7th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies

Barcelona - 6th - 8th of July 2015

“Create It” – “Share It” – “Game It” the case of a web-based digital platform for creating, sharing, and delivering gamified educational scenarios

Hercules Panoutsopoulos…...............…………………………......Doukas School (GREECE) George Pavlides….............Athena Research and Innovation Center - ILSP (GREECE) Stella Markantonatou….…Athena Research and Innovation Center - ILSP (GREECE) Vasilis Economou…………………..………………………………………..Doukas School (GREECE)

Sofia Mysirlaki…………………………………………………….…….…….Doukas School (GREECE) Nikolaos Papastamatiou…………………………………………..Omega Technology (GREECE) Georgios Patronas…………………………………………………………..Doukas School (GREECE) Ioannis Kotsanis…………………………………………………………….. Doukas School (GREECE)

Contact author: Hercules Panoutsopoulos e-mail: i.panoutsopoulos@doukas.gr & herculespanoutsopoulos@gmail.com

Presentation outline

• Introduction

• The identity and consortium of the GameIt project - A few words about the project coordinator

• Theoretical background and existing gamification practices

• Definition of research problem

• Philosophy of the GameIt digital platform

• GameIt platform design methodology

• Subsystems of the GameIt platform and involved roles

• Underlying pedagogical framework

• Evaluation methodology and findings

• Conclusions and further research

3

• The aim of this presentation is to provide an overview of the GameIt platform, which has been developed for the needs of the GameIt project. (GameIt-Platform for Semantic Knowledge Management and Development of Interactive Educational Scenarios Using Advanced Multi-User Gaming Technology)

• The GameIt platform is a web-based, digital platform for creating, editing, sharing, and delivering gamified educational scenarios.

• Presentation of related issues is made in the following order:

– identity and consortium of the GameIt project, presentation of the project coordinator,

– theoretical background and existing gamification practices,

– philosophy of the GameIt platform,

– description of design methodology, platform’s architecture, and pedagogical framework,

– evaluation methodology and findings.

Introduction

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The identity and consortium of the GameIt project

• The GameIt project is financed by the Greek General Secretariat for Research and Technology through the “Industrial Research and Technology Development Program 2013” (Project Number: 864-BET-2013).

• Duration of the GameIt project: April, 2014 to July, 2015 (16 months approx.)

• GameIt project consortium:

– Omega Technology, Greece (http://en.omegatechnology.biz/)

– Byte, Greece (http://www.byte.gr/defaultEn.asp?p=9)

– Athena Research and Innovation Center in Information, Communication and Knowledge Technologies, Greece

(https://www.athena-innovation.gr/en.html)

– Viewmax, Greece (http://www.viewmax.gr/en)

– Project Coordinator: Doukas School, Greece (http://www.doukas.gr/)

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A few words about the project coordinator

• Doukas School participates in several EU and National R&D projects and coordinates extensive European Networks under programmes such us Erasmus+, Lifelong Learning Programme, Intelligent Energy Europe, EPEAEK, PAVE, LINGUA.

• Key areas of research interest:

– 21st Century Competences – School of the Future – Personalized and mobile Learning – Game Based Learning and

Gamification – Learning Analytics

– STEM Education – Cloud Computing in Education – e-Pedagogy and e-Portfolios – Literacy Skills enhancement – Career Counseling

Competences for students and parents

– Athletics and Nutrition

• Participation in research projects: – School on the Cloud

(www.schoolonthecloud.net)

– Make World (http://www.makeworld.eu)

– Boys Reading (www.boysreading.org)

– FAMICO (www.famico.eu)

– GeoCapabilities (www.geocapabilities.org)

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Theoretical background

Digital Game – Based Learning Gamification

Use of:

• general purpose, commercial digital games, or

• specially – designed, educational digital games (also termed as “serious games”)

in formal or informal learning contexts with the aim to facilitate:

• mastery of subject-related content,

• development of skills and attitudes (or competences)

Gamification focuses either on software design considerations that target at providing a gameful (learning) experience, or on the gameful experience per se.

• Definition #1

Gamification is the “use of design elements characteristic for games in non-game contexts.” *1+

• Definition #2

Gamification refers to “a process of enhancing a service with affordances for gameful experiences in order to support user's overall value creation.” [2]

Why?

time restrictions, implementation costs, demands of existing

curricula

from...

to…

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Existing gamification practices (1/3)

Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/)

• A web-based educational platform providing access to subject-related content and assessment activities.

