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Alrededor del 5% de la población mundial infantil padece de Trastorno por Déficit de Atención e Hiperactividad (TDAH), siendo considerado el problema neuroconductual más común en niños. Además, debido a que la coyuntura pandémica actual ha ocasionado que la educación se realice de manera virtual durante todo el período de aislamiento social, ha sido necesario adoptar herramientas tecnológicas innovadoras que optimicen la atención y memoria de los estudiantes, dado que son procesos cognitivos que influyen en el rendimiento académico. Diversas investigaciones han demostrado que los juegos serios tienen efectos positivos al ser utilizados en tratamientos de reforzamiento de la capacidad de funciones ejecutivas, asociadas a la atención de niños con este trastorno, como la memoria de trabajo. En este artículo, se propone un juego serio en 3D y enfocado en la experiencia de usuario denominado ZOO-MT, con el objetivo de que, a través de su uso periódico en sesiones experimentales, se pueda mejorar la capacidad de la memoria de trabajo de niños con TDAH. La experimentación mediante ZOO-MT se realizó con 22 niños, de manera remota, en 3 sesiones por semana durante 5 semanas. Antes de la primera sesión, las memorias de trabajo de ambos grupos de niños fueron evaluadas mediante las pruebas de Dígitos, y Letras y Números de la Escala de Inteligencia de Wechsler para niños y adolescentes, y tras completar la sesión final se realizaron las mismas evaluaciones. Los resultados indicaron que posiblemente debido al uso de ZOO-MT, la capacidad de Memoria de Trabajo de los niños con TDAH mejoró en un 30%, en términos cuantitativos. About 5% of the world's child population suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), being considered the most common neurobehavioral problem in children. In addition, due to the fact that the current pandemic situation has caused education to be carried out virtually during the entire period of social isolation, it has been necessary to adopt innovative technological tools that optimize the attention and memory of students, because they are cognitive processes that influence academic performance. Various investigations have shown that serious games have positive effects when are used in treatments to reinforce the capacity of executive functions, associated with the attention of children with this disorder, such as working memory. In this article, a serious game in 3D and focused on the user experience called ZOO-MT is proposed, with the aim that, through its periodic use in experimental sessions, the working memory capacity of children with ADHD can be improved. The experimentation through ZOO MT was carried out with 23 children, remotely, in 3 sessions per week for 5 weeks. Before the first session, the working memories of both groups of children were evaluated using the Digits, and Letters and Numbers tests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children and adolescents, and after completing the final session the same evaluations were carried out. The results indicated that possibly due the use of ZOO-MT, the Working Memory capacity of children with ADHD improved by 30%, in quantitative terms. Keywords: Serious Games, Working memory, User Experience, Children with ADHD

The main objective of this project is to develop a game that serves to put yourself in the shoes of a Project Manager and acquire knowledge of this field in a more practical and entertaining way. It is mainly designed for students who aspire to work in project management. The responsibilities that players will take on throughout the game are mainly related to recruiting team members, assigning tasks, and managing the budget. These responsibilities will be affected by different occurrences that may occur during the game project, and players will have to employ strategies to cope with these events in order to finish the game project in the shortest in time and within the initial budget. To achieve the result of the project, an analysis of the existing games in this field has been carried out, as well as an in-depth study of issues in the world of project management. The methodology for developing the game was also based on a trial-and-error model, in which different adjustments were tested in order to arrive at a game where the players, in addition to being entertained, learn project management concepts. With these components, the player will have to develop the established project. The result is a board game, consisting of a Kanban board, cards representing tasks, employees and occurrences, a budget tracking sheet, a calendar and a dice. In conclusion, these types of games have great potential as they allow you to learn while you entertain yourself, as well as allowing the player to put themselves in the role of a manager and thus have a more realistic view of what it is like to have a position of this kind

The objective of this project is to develop a serious game through which users will be able to acquire or demonstrate knowledge about team and project management in an entertaining and didactic way. In this serious game, users will incarnate the role of a project manager in groups of three people and will have to implement different actions to deliver the project in the game statement on time. Each user will be seen taking responsibilities on project decision making while respecting the fundamentals of the Scaled Agile Framework methodology, task management and its duration, team management and leadership. The serious game created in this thesis consists of a board that represents the working days of a month, a Scrum Board, different cards (events, challeng es, bonuses and tasks), a dice and a notebook to keep track of tasks and budget and finally the instruction manual with the statement of the project proposed in this serious game. With the help of all these elements the user will be able to carry out diffe rent actions in order to deliver the project on time. For the design and production of this serious game, four general phases have been followed; the documentation and market analysis phase, the conceptualization phase, the user testing and improvement pha se, and finally the production phase. The conclusion of this thesis is that serious games are a very useful tool to train or evaluate people in different fields. In the specific case of this thesis it is intended to train all users of the serious game: Ub untu Games, in acquiring basic notions of team and project management. It has been estimated that the production cost of each unit will be Re sumen El objetivo de este proyecto es implementa 95,9 euros

Fear of a decline in American democracy has focused a national conversation on the role civics education should play to create a more knowledgeable, empathetic, empowered citizenry. I designed and taught an eight hour, once-a-week civics and U.S. history curriculum primarily utilizing simulations and experiential education to 159 fourth grade students from three different Bay Area elementary schools. I use observational, survey self-report, and interview data to examine to what extent students participating in American historical simulations increase their empathy and empowerment, with reflections on my own experience as their teacher. Lesson topics included redlining, Japanese Incarceration camps, confirmation bias, and inequality built into the Constitution. Despite outliers and insufficient quantitative evidence, data from surveys, interviews, and observations support findings that students enacting emotionally engaging simulations in which they were given active roles and agency were successful in increasing greater levels of empathy for each other and for people affected by discriminatory policies discussed through those activities. They improved their knowledge of the government and confidence in their abilities to make a difference in the government and their communities through protests and other political actions. As a teacher, I became aware of my biases to design activities for students with personalities similar to my own and learned that I must find a balance between lectures and experiential simulations in my future classrooms. Overall, this research supports utilizing experiential learning simulations to increase empathy and belief in students’ abilities to positively change their world.

Since its first detection in Catalonia in 2012, Vespa velutina has expanded rapidly throughout this territory, and it looks like it is going to continue to do so, since except for some Pyrenean areas, the environment is in favor of it. The expansion of this species has a series of associated impacts, the most serious being on the beekeeping sector, since they feed heavily on Apis mellifera. In addition, there are several agents that are directly related to the management of this species, and that have not always matched their vision. This situation has made it difficult to reach certain agreements, so, to this day, there is no management strategy at the Catalonian level that has been jointly developed by all the stakeholders. Because of this, the actions that have been taken have often been only coordinated at the regional level, losing effectiveness. In order to encourage cooperation among the mentioned agents, a role-playing game has been developed based on the issue of Vespa velutina in Catalonia. This game presents the current situation of Vespa velutina in our territory and the players’ objective is to minimize the impacts of this species by proposing different management measures. Once finished, representatives of the different agents have been summoned to put the game into practice, and they have been asked for their opinion to continue improving the game. In addition, the measures that they have proposed have been analyzed and a characterization of each of the roles they have played has been made. The proposals that have been obtained from the implementation of the game, in addition to others that can be found through bibliography, could serve as the basis for developing a proposal for the management of Vespa velutina in Catalonia considering all the most relevant points of view

The education system is subject to an ongoing digital transformation. The administrative departments should be able to handle grading, admissions, enrolments and recognition of certificates securely and quickly. Course managers should not only have faith in e-learning but also in e-assessment. And finally, learners should be able to access course material from anywhere and take exams outside the institutes where they are enrolled. Immutability to changes made retroactively seem to make Blockchain systems the perfect technology to secure data and in combination with digital signatures for identity verification, Blockchain could become the key to digital transformation in education. The paper ‘Blockchain technologies in the educational sector Results of the initial data collection‘ gives a first insight into the level of knowledge of people involved and shows which possibilities Blockchain Technologies could bring to the education sector. Or, more precisely, it shows in which existing applications within the educational system Blockchain Technology should be integrated., peer-reviewed

