Games-Based Learning in Computer Science, Software Engineering And
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Games-based Learning in Computer within software engineering and, in Science, Software Engineering and particular, attempted to identify what Information Systems Education empirical evidence exists within this Thomas Hainey literature to support this approach. [email protected] Connolly, Stansfield and Hainey (2009) School of Computing then examined the literature in 2008 to University of the West of Scotland produce an evaluation framework for GBL and discovered additional games. Abstract In this paper the definition of a game will be briefly discussed and a diagram Computer games have captured the will be presented to illiustrate the interest of educationalists as they play an relationship between games, simulations, important role in the leisure activities of and games-based learning. We then children and adults. A longitudinal provide a detailed description of seven study into game playing habits and games found in the two literature motivations at university level has searches and will briefly critique the shown that UWS students spend an associated empirical evidence. We will average of 7.6 hours a week playing conclude with a discussion on empirical computer games. Computer games are evidence in the field of GBL. considered to be highly engaging and incorporate extremely compelling 2. Defining a game features. There is however a dearth of empirical evidence supporting the Providing a universally accepted approach. In this paper seven relatively definition of ‘game’ is a difficult mature computer games are described to process. There is no consensus on what teach computer science, software a ‘game’ is in the academic literature as engineering and IS concepts. These it is a concept that dates back thousands games were discovered in two literature of years, for example, the first reviews, one performed in the last half of documentation pertaining to the Olympic 2006 and one performed in the first half games was agreed by scholars to be 776 of 2008. This paper will provide BC (Swaddling, 2008). Crawford detailed descriptions of the games (1982) delivers an in-depth definition of discovered for the interested reader and a game as he discusses “four common will also critique the empirical evidence factors: representation ["a closed formal associated with each game. system that subjectively represents a subset of reality"], interaction, conflict, 1. Introduction and safety ["the results of a game are always less harsh than the situations the Computer games are considered by some game models"]. Dempsey, Haynes, educationalists to be a highly motivating Lucassen and Casey (2002) define a medium for learning. Games-Based game as: “A set of activities involving Learning (GBL) has a dearth or one or more players. It has goals, empirical evidence supporting the constraints, payoffs, and consequences. approach. Connolly, Stansfield and A game is rule-guided and artificial in Hainey (2007) examined the literature some respects. Finally, a game involves on the use of games-based learning some aspect of competition, even if that 1 competition is with oneself.” The term simulation as “the use of computers to ‘game’ has been augmented to model things”. Laurillard (2002) defines encompass new types of games such as a computer simulation as an “artefact ‘computer games’, ‘simulation games’, that embodies some model of an aspect ‘video games’, ‘games-based learning’ of the real world, allows the user to and ‘serious games’. In terms of make inputs to the model, runs the model simulations, Crookall and Saunders and displays the results. (1989) view a simulation as a representation of a real world system In the past 40 years computer games that may focus on a specific aspect of have increasingly replaced more reality. Thavikulwat (1999) defines the traditional games as leisure activities. term simulation as “a replicable Games have now captured the interest of representation of a process. The educationalists who wish to harness their representation can be phenotypical or highly engaging features for learning genotypical. If phenotypical, it is a purposes. Connolly and Stansfield reflection of the process; if genotypical, (2007) define games-based eLearning as it is a subset. Thus, a phenotypical “the use of a computer games-based representation of employment would approach to deliver, support and have participants employ fictitious enhance teaching, learning, assessment, persons; a genotypical representation and evaluation” and can be would have them employ each other. differentiated from games-based Computer animation might make the learning which tends to encompass phenotypical representation realistic, computer and non-computer games (card but it cannot make it real. Genotypical games and traditional board games etc). representation, however, is real.” From This definition can be expanded to state the perspective of an instructional that games-based eLearning is a subset technologist Heinich et al (2001) of computer simulation and computer provide the following distinction games, as a games-based eLearning between games and simulations: “A environment can clearly contain aspects game is an activity in which participants of computer games, computer follow prescribed rules that differ from simulations and pedagogy (Aldrich those of real life as they strive to attain a 2005). Figure 1 illustrates the position of challenging goal. The distinction Games-based Learning (GBL). between play and reality is what makes games entertaining…A simulation is an abstraction or simplification of some real-life situation or process. In simulations, participants usually play a role that involves them in interactions with other people or with elements”. There are many definitions of a computer simulation. In 1979, Pritsker compiled an inventory and found twenty-one different definitions (Pritsker 1979). In the largest possible sense, McLeod (1986) defines a computer 2 • SimVBSE (Jain and Boehm, 2006) • RPG-SE (Zhu, Wang and Tan, 2007) Games Simulation Simulations • Antiphising Phil (Sheng et al, 2007). Games The games discovered in the literature Computer Computer Computer review will now be described in detail Games Simulation Simulations and the empirical evidence associated Games with them will be discussed. GBeL 3.1 KMQuest KMQuest is an on-line collaborative GBL simulation game to teach knowledge management aimed at managers/managing directors who are interested in improving company Figure 1: Position of GBL in relation to efficiency. The game involves voting for specific courses of action to be taken games and simulations that directly affect general organisational effectiveness variables such as: customer 3. Games in Computer Science, satisfaction index, profit and market Software Engineering and share. The game can have a maximum Information Systems of three players but can be configured so that a tutor player can have the deciding The first literature search in 2006 vote over the other players in the game. identified four relatively mature games Players begin the game with a set budget (Connolly, Stansfield and Hainey, 2007): that can be used to implement plans for intervention and acquire information. The game is played over a period of • KM Quest in the area of knowledge three years and as it progresses to the management (Leemkuil et al., 2003, end of each quarter the players are 2005) confronted with a situation that can • Open Software Solutions (Sharp and affect the knowledge household of Hall, 2000) Coltec (a fictional company that • The Incredible Manager (Dantas, primarily deals with adhesive solvents). Barros, and Werner, 2004, 2005) The players must acquire the appropriate • SimSE (Oh Navarro et al., various information and cast their vote. At the years). end of each quarter feedback is provided by the calculation of the new values for In addition to confirming the findings of the business indicators. There is an the first literature review the second online training session for KMQuest that literature review in 2008 highlighted consists of a limited form of the game additional games that have been where choices are restricted and developed (Connolly, Stansfield and guidance, coaching and feedback is Hainey, 2009): provided. 3 3.1.1 Empirical Evidence KMQuest has been written about extensively in the literature and has a lot of empirical evidence associated with it, as it is the primary focus of two doctoral dissertations and associated publications. One doctoral dissertation focuses on procedural, declarative and general knowledge acquisition and the formation of metacognitive strategies (Christoph, 2007) and one focuses on implicit and explicit knowledge acquisition and the effectiveness of advice (Leemkuil, 2005). The empirical evidence associated with KMQuest specifically looks at whether learners learn from the game, and conducts studies with an appropriate control group. In terms of the pre-test and post-tests for assessing knowledge acquisition, the questions are numerous and extensive, the data is analysed by Figure 2: The virtual office and the appropriate statistical techniques and personal page KMQuest numerous business indicators are brought into account. Figure 2 displays 3.2 Open Software Solutions the virtual office and the personal page in the training demo of KMQuest. Sharp and Hall (2000) developed Open Software Solutions to be a major part of the Open University’s M880 software engineering distance education course aimed at software professionals. The case study section of the course, which consumes 80 hours