Educational Games: Design, Learning and Applications

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EDUCATION IN A COMPETITIVE AND GLOBALIZING WORLD

EDUCATIONAL GAMES: DESIGN, LEARNING AND APPLICATIONS

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EDUCATION IN A COMPETITIVE AND GLOBALIZING WORLD

EDUCATIONAL GAMES: DESIGN, LEARNING AND APPLICATIONS

FREJ EDVARDSEN AND

HALSTEN KULLE EDITORS

Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York

Copyright © 2010 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic, tape, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the Publisher. For permission to use material from this book please contact us: Telephone 631-231-7269; Fax 631-231-8175 Web Site: http://www.novapublishers.com NOTICE TO THE READER The Publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this book, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained in this book. The Publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or in part, from the readers’ use of, or reliance upon, this material. Any parts of this book based on government reports are so indicated and copyright is claimed for those parts to the extent applicable to compilations of such works. Independent verification should be sought for any data, advice or recommendations contained in this book. In addition, no responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from any methods, products, instructions, ideas or otherwise contained in this publication. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered herein. It is sold with the clear understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or any other professional services. If legal or any other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent person should be sought. FROM A DECLARATION OF PARTICIPANTS JOINTLY ADOPTED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND A COMMITTEE OF PUBLISHERS. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Educational games : design, learning, and applications / editors, Frej Edvardsen and Halsten Kulle. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-61209-103-7 (eBook)

Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

New York

CONTENTS Preface

vii

Chapter 1

Persuasion on-Line and Communicability: The Destruction of Credibility in the Virtual Community and Cognitive Models Francisco V. Cipolla-Ficarra

Chapter 2

Educational Games and Communicability: Design, Learning and Interactive Applications Francisco V. Cipolla-Ficarra

37

Chapter 3

Playing to Learn: Experiences in Virtual Biology Environments Muwanga-Zake and Johnnie Wycliffe Frank

75

Chapter 4

The Role of Contextual Interference and Mental Engagement on Learning Phillip D. Tomporowski, Bryan A. McCullick and Michael Horvat

127

Chapter 5

Learning to Game and Gaming to Learn: A Process-Oriented Pedagogy for Collaborative Game-Based Learning Philip Bonanno

157

Chapter 6

Intelligent Educational Games: A Constraint-Based Approach Brent Martin

185

Chapter 7

Natural Multimodal Interaction in Collaborative Visualization Andrea Corradini, Edward C. Kaiser, Hrvoje Benko, David Demirdjian, Xiao Huang and Paulo Barthelmess

219

Chapter 8

Working with Cultural Differences: A Case Study in Multicultural Teamwork Using a 3DCVE Theodor Wyeld

241

Chapter 9

Patterns for the Design of Educational Games Dennis Maciuszek and Alke Martens

263

1

vi

John V. Chang

Chapter 10

Educational Computer Games and Their Application to Developmental Disabilities Bertram O. Ploog

281

Chapter 11

Call for Learning-Game Design Patterns Kristian Kiili

299

Chapter 12

Application of Educational Games in Psychotherapy Veronika Brezinka

313

Chapter 13

Computer Games, Education, and the Good Life Mark Coeckelbergh

323

Chapter 14

It's your Turn!: Exploring the Benefits of a Traditional Board Game for the Development of Learning Communities Kate Rossiter and Kate Reeve

331

Chapter 15

Interactive Fiction as Educational Gaming for L2 English Improvement Federico Gobbo

339

Chapter 16

Petimo: Safe Social Networking Robot for Children Michelle Narangoda

351

Index

373

PREFACE The pervasive use of games by students and their integration in formal education by a number of pioneer teachers creates a need for a different frame-of-mind to look at the learning experience offered by such innovative technology-enhanced learning experiences. Educational computer games are related to two disciplines, which are computer sciences (in particular, eLearning and related areas) and games development. A pattern-based design approach to overcome the problems and challenges of learning-games is proposed in this book. The aim is to awaken the learning-game community to approach learning-game design more structurally and to motivate them to communally create a theoretical and practical basis for learning-game design and game-based learning research. Furthermore, given the popularity of computer games and the educational and ethical problems they raise, we need a way of evaluating games. This book contributes to this task by articulating the epistemic, moral, and ethical aims of education and by applying these criteria to computer games. In the era of quality in interactive communications, persuasion is an implicit attribute in the human-computer interaction process and the human-computer interface design. Persuasion avails itself of the new technologies to modify the behaviour of the potential users of the on-line and off-line interactive systems. In Chapter 1, the authors will focus on its presence in the on-line systems aimed at university education. We think of education as being one of the cornerstones of any society, just the same as health care therefore, it is important to discover how persuasion underlies in some environments which can seriously damage the potential users, multimedia content generators, interactive systems designers, etc. Consequently, the authors present a series of techniques and heuristic methods to unveil the persuasion practiced on-line for the last eight years in a European university context. Through it, it will be possible to analyze and understand each one of the variable components that foster or destroy the validity of on-line information through persuasion. Through the obtained results a heuristic guide is presented in order to detect the presence of persuasion with advice as to how to avoid it in the case that there is no intention to have an influence on behaviour. Simultaneously the power of persuasion in the virtual community of students and teachers will be analyzed, with examples where credibility fades into disappearance in some cases. A linguistic and semiotic analysis will make it possible to establish a series of isotopies along time to discover in our case of study those links in which persuasion can be linked with manipulation and even with destructive behaviours such as bullying, mobbing, bossing about, stalking, etc. all of them very well disguised in the construction of e-mail messages, for instance.

viii

Frej Edvardsen and Halsten Kulle

In Chapter 2, a series of results of the qualitative analysis of the design and the learning process in educational games based on interactive and hypermedia systems and aimed mainly at the learning of mathematics, languages and pastimes is presented. All this analysis is made under the perspective of communicability and usability, with case studies of users (children and teenagers mainly) without disabilities (mental and/or intellectual) [1-3]. In the work a diachronic vision of the evolution of the main classical games in the computer is made and following that a look at computer assisted teaching until the mid nineties. Later on, systems aimed at education in off-line and online support are analyzed simultaneously. Through this diachronic study it can be seen how many design features have endured until the present day. Others, in contrast, have been lost because the evolution of the hardware with software support does not take place anymore. That is to say, the adult user is already familiar with educational games but cannot use them to transmit knowledge to the future generations because the games do not work with later evolutions of the operating system, for instance. Consequently, there are millions of users who wish to interact with classic games in the new hardware media of mobile informatics: iPhone, iPod, PDA, etc, but they cannot do it [4]. A game named Zadarh was used in South African economically disadvantaged schools. Playing games in virtual environments appears to accrue benefits in constructivist learning of science, albeit with fun, which motivates students to study. However, as explained in Chapter 3, there are curriculum implications, some of which require teacher training. Games should be evaluated before they are incorporated into school curricula. Evidence obtained from several research areas has led to renewed interest in the possible association between games that are performed under conditions requiring moderate-tovigorous physical activity and the emergence of children’s executive function, which is the capacity to think before acting, the ability to retain information in mind, to reflect on the possible consequences of specific actions, and to self-regulate behavior. The goal of Chapter 4 is threefold: first, to describe the phenomenon of Contextual Interference and how skill learning conditions influence the emergence and development of children’s basic cognitive processes; second, to summarize findings obtained in several areas of research that link physical activity to mental functioning and academic performance; and third, to highlight the role that physical education can play in facilitating specific types of mental processes that are essential for children’s successful goal-oriented behaviors. Games in which action requirements change unpredictably require mental engagement and executive functioning; subtle variations in practice routines are hypothesized to markedly influence how children learn associations between physical actions and their consequences. Examples of games designed to combine physical activity with mental challenges are provided, and special emphasis is placed on instructional conditions that address children’s individual differences. As discussed in Chapter 5, the pervasive use of games by students and their integration in formal education by a number of pioneer teachers creates a need for a different frame-of-mind to look at the learning processes offered by such innovative technology-enhanced learning experiences. Moving away from models that emphasis learning as a process of content transmission, a different interactions-oriented pedagogy should reconceptualise learning and knowledge building in these contexts. Referring to examples of games with an educational potential, a pedagogy for collaborative game-based learning (CGBL) and knowledge building is proposed based on a dual strategy: Learning FROM designed (off-the-shelf) games and learning BY designing games. This strategy integrates interactions arising from processes related to acquiring, sharing and creating knowledge (Salomon & Perkins 1998; Collis &

