BEAT THE BOOKS GAMIFYING THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR K-6 STUDENTS USING LEITNER SYSTEM By SANTOSH VEMULA SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: Marko Suvajdzic, Chair Angelos Barmpoutis, Member A PROJECT IN LIEU OF THESIS PRESENTED TO THE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2017 1 © 2017 SANTOSH VEMULA 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work is dedicated to my father and mother for their continued support and unconditional love. I would like to thank Prof. Marko Suvajdzic for his guidance and support in designing this project, providing references for research and revision of paper. I would like to thank Prof. Angelos Barmpoutis for his guidance and support in programming and providing references for research and revision of paper. I would like to thank my friends Prabhakar, Anirudh, Akshata, Sai Kiran, Akhil, Varun, Harish, Jeevan, Sravani, Charan, Samskruthi, Chaitanya and Saishma for their guidance and support in completing this project and proofreading my research paper. I would like to thank Digital Worlds Institute for providing me with resources and helping me to explore and acquire new skills useful for the rest of my career. 3 LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page Figure 1-1 Screenshots of ‘American Army’ gameplay………………………………………...24 Figure 1-2 Screenshot of ‘Fold.it’ gameplay………………………………………………….....25 Figure 1-3 Screenshot of ‘Dragonbox Algebra’ gameplay………………………………………26 Figure 1-4 Screenshot of ‘Free Rice’ gameplay…………………………………………………26 Figure 1-5 Screenshot of ‘Nightmare: Malaria’ gameplay………………………………………27 Figure 1-6 Screenshot of ‘Grace’s Diary’ gameplay…………………………………………….28 Figure 1-7 Screenshot of ‘Monster School Bus’ gameplay……………………………………...29 Figure 1-8 Screenshot of ‘Gate’ gameplay………………………………………………………29 Figure 1-9 Screenshot of ‘Spent’ gameplay……………………………………………………...30 Figure 1-10 Screenshot of ‘Re-Mission 2’ gameplay……………………………………………31 Figure 2-1 Graphical representation of ‘Forgetting Curve’……………………………………...33 Figure 2-2 Graphical representation of ‘Forgetting Curve’ with time…………………………...34 Figure 2-3A Graphical representation of SIR with time…………………………………………37 Figure 2-3B A cartoon of brain about SIR……………………………………………………….37 Figure 2-4 Illustration by Christopher Brand…………………………………………………….38 Figure 2-5. St. Florian Monastery, Austria. Photo by Renate Dodell……………………………39 Figure 2-6 Illustration to show that SIR helps retaining information for a longer period……….39 Figure 2-7 Learning box with compartments…………………………………………………….42 Figure 2-8 Illustration of Leitner system flashcards transferred between decks………………...43 Figure 2-9. Screenshot of ‘VocBox’ website work area…………………………………………45 Figure 2-10. Screenshot of ‘Brain Power Leitner box’ application……………………..……….46 Figure 3-1. Textboxes to enter question & options and radio button to select correct answer…..48 Table 3-1. Representation of Leitner system decks in BTB Algorithm as question points……...49 Figure 3-2. Flowchart of question points changing based on player’s answers…………………51 Figure 4-1. Main characters……………………………………………………………………...55 Figure 4-2. Main backgrounds for different levels………………………………………………56 Figure 4-3. Different fonts used……………………………………………………………….....57 4 Figure 4-4. Buttons and their respective secondary images during mouse hover……………….57 Figure 4-5. Other Assets…………………………………………………………………………58 Figure 4-6. Flowcharts of navigation between different screens………………………………...59 Figure 4-7. Main Menu screen…………………………………………………………………...60 Figure 4-8. Button that starts ‘Learn’ level………………………………………………………61 Figure 4-9. Warning to show that there are no courses available to learn……………………….61 Figure 4-10 Button that starts ‘Test’ level……………………………………………………….61 Figure 4-11. Warning to show that there are no tests created……………………………………62 Figure 4-12. Button to enter/edit questions………………………………………………………62 Figure 4-13. Button to create a test………………………………………………………………62 Figure 4-14. Warning shown when teacher tries to create a test without any questions………...62 Figure 4-15. Buttons to turn music on/off……………………………………………………….63 Figure 4-16. ‘Edit Questions’ screen…………………………………………………………….63 Figure 4-17. Buttons to add or delete a question………………………………………………...64 Figure 4-18. Warning to enter a question in textbox before submitting…………………………64 Figure 4-19. Warning to fill all options before submitting………………………………………64 Figure 4-20. Warning to select a correct answer for a question before submitting……………...65 Figure 4-21. ‘Create Test’ screen………………………………………………………………...65 Figure 4-22. Warning to select at least one question to create a test…………………………….66 Figure 4-23.’Learn’ level instructions screen……………………………………………………66 Figure 4-24.’Test’ level instructions screen……………………………………………………...67 Figure 4-25. ‘Learn’ level screen………………………………………………………………...68 Figure 4-26. Progress bar to show questions left for level completion………………………….68 Figure 4-27. Question board…………………………………………………………….