In addition to the actual core content of games, the user journey or user experience in digital games is becoming more and more important. The menu structure should be as intuitive as possible. Features that are important should be displayed to the player at the moment when the game engine assumes that access is necessary. The player should then reach the content with one tap or click. This persuasive design concept is called ‘nudging’ and is rooted in behavioural psychology. Therefore, in the design of the game environment, the viewpoint of goal orientation plays a major role. Two perspectives exist here. First, from the player's point of view: What is necessary to ensure a well-rounded game experience? The second perspective is from the producer's point of view and revolves around what do they want the player to accomplish next. Some of the top games have now also developed so-called "main menu games", which are challenges around the actual game to keep the players content and give them additional tasks that are as stimulating as possible. In this paper, the authors would like to demonstrate the above-mentioned mechanics by analysing four smash hits, namely “FIFA”, “Clash of Clans”, “Pokemon Go” and “League of Legends”, with the aim of gaining learnings for the development of digital educational software. This new form of learning software should be user-centred and offer an outstanding learning experience through optimal design and mechanics., peer-reviewed

In the last decade, various pricing models have been developed around computer games. The classic model is games that are bought at a fixed price and no further spending is necessary. However, for some of these games, there are frequent content expansions, such as new stories, available to purchase. Other games have an initial price and a subscription model. A further concept, which can be seen in well-known esports games, such as “League of Legends”, but also in mobile games, such as “Clash of Clans”, is the free2play model. Here, the game can basically be played for free, but there are in-game purchases or so-called season passes, where rewards can be earned more quickly. In all models with in-game purchases, it is always the same procedure: for real money, a further type of ingame token (for instance, jewels in Clash of Clans and “FIFA points” in FIFA) can be bought in addition to the in-game currency that can be earned by playing the game. However, it is only possible to invest money in the game, but not to convert the in-game currency into real money (although there are workarounds like using eBay or other platforms and sell the game accounts or meet in game to transfer in-game currency which has been purchased with a peer2peer FIAT transaction before). In some cases, that secondary currency, which is intended to be purchased for real money, can also be earned, but usually only very slowly and with a lot of effort while playing, which might have legal reasons, so the games cannot be blamed to fall under the gambling jurisdiction. This paper takes the esports School League Floridsdorf+ in Vienna as an example to examine how the topic of digital games and their respective around the game and in-game economy can be used to introduce students to the topic of financial literacy. This can also be facilitated to explain classic financial topics such as interest rates, inflation, deflation, savings accounts or new technologies such as blockchain in an applied and sustainable way., peer-reviewed

In recent years, a clear trend towards personalised learning experiences has emerged. Individual preferences are in the foreground and should be made possible, for example, through selectable choices. If these courses take place in the same educational institution, the handling of credit and the clear allocation to learning outcomes is usually possible. However, it becomes difficult when the options also extend to courses outside the main educational institution. It is even more difficult when the study opportunities occur, for example, at educational institutions abroad or at businesses with a strong focus on practice. Here, accreditation is often very difficult, dependent on the case and a painstaking process, unless it is regulated by law, for example through the Bologna Process in the case of universities. New ways in adult education go a whole step further, especially via the so-called second-chance education, when the trainee has a choice of often hundreds of possible courses at various educational and vocational institutions. However, the diploma or work permit is ultimately awarded by the authorities and not a specific university or college. This is an ideal example for the concept of micro-credentials or the possibility of partial achievements being made through various channels, whereby each of these microcredentials clearly defines the educational goal that is required and the extent to which this has been achieved by the learner. The most important factor regarding micro-credentials is a standardised form of storage, presentation, verification and approval processes. By discussing a demonstrator, this paper shows how blockchain technologies in combination with digital identities represent a feasible approach to mapping and comparing micro-credentials., peer-reviewed

Esta experiencia educativa describe la utilización de estrategias de aprendizaje cooperativo en taller vertical para solventar algunos de los problemas detectados en la docencia de las asignaturas de Proyectos Arquitectónicos para abordar programas complejos emergentes de hábitat colectivo. El problema principal consiste en la carencia de “puentes conceptuales” entre los distintos programas académicos que a menudo limitan las posibilidades de intercambio entre ellos. Experiencias previas, que sincronizaban la docencia de asignaturas de distintos niveles, mostraron las virtudes de este tipo de estrategias para incentivar el aprendizaje entre alumnos pero desvelaron dificultades para su desarrollo dentro de la estructura horizontal actual de la docencia en Europa. El proceso de innovación docente aquí descrito muestra cómo la introducción del “juego de roles” permite atenuar ciertos problemas del trabajo en equipo del taller vertical, acelerando la toma de decisiones y mejorando los resultados. This educational experience describes the use of cooperative learning strategies in a vertical workshop to solve some of the problems detected in the teaching of Architectural Projects subjects to address complex emerging programs of collective habitat. The main problem is found in the lack of “conceptual bridges" between the different academic programs that often limit the possibilities of exchange between them. Previous teaching experiences, synchronizing different levels of subjects, showed the strengths of this kind of strategies to encourage learning among students but revealed difficulties for development within the current horizontal structure of teaching in Europe. The teaching innovation experience described shows how the introduction of “role play” allows mitigating certain issues of teamwork in vertical workshops, speeding up decision-making and improving results. Esta experiencia ha sido financiada por el programa de Proyectos de Innovación Educativa de la Universidad de Málaga (Vicerrectorado de PDI, convocatoria 2019-2021), con el Código PIE 19- 202, denominado “Taller Vertical Cooperativo para una Ciudad Saludable: Aprendizaje del proyecto arquitectónico de programas emergentes mediante el juego de roles en transversalidad vertical”.

The modern gamification movement, following the classical definition of Deterding (2011), is focused on the use of game elements in non-game applications. According to this definition, gamification elements use familiar elements from games to satisfy player needs, increase the user experience and motivation; hence ensuring a long-term use. However, such approaches including those put forth by Kapp (2012), Stampfl (2012) and Zichermann (2011, 2013) preclude the conceptualisation and application of gamification within and around games. Indeed, gaming environments have the potential to successfully integrate solid gamification examples. The authors propose two new categories of gamification: 'in-game’ and 'around-game’ gamification. The ‘In-game’ type of gamification details the use of an additional layer of tasks, badges, achievements, point systems, etc. in a (digital) game, which are not directly related to the storyline of the game. For instance, certain games would reward with a badge if the player collects multiple items of the same species throughout gameplay, even if such a task is independent of or extraneous to the narrative/backstory of the game. ‘Around-game’ gamification occurs when, for example, the player receives a badge after starting the game 100 times, clicking on the forum 50 times, etc. So, in essence, this form of gamification is associated with the game, but does not happen directly inside the game world.Hence, the authors propose the following up-to-date definition of the term gamification: The use of game mechanics as a further dimension within and around both gaming and non-gaming contexts, in an endeavour to nudge participants to perform certain actions, by adopting a playful attitude. For the purpose of this paper, the authors have held talks with 8 international experts on the topic and extend the principles of ‘in-game’ and ‘around-game’ gamification to an educational context., peer-reviewed

The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of role-specific identity exploration enacted by participants on a community forum for the space flight simulation game Kerbal Space Program (KSP). Identity exploration is a valuable skill for 21st century learners, and affinity spaces such as community forums hold promise for supporting role-specific identity exploration but remain underexamined. The study addressed this gap using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design with a convergent data-transformation variant, in which the initial quantitative examination informed sampling for the qualitative examination, and the qualitative data was later quantified to explore general trends. Social network analysis visualized friend groups in the KSP forum, which highlighted participants with high and low social centrality to be sampled for qualitative case studies. To understand identity exploration as a form of complex thinking, epistemic network analysis visualized participants’ patterns of association across identity constructs as defined by the Projective Reflection theoretical framework. Social network analysis results revealed friendships remained relatively static over time but tended to cluster around highly central individuals. Case studies illustrated how most and least socially central participants enacted unique, personally relevant, and socially situated identities over time, but that highly central members tended to take on identities as content contributors. Results from epistemic network analyses found statistically significant differences in three participants’ association of identity constructs over time. Integration 1) illustrated general trends about identity exploration as it is enacted in KSP affinity spaces and 2) highlighted unique features of identity exploration processes based on social situation. Findings offer insights into the field of games and identity, including new theoretical understandings, methodological approaches, suggestions for application in formal and informal learning settings and areas for future research.

