scholarly journals Serious Games in Higher Distance Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Celestini
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Instructional Strategy ◽  
Educational Tool ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Specific Content ◽  
Serious Gaming ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Instructional Capacity

Games have been socially entrenched throughout history as a form of entertainment. Current rapidly changing technological advances have permitted an increasingly prominent means of utilizing these sources of entertainment in an instructional capacity for educational purposes. Serious gaming as a result, focuses on engaging learners in activities which are not solely developed for enjoyment purposes. Goal oriented pursuits based in either an authentic or fictitious scenario can be designed to improve a learner or players motor and cognitive abilities or knowledge (de Freitas & Jarvis, 2006; Lamb et al., 2018; Protopsaltis et al., 2011). Serious gaming promotes intentional, active, and mobile learning that can be successfully used as a supplemental educational tool to facilitate a situated understanding of specific content (Admiral et al., 2011; Gee, 2005). This paper is a brief overview of game-based learning, or serious games, as an innovative instructional strategy in higher distance education.

scholarly journals Using the Concept of Game-Based Learning in Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (14) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Zi-Yu Liu ◽  
Zaffar Ahmed Shaikh ◽  
Farida Gazizova
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Educational Material ◽  
Educational Game ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Impact

A modern school deals with a generation of students who were born and grown up in a digital environment and require other teaching methods. Changes in the technological and social conditions of modern society need new professional skills, which are often called “21st century skills”. These skills should be devel-oped starting from the primary school, as they are psychological and behavioural, rather than practical. Game-based learning and gamification are effective means of such skills development. The use of video games in teaching practice is studied multifaceted, along with formats and requirements of educational game, methods for effectiveness assessment, and the effect of games on students. The controver-sial nature of game-based learning effect on students require deeper research, as the increase in motivation and learning efficiency cannot be disputed, as well as the negative impact of a long gaming on cognitive abilities, emotional state and social skills of students. The study tested both an increase in the motivation and attraction of school students for the learning process, and the impact on the prac-tical results of information assimilation. There was conducted a survey on the re-sults of the application of game training to determine the motivation and attraction of students. Likewise, we counted time, spent by the study and control group, for mastering the main educational material and the post-class study of game content and the educational material it presents. A comparative test was conducted on the results of educational material comprehension to determine the effectiveness of the methodology in mastering knowledge. The group, with game-based learning and gamification applied, showed an increase in motivation and attraction to learning, students paid additional efforts for assimilating the material studied, and also showed significantly higher learning outcomes compared to the control group.

Development of distance education in Chinese higher education in perspectives of accessibility, quality and equity under COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Chen ◽  
Angela Yung Chi Hou ◽  
Lei Huang
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Instructional Strategy ◽  
National Level ◽  
The Other ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Chinese Higher Education ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Ict Literacy ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThis paper aimed to explore the development of distance education (DE) in Chinese higher education as well as the three significant themes: accessibility, quality and equity in Chinese DE and the performance of these three themes in Chinese DE.Design/methodology/approachDocument analysis was used as the major research method in this study to examine the development and challenges in terms of accessibility, quality and equity in Chinese DE. In this study, national-level official policy documents and reports from the Chinese government were collected and analyzed. Also, scientific articles from CNKI were analyzed to find out the evolution of the Frontier topics on Chinese DE in accessibility, quality and equity.FindingsThere are three major findings. First, the Chinese government has shown its positive attitude toward DE in higher education. Second, compared with the other two themes: quality and equity; the number of articles in the accessibility of DE was lower than the other two themes and the problems of accessing online courses were insufficiently caused by two reasons due to lack of basic ICT literacy and poor Internet infrastructure. Third, there was a gap between Chinese policies and research articles mainly because of the unbalanced development of accessibility in policy management and research articles.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this paper has summarized the development of the DE in Chinese higher education, it was clear that accessibility, quality and equity were three critical issues in DE. However, there are still other essential factors that contribute to the development of DE that requires further investigation, such as learner satisfaction, different features of learning platforms and instructional strategy.Practical implicationsThe findings of this paper can be used to identify the attitude toward the DE of the Chinese government. Besides, the accessibility could be a research and practical focus for Chinese DE in the future.Originality/valueThis study showed some significant policies released by the Chinese government toward DE in higher education and revealed the achievements, trends and challenges in the accessibility, quality and equity of Chinese DE.

scholarly journals The Ferret as a Model System for Neocortex Development and Evolution

