The research focus of this paper discusses digital game-based learning as a novel learning approach and further emphasises on the empirical study of technologies motivating Chinese primary students to study and learn mathematics at home. Considering that digital game-based learning is still under development, the effects of it is still controversial. The aim of this research is to examine family users of digital game-based learning systems through online research methods. It is interesting to study this area from the family users’ perspective because of the online context. In China, the concept of education in the family environment is one full of challenges. The design of a digital game-based learning (DGBL) system needs to consider and balance both parents and young learners’ needs. In order to have a comprehensive understanding of the benefits and issues of a DGBL system in China, a qualitative study was employed with an interpretive research approach using online data collection methods. After analysing the empirical findings, the results of the study will be produced. They will help to examine whether DGBL is a favourable approach to aiding Chinese primary students to study mathematics and improve their academic performances at school. The outcomes of this study are expected to contribute to informatic research and design of future DGBL systems.

Video and computer game users are frequently stated as possessing a higher proficiency in English. In this study, 3 Swedish upper secondary school students from different programs played The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, a lovecraftian murder mystery game. The aim was to examine the possible effects on their English vocabulary acquisition through their ability of assuming words' meaning from the context presented by the game. The words used in the study were low-frequency words which were gathered from the game and then cross-referenced with the Corpus of Contemporary American English(COCA). The 80 least frequent words were selected. Participants were tasked with translating, explaining or using the words in sentences after completing a game chapter. The study found that the game had in general had a positive effect on the participants’ vocabulary store. However, the test scores varied greatly between participants; 1 participant acquired 1 word while another participant acquired 18. This, combined with the small sample size, meant it was difficult to say definitively how effective the game had been at expanding the participants' vocabulary store.

In face of the climate crisis, educational responses aim at raising awareness, fostering knowledge, and encouraging theengagement of the general public. Climate change education plays an important role in the necessary individual andsocietal transformations. Playful and game-based educational approaches are increasingly used. They hold the promiseto overcome the challenges and limits of mainstream approaches. This thesis explores the case of Climate Fresk, arecently created game-based workshop, based on the latest IPCC report, which pledges to push the world into transitionby providing a better understanding and fostering action and engagement to its participants. The present researchconsists of a formative evaluation of Climate Fresk in Sweden. A framework of successful game-based approaches forclimate change education was established and guided the evaluation of Climate Fresk. After defining the intendedoutcomes of the workshops, through a focus group and interviews with the Climate Fresk facilitators, an evaluation ofthe extent to which these outcomes were achieved was carried out by interviewing thirty participants. Twoquestionnaires were used: one for the participants who had just taken part in a workshop; another for players severalmonths after their participation. The results confirmed the integration of the game-based climate change educationfeatures of the framework to a large extent. The intended outcomes, as formulated by the facilitators, about climateunderstanding, thinking skills, attitudes, emotions, engagement, were achieved to a certain degree. Increasedunderstanding of climate change and system thinking was gained for a large majority of the participants. The findingsshow that there is scope for improvement. The data collected from the players who participated several months agoshow that Climate Fresk does not solidly lead to engagement and action. Recommendations are proposed for theClimate Fresk facilitators and organisers to enhance the impact of the workshop on its participants, while fostering Climate Fresk’s capacity for change.

Learning environments that intrigue the Generation Z learner while transferring communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking skills are what is needed to prepare this generation for the challenges that they are going to face in the 21st century. This research focuses on design principles that would help educators and students in designing (and co-designing) game-based learning environments conducive to not only transferring content knowledge, but also of the most applauded skills that new graduates are compelled to possess. Employers agree that the students do not have what it takes to be successful in the 21st century workplace. Especially in South African context, the focus of higher education institutions can therefore not only be on content delivery, but has to also be on the development of the 4Cs, communication, collaborations, creativity and critical thinking. The research was conducted at the University of Pretoria where an existing reality game, The Amazing Race, was adapted and re-conceptualised for educational purposes. The overarching search for design principles that could be beneficial in the implementation of a game-based learning environment was guided by an investigation of the elements of the game implemented, the characteristics of games and finally the opportunities afforded to develop the 4Cs. The freshman engineering students’ experiences are discussed using the students’ own voices, and the design principles that surfaced are discussed. It seems as if there are distinct principles that could ease the efforts of practitioners in the implementation of similar learning environments. Further research is needed to refine the principles to other learning environments. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / PhD / Unrestricted