La experiencia docente que se presenta se enmarca dentro de la asignatura de Construcción 6, del Grado en Fundamentos de Arquitectura de la Universidad de Sevilla. Hasta el momento, en la parte teórica de la materia se seguía un procedimiento de clase magistral mediante la forma tradicional. Sin embargo, y con el objetivo de romper un poco con la monotonía de clases magistrales imperante, se opta por sustituir una de las sesiones teóricas por un role-play titulado “simulacro de juicio de responsabilidad civil”. Con él se consigue acercar de una manera amena y atractiva al alumnado al conocimiento de una situación real de la profesión así como facilitarle la comprensión de los papeles de los distintos agentes en él intervienen. Los estudiantes han hecho una valoración muy positiva de esta metodología, incluso negando la capacidad de obtener este aprendizaje con el modelo tradicional. The presented teaching experience is framed within the subject of “Construcción 6”, of the Degree in Architecture of the University of Seville. Until now, the theoretical part of the subject followed a master class procedure using the traditional way. However, and with the aim of breaking a bit with the prevailing monotony of classes, it is decided to replace one of the theoretical sessions with a role-play entitled "civil liability judgement trial". With it, it was possible to bring students closer to the knowledge of a real situation of the profession in a pleasant and attractive way, as well as to facilitate their understanding of the roles of the different agents involved. Students have made a very positive assessment of this methodology, even denying the ability to obtain this learning by the traditional model. El autor Manuel Alejandro Pedreño Rojas agradece el apoyo económico proporcionado por el programa FPU del Ministerio de Educación del Gobierno de España (FPU15/02939).

Besides the pure application of serious games as tools for knowledge transfer, a further trend has been observed in the last few years: The creation of games as an opportunity to gain practical experience and thereby also build up valuable knowledge. In this context several approaches are possible, such as using paper prototyping, game maker tools like Scratch, RPG-Maker, Construct 3 or Game Maker Studio 2, and the application of actual game engines like Unity. This contribution aims to discuss the possibility of creating games in a very specific, predefined genre using game maker tools that have been especially developed for use in an educational context and therefore offer didactic guidance. The Game Creator Tool which was developed as part of the Erasmus+ project Create Digital Games for Education (CDG4E) is presented in more depth. Using this tool, one can create decision card games inspired by the mobile game bestseller "Reigns". Within the project, the consortium created educational games in different areas such as fake news prevention and STEM education. In addition to these ready-made games, another focus was placed on using the tool itself as a teaching technique, for example to create games on a specific topic with school classes or within youth work, but also as an instrument for setting up dedicated "game jams". This contribution reports on the advantages and drawbacks of creating the tool itself by analysing qualitative and quantitative data gathered during the iterative design process of the Game Creator., peer-reviewed

Esta experiencia educativa describe la utilización de estrategias de aprendizaje cooperativo en taller vertical para solventar algunos de los problemas detectados en la docencia de las asignaturas de Proyectos Arquitectónicos para abordar programas complejos emergentes de hábitat colectivo. El problema principal consiste en la carencia de “puentes conceptuales” entre los distintos programas académicos que a menudo limitan las posibilidades de intercambio entre ellos. Experiencias previas, que sincronizaban la docencia de asignaturas de distintos niveles, mostraron las virtudes de este tipo de estrategias para incentivar el aprendizaje entre alumnos pero desvelaron dificultades para su desarrollo dentro de la estructura horizontal actual de la docencia en Europa. El proceso de innovación docente aquí descrito muestra cómo la introducción del “juego de roles” permite atenuar ciertos problemas del trabajo en equipo del taller vertical, acelerando la toma de decisiones y mejorando los resultados. This educational experience describes the use of cooperative learning strategies in a vertical workshop to solve some of the problems detected in the teaching of Architectural Projects subjects to address complex emerging programs of collective habitat. The main problem is found in the lack of “conceptual bridges" between the different academic programs that often limit the possibilities of exchange between them. Previous teaching experiences, synchronizing different levels of subjects, showed the strengths of this kind of strategies to encourage learning among students but revealed difficulties for development within the current horizontal structure of teaching in Europe. The teaching innovation experience described shows how the introduction of “role play” allows mitigating certain issues of teamwork in vertical workshops, speeding up decision-making and improving results. Esta experiencia ha sido financiada por el programa de Proyectos de Innovación Educativa de la Universidad de Málaga (Vicerrectorado de PDI, convocatoria 2019-2021), con el Código PIE 19- 202, denominado “Taller Vertical Cooperativo para una Ciudad Saludable: Aprendizaje del proyecto arquitectónico de programas emergentes mediante el juego de roles en transversalidad vertical”.

This research explains the rationale behind the utilisation of mobile learning technologies. It involves a qualitative study among children to better understand their opinions and perceptions toward the use of educational applications (apps) that are available on their mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets. The researchers organised semi-structured, face-toface interview sessions with primary school students who were using mobile technologies at their institution. The students reported that their engagement with the educational apps has improved their competencies. They acquired relational and communicative skills as they collaborated together in teams. On the other hand, there were a few students who were not perceiving the usefulness and the ease of use of the educational apps on their mobile device. This study indicates that the research participants had different skill-sets as they exhibited different learning abilities. In conclusion, this contribution opens-up avenues for future research in this promising field of study, peer-reviewed

A relevant literature review suggests that today’s children are increasingly immersing themselves in ubiquitous technologies, including interactive media and digital games. Therefore, this research uses valid measures to investigate the primary school students’ motivations toward playing educational games, at home and at school. The study was carried out amongst year-3 students in a small European state. The findings reported that there were strong correlations between the students’ perceived usefulness of the educational games and their behavioral intention to use them for their learning. The results also indicated that there was no significant relationship between the perceived ease of gameplay and the children’s enjoyment in engaging with the school’s digital games. To the best of our knowledge, there is no other study in academia that has explored the children’s technology acceptance,normative pressures and their intrinsic motivations to use digital learning games in the context of primary education. Therefore, this contribution opens future research avenues, as this study can be replicated in other contexts., peer-reviewed

RESUMEN: El aula de clases es un espacio dinámico con reflexiones propias, donde, se expresan y comparten experiencias, expectativas y perspectivas de la vida; en él, las formas de participación son determinadas por las vivencias y las propuestas del día a día. En este sentido, la presente propuesta de profundización pedagógica traza una ruta para la configuración de prácticas de escritura mediadas con herramientas digitales desde espacios pedagógicos, con niños de quinto grado de la Institución Educativa Luís Carlos Galán Sarmiento del municipio de Carepa. En este sentido, partiendo de la motivación que genera la participación en “los juegos interclases”, la mediación con herramientas digitales y la escritura como práctica, es posible identificar y expresar desde el diálogo en equipos de trabajo, las vivencias compartidas. Por medio de las prácticas de escritura se resignifica la experiencia a partir de los relatos crónicos, toda vez que constituyen formas de expresar e interactuar desde emociones y sensaciones relacionadas con los eventos en su contexto. Lo que permite el reconocimiento de los niños como sujetos de derecho con capacidad de participación en la expresión de vivencias, a través de estrategias como el proyecto pedagógico de aula, que propone espacios de reflexión sobre las actividades en que se participa y, se representar para darlas a conocer. Es así, como la intervención a través del proyecto pedagógico de aula, expone la pertinencia sobre como los espacios pedagógicos mediados con herramientas digitales resignifican las prácticas de escritura en el aula desde las experiencias propias de los estudiantes y su reflexión sobre actividades de la escuela y el contexto como eventos que motivan la creatividad y la expresión en los estudiantes. ABSTRACT:The classroom is a dynamic space with its own reflections, where, they express and share experiences, expectations, and perspectives of life. In it, the forms of participation are determined by the experiences and proposals of the day today. In this sense, the present proposal of deepening and pedagogical intervention developed with fifth-grade children of the Educational Institution Luís Carlos Galán Sarmiento of the municipality of Carepa traces a route for the characterization of writing practices mediated with digital tools in pedagogical spaces. Based on the motivation generated by participation in interclass games the mediation with digital tools and writing as a sociocultural practice, to express from the dialogue in work teams, the shared experiences. Through the writing practices of chronic stories resignified experience and the way of conceiving participation in everyday events. Since they are forms of expressing and interacting with emotions and sensations in context. From which children are recognized as subjects of law with the capacity for social participation, through the implementation of strategies in the classroom pedagogical project, which consolidates the moments of the experience. Thus, as the intervention, exposes the relevance of pedagogical spaces mediated with digital tools that resignify the writing practices in the classroom, from students own experiences and their reflection on school activities and context as events that motivate the creativity and expression.