• Gamification elements:

– use of an interactive map metaphor offering the sense of navigating and advancing within a virtual world,

– on-demand feedback that takes the form of game-like diagrams and charts,

– award of virtual prizes for quick and successful completion of activities,

– help in the form of a step-by-step wizard or instructional videos watching without any negative effect to assessment results.

KnowRe (http://www.knowre.com/)

• A web-based platform targeting at Mathematics learning.

• Availability of:

– presentations with step-by-step problem solving instructions,

– instructional videos about a range of mathematical concepts and processes,

– contextualization of knowledge with the help of real-world scenarios, and

– assessment activities followed by detailed feedback.

• Gamification elements:

– use of animation in presentations, – visualization of the sequence of accessed resources

with the help of an interactive map, – assessment activities taking the form of assigned

missions/quests, and – a reward system based on the use of appropriately

designed virtual prizes.

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Existing gamification practices (2/3)

PlayBrighter (http://playbrighter.com/)

• An assessment platform that allows the user-educator to define the content to be assessed.

• Gamification elements:

– Assessment content is presented in the form of missions assigned to the user-learner as part of the plot of a game.

– Avatar representation.

– Each time a mission is successfully completed (i.e. a question is correctly answered), points to be used for the configuration of the avatar are awarded.

– The status of the user-learner is available any time with the help of detailed graphs.

Lysias (http://www.lysias.gr/)

• A web-based platform that hosts an annual educational competition.

• The contestant-user of the platform gets actively involved in a scenario that includes searching for and collecting virtual items each one of which is associated with questions of various difficulty levels.

• Gamification elements:

– Actions take place in a virtual world.

– Correct answers are awarded with points analogous to the questions’ difficulty level.

– The user’s response time constitutes assessment criterion.

– Availability of on-demand help and feedback.

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Existing gamification practices (3/3)

• Gamification elements adopted in the context of existing gamification practices:

– representation of the user with the help of a (customizable) avatar,

– on-demand feedback provided to the user with the help of detailed, game-like graphs and charts,

– adoption of an interactive map metaphor for visualizing available digital content, as well as proposed sequences for accessing and interacting with it,

– availability of help, in a variety of forms, as many times as it is requested and without any consequences to the user’s assessment, and

– employment of appropriately designed reward-based systems.

• A point of criticism:

– Game-like learning activities offered through existing interactive learning environments occur as part of pre-designed and fixed scenarios and target at the achievement of pre-defined learning objectives.

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Definition of research problem

• The development of the GameIt platform targets at providing answers to the

problem for a ubiquitous virtual school, able to cater for the needs of both

learners and educators by providing, anytime and at any place, rich learning

experiences designed with the utilization of digital educational content that is

available through existing Learning Objects Repositories (LORs).

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Philosophy of the GameIt digital platform

• The development of the GameIt platform aims to improve existing, technology-supported, educational practices:

– with the help of a Knowledge Integration System,

– by taking account of the well-documented benefits of learning that is based on the use of digital games or gamified, virtual learning environments, and

– by taking advantage of the interactions that occur in (either cooperative or competitive) multi-user, online digital games.

educational scenarios development

• Selection/editing of available educational scenarios.

• Creation of educational scenarios from scratch. • Customization of the environment in which

gamified educational scenarios are executed.

Utilization of existing digital content

• Searching of digital educational content. • Editing of existing digital content. • Creation of new digital educational content. • Import of digital content into educational

scenarios that are under development.

Sharing of educational scenarios

• Storage of developed educational scenarios. • Availability of developed educational scenarios

through the platform and access to them.

Delivery of educational scenarios

• Delivery of developed educational scenarios in the form of an educational digital game.

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GameIt platform design methodology

Methodology employed for the design and development of the GameIt platform: Waterfall model [3]

User needs analysis

Implementation & maintenance

Evaluation

System design

System development

• Development of the platform’s evaluation methodology.

• Evaluation of platform and analysis of results.

• Ontology development based on existing specifications and standards.

• Description of the adopted educational methodology.

• Development of fifty (50), ready to be used, educational scenarios.

• Development of the digital platform.

• Investigation and analysis of the needs of users.

• Description of the pedagogical framework and the platform’s use cases.

• Technical description of the Knowledge Integration System’s specifications.

• Technical description of the specifications of the gamified educational scenarios delivery system.

