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A radical reform in education has happened in Scotland by introducing a new curriculum known as the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). This new curriculum promotes active learning, including use of digital games-based learning (DGBL) technology. This paper presents the findings from a survey which aimed to gauge the use of DGBL in Scottish primary schools and to assess how such an approach fits within the CfE from the teachers' perspective. The trends identified from this survey are discussed in relation to the teachers' views and motivation to DGBL. Despite obtaining positive responses on many aspects of DGBL, the survey shows that the application of this approach is still limited and requires an in-depth study on how to make it more popular and effective for primary school teachers. The findings from this research will make an important contribution to the empirical evidence of games-based learning particularly with regard to its application in primary school education.

A highly important part of software engineering education is requirements collection and analysis, one of the initial stages of the Software Development Lifecycle. No other conceptual work is as difficult to rectify at a later stage or as damaging to the overall system if performed incorrectly. As software engineering is a field with a reputation for producing graduate engineers who are ill-prepared for real-life software engineering contexts, this paper suggests that traditional educational techniques (e.g. role-play, live-through case studies and paper-based case studies) are insufficient in themselves. In an attempt to address this problem we have developed a games-based learning application to teach requirements collection and analysis at the tertiary education level. One of the main problems with games-based learning is that there is a distinct lack of empirical evidence supporting the approach. This paper will describe the evaluation of the requirements collection and analysis process using a newly developed framework for the evaluation of games-based learning and will focus on evaluation from a pedagogical perspective.

Within many educational institutions across the world, the delivery of undergraduate and post-graduate courses is facilitated by online learning technologies. The development and transformation of traditional academic courses for online learning delivery provides a number of opportunities for both the academic institution and prospective students. However, there are a number of important issues that need to be addressed if online learning is to contribute to the educational experience. Over the past four years, two online Masters Degree programmes, namely "Management of eBusiness" and "IT with Web Technology", have been developed and delivered at the University of Paisley in Scotland. Much of the content of these two programmes have also been delivered using more traditional, face-to-face methods, thus enabling the authors to compare both modes of learning and delivery over a number of years. The authors identified a number of factors related to enhancing student performance among online learners. These factors are both educational and social in nature and include experienced learners studying strategically, self-sufficient learners, flexibility of access to learning materials, learner control over the pace of study and assessments aimed at developing greater learner reflection. This paper explores these factors, highlighting a number of lessons learnt, as well as putting forward some recommendations that will be of interest to readers who are themselves involved in the development and delivery of online learning programmes. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)