Preface

ix

Moonen 2001) while participating in game-related affinity spaces (Gee 2007, 87) and domain-related ‘communities of practice’ (Wenger 1999) as determined by the game’s theme. Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) have made the break from the lab to the classroom, with evidence of significant learning gains over traditional classroom education. At the same time computer games have become ubiquitous and have been shown to have motivating effects when used in an educational setting. Merging these two technologies promises to deliver a new generation of educational software that maximizes learning. To this end the authors present Greenmind, an authoring tool for developing intelligent educational games. Greenmind separates game development from ITS delivery, allowing specialist game developers or teachers to create their own game front-ends for ITS, and making it possible for a game interface to be added to existing tutoring systems. In Chapter 6 the authors describe the architecture of Greenmind and the WETAS intelligent tutoring shell that drives the intelligent educational component, and demonstrate Greenmind’s capabilities using two games developed with it: “Turtle’s Rare Ingredient Hunt” and a sorting tutor. Both of these games were developed by University students without a background in ITS, demonstrating that Greenmind could be a suitable tool for non-specialist developers of educational content. Humans communicate multimodally. To better facilitate collaborative interactive visualizations, computational systems can take advantage of that fact and offer simpler, more intuitive interfaces. When hands and eyes are busy during a potentially immersive visualization, mouse and keyboard are no longer the manipulative and navigational tools of choice. Natural modalities like speech and gesture can be both complementary and redundant, in predictable ways. In Chapter 7 the authors show how these patterns of multimodal human interaction can be used to improve system understanding, reduce recognition error rates, and ultimately improve the user experience of complex and powerful visualization systems. Such an interaction metaphor can be applied in several application domains ranging from scientific visualization to embodied conversational characters and interactive computer games. Much Information Technology and Communication (ITC) design work needs to address an international audience. Increasingly developers no longer work in isolation, but collaborate in multicultural international teams. This requires cross-cultural understandings with their cocollaborators exposing developers to different approaches to the same task. While classrooms are also increasingly becoming multicultural laboratories there are few opportunities for international collaborations to occur in a pedagogical setting. Chapter 8 discusses a case study of a remote collaboration across three continents, timezones, and cultures. The remote collaboration was conducted using a suite of tools, central of which was a 3D collaborative virtual environment (3DCVE) – ActiveWorlds. The benefits of this project were that students could work in teams collaborating across time zones on a single project complimenting each other’s skills and learning about new ways to work and learn in a global environment. This fostered deeper understandings of alternative meanings to everyday occurrences and work practices and design computing assumptions. The project involved students across three cooperating institutions: The University of Queensland (Australia); the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology (Taiwan); and, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim (Norway). It builds on previous exercises conducted by the author (see Wyeld et al, 2006). The cross-cultural understandings engendered by this project are evaluated using Leont’ev’s (1981) Activity Theory (AT) as a theoretical framework. It was found that the key elements of AT can be identified in the case study and helps formulate recommendations for future studies of this type.

x


Patterns, having their roots in architecture, have been used in computer science since the late 1980s to describe the structure and behaviour of software systems, to support communication about software systems, and to facilitate system re-use and re-structuring. However, even if general computer science patterns exist and are part of the software engineering process, usage of patterns in eLearning and in educational game design is not state of the art yet. Due to the fact that patterns are a boundary object which can be used to facilitate communication across communities, in Chapter 9 the authors suggest different patterns for the design of educational games and relate them to a generic pattern catalogue which covers all levels of development, from high-level eLearning and educational games patterns to technical software engineering patterns. As discussed in Chapter 10, most children enjoy playing computer games. This makes computer technology ideal for educational applications, as intrinsic motivation for learning is built into the game. Considering that nowadays most children spend quite a bit of their waking hours in front of a computer, it is clearly desirable to make computer games as educational as possible. These considerations hold generally true for children with typical development as well as for children with developmental disabilities or with mental impairments. There is quite a long history of the use of computers in educational settings, including special education, but the explosive growth of rapidly evolving computer technology plus recent findings from research in education and in developmental disabilities make computers an ever more promising, appropriate, and powerful tool in any learning environment today. Modern educational computer games have several immense advantages: Considering that most families have access to a computer, these games are inexpensive, widely distributable, and easily accessible for most families, largely independent of economic status (i.e., “democratization of learning opportunities”). They may reduce the need for costly one-on-one professional tutoring. These games can be designed to be fun and dynamic. Perhaps most importantly, computer games can be custom-designed to adjust in “real time” and “on-line” to the player’s individual characteristics, whether those are strengths or weaknesses. Most recently, the authors designed a simple computer game that can be enjoyed and played successfully by low-functioning children with autism and has been shown to be useful in assessing the child’s individual attention patterns in language perception. The game is also designed such that in the future attention to general visual and auditory information can be assessed. With this approach, for example, synchronicity of facial expression and emotional tone in language can be assessed. Perception of both language and emotions are known to be problematic for many children with autism. Future development aims at building in features that allow the computer to monitor the child’s individual attention patterns, adjust to them, and then implement attention-shaping methods to remediate any deficits. A general application will be to help focus and expand the attention span of children with autism and with attention deficit disorder. In spite of increased interest in game-based learning, the development of learning-game design methods has been insignificant. Apparently, this lack has negatively influenced the quality of published learning-games and the diffusion of game-based learning. One of the biggest problems of learning-games has been the inadequate integration of educational and game design principles. As a solution, a pattern-based approach that supports the design, analysis and comparison of learning-games is presented in Chapter 11. Learning-game design patterns that extend existing entertainment game design patterns are descriptions of commonly reoccurring parts of the design of a learning-game that concern and optimize