Designing digital learning with gaming principles was examined in the context of creating several artifacts including a literature review, a website, a Choose Your Own Adventure activity and a Google Form survey. Gaming in education was found to innovate teaching when developing literacy and storytelling skills based on real-world experiences. Incorporating gaming in education required a design-thinking and a system-thinking approach using digital tools such as Google Drawings and Twine. Ludology (gamification) and narratology (gaming) are discussed as two sides of the same coin where play exists between them. Together, these findings about role-play, eSport, and social emotional learning are useful when designing literacy instruction. Applying Francis’ four-part model as a framework with Gee’s affinity spaces and design principles suggested that digital gaming in education has a positive effect on learning and on the future of education. It is suggested that emergent narrative experiences require agency, while playing and making digital games is unique to other media genre in English Language Arts (ELA). When skillfully combined, effective mentorship, digital gaming, and emergent narratives can support ELA curricular goals. The results were used to inform design decisions and make future recommendations. How can 'new' digital media develop more expressive narrative forms and genre? https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/13710/Bride.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

The fixation of formal education to measure and certify academic attainment, continues to fuel the ubiquity of standardised assessment procedures. As such, educators are reluctant to embrace the same constructivist and novel stance adopted towards learning to the assessment domain and continue to favour summative over formative practices. On the other hand, literature on games in education, suggests that well-designed digital games support and enhance the positive interplay between the different forms and functions of assessment, which are inherent to the learning environment. This paper examines the principles of good game design in light of the constructive interaction that exists between learning and the different functions of assessment in games. For instance, levelling and collecting badges whilst climbing up the ladder of challenges found in games, can be considered as the outcome of a purely summative assessment of the player’s progress, as the information collected during gameplay is solely used to judge and certify the player’s performance. However and more importantly, both for the game designers and the players, the game is continuously producing immediate performance feedback in the form of, amongst others, both on-demand and just-in-time information, which informs the players’ learning and allows them to adjust their actions, thus serving as a formative assessment of gameplay. On analysing the respective literature in the field of game studies and assessment, this paper discusses a number of game elements and core mechanics, under three broad themes, namely (i) adaptivity (ii) feedforward and (iii) distributed cognition, which game designers successfully deploy in good game designs. These are gradually and naturally extended towards the theoretical and practical underpinning of an assessment for learning pedagogy, thus potentially informing and transforming traditional assessment practices into a more playful experience., peer-reviewed

Students in nursing degree programs strive to achieve confidence with clinical-skill competencies through various learning experiences. Simulation (practice situations using computer-assisted manikins) and remediation are two specific learning experiences used at Vancouver Island University to help students acquire skill and confidence with these competencies. This study explored students’ experiences in simulation and remediation learning environments, focusing on the concepts of confidence and critical thinking. Ten students (third- and fourth-year) participated in a focus group, using a semi-structured approach, to gain insights about their experiences. Thematic data analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) yielded themes of anxiety, confidence, critical thinking, and clinical skill competencies. Considering students’ perspectives, the select literature, and my own experiences, three main insights emerged: Students experience anxiety in simulation; students value support provided to them during remediation; and it is challenging to combine simulation and remediation in order to deepen both confidence and competencies with clinical skills, amongst nursing students. In addition, further research and implications for remediation practices in nursing education were discussed to develop beneficial support practices for students in a nursing degree program., https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/5558/Sworts.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

Esta investigación es de tipo experimental y desarrolló una experiencia piloto con el uso de un micromundo o juego de simulación en una muestra no probabilística, dirigida a 25 docentes preseleccionados del programa de pregrado de Administración Financiera de la Universidad del Quindío, buscando determinar la viabilidad para implantar dichos juegos como recursos de aprendizaje efectivos para la creación o reforma de sus currículos académicos o syllabus y su puesta en práctica en las aulas de clase. Se realizó una revisión del estado de arte en cuanto a las investigaciones y desarrollos realizados a nivel internacional, nacional y local sobre la implementación o utilización de juegos de simulación en el ámbito educativo universitario; de igual manera de realizó una búsqueda y selección de los juegos de simulación más utilizados en el contexto educativo, empresarial u organizacional bajo la aplicación de unos criterios de evaluación que determinaron la viabilidad para la aplicación en el proceso investigativo. Luego de realizarse la experiencia piloto con los docentes, se analizan los resultados para terminar con la consolidación de un informe final que relaciona el impacto generado luego de la experiencia. La metodología seguida para la investigación comprendió la revisión del estado del arte sobre experiencias de uso de simuladores en procesos educativos, la caracterización de las competencias tecnológicas de los docentes del programa de Administración Financiera y el diseño y evaluación de una experiencia piloto donde se aplicaba los juegos de simulación. La evaluación de la viabilidad se concluye favorable dadas las condiciones de infraestructura tecnológica de la universidad en la sede principal, las competencias tecnológicas de los docentes-participantes en el proyecto, y la percepción favorable en el uso de los juegos de simulación después de la experiencia piloto. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya UOC 1. INTRODUCCIÓN 12 2. PLANTEAMIENTO DEL PROBLEMA 14 2.1. PREGUNTA PROBLEMA 21 3. OBJETIVOS DE LA INVESTIGACIÓN 21 3.1. OBJETIVO GENERAL 21 3.1.1. Objetivos Específicos. 21 4. ESTADO DEL ARTE 22 4.1. A NIVEL INTERNACIONAL 25 4.2. A NIVEL NACIONAL 36 4.3. A NIVEL LOCAL 38 4.3.1. Investigaciones desarrolladas en la institución 39 4.3.2. Desarrollos institucionales con el diseño curricular 39 4.3.3. Ejercicio desarrollado por la Unidad de Virtualización 41 5. MARCO TEÓRICO 42 5.1. JUEGOS DE SIMULACIÓN 46 5.2. MICROMUNDOS 48 5.3. DINÁMICA DE SISTEMAS 50 5.4. PENSAMIENTO SISTÉMICO 52 6. METODOLOGÍA 55 6.1. ENFOQUE 55 6.2. DISEÑO DE LA INVESTIGACIÓN 56 6.3. POBLACIÓN Y MUESTRA 58 6.3.1. Población. 58 6.3.2. Muestra. 59 6.4. TÉCNICAS E INSTRUMENTOS DE RECOLECCIÓN DE INFORMACIÓN 59 6.4.1. Instrumento Diagnóstico. 60 6.4.1.1. Análisis de resultados obtenidos a través del Instrumento Diagnóstico (Pretest). 61 6.4.2. Búsqueda y selección de juego de simulación. 81 6.4.3. Aplicación Experiencia Piloto. 96 6.4.3.1 Unidad Didáctica. 96 6.4.4. Instrumento de Evaluación Posterior. 114 6.4.4.1. Análisis de evaluación de la experiencia piloto con el Juego de Simulación. 115 6.5. CONSIDERACIONES ÉTICAS 128 7. RESULTADOS 130 7.1. CRITERIOS PARA DETERMINAR LA VIABILIDAD DEL USO DE JUEGOS DE SIMULACIÓN COMO RECURSOS DE APRENDIZAJE 130 7.2. BITÁCORA DE LA EXPERIENCIA PILOTO 135 7.2.1. Preparación previa. 137 7.2.2. Desarrollo de la experiencia piloto. 139 7.2.3. Aplicación del instrumento de evaluación posterior (postest). 147 7.2.4. Observaciones como moderador de la experiencia piloto. 149 7.3. EVALUACIÓN DE IMPACTO SOBRE EL USO DE JUEGOS DE SIMULACIÓN COMO RECURSO DE APRENDIZAJE 150 8. CONCLUSIONES 154 9. RECOMENDACIONES 156 REFERENCIAS BIBLIOGRÁFICAS 158 Maestría This research is experimental and developed a pilot experience with the use of a microworld or simulation game in a non-probabilistic sample, aimed at 25 preselected teachers from the Financial Administration undergraduate program at the University of Quindío, seeking to determine the feasibility of implement these games as effective learning resources for the creation or reform of their academic curricula or syllabus and their implementation in classrooms. A review of the state of the art was carried out regarding the investigations and developments carried out at the international, national and local level on the implementation or use of simulation games in the university educational environment; Similarly, a search and selection of the most used simulation games in the educational, business or organizational context was carried out under the application of evaluation criteria that determined the viability for application in the investigative process. After carrying out the pilot experience with the teachers, the results are analyzed to finish with the consolidation of a final report that relates the impact generated after the experience. The methodology followed for the research included the review of the state of the art on experiences of using simulators in educational processes, the characterization of the technological competencies of the teachers of the Financial Administration program and the design and evaluation of a pilot experience where the Simulation games. The feasibility assessment is concluded favorable given the conditions of the university's technological infrastructure at the main campus, the technological competencies of the teachers-participants in the project, and the favorable perception in the use of simulation games after the experience. pilot.