Mycket forskning har gjorts för att hitta förbättrade sätt att lära ut concurrency. Allt från visualiseringsverktyg till spel-baserad inlärning och flippat klassrum. Dock så saknas forskning som jämför metoder och modeller som lär ut concurrency. Den här artikeln tar upp och tittar på resultat från studenter som studerar concurrent programmering genom att jämföra två olika moderna sätt att lära ut. Den tittar också på vilken metod/modell studenterna f ̈oredrar och håller dem mer engagerade. Författarna av denna artikel jämför ett spel-inlärnings tillvägagångssätt med ett flippat klassrum tillvägagångssätt. Spel-inlärnings tillvägagångssättet som används i denna artikel är utvecklad av Dr. Robert Marmorstein och använder sig av spelet OpenTTD [1]. Studenterna lär sig om race condition, deadlock och starvation genom att använda semaforer(järnvägssignaler) för att förhindra kollisioner. Det flippade klassrum tillvägagångssättet i denna artikel används i en flertrådad programmeringskurs på Malmö Universitet. Efter att båda tillvägagångssätten har genomförts tar studenterna ett test och svarar på ett frågeformulär för att se hur mycket studenterna har lärt sig, hur engagerade de är och vad de föredrar. För att få mer exakta resultat får bara studenterna delta vid ett av tillfällena där tillvägagångssätten genomförs. Resultaten från den här studien gynnar OpenTTD labbens tillvägagångssätt då studenterna verkar vara mer engagerade och föredra den lite mer. Studenterna som deltog i OpenTTD labben gjorde bättre ifrån sig på testet när det kommer till att förstå hur man förhindrar/löser varje synkroniseringsproblem, medans de studenterna som deltog i det flippade klassrummet gjorde lite bättre ifrån sig när det kom till att förklara/beskriva problemet. / Much research has been done to find ways to improve teaching concurrency, from visualization tools to game-based learning and flipped classroom. However, research on comparing these methods or models when teaching concurrency are lacking. This paper looks at the different results from students who are studying concurrent programming by comparing two different modern ways of teaching. It also looks at which method/model students prefer and keeps them more engaged. The authors of this paper compare a game-based learning approach to a flipped classroom approach. The game-based learning approach used in this paper is developed by Dr. Robert Marmorstein and uses the game OpenTTD [1]. The students learn about race condition, deadlock and starvation by using semaphores (railway signals) to prevent collisions. The flipped classroom approach in this paper is used in a concurrent programming course at Malmö University. After both of the approaches have been completed, the students take a test and answer a survey to see how much the students learn, how engaged they are and what they prefer. To gain an accurate result, each student that took part in the study only participated in one of the approaches. The results of the survey favor the OpenTTD lab approach as the students were more engaged during the exercise and preferred the exercise more. The students that participated in the OpenTTD lab also did better on the test when it came to explaining how to prevent/solve each synchronization problem, while in the flipped classroom students did better when it came to describing the problem.

Recent advancements in the cost, availability, and capability of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices and software are spurring their mass distribution to the public. This fundamental shift in the use of AR and VR predominantly from military and academic research laboratories to the public presents new opportunities and challenges for the design of instructional technology. While studies of AR and VR have been conducted to inform the design of individual instructional products, few studies have focused on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) products in which AR and VR learners work together toward shared learning goals. The museum education industry possesses unique and inherent characteristics that position it as a strong candidate for the development and deployment of CSCL-ARVR products. Tourism locations, such as museums, provide an exemplary environment for advanced learning technology experimentation in which information technology infrastructure and programs of instruction are often already in place and in which many tourists already possess smartphones and or tablets that may be used to mediate location-based educational experiences. The goal was to conduct formative research to develop a tentative instructional design theory that can be used to guide the creation of CSCL-ARVR instructional products. Instructional design theory and software engineering practices were applied to guide the design of a CSCL-ARVR instructional product prototype to support museum education. The prototype, named Co-Tour, was designed and developed to enable remotely-located VR participants to collaborate with AR participants located within a tourism location to jointly navigate the location, examine exhibits and answer questions about exhibits related to a problem-based learning instance. Formative data were collected and analyzed, and the results were used to develop a tentative instructional design theory. Mixed Reality Museum Co-Visit Theory is proposed to inform the design and development of CSCL-ARVR co-visitation experiences for museums. A theoretical framework was developed and was informed by CSCL, game-based learning, social constructivist theory, flow theory, and the construct of camaraderie. Five values supporting the goal were elaborated to guide theory methods production including fostering of collaboration, leveraging of informal learning activities, incorporation of motivational elements, favoring of loose organization, and provision an effective user interface. Future research should focus upon replication towards validation and generalizability of results and upon the broader museum going population.