Preface

xi

gameplay from an educational perspective. The structure of a learning-game design pattern is presented and five patterns that were identified through analyzing the game, AnimalClass, are proposed. Furthermore, the use and the possible benefits of learning-game design patterns are discussed. The overall aim of this chapter is to awaken the learning-game community to approach learning-game design more structurally and to motivate them to communally create a practical, theoretical basis for learning-game design. I argue that the long term goal should be to create a true pattern language, a network of connected patterns, in which both the relations of entertainment game design patterns and learning-game design patterns are described. Such a language could create more added value to the design community than single patterns. As discussed in Chapter 12, computers and internet have become a normal part of life for millions of children. However, due to reported associations between intensive gaming and aggressive behavior, school failure, and overweight, commercial games have gained mainly negative publicity. As a consequence, most scientific studies on video games focus on their negative consequences, while their innovative potentials tend to be overlooked. Yet, there is scientific evidence for the inventive power of video games. Educational video games have been developed for various purposes: to improve self-management of diabetic children, to increase self-care behaviors and social support in asthmatic children, to change children’s unhealthy diets and to enhance children’s motivation for psychotherapy. Treasure Hunt, an interactive adventure game with six levels, was developed by the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of Zurich University in order to support psychotherapeutic treatment of children between eight and thirteen years of age. It is not a self-help game and should be played under guidance of a therapist. Since June 2008, the game is available in English, German and Dutch for psychotherapists and child psychiatrists who can download it for free from http://www.treasurehunt.uzh.ch . Since its introduction, more than 1000 professionals from 24 countries downloaded the game. More than 120 questionnaires of children and their therapists have been sent back and are currently being analyzed. Realized with a minimal budget of 25.000 USD, the example of Treasure Hunt shows that it is possible to develop an educational game with very little money. Although the development of more psychotherapeutic video games is warranted, no game will be able to alleviate childhood problems on its own. Therapeutic games will show their maximum potential only under the guidance of a therapist who can explain and comment on the concepts introduced in the game. Given the popularity of computer gaming and the educational and ethical problems they raise, we need a way of evaluating games. We should be concerned with particular games but also with games as a medium. We need normative criteria that allow us to judge to what extent the medium and the messages meet educational and ethical standards. This can inform the design, regulation, and practice of computer gaming. Chapter 13 contributes to this task by articulating the epistemic, moral, and ethical aims of education and by applying these criteria to computer games. It is assumed that education aims at the development and flourishing of individuals as human beings who have the potential to grow in wisdom and moral beauty and who cannot reach those goals without others. From this perspective, this chapter identifies the goals of education in terms of knowledge and experience, moral development, and the good life and explores how computer games can contribute to these goals. It is concluded that to the extent that we want games to be educational, we are justified to demand that they promote the wisdom, virtue, independence of thinking, care, pleasure, and – generally and ultimately – the good life of

xii


ourselves and of others. Understanding this intimate connection with the good life reveals education as something that is central to what being human is all about. Chapter 14 reflects upon the unique pedagogical benefits created through the live group encounter engendered by traditional board game play, and examines the potential for traditional board games to stimulate particular forms of critical thinking and analytic engagement. To do so, the authors provide a first-hand account regarding our experience of creating, producing and facilitating a game entitled The Last Straw!: A Board Game on the Social Determinants of Health©, and draw from our ongoing, first-hand qualitative evaluation of the game’s impact as a teaching tool. Specifically, the authors explore the ways in which the 'live' encounter created through game play facilitates a dynamic, interactive learning experience unique to a traditional board game structure. The Last Straw! © takes players on a journey through the life cycle, dealing with “macro” issues such as political climate, economic structure and environmental change, as well as “micro” issues, such as individual finances, education, and family dynamics. Here the authors argue that these abstract, analytic insights are afforded specifically through the kind of discussion and deliberation produced through a live, group encounter. Chapter 15 presents an application of Interactive Fiction (IF) as a main tool for L2 English young learners in a `learning-by-doing' approach, based on a pilot experiment. IF is rooted in the history of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence as a main tool of playing through computers when they had little graphics, if any, as playing is performed as a textbased man-machine dialogue. Most IF novels were written in the 1970s and 1980s and were adventures, often settled in a sci-fi or fantasy world --- the most notable being Zork and Amnesia. After the development of computer graphics, IF became a divertissement for aficionados, who formed a lively on-line community thanks to the Internet, releasing for free -- often in open source --- old and new narratives. Some ad hoc programming languages were designed for IF writing, such as Inform, Hugo or TADS, but they still required previous programming skills being object-oriented. This situation changed in 2006, when Graham Nelson released Inform 7. Unlike the previous versions, Inform 7 does not require any particular programming skill, as commands are written directly in English, preferring a declarative rule-based style of programming over object-orientation: the result is a highly human-readable source code. Now, there is a consistent set of narratives written in Inform 7 available for free, as well as an advanced IDE in different operating systems, so that Inform 7 can be easily used in the classroom. After playing some existing adventures, in order to learn how to deal with a sophisticated natural language parser (and its limits), students are grouped together in order to write their own IF stories to be played by the other teams. The paper shows some educational strategies in using Inform 7 in the classroom with the following goals: to improve L2 English proficiency; to acquire the basics of natural language processing; to expand creative writing skills, dealing, for instance, with multiple endings; finally, to teach the fundamentals of computer programming. Nowadays Social networks are becoming the latest trend for online communication especially among young children and helps for making new friends while keeping old friends in close contact. With the expansion of digital media, the attraction of teenagers and younger children to social networks and other activities in the cyber-world, is growing. However, cyberspace is becoming an unsafe and more exploited environment, especially for children. This results in conflicting messages between parents and children, social isolation, and communication with unknown online people with unverified identities. Psychologists have

Preface

xiii

theorized about the meaning of online relationships during adolescence, and have warned about the dangers of sexually exploitative online relationships. To protect children from the potential risks in social networks and the virtual world the authors have developed `Petimo'', an interactive robotic toy which helps to make a safely connected social networking environment. It adds a new form of security to social computing through parental authentication, providing extra safety in making friends by physically touching each others robot which is a much preferred form especially by children and natural means of making friends. The concept of Petimo could be extended to any social network thus making it child-safe. As a proof-of-concept a 3D virtual world which is called ``Petimo World'' is developed and includes all of the realizable basic features of traditional online social networks. As explained in Chapter 16, Petimo World stands out from all other virtual worlds with its interesting and sophisticated interactions such as the visualization of a friends' relationships through spatial distribution in the 3D space to clearly understand the closeness of the friendship, personalized avatars and sending of special gifts /emoticons by physically squeezing the Petimo.