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlotta Gilardi ◽  
Nereo Kalebic
Keyword(s):  
Animal Model ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
System Development ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Cortical Folding ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Stem And Progenitor Cells ◽  
Visual System Development

The neocortex is the largest part of the cerebral cortex and a key structure involved in human behavior and cognition. Comparison of neocortex development across mammals reveals that the proliferative capacity of neural stem and progenitor cells and the length of the neurogenic period are essential for regulating neocortex size and complexity, which in turn are thought to be instrumental for the increased cognitive abilities in humans. The domesticated ferret, Mustela putorius furo, is an important animal model in neurodevelopment for its complex postnatal cortical folding, its long period of forebrain development and its accessibility to genetic manipulation in vivo. Here, we discuss the molecular, cellular, and histological features that make this small gyrencephalic carnivore a suitable animal model to study the physiological and pathological mechanisms for the development of an expanded neocortex. We particularly focus on the mechanisms of neural stem cell proliferation, neuronal differentiation, cortical folding, visual system development, and neurodevelopmental pathologies. We further discuss the technological advances that have enabled the genetic manipulation of the ferret in vivo. Finally, we compare the features of neocortex development in the ferret with those of other model organisms.

scholarly journals Towards a Development Approach to Serious Games

2009 ◽  
pp. 215-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara de Freitas ◽  
Steve Jarvis
Keyword(s):  
Game Design ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Development Approach ◽  
Tools And Techniques ◽  
Future Work

This chapter reviews some of the key research supporting the use of serious games for training in work contexts. The review indicates why serious games should be used to support training requirements, and in particular identifies “attitudinal change” in training as a key objective for deployment of serious games demonstrators. The chapter outlines a development approach for serious games and how it is being evaluated. Demonstrating this, the chapter proposes a game-based learning approach that integrates the use of a “four-dimensional framework”, outlines some key games principles, presents tools and techniques for supporting data collection and analysis, and considers a six-stage development process. The approach is then outlined in relation to a serious game for clinical staff concerned with infection control in hospitals and ambulances, which is being developed in a current research and development project. Survey findings from the target user group are presented and the use of tools and techniques explained in the context of the development process. The chapter proposes areas for future work and concludes that it is essential to use a specific development approach for supporting consistent game design, evaluation and efficacy for particular user groups.

The Power of Serious Games in Education and Why We Are at a Critical Crossroads in Distance Education

V-Learning ◽  
2009 ◽  
pp. 25-34
Author(s):  
Leonard A. Annetta ◽  
Elizabeth Folta ◽  
Marta Klesath
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Serious Games

GAME-BASED LEARNING IN INTEGRATED DOMAINS WITH AN APPLICATION FOR STEAM CENTERS

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-214
Author(s):  
Stefani Paunova ◽  
◽  
Vilyana Doychevska ◽  
Valentin Yordanov ◽  
Stanimir Stoyanov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Logic Programming ◽  
Programming Language ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Modeling Systems ◽  
National Research Program ◽  
Integrated Domains ◽  
The University

The article presents a game-based learning environment that is being deeloped as a component of the ATOS platform (the platform is an article described for the same conference). The proposed environment is an adaptation of a component for serious games, developed within two projects – the National Research Program „Intelligent Agriculture (2021-2024)“ and the university project „ViSCoD – environment for modeling systems for intelligent agriculture“. The opportunities for game-based learning in integrated domains (in this case intelligent agriculture – STEAM center) are demonstrated with a version of the well-known game „Twenty question game“, adapted for the Bulgarian flora. The system is fully implemented in the logic programming language Prolog and thus can also be used to teach students in the discipline „Artificial Intelligence“.

A Brief Methodology for Researching and Evaluating Serious Games and Game-Based Learning

2013 ◽  
pp. 357-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Mayer ◽  
Geertje Bekebrede ◽  
Harald Warmelink ◽  
Qiqi Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Professional Ethics ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Comparative Theory ◽  
Conceptual Research ◽  
Digital Or

In this chapter, the authors present a methodology for researching and evaluating Serious Games (SG) and digital (or other forms of) Game-Based Learning (GBL). The methodology consists of the following elements: 1) frame-reflective analysis; 2) a methodology explicating the rationale behind a conceptual-research model; 3) research designs and data-gathering procedures; 4) validated research instruments and tools; 5) a body of knowledge that provides operationalised models and hypotheses; and 6) professional ethics. The methodology is intended to resolve the dilemma between the “generality” and “standardisation” required for comparative, theory-based research and the “specificity” and “flexibility” needed for evaluating specific cases.

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