……….69 Figure 4-28. Progress bar to display score……………………………………………………….69 Figure 4-29. Hint Board to display number of hints……………………………………………..70 Figure 4-30. Button to use hint…………………………………………………………………..70 Figure 4-31. Player level board…………………………………………………………………..71 Figure 4-32. Change board………………………………………………………………………71 Figure 4-33. Pause button………………………………………………………………………..72 5 Figure 4-34. Help button…………………………………………………………………………72 Figure 4-35. ‘Test’ level screen………………………………………………………………….72 Figure 4-36. Pause screen………………………………………………………………………..73 Figure 4-37. Rewards/Collectibles screen - locked……………………………………………...74 Figure 4-38. Rewards/Collectibles screen - unlocked…………………………………………...75 Figure 4-39. End screen………………………………………………………………………….76 Figure 4-40. Frog eating bees……………………………………………………………………79 Figure 4-41. Warning shown after ‘Learn’ level is completed when no test is created………….79 Figure 4-42 Questions box blinking in ‘Test’ level………………………………………………80 Figure 4-43. Player catching eggs………………………………………………………………..81 Figure 4-44. Player collecting coins……………………………………………………………..82 Figure 4-45. Owl dialogue to show that a background is unlocked……………………………..83 Figure 4-46. Star when answered questions in a row……………………………………………84 Figure 4-47. Level up…………………………………………………………………………….85 Figure 4-48. Bubble event………………………………………………………………………..85 Figure 4-49. Bubbles emitting coins when popped……………………………………………...86 Figure 4-50. Coin………………………………………………………………………………...87 Figure 4-51. Bronze, silver and gold stars……………………………………………………….87 Figure 4-52. Buttons to activate unlocked collectibles…………………………………………..89 Figure 4-53. Changing unlocked background……………………………………………………90 Figure 4-54. Unlockable bee characters………………………………………………………….90 Figure 4-55. Unlockable frog characters…………………………………………………….…...91 Figure 4-56. Blinking options when hint is used…………………………………………….…...91 Figure 4-57. Owl master with dialogue box…………………………………………….………..92 Figure 4-58. Options blinking green when answered correct………………………….…………92 Figure 4-59. Options blinking red & green when answered wrong……………………………...93 6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BTB = Beat the Books. Project Title/ Application name SIR = Spaced Interval Repetition. A memory retention technique used to remember information for a longer period. LS = Leitner System. A SIR model which makes use of flashcards and decks to implement SIR. SG = Serious Games. Games whose primary purpose is to have useful outcomes rather than pure entertainment UI = User Interface. The interface between user and computer through which player controls the program. UX= User Experience. Process of improving the experience of user in handling the program through design. GPU = Graphics Processing Unit. The processing unit in a computer which handles the high graphic rendering functions especially in 3D applications. QP = Question Points. The points assigned to each question to determine the difficulty level of that question to the player. PYMOM = Pythagorean method of memorization. One of the SIR algorithm used in various applications to help users learn new information such as languages for a longer period. SM = SuperMemo. One of the SIR algorithm used in various applications to help users learn new information such as languages for a longer period. FC = Forgetting Curve. The curve that shows the ability to retain information as time progresses. It shows how a person forgets information over time. FPS = First Person Shooter. A video game genre where players won’t see their entire character but just the hands as if playing from a first-person perspective. IOS = IPhone Operating System. IOS is a mobile operating system developed by Apple company for their mobile phones and tablets knows as IPhone and IPad respectively. 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................03 LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................04 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................................07 ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………...11 CHAPTERS 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................13 1.1 Computer and learning ........................................................................................................14 1.1.1 History.........................................................................................................................14