• Execution of planned dissemination activities.

• Development of a detailed exploitation plan.

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Subsystems of the GameIt platform (1/3)

Knowledge Integration subsystem

• It is at the core of the GameIt platform by providing functionalities for integrating and managing distributed, in existing LORs, digital learning objects.

• Integration takes place at a semantic level with the help of ontologies that have been specifically designed for the purpose of unifying available educational and cultural digital content.

• At the physical level the database of the platform contains only the necessary metadata and links to available digital content.

• Provides functionalities for creating and characterizing new digital content, which can next be stored into the system’s database.

existing LOR (e.g. EUROPEANA, LRE,

Photodentro)

existing LOR (e.g. EUROPEANA, LRE,

Photodentro)

existing LOR (e.g. EUROPEANA, LRE,

Photodentro)

Knowledge Management

Subsystem’s DB

•Digital learning objects •Metadata • Links to existing LORs

PC

tablet

smartphone

GUI

physical layer presentation layer

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Subsystems of the GameIt platform (2/3)

Game Editor subsystem

• It is an authoring tool with the help of which gamified educational scenarios may be developed.

• It is made up by a user-friendly Virtual World Editor, supported by a Game Wizard, that can be used for editing existing educational scenarios or developing educational scenarios from scratch.

• It allows for creating educational scenarios, which in turn are executed in a three dimensional virtual world and as part of the plot of a game.

• Digital learning objects and a range of graphic elements may be used and imported into the educational scenario.

• Educational scenarios are stored in a separate database as XML files.

Graphic User Interface (GUI) for accessing the authoring tool (Game Editor Subsystem)

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Subsystems of the GameIt platform (3/3)

Game Delivery subsystem

• It is the runtime environment for the execution of developed gamified educational scenarios.

• From the end-user point of view, it offers opportunities for participating in a highly interactive, multi-user, online digital game with the aim to achieve the learning objectives of the underlying educational scenario.

• As part of their interaction with the gamified educational scenarios, users assume roles and can communicate with the support of appropriate tools.

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Involved roles

visitor

Visitor is any user that has signed in to the platform. The only rights assigned to this role are: • access to the platform’s

database, and • search for learning objects.

player

Players are mainly the learners who use the platform for learning purposes and are able to interact with the gamified educational scenarios delivery environment.

game creator

game designer

Rights assigned to this role are: • access to and utilization of

already developed educational scenarios,

• editing of available educational scenarios by importing/ removing learning objects, and

• sharing of edited educational scenarios.

In addition to the rights of the Game Creator, the Game Designer is also able to create his/her own new educational scenarios with the help of the Game Creator subsystem. New educational scenarios can be shared with other users.

knowledge creator

The Knowledge Creator has access rights to the

Knowledge Integration subsystem and can add new

learning objects to the platform’s database.

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Overview of the GameIt digital platform

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Underlying pedagogical framework (1/4)

Theoretical concepts related to the domains of Digital Game-Based Learning and Gamification

Educational design benefits from constructive

alignment

Detailed definition of involved roles

Theoretical concepts related to the formation and operation of communities of practice

Create It

Share It

Game It

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Underlying pedagogical framework (2/4)

• The educator can be considered as the orchestrator of the actions that occur in the virtual world.

• Based on the development of fit-for-purpose educational scenarios, the educator defines learning activities, which can be associated with learning objects and gamification elements.

• Every educational scenario constitutes an educational digital game able to be delivered through the platform.

• The development of the gamified scenarios is based on a template that serves as a guide to educators.

Create It

Share It

Game It

GUI allowing access to the authoring tool (Game Editor Subsystem)

GUI allowing access to the embedded

LOR (Knowledge Management

Subsystem’s DB)

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Underlying pedagogical framework (3/4)

• Emphasis on nurturing an expertise sharing culture among educators.

• This is accomplished by providing educators with tools and functionalities that allow for:

– developing educational scenarios from scratch,

– accessing, editing and creating copies of existing scenarios so as to meet different educational needs, and

– sharing educational scenarios.

• There is potential to facilitate the formation of communities of educators, fully aligned with the norms typical to communities of practice [4].

Create It

Share It

Game It

GUI allowing access to the authoring tool (Game Editor System)

• Availability of the option to track all changes made to existing educational scenarios helps toward framing platform-enabled interactions into the appropriate ethics context.