In: Educational Games: Design, Learning and Applications ISBN: 978-1-60876-692-5 Editors: F. Edvardsen and H. Kulle, pp. 1-35 © 2010 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 1

PERSUASION ON-LINE AND COMMUNICABILITY: THE DESTRUCTION OF CREDIBILITY IN THE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY AND COGNITIVE MODELS Francisco V. Cipolla-Ficarra∗ HCI Lab – F&F Multimedia Communic@tions Corp. Via Pascoli, Bergamo, Italy

Abstract In the era of quality in interactive communications, persuasion is an implicit attribute in the human-computer interaction process and the human-computer interface design. Persuasion avails itself of the new technologies to modify the behaviour of the potential users of the online and off-line interactive systems. In our case, we will focus on its presence in the on-line systems aimed at university education. We think of education as being one of the cornerstones of any society, just the same as health care therefore, it is important to discover how persuasion underlies in some environments which can seriously damage the potential users, multimedia content generators, interactive systems designers, etc. Consequently, we present a series of techniques and heuristic methods to unveil the persuasion practiced on-line for the last eight years in a European university context. Through it, it will be possible to analyze and understand each one of the variable components that foster or destroy the validity of on-line information through persuasion. Through the obtained results a heuristic guide is presented in order to detect the presence of persuasion with advice as to how to avoid it in the case that there is no intention to have an influence on behaviour. Simultaneously the power of persuasion in the virtual community of students and teachers will be analyzed, with examples where credibility fades into disappearance in some cases. A linguistic and semiotic analysis will make it possible to establish a series of isotopies along time to discover in our case of study those links in which persuasion can be linked with manipulation and even with destructive behaviours such as bullying, mobbing, bossing about, stalking, etc. all of them very well disguised in the construction of e-mail messages, for instance.

∗ E-mail address: [email protected]. ALAIPO – Asociación Latina de Interacción Persona Ordenador (www.alaipo.com).AINCI – Asociación Internacional de la Comunicación Interactiva (www.ainci.com).

2

Francisco V. Cipolla-Ficarra

Introduction Persuasion is the activity of demonstrating and trying to modify the behaviour of at least one person through symbolic interaction [1], [2], [3]. It is a conscious activity, and it takes place when a threat is perceived against a person's goals and when the source of the information and the degree of this threat are important enough to justify the cost of the effort that persuasion entails. Obviously, here are excluded those situations in which the person –or user, in our case–, convinces himself/herself that someone's behaviour has changed in the wanted direction without the mediation of a symbolic interaction [4], [5]. Convincing oneself that a person or a situation has changed is self-persuasion, which is not considered in the current chapter. Now, it is important to point out that persuasion and communication are activities that involve at least two people, whose combined actions determine the outcome. Persuasion is not something that one person does to other, but something that that person does with another [1]. Even if the persuader feels that the goal of modifying the other person's behaviour has not been achieved, the persuasion activity has taken place. The use of the words ‘dynamic persuader’ and ‘interactive persuaded person’ does not mean that persuasion is a unidirectional activity, but rather bidirectional. On few occasions a person does change the other's point of view or behaviour without altering in the process some of his/her own rules. The concepts of persuasion and communication are in direct relationship to the context from which the dynamic persuader and the interactive persuaded person interact [6], [7], [8], [9]. This context is very important, because it can depend from it the degree of persuasion and destruction of truthfulness of the contents in the on-line hypermedia systems, for instance. It is even possible to establish a geographic map of those areas where the destruction of credibility in the virtual community is bigger [10]. Coherence, pertinence and efficacy cannot be defined without taking into account when? how? and for whom? It is also important to include the following rhetorical question: To what purpose or end? However, we see how some individuals perceive other people's behaviour as a threat to their own goals. For instance, in the educational context between two professors of the same subject the publication on-line of the bibliography or of a more detailed or complete subject programme is enough so that the dynamic persuader activates all the persuasion mechanisms in regard to his/her students or potential interactive persuaded individuals. In this case two conditions may take place: that these people do not share the same rules, and/or that even if they share these rules, they disagree in their logic to apply them. When these two conditions are present, persuasion becomes a double process. The rules repertoire of the person to be persuaded must be modified, and it is necessary to provide a logic that makes the application of the preferred rules sensible. A given behaviour is reasonable for the individuals if they perceive a high degree of correspondence between their context perceptions and the previous conditions specified in the rules that guide behaviour selection. That is to say, in the regulation rules we have some previous conditions and some wanted effects; between them lie the behaviour options (mandatory, prohibited, preferred, allowed, irrelevant, etc.) Now the fact that people make an interpretation of events means that they can never live reality from first hand. They must create their own reality through the application of cognitive schemes. These schemes make up the basis and the results of communication and persuasion, that is to say, they are binary schemes. These associations or cognitive binary schemes acquire the shape of construals and behaviour rules. In this sense an authority in the theory of

Persuasion on-Line and Communicability

3

the personal construal such as that of George Kelly [1], maintains that people make an effort to make their worlds predictable. They develop construals with the goal of interpreting phenomena. These construals are useful to measure the meaning of an object, of an action or a context. For instance, the users of interactive systems develop a construal to help themselves in the interpretation of a simulated world or emulated on a computer screen. These construals differ from one user to another, because they have different experiences and consequently they generate different construals. Since the context constantly generates many new experiences, the user spends part of his time at the moment of the interaction with the multimedia systems, for instance, in the search and maintenance of prediction and selfevidence at the moment of navigation. Through the daily communication with other people, our dynamic persuader has accumulated a set of rules of conducts that adjust to a certain number of construals. The interpretations are insufficient on their own to lead to action. The wanted effects in a specific context, in our case, in the face of certain metaphors that make up the interfaces and/or other design components in the interactive systems (in our case divided into the following design categories: content, presentation, structure, dynamics, connectability and panchronism –from Greek pan and chronos, time) and the constructions of previous conditions of the persuaded user, are linked to conducts under the shape of cognitive schemes that are known as rules. The vision of the communication theorists influenced by Kelly's conception about the human cognitive process was developed in a coherent theoretical structure named constructivism [1], [11]. In the current chapter we intend to use the resources of semiotics, linguistics, humancomputer interaction, usability engineering, software engineering and primitives used in the design models for the multimedia systems and cognitive models to detect those situations in which the dynamic persuader destroys the information that the persuaded user perceives (it is an intersection of the formal sciences and the factual sciences –to quote Mario Bunge’s division of the sciences) [12-19]. The main techniques and methods that the expert in communicability must possess in order to detect such situations are also presented, so that it is possible, for instance, to make the rest of the users of a virtual community aware of them.

2. Techniques and Methods The methods and techniques used refer to the social sciences (direct observation and analysis of contents). The first of them is also used in usability engineering, especially in the methods of heuristic evaluation. The observation in context of usability engineering has led to creating special laboratories with equipment and staff, with which the studies made have a higher cost to those made for communicability, since they do without the use of laboratories, for instance. In our case, we apply direct observation which is a technique that stems from the social sciences and we eradicate the subjective factors via the elaboration of binary tables, reaching excellent objectivity levels in the results [20]. The compilation of the data is fast and it allows one to make comparative graphics of the obtained results for a better understanding of those environments where the destruction of the credibility in the on-line contents underlies in a blatant or latent way. To this effect we resort to the use of the analysis of the contents that has been used for decades in the traditional communication media: press, radio, television, cinema, etc. These analyses are made according to concepts hailing from linguistics and semiotics. Now in our case we follow the notions of their founders and we do

