Renny S N Lindberg

Digital games have emerged as promising tools that aim to make learning more fun. As each person has different learning and play styles, educational games can become more effective should they adapt content delivery according to the user’s learning and play styles. To achieve this, models are needed to represent these styles. Several learning and play style models exist today with varying levels of validity and complexity. With the emergence of educational games, the importance of using such models for enhancing the effectiveness of games as viable educational tools increases. However, not many studies have been conducted that simultaneously consider both style groups. We first analysed existing learning and play models. Based on the analysis results, we created a questionnaire that uses Bartle’s Player Types model and Honey and Mumford’s Learning Style Questionnaire, and tested it with 127 South Korean elementary school children. The results indicated that within the play style model specific styles were clearly more preferred, whereas learning styles were distributed more evenly. There also were some differences between genders. The results can be used to inform us on what sort of stimuli might yield better immersion in educational games and thereby facilitate the learning process.

Increases in the numbers of obese and overweight children are a major issue in post-industrial societies because obesity can lead to severe health-related problems. In addition, many challenges affect the quantity and quality of physical education (PE) provided by schools. Exergames that combine exercise with gaming have been recognized as a possible method for motivating children to become physically active and to make PE more fun. Furthermore, exergames that utilize wearable sensors devices allow players' movements to be tracked for estimating the efficiency of exercise. In this study, we developed the Running Othello 2 (RO2) exergame, where players wear a smartphone and a smart wrist band to compete in a board game enhanced with physical and pedagogical missions. In physical missions, the game uses inertial sensors and a heart rate meter to detect the physical activities of players.

Games have emerged as promising tools to make learning more fun. Pedagogical effectiveness of an educational game can increase if its behavior changes according to learners’ play and learning styles. Several models for categorizing learning and play styles exist, but not many studies simultaneously detect and utilize both style groups. To alleviate this, as the first contribution, we analyzed and compared existing learning and play style models, and chose the most suitable one from each group. Personality style models were also discussed. We then created a questionnaire based on Honey and Mumford’s Learning Style Questionnaire and Bartle’s Player Types, and collected data from 127 South Korean elementary school children. The results indicated that specific play styles were clearly more dominant (Killer 18%, Achiever 24%, Explorer 32%, Socializer 41%), whereas dominant learning styles were distributed more evenly (Activist 33%, Reflector 37%, Theorist 20% and Pragmatist 25%). As the second contribution, we presented the foundations of a generic adaptation model for utilizing learning and play styles for designing adaptive educational games.

The drive to teach programming to K-12 students has amplified in the past few years as several European countries have added programming to their national curricula. Teaching programming is not simple as even older students struggle with the topic. Educational games have been shown to increase motivation and learning efficiency, and many games have been created to teach programming. Adaptation is a technique that could improve these benefits even further by personalizing the game to learners in a heterogeneous group. In this study we presented Minerva, an adaptive programming education game designed for elementary school students. The game uses Bartle’s Player Types and Honey and Mumford’s Learning Style Questionnaire to adapt gameplay and learning content to match the player’s styles. We tested Minerva with 33 6th grade South Korean students using a post-test questionnaire, interviews, and a game log that was designed to keep track of the students’ profiles and how Minerva adapted to them. Based on the results, we proposed how Minerva’s adaptation system can be improved in the future. This paper can be of interest to anyone researching possible uses of adaptivity in (programming) education games.

As the global demand for programmers is soaring, several countries have integrated programming into their K-12 curricula. Finding effective ways to engage children in programming education is an important objective. One effective method for this can be presenting learning materials via games, which are known to increase engagement and motivation. Current programming education games often focus on a single genre and offer onesize-fits-all experience to heterogeneous learners. In this study, we presented Minerva, a multi-genre (adventure, action, puzzle) game to engage elementary school students in learning programming concepts. The game content is adapted to play and learning styles of the player to personalize the gameplay. We conducted a formative mixed-method evaluation of Minerva with 32 Korean 6th grade students who played the game and compared their learning outcomes with 32 6th grade students who studied the same concepts using handouts. The results indicated that, in terms of retention, learning was equally effective in both groups. Furthermore, the game was shown to facilitate engagement among the students. These results, together with uncovered issues, will guide Minerva’s further development