learning history: a gamified activity for mobile devices

EDGAR COSTA www.edgarcosta.net 26de1

Learning History: a gamified activity for mobile devices

A New Culture of Learning: Computing and Next Generations

IFIP, Vilnius, July, 3

Sónia Cruz, [email protected] University of Portugal, Braga, Portugal Ana Amélia A. Carvalho, [email protected] of Coimbra, Portugal

Inês Araújo, [email protected] of Coimbra, Portugal


Summary

MOBILE LEARNING

The Republic Implantation in

Portugal – 6th grade

Games THE PROJECT RESEARCH CONCLUSION

improve learning?


MOBILE LEARNING

Sónia Cruz | [email protected]

• “In recent years, mobile learning has undergone a significant transformation due to

rapidly growing ownership of smartphones and tablets, accompanied by the

proliferation of apps, social networks and mobile-friendly open access resources”

Kukulska-Hulme, 2014, p.12.

Increased mobility;

Time-saving;

Interactive;

Environmentally-friendly.


GAMES CAN:


Games, which have been applied in education for a long time, have also benefited

from these advances in technology and from the portability of multiple devices.

Jeong & Kim, 2007.

enhance motivation;

be used as a powerful mechanism for

teaching formal contents;

promote learning without the player even

paying ‘much attention’

be fun.

EDGAR COSTA www.edgarcosta.net 26de

THE PROJECT

identify the games Portuguese students play most often, especially on mobile devices.

‘From Games to Interactive Activities for Mobile Learning’

Step 1

Step 2

design gamified activities for mobile devices for students of all educational levels .

Step 3

apply in real learning contexts the 4 gamified activities designed.


Survey Online(between May and November 2013)

Characterisation of the students

Characterisation of their gaming habits

Preferences about games

Preferences for learning school contents through games


Sample

2303 players of mobile gamesStudents from the 5th grade of Basic Education up to Master’s

degree level

508 players from 5th and 6th grades

Respondents playing games

Total Gender f %

508Male 298 58.7

Female 210 41.3


Characterisation of students

Fig1. Mobile devices on which students played

Mobile phone

Smartphone Tablet PSP Nintendo 3DS

Laptop0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Fig2. Mobile device they use the most to play their favourite game

Mobile phone

Smartphone Tablet PSP Nintendo 3DS

Laptop0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%


Gaming habits

menos de 1h 1h a 5h 6h a 10h 11h a 20h Mais de 20h0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%MasculinoFeminino

Fig3. The time students spend to games, by gender

Alone57%

With others online43%

Fig4. Preference for game partners

Fig4. Preference for game partners

Alone57%

With others online43%


Preferences about games

Table 1.: Top 5 favourite games (n=161)

Game Total (N) Male (n=119)

Female (n=42)

N % N %

1Grand Theft Auto (GTA)

40 39 32.8 1 2.4

2Subway Surfers 31 16 13.4 15 35.7

3Pou 28 6 5.1 22 52.4

4Pro Evolution Soccer (PES)

26 26 21.8 0 0.0

5Minecraft 18 17 14.3 5 2.4Counter Strike (CS) 18 15 12.6 3 7.14

TOP 5


Fig6.: Difficulty level of the games they played most

Very Easy Easy Moderate Hard Very Hard0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%menos de 1h

34%

1h to 5h41%

6h to 10h13%

11h t 20h5%

Mais de 20h5%

No reply2%

Fig5.: Time spent by students playing each preferred game


characters

79,5%

graphic effects animations

70%

many levels

72,4%

improve one’s score

70.5%


79,9%

74,2%70,8%

71.1%

FemaleMale

Reasons for keeping playing


LEARNING PRINCIPLES AND GAME MECHANICS IDENTIFIED IN THE MOST PLAYED GAMES

i) Psychosocial Moratorium; ii) Committed Learning Principle; iii) Amplification of Input Principle; iv) Achievement Principle; v) Practice Principle; vi) Regime of Competence; vii) Intuitive Knowledge and viii) Affinity Group Principle.

(Gee, 2003)


• i) allow the formal learning of contents,

• ii) be a creative game that would attract students’ attention in order to make them learn.

Planning

• The game “1910” has been designed according to two prerequisites:


Course Content

Course content: The Republic implantation in Portugal Subject: History (6th grade).


Subject

• Late 19th century: the Portuguese monarchy faced great difficulties.

• 5th October 1910: a revolution established the republic in Portugal with the support of secret associations.

• Post revolution: - a government was created; - first elections held;- a constitution was drawn up;- several measures were taken in the social and

educational fields.


Student’s role

• A video will present students to the role they have to play in the game - a journalist in the year of 1890.


Student’s role

• The game starts when the journalist is in the newspaper office and is asked to write a news article.

• The director tells him that the more the newspaper sells, the higher his salary will be (coins).


• To pass to the next level, the student needs to have gained a fixed amount of coins.

• If the answer is wrong, the player does not get the respective coin but can progress forward till the end of that episode.

• At the end, the player is given the chance to recover the coins he did not win, by performing the task once again.


• The tasks required from the players are distributed by episodes within a historical period with remarkable dates.


• These episodes require a greater involvement of the student according to the increased complexity of the issues analysed.

• The tasks performed allow the player to unlock the time frames:

Ex. hearing a sound or testimonials the students should find the right word.


LEARNING PRINCIPLES AND GAME MECHANICS IN GAME: ‘1910’

• Avatar (represents the player) • Committed Learning Principle (Gee, 2003)

• World (space action) • Psychosocial Moratorium; Amplification of Input Principle (Gee, 2003)

• Quest (tasks), • Practice Principle; Regime of Competence; (Gee, 2003)

• Feedback (players glad with the accomplishments achieved)• Achievement Principle, Intuitive Knowledge (Gee, 2003)


• The designed game can be used in two different ways.

Teacher’s role

• The students play the game out of the classroom, but the teacher knows the students' results by checking the report in an slide page.

• It can also be used in the classroom to introduce the new subject or to reinforce a subject already studied.


Implementation

• The design of the game is still in progress but it will be tested in September by the beginning of the school year.

EDGAR COSTA www.edgarcosta.net 26de26Sónia Cruz | [email protected]

CONCLUSION

STUDENTS ARE RECEPTIVE TO USING GAMES IN COURSE ACTIVITIES TO LEARN SCHOOL SUBJECTS

MOBILE LEARNING MAY FACILITATE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A STUDENT-CENTRED LEARNING APPROACH

MALE PLAYERS PREFER LONG GAMES AND PLAYING WITH OTHER PLAYERS

ADVENTURE, ACTION AND SPORT ARE THE TYPES OF GAMES THAT PORTUGUESE STUDENTS PREFER TO USE IN CLASS.

FEMALE PLAYERS PREFER SHORTER GAMES THEY CAN PLAY ALONE.

GAMES CAN BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR LEARNING FORMAL CONTENTS


Thank you for your attention !


Sónia Cruz, [email protected] University of Portugal, Braga, Portugal

Ana Amélia A. Carvalho, [email protected] of Coimbra, Portugal

Inês Araújo, [email protected] of Coimbra, Portugal

learning history: a gamified activity for mobile devices

Education

edgar costa

mobile devices

mobile learning step

games preferences

grade games

favourite games n

games portuguese students

26de4 games