Divercity es una empresa fundada en Colombia que desembarcó en Perú en enero del 2011 basada en los conceptos de educación y entretenimiento, donde niños entre los 3 y 13 años juegan en más de 50 atracciones diferentes, reproduciendo la vida cotidiana de una ciudad y planteando juegos de roles en los que los niños participan para solucionar situaciones o simplemente para vivir como grandes. Este caso muestra al lector el modelo de Edu-Entretenimiento, que permite a los participantes ser educados acerca de diversos temas, incluso pudiendo influenciar en el comportamiento y los valores de las personas, generando una gran oportunidad para que empresas éticas y comprometidas con la niñez, se acerquen a los niños de manera responsable mejorando la experiencia de los visitantes y apostando por el marketing de experiencias. Finalmente, para afianzar lo aprendido, se propone aplicar los conceptos de Edu-Entretenimiento en otros casos prácticos.

This paper provides a critical analysis on the rationale behind the utilisation of educational technologies, including; digital learning resources. A qualitative research sheds light on the students’ discernment and preconceptions toward the use of digital games, stories and simulations, in-class. Semi-structured, face-to-face interview sessions among secondary school students suggest that students are increasingly acquiring skills and competences from blended learning. Their engagement with educational applications (apps) is improving their critical thinking as it helps them make evaluative decisions to solve problems. At the same time, the results reveal that most of these students are developing their interpersonal skills as they collaborate in teams and work in tandem with their peers, during their formative activities. However, there are also a few students who are not perceiving the usefulness and the ease of use of playing digital games at school. This study postulates that students seem to possess dissimilar skills as they exhibit different learning abilities. The students’ gender, age as well as their position in the social strata could possibly influence their disposition to engage with others. These findings imply that practitioners in education ought to consider taking an iterative approach as they identify what, where, when and how digital games are (or are not) consistent with the courses’ learning outcomes and curriculum programmes. In conclusion, this paper opens-up some avenues for future research in the promising field of digital game-based learning., peer-reviewed

Este trabajo, diseñado desde el Grupo de Innovación Docente en Materiales (GIDMat-RIMA), plantea una experiencia de innovación docente en la que el peso del proceso de aprendizaje recae, mayoritariamente, en el estudiantado, desde una posición protagonista, en un rol de “profesional júnior”, mientras que el profesorado se posiciona en una postura secundaria, como guía-coach, adoptando un rol de “cliente”. Se solicita al estudiantado que, en grupos de 4-5 personas, constituyan “empresas” de asesoría en el ámbito de materiales, desde la cual deberán dar respuesta a los requerimientos y consultas planteados por los “clientes” (profesorado). Se establece un calendario de consultas durante el curso y se inicia una relación de consulta-respuesta, mediante correo electrónico, en la que el profesorado recibe informes, presentados por los grupos-empresa, y da una doble respuesta, tanto como “cliente”, como desde la vertiente académica (feed-back). El conjunto de informes constituye un portfolio de evidencias del proceso de aprendizaje que, a final de curso, permite al estudiantado apreciar su evolución y las competencias adquiridas

We are interested in the problem of the specification of the sequencing of actions in collaborative virtual environments. It is about defining, then controlling what must or can occur during the simulation in a potentially multi-user context. It is done, partly by the specification (and the execution) of a set of possible scenarios during a simulation session, and partly by the distribution of the feasible actions between the different actors (reals or virtuals) in the simulation.We present #SEVEN, a Petri nets based model, allowing to describe causal and temporal sequencing of actions in an environment. #SEVEN is then used to answer to the problem of the specification of the possible scenarios and of the distribution of the actions between the actors. #SEVEN’s properties made it a model able to be adapted to the needs of the specification of scenarios, especially because it can provide different guidance levels. As an example, it can define precisely the actions that need to be performed or indicates the changes that must occur in the state of the environment without defining precisely the actions to perform. Then, we address the problem of the distribution of the actions from perspective of the role theory, proposing a team model allowing to model the behaviours and rules related to a group of actors. This model allows to make evolve the possibilities of actions offered to the actors during the simulation depending on their abilities, their position in the team or the resources they have access to., Nous nous intéressons au problème de la spécification du séquencement des actions dans un environnement virtuel collaboratif. Il s’agit de définir puis de contrôler ce qui peut ou doit se passer au cours de la simulation dans un contexte potentiellement multiutilisateur. Ceci passe, entre autres, par la spécification (puis l’exécution) d’un ensemble de scénarios possibles lors d’une session de simulation ainsi que par la distribution des actions réalisables entre les différents acteurs (réels ou virtuels) intervenant dans la simulation.Nous présentons #SEVEN, un modèle fondé sur les réseaux de Petri, permettant de décrire des agencements temporels et causaux des actions dans un environnement. #SEVEN est ensuite utilisé pour répondre aux problèmes de la spécification de l’ensemble des scénarios possibles et de la distribution des actions entre les acteurs. Les propriétés de #SEVEN en font un modèle capable de s’adapter facilement aux besoins de la spécification de scénarios notamment, car il permet de fournir différents niveaux de guidage. Il peut par exemple définir précisément les actions à réaliser et l’ordre qu’elles doivent avoir ou encore indiquer les changements d’état de l’environnement devant avoir lieu sans préciser les actions nécessaires. Ensuite, nous abordons le problème de la distribution des actions en proposant un modèle d’équipe permettant de modéliser les comportements et règles liés à l’organisation d’un groupe d’acteur. Ce modèle permet de faire évoluer les possibilités d’action offertes aux acteurs au cours de la simulation suivant leurs compétences, leur position dans l’équipe, les ressources auxquelles ils ont accès.

