Group items tagged

Abstract: "Teaching computer programming to novices has always posed a major challenge to educators, most novices acquire basic programming skills but they are unable to utilize them in a meaningful way to solve many of the non-routine problems which are presented to them. As a result, they do not achieve any level of programming fluency. Collaboration has been identified as a useful tool to help overcome this problem if utilized at the right times during the programming/problem solving process. This paper presents a review of computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) concepts, collaboration in programming and the problem solving domain. Finally, a design for a gaming application of CSCL (COPS) to help improve the problem solving ability of novice programmers is presented."

Collaboration between gamers and scientists solves retrovirus enzyme structure, attributed to spatial reasoning inaccessible to computers alone, using game Fold-It, reported in NMSB

P. 158 in a long document. Abstract: " 157 Chapter 8Design and Implementation of Mobile Educational Games: Networks for Innovation Rob Harrap 1 , Sylvie Daniel 2 , Michael Power 3 , Joshua Pearce 4 , Nicholas Hedley 5 1 Queen's University, Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineeringharrap@geol.queensu.ca 2 Université Laval, Department of Geomaticssylvie.daniel@scg.ulaval.ca 3 Université Laval, Faculty of Educationmichael.power@fse.ulaval.ca 4 Michigan Technological University, Department of Materials Science & Engineering and theDepartment of Electrical & Computer Engineering, USApearce@mtu.edu 5 Simon Fraser University, Department of Geographyhedley@sfu.ca Abstract :" Research networks foster creativity and break down institutional bar-riers, but introduce geographic barriers to communication and collaboration. Indesigning mobile educational games, our distributed team took advantage of di-verse talent pools and differing perspectives to drive forward a core vision of our design targets. Our strategies included intense design workshops, use of online meeting rooms, group paper and software prototyping, and disseminationof prototypes to other teams for refinement and repurposing. Our group showedstrong activity at the university-centered nodes with periods of highly effectivedissemination between these nodes and to outside groups; we used workshopinvitations to gather new ideas and perspectives, to refine the core vision, toforge inter-project links, and to stay current on what was happening in othernetworks. Important aspects of our final deliverables came from loosely-associated network members who engaged via collaborative design exercises inworkshops, emphasizing the need to bring the network together and the im-portance of outside influences as ideas evolve. Our final deliverable, a mobileeducational game and a series of parallel technology demonstrations, reflect themix of influences and the focus on iterated development that our net

"We have created a suite of physical computing activity games for Humana's Innovation Center office space - using web-connected sensors embedded in clothing, mobile devices, toys, exercise equipment, home and office accessories and appliances, and even buildings themselves. These challenges encourage people to be more physically active through social web-based games. Each experience is connected to the Humana employees' RFID badges, which allows them to participate in scheduled events, accrue points, and win top scores. A major component of every one of these games is the social platform behind them, which has been proven to be a major motivator in building and maintaining enthusiasm for healthy living. The ideas are developed through collaborative brainstorms, facilitated by Tellart and including Humana Innovation Center personnel. Tellart then refines the ideas, proposing and implementing several of them per round as medium-fidelity prototypes for the office."

Abstract: "Citizen science is a form of social computation where members of the public are recruited to contribute to scientific investigations. Citizen-science projects often use web-based systems to support collaborative scientific activities, making them a form of computer-supported cooperative work. However, finding ways to attract participants and confirm the veracity of the data they produce are key issues in making such systems successful. We describe a series of web-based tools and games currently under development to support taxonomic classification of organisms in photographs collected by citizen-science projects. In the design science tradition, the systems are purpose-built to test hypotheses about participant motivation and techniques for ensuring data quality. Findings from preliminary evaluation and the design process itself are discussed."

"This paper is a part of the game studies field from a design perspective. It investigates the computer game design process, focusing primarily on prototyping, as it is being performed in game development today. ... Potential users of prototypes and prototyping methods range from the designer and the design team, to beta testers and publishers. The focus in this paper is on internal use of prototypes, where the design team is the target audience. The prototype functions as a tool for getting the team on the same track and to introduce new members to the work. Prototypes and visualizations also tend to replace the game design document more and more. The work presented here is based on analysis of interviews with game designers. By applying perspectives from rhetoric, the aim is to investigate how the communication around the prototyping process within a design team can be improved."

Abstract: "Preparing medical students for the takeover or the start-up of a medical practice is an important challenge in Germany today. Therefore, this paper presents a computer-aided serious game (eMedOffice) developed and currently in use at the RWTH Aachen University Medical School. The game is part of the attempt to teach medical students the organizational and conceptual basics of the medical practice of a general practitioner in a problem-based learning environment. This paper introduces methods and concepts used to develop the serious game and describes the results of an evaluation of the game's application in curricular courses at the Medical School."

Abstract: "A key problem for crowd - sourced systems is motivating contributions from participants and ensuring the quality of these contributions. Games have been suggested as a motivational approach but there are concerns about data quality , particularly when the data are to be used for scientific research . To address these concerns, w e compare the quality of data obtained from two citizen science games, one a "gamified" version of a species classificatio n task and one a fantasy game that used the classification task only as a way to advance in the game play. Surprisingly, though we did observe cheating in the fantasy game, data quality from the two games was not significantly different . As well, the quali ty of data from short - time contributors was at a usable level. These findings suggest that games can be a useful way to motivate contributions to citizen science projects. "

Abstract: "Reality-based interfaces bring new design opportunities to social games. These novel game interfaces, exemplified by Wii, Kinect, and Smart phones, leverage players' existing physics, bodily, environmental, and social skills. Moreover, they enable a shared hybrid physical-digital space in which the players' co-presence can be enhanced by their physical and digital co-location. However, many digital social games occupy players' attention with the digital display and content, reducing their attention spent on one another and limiting the synchronization of actions and emotions among players. How do we design technologies that do not interfere with social play but enhance and innovate it? In this thesis work, I focus on one particular kind of reality-based interfaces, Handheld Augmented Reality (HAR), to extend players' interaction from the small mobile devices to the shared hybrid space around a computationally trackable surface. This thesis explores how to encourage social play with HAR interfaces, which brings in challenges of designing with the affordances and constraints of the HAR interface, understanding the complicated phenomenon of social play, and integrating these understandings in multiplayer HAR game design. Adopting Research-through Design as the overarching research method, I collaborate with multiple teams, design and study three multiplayer HAR game prototypes. I present four main contributions. First, this work yields design artifacts and examples of social games with HAR interfaces. I communicate to the game design and Augmented Reality communities through these prototypes, including BragFish, ARt of Defense, and NerdHerder. Second, I provide empirical findings on social play in a shared hybrid space. Through lab-based user studies, observation, video analysis, interviews, and surveys, I collect and analyze interpersonal play behaviors and emotions in the shared hybrid space enabled by the HAR interface. Third, I adopt and adapt sociologic