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not make up any business-like slang, such as the idea of turning semiotics into engineering when in fact it belongs to the field of the social sciences. For instance, a notion that has been very useful in the field of interactive design and especially in the design of heuristic evaluations is isotopy. The notion of isotopy in semiotics has also been applied, aside from the study of the contents plans and expression stemming from linguistics. Greimas borrowed the term isotopy from nuclear physics [21]. In structural semantics, isotopy describes the coherence and homogeneity of texts. He defines isotopy as “the principle that allows the semantic concatenation of utterances” [21]. Greimas develops the theory of textual coherence on the basis of this concept of contextual semes. In its syntagmatic extension, an isotopy is constituted by all those textual segments which are connected by one contextual seme. Since texts are usually neither unilinear nor univocal, Greimas describes the overlapping of isotopies at various isotopic strata. When a discorse has only one interpretation, its semantic structure is a simple isotopy. The simultaneity of two readings, such as in ambiguities or metaphors, is called bi-isotopy. Te superimposition of several semantic levels in a text is called pluri- or poly-isotopy. The ‘enunciator star’ works with poly-isotopy in virtual community. The isotopies are sense lines that act upon the structures. That is to say, from a semantic point of view lines are drawn which unite several components of the multimedia in order to help comprehension of the rest of the multimedia system. The sense lines are independent of our location inside a multimedia, since they draw a unity in relation to the four basic categories used in the heuristic analysis of the system. For instance, if we are inside a guided tour or on the first frame of a certain entity type, we can detect that there is a set of elements belonging to the presentation of the content which do not change (typography, the background to the frames, the positioning of the navigation keys, the icons that represent the navigation keys, the kind of transitions between different frames, the music, the speaker's voice, etc.). The lines link those elements which remain identical among themselves and which belong to the different categories of design [9]: presentation, content, dynamism, panchronism, structure and connectability (in the current chapter we have focused on the following two categories: presentation or layout and content). For instance, the equality existing in the guided tours and in collections; the colour and the typography in presentation, the organisation of the textual content as is the inverted pyramid, the activation and deactivation of the dynamic media, and the way to reach the hyperbase [22] and structure of the whole of the nodes. The analysis of the structure of an interactive system, from a semiotics point of view, for instance, allows us to use software engineering notions, hypermedia systems models, humancomputer interaction and the cognitive models. The goal is to put apart each one of the design components, studying the links down to the tiniest detail and from several approaches in those websites where the destruction of on-line credibility is detected. Therefore, the examples that will accompany the next pages are real, and of free access in the Internet, especially in the university context of Southern Europe. This task of inter-disciplinary analysis also allows one to elaborate a non-ambiguous language for the future designers, programmers of interactive systems in the Internet and especially the evaluators of on-line and off-line communicability. The goal is to work out models and guidelines for interactive design with the highest transparency, credibility and veracity of digital information.


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3. Models and Guidelines for Interactive Design Traditionally, a model is a theoretical scheme, generally belonging to the formal sciences, as it is the case of mathematics, of a system or a complex reality, which is elaborated to facilitate its comprehension and the study of its behaviour. Also from the point of view of art it is something –an object– which can be in its natural state from the point of view of dimension and scale, for instance –which comprises a series of qualities to be imitated and/or produced. That is to say, an object or a set of them made in relation to a same design. Most of the designers of interactive systems with commercial purposes need a series of design rules for the production of systems in the least possible time and with the lowest costs. In regard to this we find in the literature of interactive design interesting research works related in some cases to the software and/or hardware in computers, for instance in the case of the Macintosh and Windows [23], [24]. Today our attention is strongly drawn to the fact that these models and guidelines which have served for years in the design of the systems are criticized in order to destroy their validity since the passing of time is not taken into account. That is, it is illogical to compare operating systems and/or software from the beginnings of the commercial multimedia era to the computers at their peak in the mid-nineties in many European countries with the current ones avaible. This destructive criticism is a ploy used by our manipulator/persuader also called the ‘star enunciator’ (see your profile in annex #1). In the current work the term ‘star enunciator’ refers to the author or website designer in a virtual community, such as a university professor, for instance, who has as his goal to gain visibility on-line by resorting to a series of stratagems and techniques which destroy the credibility of on-line. This notion stems from social semiotics and sociology [11], [13], [21], since he will take the central place in the interrelations with the persuaded and/or users, but not at the same level but at a higher position. That is to say, graphically in the Internet, it is as if somebody pulled from a node until turning it into a cobweb with the shape of a pyramid. At this summit node is our star enunciator to be found. Besides, we understand as a ‘virtual community’ the number of users who continuously participate in chats, videoconferences, etc. in Internet or intranet, whether it is in long distance courses, semipresential courses, etc. or other users with the purpose of establishing bidirectional interactive communication links among them. In the case of Internet, these users establish additional links thanks to the Web 2.0 phenomena with applications such as Linkdln, Facebook, Twitter, Naymz, etc. [25]. Evidently, the diachronic factor is not considered by the on-line credibility destroyer at the moment of making his comments [26]. Sometimes, these comments are disguised as false studies of usability engineering or lack of orientation of the users in the multimedia systems because of designers' mistakes. What actually happens is that the person who makes such criticism does not have an adequate training and/or experience in the social sciences environment since he has some rudimentary university studies belonging to the formal sciences such as are mathematics and/or computer science, added to some short-lasting master in marketing and/or public relations. For example, these days, we can find professors from some Lombardian universities with direct criticism, in Internet, and to be listened in the iPods, to a book which has served for years as a guide for millions of multimedia and hypermedia interfaces designers: Apple Guidelines [23]. One of the main problems in the Italian universities is that a bachelor with a master of 6 months more or less, which may even have been obtained through the Internet, has more power than a PhD in multimedia, for

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instance. It is necessary to count in communicability with a new professional profile which is the intersection between formal sciences and factual sciences [27].

Figure 1. Star enunciator –Superiority and manipulation.

3.1. Professionals for Cognitive Models and Design Now at the moment of design it is when these intersection knowledges are applied. In regard to this we find in the late 80s and early 90s a rich and varied literature about cognitive models and design guidelines [28], [29], [30]. For the cognitive approach to human-computer interaction and human-computer communication theories in cognitive science and cognitive psychology are applied to the human computer interface to make the processing of information by the human easier and more efficient [28]. However, here it is necessary to make an anchoring operation of the notions or concepts as they are made inside the semiotics context [5], especially among the studies of social sciences and the training of professionals in the context of the new technologies, between the English-speaking and the Latin peoples, for instance. In the English speaking environment it is easy to find interdisciplinary work teams in the framework of the new technologies, that is to say, the collaboration of sociologists, social communicators, designers, computer experts, experts in usability, communicability, etc. In contrast in the Latin environment of Southern Europe the eternal discrepancies between training and profession can be seen. For instance, a young philologist in English, who is familiar with commercial programmes aimed at design and who has passed an eight months long master in introduction to the cognitive models in Spain claims to be an expert in cognitive models. Obviously, when it is not possible to have an interdisciplinary team for economic reasons as it happens in many places in the European Mediterranean zone, it is better to foster training the Latin countries. In short, lacking previous studies in psychology or social communication, for instance, this alleged expert in cognitive models will only resort to the destruction of credibility on-line through the virtual communities which are close to him in order to spread those lies. In the cognitive models and similar to other human-based tasks, the computer user perceives, stores and retrieves information from short- and long-term memory, manipulates that information to make decisions and solve problems, and then carries out responses [29]. That is to say, a set of typical activities akin to those performed by a specialist in the social


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sciences, who resorts to certain sociology and statistics techniques to present the obtained results. Now, in these tasks for the design process in the interfaces, for example, it is necessary to remember that there is a classic triad among the conceptual model, the mental model and the interface design. Besides, there is a triadic relation with the communicability. Graphically:

Figure 2. Communicability for Cognitive Model and Interface Design.

