Dissertation Abstract
EDUCATIONAL VIDEO-GAME DESIGN STRATEGIES USED TO IMPROVE MOTIVATION IN ENGINEERING STUDENTS
The use of traditional textbooks in engineering education is uninspiring and unrewarding for engineering students, resulting in many such students’ low motivation and lack of interest in their schoolwork. In contrast, the American culture’s ubiquitous factor of computer technology devices contributes to effective communication and entertainment. Today, computer videogames are owned and played by 80% of American children between the ages of 8 and 18. Plus, research studies have proven that computer videogame technology can motivate students in learning environments. T
Purpose of Research Study
The use of videogames in education is therefore a user-centered strategy because most youth today are familiar with the technology and also enjoy its entertainment value. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify the videogame design and motivational strategies of the educational engineering videogame Spumone. The researcher conducted two interviews with the engineering professor who created Spumone, and also facilitated three focus groups with a total of ten intermediate-level engineering students who had prior experience with Spumone. The researcher organized the data findings into game categories, which provided a structure that revealed evidence of several different design strategies
Research Questions
The researcher also drew on John Keller’s ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction) model of motivation, using this model to classify the engineering students’ different types of motivating reactions while engaged in the videogame Spumone. The research data findings addressed the four research questions as follows: (a) identifying the user-centered videogame design strategies; (b) providing evidence of the engineering professor’s usage and application of several different videogame design strategies; (c) enumerating different types of videogame design strategies used to motivate students, such as relevance to engineering, captivating attention, and building students’ confidence; and (d) providing engineering students’ descriptions of varying motivating factors they experienced while engaged in problem-solving gameplay.
Research Study Evidence
This research study provides evidence that applying user-centered videogame design strategies can successfully motivate engineering students who can then effectively solve complex physics problems. The study revealed the motivational effects of user-centered educational videogame design strategies that integrate educational content with intrinsic technology and entertainment.
Spumone: Educational Engineering Videogame
WRITING SAMPLE: Games - A Learner Centered Experience
Games - A Learner Centered Experience
Dr. Thomas Abdul Rasheed, MFA/PhD
08/15/2017
Today the educational system in America is in a crisis which is predicated on administrators and teachers being out of sync with the new 21st century learners, James Paul Gee (2014). The K-12 learners today live in a society of interactive computer technology that drives their social life activities of cell phones, computer tablets, laptop computers, Internet communications, social networks and computer games, to name a few. However, when it comes to K-12 education the majority of American schools do not provide computer technology, software, interactive learning or educational games for each child’s education, Squire (2011). Consequently many youth today in the public school system has found education boring and uninteresting to say the least. It is apparent that there is an opportunity for the use of today’s computer technology and interactive software to motivate students in American schools.
The video game industry today represents one of the largest influences of the American youth culture, Squire (2003). Because of the cognitive potential of games, within the past 10 years educational scholars have increased their interests in studying and using games for learning, Squire (2011). Today’s traditional K-12 education can be enhanced and improved with the use of interactive computer game devices, which is intrinsically linked to the new 21stcentury learners social life, Gee (2003).
The current definition of the field of Educational Technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources. The educational games environment draws upon the practice of facilitating learning by engaging the learner into the technology of interactive self-growth and discovery that fosters academic achievement. According to Pivec and Dziabenko (2003) engaging in video games creates an opportunity for the player to learn by experiencing. Playing video games allows the learner to participate in their own process of learning through experience. The video game players can engage in different options in problem solving that can be targeted to motivate the learners’ interest. Self-evaluation in educational video games is a continuous gameplay process for the player to strive for improvement in a competitive environment. Videogame players become persistent in their pursuit for improving their performance to advance to different levels of achievement in the game play, (Shaffer, D. W., Squire, K.D., Halverson, R., & Gee, J.P. 2005)
Educational Engineering Video Game Spumone: https://www.spumone.org
The flexibility of educational video game technology gives learners options in playing the game on different platforms such as cell phones, tablets, televisions, desk-top and laptop computers. The availability of these learning tools can foster continuous learning engagement for improving academic achievement, 24 hours a day seven days a week. Educational content information presented in video games can be motivating for the learner because of the use of multi-media, sound/music, video, animation, interactivity and visual effects (Squire, 2005a; Whitehead, 1992). The technology used in educational video games allows the players to engage in interactive problem solving by making choices and examining consequences that traditional educational learning environments fail to provide the learner, (Salen & Zimmerman, 2003).
History and Definition of Learning
Learning is as old as the world and civilization… animals and humans engage in teaching and learning their young… the definition of learning is the activity or process of gaining knowledge or skill by studying, practicing, being taught, or experiencing something: the activity of someone who learns knowledge or skill gained from learning, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/learning.
Animal hunting simulation games, could be one of the oldest forms of human learning by the observation of animals such as lions who simulate play to teach their young how to hunt, (cf.Piaget,1962; Vygotsky, 1976). Many adult female lions play games with their young by allowing the cubs to jump on their swerving tail and play tag. They also play simulation games, which emulates the process of hunting by using small animals like mice and lizards.
Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel, the 18th-century German-born pedagogue is considered the founder of kindergarten in 1837. Fröbel studied under Johann Pestalozzi, a Swiss pedagogue who was considered a reformer in education and founded several German and French institutions of education. Fröbel designed children’s educational learning material known as Fröbel Gifts, which consisted of building geometric blocks and a patterned activity blocks. These blocks were a self-directed activity for children to learn with. Children learn by playing with the Fröbel Gifts games through holding, dropping, rolling, swinging and hiding the blocks. Fröbel Gifts taught children the knowledge of objects spatial relationships, movement, speed, time, color contrast, weight and gravity, (Inventing Kindergarten, Norman Brosterman, 1997). Fröbel created activities involving singing, dancing, gardening and playing with the Fröbel Gifts games called kindergarten, (Wollons, Roberta. L. Ed; Kindergartens and Cultures: The Global Diffusion of an Idea, Yale University Press, 2000).
DIGITAL MEDIA ARTS & DESIGN MODEL
Albert Einstein said, “ Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination circles the world”.
My thoughts, innovation begins with creativity and imagination. Graphic-Design and Visual Arts seem to have merged with Digital Media Arts. The digital media design and art industry represent an interdisciplinary utilization of Art and Design innovation for business, education, computer technology, science, communication, healthcare, sports, entertainment, engineering, legal, etc.
Perhaps the new visual artists’ and designers’ innovative tools and user-centered creativity are engaging in the following:
-3D Design rendering technology by producing products, environments, characters, ceramic, sculpture, and furniture design
-Graphic publication layout design and logo identity
-Digital graphic design, painting and drawing. Printing utilizing large format prints and photo silk-screening on canvas and cloth for the textile/fashion industry.
-The art of designing/editing video and animation for movies, games, and interactive devices.
- Digital Media Website design for consumer marketing of products and services.
DIGITAL MEDIA ART & DESIGN CURRICULUM MODEL COURSES
DIGITAL 2-D DESIGN & RENDERING DRAWING
-Shapes, Colors & Figure Drawing
DIGITAL 3-D DESIGN & RENDERING DRAWING
-Product Design & Character Drawing
DIGITAL PHOTO AND VIDEO
-Commercial & Art Photos / Movies
DIGITAL VISUAL COMMUNICATION
-Typography & Image Layouts Design
DIGITAL ANIMATION DESIGN
-Movies & TV & Online Commercials
DIGITAL INTERACTION DESIGN
-Games & Software Prototypes
DIGITAL WEBSITE DESIGN
-Merchant & Portfolio Website Design