In hoeverre kan een computerspel een zinvolle aanvulling zijn op lessen? Bernadette Schrandt en Harry van Vliet deden een casestudie naar de computerspellen bij de erfgoedleerlijn Reizen in de Tijd. Opvallend is dat ze daarbij niet alleen gebruikerservaringen onderzochten, maar ook aannames van de ontwerpers daarover toetsten. In hun artikel beschrijven en evalueren ze de opzet en bevindingen van hun onderzoek.
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The implementation of computer games in physical therapy is motivated by characteristics such as attractiveness, motivation, and engagement, but these do not guarantee the intended therapeutic effect of the interventions. Yet, these characteristics are important variables in physical therapy interventions because they involve reward-related dopaminergic systems in the brain that are known to facilitate learning through long-term potentiation of neural connections. In this perspective we propose a way to apply game design approaches to therapy development by “designing” therapy sessions in such a way as to trigger physical and cognitive behavioral patterns required for treatment and neurological recovery. We also advocate that improving game knowledge among therapists and improving communication between therapists and game designers may lead to a novel avenue in designing applied games with specific therapeutic input, thereby making gamification in therapy a realistic and promising future that may optimize clinical practice.
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For over thirty years, there has been a discussion about the effectiveness of educational games in comparison to traditional learning materials. To help further this discussion, we aim to understand ‘how educational games work’ by formalising (and visualising) the educational and motivational aspects of such games. We present a model that focuses on the relationship between three different aspects: user properties, game mechanics, and learning objectives. In two example cases, we have demonstrated how the model can be used to analyse existing games and their game/instructional design, and suggest possible improvements in both motivational and educational aspects based on the model. As such, we introduce a novel approach to analysing educational games and, by inference, a novel design process for designing more effective educational games.
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Professional playground werpt een blik in de keuken van verschillende spelers in de game-industrie. Verschillende professionals uit deze industrie zijn aan het woord, waardoor een beeld ontstaat van het krachtenveld waar zij mee te maken hebben. Welke kennis van theorieën, concepten, procedures en processen zijn er nodig om het werk in de dagelijkse praktijk goed te kunnen doen?
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Game-based learning can motivate learners and help them to acquire new knowledge in an active way. However, it is not always clear for learners how to learn effectively and efficiently within game-based learning environments. As metacognition comprises the knowledge and skills that learners employ to plan, monitor, regulate, and evaluate their learning, it plays a key role in improving their learning in general. Thus, if we want learners to become better at learning through game-based learning, we need to investigate how metacognition can be integrated into the design of game-based learning environments.In this paper we introduce a framework that aids designers and researchers to formally specify the design of game-based learning environments encouraging metacognition. With a more formal specification of the metacognitive objectives and the way the training design and game design aims to achieve these goals, we can learn more through analysing and comparing different approaches. The framework consists of design dimensions regarding metacognitive outcomes, metacognitive training, and metacognitive game design. Each design dimension represents two opposing directions for the design of a game-based learning environment that are likely to affect the encouragement of metacognitive awareness within learners. As such, we introduce a formalised method to design, evaluate and compare games addressing metacognition, thus enabling both researchers and designers to create more effective games for learning in the future.
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A key concept within 21st-century skills is knowing how to acquire new knowledge and skills. Metacognition is the knowledge a person has of their own learning combined with the skills to apply that knowledge to enable more efficient and effective learning. Game-based learning can stimulate motivation as well as learning, but while various reviews have pointed out the opportunity for digital games to promote metacognition, little is known about how games can be designed to accomplish this. If we want learners to become better at learning with games, we need to investigate how metacognition can be supported and trained through game-based learning.Previous research has identified generic principles for designing metacognitive training, while only a few principles specific to game-based learning have been suggested. We designed the mobile game MeCo based on these design principles. MeCo was inspired by the mobile game Reigns and replicates its mechanic of exploring a dynamically branching story through choice-making by swiping cards left or right. However, in MeCo the objective is to learn as much as possible about different planets and their inhabitants, by planning, performing, and evaluating space exploration missions. Two metacognitive interventions were added to promote the transfer of metacognition to real-world learning situations: metacognitive question prompts and metacognitive feedback.A preliminary evaluation of the game was conducted using questionnaires and focus groups. Players found the game motivating enough to engage with the story and to be willing to play the game in their free time. Furthermore, they found that their in-game choices mattered, although more linear parts were preferred over more dynamically branching parts of the game. However, the humour in the narrative interfered with the more serious nature of metacognitive questions, resulting in players not taking the questions seriously enough to have an impact on metacognitive awareness. The implications for designing motivating digital games to enhance metacognition are discussed.
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Fysieke activiteit wordt vaak gezien als een belangrijke manier om overgewicht onder kinderen tegen te gaan. Regelmatig wordt daarbij ook het bewegingsonderwijs een rol toegedicht. Elke dag gylmles zou een van de manieren zijn om overgewicht te verminderen of te voorkomen bij kinderen. Maar heeft fysieke activiteit wel zo veel invloed? En zo ja, biedt de gymles dan de juiste vorm van activiteit? Of is gymles misschien in staat om het bewegingsgedrag buiten de lessen gezonder te maken?
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