Between each one of these elements there is a bidirectional relationship. Following Norman's concepts, the conceptual model is a design model maintained by the designer of the interactive system, in engineering or programming terms, so that it is accurate, consistent, and complete. In this design, if it is done carefully, the designer should consider the user's task and capabilities [29]. A way to know these user's tasks is through an assessment of the usability of a multimedia system, for instance. The mental model is the model that the user forms of how the interactive system, this mental model guides how the user structures the interaction tasks [29].

3.2. Models and Metaphors: Empathy and Inference for Interfaces Now from the prospect of communicability the conceptual model and the mental model may be boosted through empathy [31]. Empathy is a quality attribute that facilitates the design of the interactive systems. The goal for an interface designer is to try to choose the information to represent on the display so that the mental model can, like the conceptual model, be accurate, consistent and complete. In this representation of contents on the computer screen it is always necessary to make a difference between emulation and simulation of the reality [32] on the one hand and always consider the potential international users, even in the case of the hypermedia systems developed in an off-line support. In the case of emulation and simulation of reality, the metaphors still play a very active role even in the new distance games systems which allow the real movement of the user in front of the television or computer screen, such as Wi-Fi or the current Microsoft Project Natal (the system works through the recognition of the body movements, voice and face of the users). Those metaphors will be developed in the design process of the interface in relation to the software and the hardware available, following certain models or principles of the periphericals for the coming-in and going-out of data and/or information. Some of them hail from outside the computer context, such as was the keyboard of the typewriters ‘qwerty’ and which with the passing of time has become a model to be followed in computer hardware. In

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this case, the movement of the arms of these new interactive systems should foresee the situations of those people who have some kind of disability, such as is the amputation of a hand or an arm. Perhaps a new age is being opened for those people through a cyberarm, that's to say, a computerized arm to interact with the multimedia systems aimed at leisure, training, etc. The correct use of metaphors, for instance, can provide us another kind of communication which is that known as direct manipulation, such as the icons of the operating systems in the computer screen, videogames, CAD/CAM applications, etc., based on the principle “What You See Is What You Get” [23]. In these cases, it is necessary that the users have a previous acquaintance with these icons, since many vary with regard to the different cultures. For instance, the classic wastepaper basket of Windows or Mac, towards which we move the documents, programs, etc. for their elimination, had to be modified in Thailand and some small crosses be inserted that depicted flies, because in that country, from a cultural and conceptual point of view, garbage is related to flies. The remaining techniques and models in this chapter all claim to have some representation of users as they interact with an interface, that is, they model some aspect of the user’s understanding, knowledge, intentions or processing. The level of representation differs from technique to technique –from models of high-level goals and the results of problem-solving activities, to descriptions of motor-level activity. The formalisms have largely been developed by psychologists, or computer scientist whose interest is in understanding user behavior [28]. Classically, in the computer interface, the set of mental models is the key to understand the methods and the techniques which can be used in an efficient interfaces design. However, the communicability issue has always been left behind. This indicates the lack of expert professionals in interactive systems who are the result of the interaction of the social and fact sciences. Starting from these cognitive models and the models used for the design of hypermedia systems, on the basis of aspects which range from the interface to the structuring of the information, a series of quality attributes have been created which are aimed at the user's skill in the moment of interacting, such as is the prediction or the anticipation of behaviour in some actions. When it comes to multimedia or hipermedia systems, the model that a user has of the system or the user model governs her interactions with it. Predictions or inferences will be based upon the model: thus, in designing an interactive system, a lot of care and work should go into making the user model as clear and obvious as possible to the user. If the system’s behavior can be describe by different user models then the question of choosing a good user model or even designing a new one to describe the behaviour is also of importance. Evidently all of this was developed with the momentum of usability engineering so that the users could interact quickly with the interactive systems. Now many persuasion aspects belonging to the user-computer communication were included in these models, but no detailed studies were made to determine the main variables, especially with the aegis of Internet in the mid-nineties in Southern Europe, for instance. Today it is necessary to go deeper into these variables, because the star enunciators who exert their influence in the virtual communities are destroying in many cases the veracity of on-line information.


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3.3. Models for Interactive Users: Diachronic Evolution Setting the user as the central axis in the cognitive models we have two main aspects from the first studies made in the human-computer interaction context: competence and performance. Competence models tend to be ones that can predict legal behaviour sequences but generally do this without reference to whether they could actually be executed by users. In contrast, performance models not only describe what the necessary behaviour sequences are but usually describe both what the user needs to know and how this is employed in actual task execution. Traditionally, the study of competence models, therefore, represents the kinds of behaviour expected of a user, but they give little help in analyzing that behaviour to determine its demands on the user. Performance models provide analytical power mainly by focusing on routine behaviour in very limited applications [32]. In some cases, these two terms have been used as quality attributes in the design of the hypermedia systems, inside a non-orthogonal relationship with the five usability principles [33]. With the spread of personal computers, the premise of the easy use of usability engineering has been pivotal in the studies of the different kinds of users. On the basis of these studies the first models centred on the users started to be made in the 90s. Now in these models we find different main components of the sciences and its disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, communication and computer sciences. In the specific case of the interfaces, we have users with or without previous experiences in the use of computers, the observation of that interaction by the different groups of users: children, teenagers, adults, elderly people, etc., the interaction between the user and the computer, the abstraction of the information by the designer at the moment of generating that interface. Obviously, in this process we can see the difference between the physical aspects and the conceptual aspects of the user model, and how information is an essential part of the user model. It is in this stage where the primary data, through the process of the designer becomes an information which is aimed at the potential users. An information that later on has to be communicated through the dynamic and static means that make up the content of the on-line and off-line interactive systems. In the information and the communication we have two environments where persuasion is always present to a greater or lesser extent. We can also talk about information manipulation, however, in the current work we will only refer to this destructive factor of credibility on-line. The use of cognitive psychology in the new technologies and especially in the context of the communications has its origins at the end of the XIX century with the studies made by the psychologists Bryan and Harten for the telegraph [2]. These general studies hold for and applied cognitive psychology, and on the same general ground that they hold for all sciences. However, it is worth detailing the three main yields for cognitive psychology that can flow from a robust applied cognitive psychology. The information processing revolution in cognitive psychology is beginning. An example in the past decade was usability engineering. Another of the still existing environments is the human-computer interaction, and a novel field to be explored in the coming years is communicability. The second contribution is to the style of cognitive psychology rather than to its substance. For example, the human-computer interaction area with its emphasis on task analysis, measurement and approximation, is also appropriate for basic cognitive psychology. The existing emphasis in psychology on discriminating between theories is certainly understandable as a historical development. The third contribution is simply that of being a successful application, though it sounds a bit odd