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Underlying pedagogical framework (4/4)

Create It

Share It

Game It

• Digital Game-Based Learning and Gamification have provided guidelines for the design of a highly interactive environment in which executed activities are authentic and meaningful to the learner.

• Users are presented with a 3D virtual world incorporating a number of characteristics typical to digital games.

• Learning activities take place on a virtual island where the learner is able to navigate with the help of an avatar.

• Through the use of advanced 3D graphics all visualizations become realistic, whereas there is potential for an interaction experience similar to that offered by contemporary digital games.

• The user can explore the virtual world and visit existing landscapes and buildings (laboratory, museum, castle, lake) that lie on the island, as well as experiment by interacting with virtual objects that have been attributed a number of characteristics.

• All learning activities, and their sequence of execution, are the result of a careful and detailed educational design, targeting at the achievement of well-defined learning outcomes.

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Evaluation methodology

• The adopted evaluation methodology involves:

– evaluation of the use experience of the platform, and

– investigation of users’ attitudes toward the learning effectiveness of the platform.

• Evaluation instrument: a two-part questionnaire

– Part 1: an appropriately modified version of the Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ) [5]. It included a total number of 26 Likert-type questions, divided into the following six categories: (i) challenge, (ii) flow, (iii) negative affect, (iv) positive affect, (v) fantasy, and (vi) tension.

(targeted at assessing the experience of interaction with the gamified educational scenarios delivery environment)

– Part 2: it included 15 Likert-type questions, divided into the following five categories: (i) motivation, (ii) cognitive development, (iii) expectations, (iv) effectiveness, and (v) overall learning satisfaction.

(targeted at investigating learners’ attitudes toward the learning effectiveness of the platform)

• A number of preliminary findings from a pilot use of the GameIt platform, conducted with the participation of N=48 elementary school students, are presented.

• The pilot took place at an elementary school located in Naoussa, Greece, in March 2015.

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Evaluation results: user experience

was rated with a score of… 3.26 of participants reported

that it was not difficult to get engaged in the

execution of the gamified educational activities

81.25%

Nearly 9 out of 10 users

reported a low degree of required in-game effort

A little bit more than 8 out of

10 participants stated that it

was easy to achieve the assigned learning objectives

of users reported that engagement in the

gamified educational activities facilitated their

learning

68.75%

out of 5

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Evaluation results: perceived learning effectiveness

Active involvement of learners in the gamified educational activities offered an increased motivation for learning. Motivation was rated with a score of… 4.75 out of 5

All participants reported that a game-like context for the execution of learning activities

is more preferable than traditional teaching methods

vs

more than 9 out of 10

participants consider interesting the potential to becoming engaged in gamified problem solving

activities

More than half of

participating students believe that the offered game-like

learning environment enables the application of existing

knowledge

& 68.75%

of participants reported a deeper understanding of

subjects-related, domain-specific concepts

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Conclusions and further research

• The GameIt platform provides both educators and learners with the opportunity to create and participate in gamified educational activities respectively, by taking advantage of a range of well-documented benefits of Digital Game-Based Learning and Gamification.

• With the evaluation process being in progress and by taking into consideration the preliminary findings that have been derived from a first, pilot use we are in position to conclude that the GameIt platform may effectively support the vision for a ubiquitous virtual school, able to cater for stakeholders’ needs.

• Apart from investigating learners’ use experience and attitudes toward the use of the platform, there is also interest in researching the platform’s usability and perceived learning effectiveness from the educators’ point of view.

• Further evidence will help us draw more rigorous conclusions with respect to the platform’s capacity to effectively support the design and delivery of gameful learning experiences.

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Visit the project’s website and Facebook page

http://www.gameit.gr/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/GameIt/1532248127023262?fref=ts

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References

1. Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R. & Nacke, L. (2011). From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining “Gamification”. Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments, Tampere, Finland, pp. 9-15.

2. Huotari, Κ. & Hamari, J. (2012). Defining Gamification - A Service Marketing Perspective. Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments, Tampere, Finland, pp. 17-22.

3. Boehm, B.W. (1988). A Spiral Model of Software Development and Enhancement. Available at https://www.dimap.ufrn.br/~jair/ES/artigos/SpiralModel Boehm.pdf, accessed on 24 February 2015.

4. Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 47-58.

5. Brockmyer, J.H. et al. (2009). The development of the Game Engagement Questionnaire: A measure of engagement in video game-playing. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(4), pp. 624-634.