed for training is doomed to fail.

Undersökningens syfte har varit att bidra till ökad förståelse för hur konceptet“Environmental Storytelling” kan verka som ett ledande narrativ i en digital gestaltning, iform av ett datorspel, där användaren förs framåt i berättelsen med fokus på EnvironmentalStorytelling, det vill säga spelets miljö. I denna artikel analyseras kortfattat vad narrativ inomdigitala spel innebär för att sedan gå vidare med att undersöka vad EnvironmentalStorytelling fyller för roll inom digitala spel. Designperspektivet rhizomatik har tillämpatssom både teori och förhållningssätt. För att kunna genomföra vår undersökning skapades endigital gestaltning för att testa hur väl vi som speldesigners kunde skapa ett narrativ somskulle förmedlas med hjälp av Environmental Storytelling. Undersökningen genomfördesmed hjälp av speltestning och en enkät som 12 deltagare fyllde i och som fick ageraspeltestare. Frågorna som ställdes i enkäten hade fokus på hur väl vi som speldesignerslyckats förmedla en förskriven berättelse till spelaren. Resultatet av enkäten kan inte styrkatidigare forskning av bland annat projekt Aporia. Projektets resultat visar ändå på olikheter itolkning och upplevelse bland deltagarna. Eftersom vår undersökning skett under begränsadeomständigheter går det inte att dra för stora slutsatser av projektets resultat, men vi vågarändå påstå att Environmental Storytelling kan verka som ett ledande narrativ i ett spel. / The purpose of the study has been to contribute to a better understanding of how the concept"Environmental Storytelling" can act as a leading narrative in a digital design, in the form ofa computer game, where the user is then advanced in the story with a focus on EnvironmentalStorytelling. In this article it’s briefly analyzed what storytelling in digital games means andthen proceeded to investigate what Environmental Storytelling plays as a role in digitalgames. The design perspective rhizomatics has been used both as theory and approach. Toconduct our research we created a digital game, to test how well we as game designers couldcreate a story that would be conveyed with the help of Environmental Storytelling. Theresearch was conducted with the help of game testing and a survey that 12 participants filledin and who also acted as game testers. The questions asked in the survey focused on how wellwe as game designers managed to convey and prescribe the story to the player. The results ofthe survey can not prove previous research of e.g. project Aporia. But the project's results stillshow differences in interpretation and experience among the participants. Since our surveytook place under limited circumstances, it is not possible to draw too great conclusions fromthe project's results, but we still dare to say that Environmental Storytelling can act as aleading narrative in a game.

No description available.

This dissertation consists of three journal articles that explored the effectiveness of a digital game, called EnerCities, in producing pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors by using a mixed-methods study approach. The first study was conducted as a quasi-experimental study among undergraduate students in the United States. Based on the Attitudinal Learning Instrument (ALI), this study found that the attitudinal learning gained from EnerCities influenced participants’ pro-environmental behavioral intentions significantly. This learning was retained until five weeks after game play according to the qualitative results of the study. The second study, conducted in India, used EnerCities to study the differences in attitudinal learning among high school students who played the game collaboratively or individually, using the ALI and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Results showed that the attitudinal learning and its effect on pro-environmental behavioral intentions between collaborative and individual players was similar. This study also showed that EnerCities had significantly impacted the environmental attitudes and behaviors of the game players when compared to students who did not play any game, although all students had studied environmental studies through traditional instructional methods since elementary school. The third study, conducted among high school students in India, compared the environmental attitudes between game players and students who did not play any game based on the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale. Both the unidimensional and multi-dimensional properties of the NEP were considered. It was found that EnerCities had impacted game players’ environmental attitudes significantly. All the three studies showed that digital games are more effective in promoting attitudinal (cognitive, affective, behavioral and social) learning compared to traditional instructional methods. This supports the implementation of digital games as a pedagogical tool in influencing environmental attitudes and behaviors.

Digital games are a common interest today and research has shown that digital games affect English vocabulary building in a positive way. This study aims to examine the attitudes of teachers in grade four to six towards the use of digital games for vocabulary building in the classroom and how they are used to do that. There is a lack of research about this subject in a Swedish context which is why this study is important. The study used a mixed method approach where online surveys and interviews were conducted with certified English teachers of grade four to six in Sweden. The attitudes of teachers were found to be generally positive towards using digital games to build vocabulary and the most common use of them is to both practice words and phrases the students already know and to teach new words and phrases. However, insufficient time to prepare digital games for use in the classroom seems to be the biggest challenge teachers face when implementing them. The potential digital games have for enhancing vocabulary building and motivating students is why this study is relevant.