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to say it that way. Modern cognitive psychology has been developing now for 50 years, more or less. If information-processing psychology represents a successful advance of some magnitude, then ultimately it must both affect the areas in which psychology is now applied and generate new areas of application. Finally, the yield for computer science that can flow from an applied psychology of human-computer interaction is engineering methods for taking the properties of users into account during interactive system design [2]. These studies have made apparent a kind of fashion in the university departments of the United States of America and Canada, related to software engineering, languages and computer systems, etc. such as the involvement of anthropologists, psychologists, sociologists in their projects. The purpose of the inclusion of these professionals was to reach a maximum quality in software, in the 90s [34], [35]. Obviously, the academic reality of the computer science in the study plans of these two countries differs from the rest of countries in Europe and Asia. For instance, in some Latin American countries in the 80s the programmers, analysts, systems engineers, etc., had mandatory subjects of the social sciences (social psychology, sociology, public relations, marketing, etc.) to reach a higher level of professionalism at work. The current study plans in the universities of many European countries and even the new Bologna model of the alleged convergence of the university degrees do not foresee this wealth of vision for the professional studies. Consequently, we will find bachelors in arts or engineers in computer science, telecommunications, electronics, etc., who once they have finished their studies will take some short-duration master without high academic requirements but aimed at the social sciences. The goal of these professionals is not quality, but rather how to increase the technical knowledge of persuasion and manipulation for groups leadership, direction of projects, human and public relationships, etc.

4. From Human-Computer Communication to Human-Computer Interaction In the framework of the communication between human beings and computers it is possible to establish the following listing of relationships: • • • •

Computer-computer communication. Computer-human communication. Human-computer communication. Human-human computer (using a computer desktop).

In all these relationships the process of bidirectional interaction between the user and the computer is implicit, excepting the first case. In the remaining cases, it is interesting to search the existing possibilities to establish an excellent communication between the aspects of hardware/software of the new technologies and the human factors that intervene in the process of interaction between the user and the computer. When we talk about interaction and communication we obviously need a natural language, a direct manipulation of the peripheral input/output, data/information to the processor, whether it is through the keyboard, sight, voice, movement, etc., and formal languages. Here is one of the main central issues of the research in human-computer


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interaction. One of the main goals of human-computer interaction is the combination of the modes of interaction to obtain multimodal communication. Now the most prominent medium in human-human communication is natural language. The high degree to which natural language is mastered by humans, as well as a series of different possible applications: Here is a brief listing of the traditional fields of study of natural language [28]: • • • • •

Combined language and graphic systems. Linguistic, word processing: automatic spelling correction, automatic retrieval of strings, etc. Automatic translation. Dialogue systems. Creation, editing and query of databases in natural language, etc.

Evidently here is an interesting link to artificial intelligence. The application of natural language in the user interface not only considerably increases the number of potential users, but is also of great value for the professional user, since the conceptualization of the user’s intentions is no longer inhibited by an artificial language. Well, from the point of view of language and in the framework of the formal sciences also some distortion has been made, such as can be considering semiotics as an engineering [36]. Here is another example of how in some specific university or institutions of private teaching which are akin to parochialism, such as Saussure defines it [37]. This parochialism is usually a very important source in the destruction of on-line credibility. Oddly enough, the business-like purpose of these private institutions is one of the features of this star enunciator who promotes himself in the virtual community like a commercial product (see annex #2). In annex section we can see some examples (some aspects have been left out because of privacy reasons). The right to the privacy of on-line information in some countries sometimes prevents the denunciation of star enunciator and their persuasive behaviours, which in some extreme cases may even turn out to be regrettable and belonging to the kind of actions prosecuted by the law, such as intimidation, coercion and academic bossing or bullying. These are illegal actions, manipulative of the real interest of the star enunciators, and they enjoy the unanimity that the Internet gives, when it comes to international law of digital information on-line [38], [39]. The formal languages interaction style denotes essentially formal languages in the mathematical sense, programming and command languages and other classical user-initiated interaction styles with restricted conceptual and semantic models. In this kind of interaction it is necessary that the user be an expert, since the learnability and the acceptance with unskilled users is low in the normal users. Formal languages are best suited to environments where highly trained users need great flexibility of commands and parameters. The evolution process of these three interaction models leads us to the issue of gesture interaction. Perhaps one of the fastest ways of communicating among people depending on the cultures, where words may be constantly accompanied by the movement of arms, hands, etc. as it happens in many peoples of the Mediterranean. However, here it is also necessary to take into account the contextual and/or cultural factor where the interactive system will be used since some gestural meanings vary from one people to another [5]. One of the environments where it was intended to boost this intersection of communication modalities is that of virtual reality, in the mid-70s in Europe, as a natural evolution of the interactive

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multimedia systems. However, there were two main factors that have not allowed the relationship between the users and the virtual community, the cost factor of the hardware/software (gloves, helmets, etc.), and the feeling of balance that the usually normally loses at the moment of the interaction in the tridimensional environments. Other experiments were made with some systems that combined the voice with a word processor, that is to say, instead of writing, the user could dictate the text inside Microsoft Word, as was the case with the IBM Via Voice. On the other hand, these combinations of modes of interaction require great financial resources (laboratories, special equipments, staff, etc.), in order to obtain reliable results. Perhaps an environment where some mistakes in the combination on these modalities go unnoticed is the artistic one, since in many cases the level of abstraction is high and no accuracy is required in the triadic relationship, as stated by Pierce [13], [42]. Evidently, for those who do not have a solid foundation in the social sciences many of the aspects belonging to the social communication, this will sound like a real novelty, but in fact these are issues that since the appearance of the social or massive means of communication such as can be radio, television, etc., are being studied in a systematic way, especially the effects that the emitter has on the message receptors.

4.1. Competence of the Interactive System and the User’s Change of Behaviour Competence is a quality attribute which indicates the ability of the interactive system to adapt itself to the different kinds of users in the navigation. It is a design quality attribute and which can be measured through a series of techniques and heuristic methodologies without great costs and in an efficient way. This attribute at the moment of design makes up the designer's cognitive model in regard to the potential users. Implicitly the designer must take into account behaviour changes of the user for which he will resort to persuasion. Now inside the framework of the star enunciator/persuader's changing behaviour pattern towards the potential users, it can be seen that the persuader know why a person takes up a certain attitude in given situations, and so he is then in a better position to encourage this change. Change may be achieved by convincing the user (a) that his current attitude does not lead any longer to the satisfaction he is yearning after (b) that another attitude will satisfy more easily the user's needs, or (c) that the user should reconsider the value of his attitude in the light of the new information [1]. In short, there is a kind of bidirectional triad concerning the rules on which the persuasion incentives are founded: coherence, pertinence and efficacy. Graphically:

Figure 3. Star enunciator and changing behavoir towards the users.