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Game-Based Sprint Retrospectives are a well-used tool in Agile practices as a way to structure Sprint Retrospective meetings. However, this tool has very little scientific proof to back up why Scrum Masters should opt to conduct their retrospectives in game form. While the little research that exists provides proof that Game-Based Sprint Retrospectives help negate common issues with Retrospective meetings, it does not delve deeper into the potential positive effects of the practice. This study aims to start filling this gap by conducting Canonical Action Research with semi-structured interviews and surveys to investigate the effect implementing the Retrospective Game Sailboat has on a game development teams dialogue. The key finding was that the participating team's dialogue did improve over the course of the study as the team went from being quiet and uncertain to being lively and engaging. Possible causes for this change are how the post-it notes provided anonymity, an easier way to formulate team members' thoughts, and an opportunity for equal participation, as well as the game structure encouraging a less serious environment with playfulness.

The purpose of the study was to better understand social studies teacher education through preservice professional development that incorporates an online gaming and simulation component. Examination of the impact of online gaming and simulations on the self-efficacy and content knowledge of preservice teachers in the methods course was undertaken. This study employed a mixed methods approach with primacy given to quantitative statistical analyses of data collected pre and post using a content knowledge assessment (AP Government and Politics practice test) and two self-efficacy assessments (SSTEBI-PSSTE and TSES). Results from a repeated measures ANOVA revealed statistically significant differences in preservice social studies teachers content knowledge of civics from pre to posttest administration by gaming status (less than 2 hours and 2 hours or more), testing occasion (pre and posttest), and group by occasion. The gains in content knowledge by participants spending 2 hours or more gaming were greater than the gains for those who spent less than 2 hours gaming. Qualitative analysis revealed themes of content knowledge change, gaming, and active learning in support of quantitative findings. Results from the repeated measures ANOVA on the TSES measure revealed no significant differences by gaming status, testing occasion, or group by occasion from pre to posttest. There was a minimal raw score change from pre to posttest with the participants who played 2 hours or more in iCivics showing slightly less growth in self-efficacy scores on the TSES in comparison to those playing less than 2 hours in iCivics. Results from the repeated measures ANOVA on the SSTEBI-PSSTE measure revealed a statistically significant main effect for testing occasion. Results showed no significant difference by gaming status or for the interaction of group by occasion. Qualitative data collected throughout the research study via interviews and document analysis aided in the explanation of the quantitative results. The present study extends previous research into the use of games to enhance educational experiences. It is clear from this research that the amount of time spent gaming has an effect on participants‘ content knowledge of civics and that online simulations are an effective teaching method.

The subject of computer programming is highly practical and it is crucial that beginners participate in hands-on experimentation as part of the learning process. Unfortunately, many first year engineering students that are new to this discipline are often intimidated by the material and unmotivated to review or practice the concepts on their own. The purpose of this study is to measure the success of using a cooperative and competitive video game as a pedagogical tool in software engineering education. The video game that was developed for this research is called Space Race and it harnesses the power of group discussion to encourage students to share their individual understandings of basic programming concepts. This dissemination of knowledge within groups was able to teach many students new concepts that they did not understand previously.At least 67% of the students stated that the game motivates them to review course material. The game was wellreceived with at least 82% of the students that played Space Race agreeing that they would recommend that others also learn basic programming concepts with this game. Although the game does not directly teach students new concepts, it allows the instructors to identify what concepts students struggle with. Space Race encourages students to ask the instructor questions when they do not understand. In some cases, game participants outperform nonparticipants on course exams. On the final course exam, all of the statistically significant (p<0:05) comparisons (42% of the relevant questions) showed a performance improvement of game participants, with a maximum grade improvement of 41%. The findings also suggest that some students can retain the knowledge obtained from Space Race for at least 7 weeks. The results of this study provide strong evidence that a video game can be a successful pedagogical tool for software engineering education. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)