Although games have permeated our society and culture, they have yet to take their rightful place in education. Game-based learning (GBL) is associated with a myriad of benefits, including increased motivation, engagement, and varied skill development; yet it is not widely used in formal K-12 schooling. Therefore, it is critical to understand not only the educational value of games (board, social, and digital) but also stakeholders' perceptions of GBL as they may impact programs and implementation. Working from a constructivist paradigm, this research reviewed existing literature regarding GBL benefits, obstacles, use, and perceptions before shifting its attention to explore perceptions in one secondary education institution considering GBL as a common instructional practice. By focusing on research questions that examine teacher and administrator perceptions about, teacher use of, and administrative observations regarding GBL, the study aimed to support and inform this school in future GBL implementation initiatives. The study employed a mixed methods approach using surveys and focus group discussions in a cycle of explanatory sequential design that gathered targeted input from 10 teachers and 8 administrators from a 7-12 high school, as well as elements from an administrative review of teacher practice through historical data, to construct and confirm a collective stakeholder perception about GBL. Data was reviewed from all three approaches and themes emerged that connected findings across data sources as well as stakeholder subgroups. Critical information on game use, perceived benefits, potential obstacles, and the emergent generational gap between new and veteran teachers provided insightful results that ultimately addressed the core research questions and yielded interesting recommendations for future initiatives and research. While the study may not be able to define conclusively GBL's rightful place in the field of education, the research thoroughly explored the perceptions and realities that influence the inconsistencies associated with game use as tool for teaching and learning in this setting. As a result, this, or any, district can now build on the established foundation of qualitative and quantitative data on perceptions, use, values, and concerns to drive GBL progress in a direction that is manageable and meaningful.

This guidebook is one of the intellectual outputs from the project GBL4ESL, Game-Based Learning to Alleviate Early School Leaving that has been funded under the Erasmus+ initiative. The scope of the guidebook is that of supporting school teachers in the use of alternative pedagogies with students at risk of early school leaving. Early school leaving (ESL) is often related to a low achievement in basic skills as well as disengagement with the school and the curriculum. The outcomes from the European Council meeting1 in November 2015, concluded that the design and quality of education systems together with teaching methods and curricula that may adequately reflect the needs of students at risk of early school leaving may have a strong impact on the teachers and the learners and their resultant engagement with learning. The council furthermore recommends that policies addressing the challenge for early school leavers should take into consideration alternative pedagogical approaches and include different forms of assessment. These outcomes also reflect the 2013 report of the Thematic Working Group on Early School Leaving, where one of the key messages to help reduce early school leaving, is to provide an engaging curriculum that is relevant to their experiences., non peer-reviewed

Actualment el mercat laboral està canviant de forma tan ràpida i en tants camps, que les possibilitats de treball que avui coneixem, pot ser que d'aquí a 10 anys siguin molt diferents. Els joves ja saben que no estaran tota la vida en un determinat treball, saben que el futur és incert, dinàmic, complex i ambigu, i han d'estar preparats per fer front a un canvi que encara no coneixem del tot. Per això, les innovacions en l'educació han d'estar dirigides principalment a donar una resposta a les exigències externes, potenciant el pensament crític, l'autonomia, la creativitat, la mentalitat oberta, l'emprenedoria, entre altres. En aquest treball es proposa una metodologia combinada del Joc de Rol amb l'Aprenentatge basat en problemes (ABP) com a activitat pràctica de la unitat de Materials a la assignatura de Tecnologia de 1er de Batxillerat. L'objectiu principal d’aquesta metodologia és que els alumnes siguin capaços de crear el seu propi coneixement amb una participació activa, i desenvolupar habilitats que els ajudi a aconseguir un aprenentatge constructiu dels continguts teòrics. Així, l'alumnat assumeix el paper "d'empresaris d'assessoria" en l'àmbit de materials industrials, desenvolupant la seva campanya de màrqueting i donant resposta als requeriments i consultes plantejats pel "client" (professor) Les consultes del professor són les "preguntes motriu" del projecte ABP, les quals han d'estar dissenyades de tal manera que els estimulin a investigar, a conèixer el món que els envolta, a facilitar a l’alumnat el procés de posar en pràctica els coneixements teòrics adquirits. Durant el període d'execució de l'activitat, la interacció professor-alumnes és imprescindible i la metodologia proposada ha de garantir una comunicació constant i un feed-back continu i eficaç, de part del professor, que estimuli la motivació a la millora dels alumnes i que possibiliti un seguiment continu del procés d'aprenentatge mitjançant la comparació de les respostes al llarg de l'activitat (Portafoli). A partir dels bons resultats obtinguts a partir d'un qüestionari de valoració de l'activitat per part dels alumnes, s'ha comprovat l'eficàcia de la metodologia proposada per a l'ensenyament de continguts teòrics de l'assignatura, però requereix d'un canvi d'actitud del docent i més temps de dedicació. L'aportació de aquest treball és un Protocol d'actuació de la metodologia proposada.

Children with ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may exhibit behavioral and executive function issues that affect classroom learning. Documented behaviors include inattention, disruptive behavior, and poor social relationships (Gureasko-Moore, DuPaul, & White, 2006). Support for children with ADHD has primarily focused on behavioral modifications and organizational skill enhancement. Computer-assisted or game-based learning has shown promise with this population in small-scale studies (Mautone, 2005; Ota, 2002). This case study research sought to investigate the use of game-based learning and children with ADHD. The subjects were high-school aged children with the primary diagnosis of ADHD who received a game-based intervention. This study shows game-based learning has a positive effect on students with ADHDs' engagement and interest in Math. The analysis of the data from the qualitative portion of this study lends itself to a grounded theory approach indicating game-based learning is an important consideration in curriculum development for students with ADHD.

M.Ed. (Science Education) The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of simulations in supporting grade 10 learners from under-performing Dinaledi schools in Soweto in eliminating their misconceptions on simple electric circuits. A quasi experimental design was used in this study and 130 participants from three Dinaledi schools in Soweto formed the sample. This study commenced by exploring and identifying the misconceptions by using a validated three-tier multiple choice diagnostic questionnaire. This diagnostic questionnaire was administered as a pre-test, to identify the misconceptions. Once the misconceptions were identified, the researcher developed an intervention strategy that included the use of PhET simulations. After completing the section on electric circuits, the same diagnostic questionnaire was employed in a post-test in order to establish if the intervention was effective in promoting conceptual change in order to reduce and eventually eliminate the misconceptions. The data was captured and SPSS version 22 was used to perform descriptive statistics in order to answer the three research questions. The results from the study were compared to results from studies conducted in Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Turkey and the USA (Engelhardt & Beichner, 2004; Peşman & Eryilmaz, 2010; Taşlidere, 2013; Kapartzianis & Kriek, 2014). The findings indicated that the use of simulations as an intervention is effective in decreasing the learners’ misconceptions in the field of simple electric circuits.

Resumen: los tópicos en biología, tales como células procariotas y eucariotas, bacterias, hongos y protistas, son parte de la temática que los estudiantes de bachillerato del Grado Noveno deben estudiar en la Institución Educativa María Josefa Escobar del municipio de Itagüí. En los últimos años, se han logrado convenios importantes en el Municipio para mejorar la infraestructura tecnológica y las TIC en las diferentes instituciones educativas y apoyar a los docentes en la forma cómo se enseña en el aula. En este trabajo, el objetivo fue diseñar una estrategia didáctica virtual, usando como modelo los tópicos de biología, aplicarla a estudiantes de Noveno grado (grupo de estudio) y comparar este proceso con la enseñanza de los mismos tópicos con otro grupo de estudiantes del mismo grado (grupo control). Los resultados mostraron que no hubo diferencia estadísticamente significativa entre los estudiantes que desarrollaron el tema de tópicos en biología a partir del juego interactivo en la plataforma erudito frente a los que desarrollaron el tema según la metodología de la Institución Educativa. Abstract: the topics in biology, such as prokaryotes and eukaryotes, bacteria, fungi and protists, are part of the theme that in high school students should study the 9th Grede in Educational Institution Maria Josefa Escobar Itagui municipality. In recent years, there have been important agreements in the Municipality to improve the technological infrastructure and ITCs in different educational institutions and support teachers in order to teach in a better way in the classroom. In this paper, the goal was to design a virtual teaching strategy, using as a model of biology topics, apply in 9th grade students (study group) and compare this process with teaching the same topics with another group of students of the same grade (control group). The results showed there was any statistically significant difference between students who developed the theme of topics in biology in a interactive game platform off the scholar whose developed the theme according to the methodology of School

Resumen: Este informe describe el desarrollo de una metodología para la práctica docente en el grado décimo por medio del diseño de una intervención didáctica que utilizó el juego digital como estrategia de enseñanza para generar un aprendizaje significativo del tema probabilidad y que buscó desarrollar pensamiento aleatorio en los estudiantes de grado 10°. Este trabajo final de maestría parte de la necesidad de mejorar el nivel educativo en matemáticas y estadística de los estudiantes del grado 10° de la Institución Educativa Kennedy (I.E.K) de la ciudad de Medellín. Teniendo en cuenta el bajo rendimiento en matemáticas y estadística que presentan los estudiantes del grado décimo de la institución, también debido a que en la I.E.K los docentes de matemáticas, en su mayoría, prestamos poca atención a la enseñanza de probabilidades y además aprovechando la importancia que ha adquirido la enseñanza a través del juego digital, se realizó la intervención didáctica apoyada en las Tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC). La primera parte de la estrategia didáctica consistió en caracterizar las estrategias y metodologías para la enseñanza de la probabilidad, mediada por las TIC en grado décimo, posteriormente se realizó el diseño y construcción del juego digital que abordó el tema probabilidad utilizando como herramientas las TIC. El nombre del juego es “La probabilidad puede salvar vidas”. Luego se implementa la intervención didáctica planteada por medio de un estudio de caso en grado décimo, para ello, se diseñó la secuencia didáctica para el aula y la aplicación del juego virtual para la enseñanza del tema probabilidad en el grado décimo de la Institución. Por último, se evalúa los resultados obtenidos por los estudiantes del grado décimo en la aplicación de la intervención didáctica basada en el juego digital. Abstract: This research describes the development of a theory for the practice of the teacher with 10th graders by designing educational intervention using a digital game as a teaching strategy that generates meaningful learning of the topic probability in order to develop ramdom thinking with the 10th grade students. The proposal of this research was born out of the need to improve the educational level in mathematics of the 10th graders of Institución Educativa Kennedy (I.E.K) in the city of Medellín. Considering the low grades in mathematic classes by these students, and also due to the mathematic teachers, not paying much attention to the teaching of probability, and also not taking advantage of the importance of teaching through a digital game, an educational intervention was done, supported on the Technologies of the Information and Communication (TIC) The first stage of this teaching strategy involved characterising the strategies and the methodology for teaching probability, by using TIC in 10th graders, and subsequently design and construction of a digital game to address the subject probability by using TIC tools. The name of the game is “probability to save lifes”. Then the implementation for the educational intervention was done according to the plan on a case based study of 10th grade students, to this end, a didactic sequence was designed for the classroom intervention and the implementation of the virtual game to teach the topic probability in 10th grade students of the school. Finally, the assessment of the 10th grade students results by doing the educational intervention based on the digital game proposed was performed.

Like many other areas of education, informal Jewish education is now looking to 21st century influences for help in restructuring the manner by which educational material is delivered. Similar to many other religions, ritualistic practices within Judaism are connected to elements of play and games. In addition to this, researchers note the potential of game based learning to afford twenty-first century skills as well as provide a relevant educational methodology for the current generation of students. Thus, I believe that a game based learning environment would help make informal Jewish educational programs more meaningful to contemporary students. This paper describes, "Korach's Fall," a game based learning environment for informal Jewish education.

This mixed methods study investigates pre-service teacher education in game-based learning. Fourteen (9 graduate and 5 undergraduate) pre-service teachers completed a 10-weeks game-based learning course, which prepared them in game analysis, game integration, and ecological conditions impacting game use in school contexts using the Game Network Analysis (GaNA) framework. It was found that participants acquired knowledge of the methods involved in game-based learning. Learning about the significance of teacher roles, game selection, and contextual factors for successful adoption of games in schools was particularly insightful for participants. The quantitative component of the study examined knowledge gain using a range of instruments, including pretest-posttest knowledge surveys and pretest-midtest-posttest game integration scenario tests. Despite no prior education in game-based learning, casual to limited game playing experience, and emergent school practicum experience, participants acquired statistically significant knowledge about game analysis, game integration, and ecological conditions impacting game use in K-12 settings. They also successfully demonstrated the application of their knowledge to design game-based learning lesson plans. The interpretive component of this study examined the nature of understanding participants acquired about game-based learning and the methods involved in game-based learning. Data obtained from pretest-posttest knowledge surveys and pretest-midtest-posttest game integration scenario tests were triangulated with data collected using a pre-background survey, participant and video observations, and a post-focus group interview. Analyses of these data indicated that participants' knowledge about game analysis evolved from game explorations and selection to evaluation, leading them use their information about the game for developing an implementation plan. Participants' understanding of game integration encompassed teacher and student roles in a game-based classroom and the design of experiences to augment the impact of games for teaching and learning. Participants comprehended the situated nature of teachers' knowledge of game-based learning. They began to recognize how technological, social, and pedagogical factors within their context could not only impact teachers' decisions during game analysis and integration, but also impact the overall success of adoption of game-based learning as an instructional approach. The findings of this study indicate that pre-service teacher education in the methods of game-based learning is important. This study can inform the design of opportunities for developing and assessing teachers' competence in game-based learning. Finally, this research supports the arguments for research on advancing the use of digital games in K-12 education in an ecological manner.

This paper examines the principles of learning identified by James Paul Gee that can be found in video games, and considers how they might be applied to learning a second language. The project was developed with the belief that providing an experience that encourages students to take an active role in their learning would help to create meaningful connections with the material. A storyline was added to the project design to increase interest and involvement with the learning outcomes. The project was created collaboratively, and serves as a reference to other educators who might be interested in understanding and using gamification as a tool for improving engagement and success in their own classrooms. Together, the developers worked to weave the elements of story with the learning outcomes to create an interactive online experience. The use of game elements such as achievements, characters, and the gradual release of assignments, provides students with an experience that both feels authentic and allows the learner to have some choice in how to engage in the learning experience. 3d GameLab was used to create the main framework because game elements are pre-built into its design and worked well with the project goals. After the project was completed, a group of colleagues with various educational and technological backgrounds interacted with and reviewed the project. Overall, the reviewers agreed that the project was engaging, but that students would need to actively involve themselves to be successful. However, without more comprehensive testing, the overall success rate of students using this project is undetermined. https://viuspace.viu.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/2632/Corina_Summerfelt_Process_Paper_Final_2015.pdf?sequence=3

Despite the fact that much literature heralds student engagement as an essential component to improve learning and increase course completion rates, confusion persists on how to accomplish this in an e-learning environment. In recent years, gamification has emerged as a potential strategy to achieve these goals, yet its application in educational contexts, to date, has remained limited. This paper seeks to examine how gamification principles could be incorporated into online contexts to engage learners, build independence and increase student academic success. This was done through the creation of a French gamified learning environment (GLE) at the A1 level as outlined in the Common European Framework Reference. The GLE consisted of a series of learning activities presented as quests woven together by a single narrative and was presented to peer reviewers for feedback. This project was intended as a practical application of educational theory rather than as a formal research project. Peer review feedback was largely positive and supported the notion that this was a successful application of gamification principles and would increase engagement. Gamification should be considered as a serious strategy to increase engagement and student success. https://viuspace.viu.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/2631/carla_wilson_process_paper_final_2015.pdf?sequence=3

M.Cur. Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Subject Didactics) The focus in this study is on roleplay as a technique for second language education, wi the specific reference to oral communication. The field study as well as the theoretical framework is placed against the background of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) as language education approach or; The theoretical research encompasses role-play as Anthropological phenomenon and especially also as a didactic principle. This framework is complemented by a brief exposition of LT as language education paradigm. The field work is based on qualitative observation. The researcher had participant observation st.atus at a school for a month. A multi-faceted analysis of two oral communication lessons were made. The qualitative observation is triangulated with structured interviews (questionnaire type), open-ended interviews, document analysis as well as structured systematic analysis of two recorded lessons. It was found that there was a significant difference in interpersonal social language usage in the two lessons. The lessons in which role-play was implemented as a technique showed a qualitative increase in language production. It is to be concluded that role-play accommodates oral communication in second language context meaningfully as a mode of pedagogic discourse, supported by a simulated naturalistic milieu.

El presente documento tiene como objetivo determinar cómo los juegos pedagógicos como herramienta complementaria aportan significativamente al proceso de aprendizaje y el desarrollo de competencias de los estudiantes de ingeniería industrial de la Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Cali (Colombia). Para ello se realizó una investigación sobre los planteamientos de diversos autores sobre el aprendizaje en la educación superior y con base en éstos se plasmó a manera de conclusión los aportes recopilados, generando una propuesta que permite involucrar diferentes elementos esenciales para generar un aprendizaje perfecto a través de los juegos pedagógicos. A su vez se realizó una encuesta donde los estudiantes debían expresar la percepción que tenían de los juegos pedagógicos como herramienta complementaria en su proceso de aprendizaje, con dichas respuestas se realizó un estudio empleando una parte de la teoría de la codificación con el fin de lograr un análisis más profundo y preciso. Por último, se propone una metodología sobre el diseño, implementación y evaluación de un juego pedagógico basado en investigaciones literarias de autores nacionales e internacionales, para poder lograr una metodología bien estructurada y reglada. La importancia del presente estudio radica en que presenta una evidencia teórica y práctica relacionada con el aporte significativo que tienen los juegos pedagógicos en el aprendizaje y desarrollo de competencias en la educación superior Pregrado Ingeniero(a) Industrial

Η αλληλεπίδραση μεταξύ ανθρώπου- υπολογιστή μπορεί στις μέρες μας να καθοδηγείται από τις κινήσεις του ανθρώπινου σώματος, μέσω μίας ψηφιακής κάμερας, και χωρίς να είναι ανάγκη να μεσολαβούν άλλες συσκευές εισόδου. Η παρούσα μεταπτυχιακή διπλωματική εργασία, περιγράφει την τεχνολογία ανίχνευσης κίνησης μέσω μίας ψηφιακής κάμερας, μελετώντας τα οφέλη της και παραθέτοντας εφαρμογές που κάνουν χρήση της τεχνολογίας αυτής. Επιπλέον, περιγράφει τη διαδικασία σχεδίασης, ανάπτυξης και αξιολόγησης της πολυμεσικής εφαρμογής «Ανακαλύπτω την ελληνική μυθολογία με κίνηση» που βασίστηκε στην τεχνολογία ανίχνευσης κίνησης. Επιδιωκόμενος στόχος ήταν η δημιουργία ενός ελκυστικού υλικού και μίας σύγχρονης μεθοδικής διδακτικής προσέγγισης με την ενεργή συμμετοχή των μαθητών στη διδακτική πράξη. Το γνωστικό αντικείμενο που επιλέχθηκε ήταν η ιστορία, στη θεματική ενότητα της ελληνικής μυθολογίας, που αποτελεί τμήμα των προγραμμάτων των σχολείων της Πρωτοβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης. Η πολυμεσική εφαρμογή απευθύνεται κατά κύριο λόγο σε μαθητές της Τρίτης Δημοτικού της Πρωτοβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης. Η επιλογή του περιεχομένου του στηρίχθηκε στο αναλυτικό πρόγραμμα σπουδών του Υπουργείου Παιδείας, Δια Βίου Μάθησης και Θρησκευμάτων, με διαθεματική προσέγγιση του αντικειμένου., The human-computer interaction can nowadays be accomplished by the movements of the human body, which are tracked by a digital camera, without the mediation of other input devices. This master thesis describes the motion detection technology, studying its benefits and giving examples of applications that make use of this technology. Furthermore, it describes the design pro-cess, the development and the evaluation of the multimedia application "Discovering Greek mythology through movement", an application that was based on motion detection technologies. The objective was to create an attractive material and a modern, methodical teaching ap-proach with the active participation of students in the classroom. The chosen subject was History, in the thematic unity of Greek mythology, which is part of the Greek primary education curriculum. The multimedia application is mainly addressed to third grade stu-dents of Primary School. The selection of the content was based on the curriculum of the Ministry of Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs, with a cross-thematic approach to the object.

Second order changes like mergers, acquisitions and major consolidations pose significant challenges for corporate training personnel who are often heavily involved in the implementation of such initiatives. These types of changes have a high rate of failure because they involve making revisions to employees' underlying beliefs about their organizations. A review of the literature on second order change reveals that it has its own unique set of challenges that cannot be overcome by conventional change management strategies. In response to this pressing need, this mixed methods study investigated the effects a constructivist role play scenario activity had on employees' readiness for second order change. Constructivist methods such as role play games are much more effective at facilitating second order change because they give participants the opportunity to develop a unique and meaningful interpretation of the information. The study followed the experiences of 12 employees from different departments within an insurance company who had recently been affected by the sudden acquisition of their company. It compared their readiness for change to the rest of the office personnel using the Change Readiness Survey before and after the role play. The role play scenario activity took place over a five week period and was comprised of online and face-to-face components. The study found that constructivist role play games can help facilitate a deeper understanding of second order change while not always increasing participants' readiness for change. Participants reported that the role play game made them feel valued and respected as employees because it gave them a safe place to express and discuss their feelings about the change. It also gave them a greater understanding of the depth of the change by providing them with the opportunity to interact with participants from other departments. Given the small number of participants, additional research needs to be conducted that would make these findings more generalizable.

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The school gamification environment is a matter that is currently on the public eye of many personal on education. Currently there are many technological alternatives to implement gamification concepts within a school. This document describes the implementation of a software platform to perform school gamification through different technological solutions such as a mobile application and an administration dashboard. The project presented below shows the work done for the design and implementation of this platform from an architectural point of view. Technical designs will be displayed as the final result of both the applications such as the environment and the methodology that has been implemented in order to develop this platform. The project has been approached from the perspective of a software architect, not from the point of view of a developer, since we defined a series of methodologies and best practices for the future developers of the platform. We paid more attention to architectural designs and not on development and implementation of the various components that compose the architecture. One aspect that will be displayed in the document are the settings and quality indicators implemented in all the control points of development to ensure a minimum level of quality in the final result. The entire project has been developed using open source technologies and the project has been public distributed under the Apache 2 license. All work can be found in public repositories of code that can be seen in this document. One of the methods of development and distribution that has been implemented in this project allows developers to contribute to the project easily and their contributions will be published in the servers automatically. The techniques used to meet this requirement is the continuous integration and continuous delivery. All the software components, both applications and the service oriented architecture have been made with HTML5 technologies that are the actual references in the world of the developer community.

En este trabajo, diseñado desde el Grupo de Innovación Docente en Materiales (GIDMat-RIMA, https://www.upc.edu/rima/grups/gidmat), se plantea una experiencia en la que, claramente, el rol principal recae en el estu diantado, como protagonista de su propio proceso de aprendizaje mientras que el profesorado adopta un rol secundario desde una posición de guía-coach. Así, el estudiantado, en grupos, se constituye en «empresas júnior de asesoría en el ámbito de materiales», dando respuesta a los requerimientos y consultas planteados por los «clientes» (profesorado). Se establece un calendario de consultas durante el curso y se inicia una relación de consulta-respuesta, vía e-mail, en la que el profesorado recibe los «informes» presentados por los grupos-empresa y da una doble respuesta, tanto como «cliente», como desde la vertiente académica (feed-back).