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The two first incentives belong to communicability, whereas efficacy is one of those attributes cited by Nielsen in usability engineering [15]. Obviously, although the rules applied in a given situation may be coherent, pertinent and effective from the perception that the subject to be persuaded has about the previous conditions and the desired effects, these perceptions may be inaccurate. The source of the inaccuracy may stem from the lack of consideration of the contextual aspects in which our international user is immersed. In these cases, the persuader must help the subject to persuade in the reconstruction of the previous conditions of the context, such as can be the motivation in the fruition, before making any appeal to coherence, pertinence or the efficacy enclosed in the message or credibility of the source. In the case of a star enunciator who devotes himself to put the same contents in the same personal sites of the university server, writing each statement in English and Italian for instance, this connotes an approach to the context of the potential user to motivate navigation in these contents, however, it denotes a high power of persuasion as source of information. The credibility of the source has been treated as a factor that facilitates the effect of the message rather than as a more pivotal or significant aspect of the persuasive process. It is a questionable statement in relation to a series of studies made in the context of the social sciences in the last fifty years. For instance, in the studies carried out by Rosenthal [1], according to which focusing on the effect of the message, the theory and research on communication blinds us in regard to the complexity of the communication among people and currently in the virtual community, thanks to the new technologies, with important implications in the future of the study of persuasion and the interactive means based on computers. An example where on-line persuasion destroys the credibility of the source is that in which the university professor (start enunciator) inserts a daily counter in his pages to make the rest of the community believe (students and colleagues) that his websites are visited on-line by a great number of users (an average of 500 visits per day, which the home page of some Lombardian universities do not have). In reality it is the day after the exams of his subjects, where there is no advertisement board with the listing of the grades in paper support, and all the students have to visit his personal website to find out the grades (see annex #3). Bitzer [1], on his side, describes the context of communication as an invitation to create an adequate answer (obviously, it is not the case of the former example). This entails the existence of normative forces dependent on the context and which are imposed on the options of the communicators. In our example, the rules are set by the star enunciator, since the rest of the professors use the digital systems (on-line) and the analogical (the classic list of paper grades in the advertisements board). Simons claims that the meaning is always contextual, and the achievement of communication depends on the ability that the communicator has to anticipate the sense of logic of the situation that the receptor has [1]. In the case of our student and receptor (interactive persuaded person), he/she wants to know his/her grades, and besides he/she must navigate through the personal website of the professor. Quite absurdly, the reading the professor makes of this situation is the exponential increase of the visitors since that favours his personal mania with statistical data, even if they are false. Besides, the star enunciator's behaviour does not open other communicative alternatives for the student community. Now, in each behaviour underlies a logic that consists in constructs and rules. This construct is based on reasons that may take one of these two shapes: prospectives and retrospectives. The prospectives reasons make up the argumentations that people use to select and order their rules before proceeding (the student who wants to see his grades must access

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the professor's website and unwillingly increase the counter of these sites). The retrospective reasons are the arguments that people use for the behaviour after their decision (the persuader enunciator may prove statistically in the meetings with his colleagues that his contents on-line on a text format, audiovisual, etc., are visited by a great part of the student virtual community). As long as the persuaders may recognize the argumentation of which the potential navigator to be persuaded avails himself to use constructs and apply rules according to his own observations and demands of retrospective reasons, his chances of achieving acquiescence, accommodation, commitment or cooperation increase. However, these chances are not exclusively determined by the ability that the persuader has to take up a social perspective, (a way to conceal this lack of social perspective is through the insertion of promotional banners related to national and/or international volunteering activities). Some contexts do not lead to coercive ways of persuasion. For instance, in formal organizations of a vertical structure, such as the organization of a school or a university with the principal, the dean or the ‘star professors’, at the summit of the power structure, they create conditions (status, visibility, disciplinary punishments, etc.) which make acquiescence and accommodation more frequent than commitment and cooperation. For instance, in the case of figure 4 it can be seen how the star enunciator complains in an authoritarian way about the students' lack of orientation to reach his office or tutoring activities:

Figure 4. Star enunciator and authoritarianism (scream style and red colour for the messages).

That is to say, in the same website of a professor or star enunciator we find the nonexistence of the competence quality attribute, for instance, the visual accessibility in the text, the persuasion at the service of the promotion of authoritarianism and the destruction of credibility through the inadequate use of statistics (see annex #3).

5. Persuasion: Main Variables of Communication in the Virtual Community As a rule, in those situations in which the existence of the destruction of credibility manifests itself in a latent way, an analysis of the main variables of persuasion used in the designer's cognitive model may be very positive to aid understanding of the main variables in the communication and in communicability. That is to say, there is a kind of manifest pretension in each act of the persuader, in shifting his ego/I to the user or receiver, regardless of the personality of the persuaded person and the context where he/she is immersed. The bigger or lesser ease to achieve that goal will jeopardize the credibility of the source in relation to the persuaded user. These elements persist in a direct and indirect way at the


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moment of interacting with the systems developed by the star enunciator under a cognitive model. In other words, the persuasion variables may be used to shift the focus from the “I” towards the context of the user to be persuaded. The result is a reorganization of the rules whose knowledge makes easier for the persuader his choice of appeals to belonging, coherence or efficacy. For instance, getting the curriculum vitae of a colleague may mean automatically not only the loss of the workplace, but also the birth of a professional copycat. In the context of persuasion, the expression “professional copycat” refers to the fact that in the scientific environment a star enunciator may take the place of another person through the continuous plagiarism of all his former works, present and future, without the persuaded people knowing it. Essentially, as far as the persuader can carry out that shift from the focus of the “I” to the context of the individual, the appeals to belonging become more adequate. To the extent in which the “I” becomes prevailing, the appeals to coherence are those that have bigger chances of bringing about behaviour changes. For instance, in the websites of the star enunciator it can be seen these prevailing through continuous sentences to draw attention, for instance the hard work he does in the correction of his exams or in the tutor ships –thus underplaying his assistants' work–, inserting the total of corrected exams (the everlasting number mania), etc. In the cases in which the consequences are more important than belonging and coherence, the most useful will be the appeals to efficacy. The star enunciator will resort to a myriad persuading variables to increase his status as a reliable source. The credibility of the source is a multidimensional construct. The components of credibility may not be the same through all the situations, but they depend on the function that a communicant is expected to fulfill in a given context. For instance, the degree of persuasion and/or manipulation is easier to achieve in environments where the real or virtual students community is small, especially in cities or towns with few inhabitants, and with a low educational-university level, statistically speaking. The credibility studies also differ in the degree of attention that they lend to the characteristics of the emitter and the audience. On the other hand, the research in the context of the social sciences tends to ignore the interaction between the characteristics of the emitter –in our case, star enunciator– and of the individual (narcissistic personality, destructive and Machiavellian). The studies made during the past decades about the influence of the designer of the cognitive model and the potential users have indicated a bidirectional influence [4]. To the extent in which the contexts in which we will find ourselves will require information about the source, it is likely that we see ourselves forced to remember them. In other cases, the subjects (individuals) seem very capable of accepting and even respecting the emitter, although at the same time they reject his message. In some cases, there is an unexpected positive impression in the face of the source as a result of a rule pattern which inclines the members of the virtual community to respond positively when they lack a previous experience concerning the star enunciator (for instance, how a personal website is structured: biography, publications, on-line notes, programme of the subjects, etc.). It is obvious that the members of the virtual communities usually grant the benefit of doubt to the enunciators who are not familiar to them [43]. The quality of the message in the Internet seems to be usually enough to induce the individuals to create a rather favourable perception of the source. One would say that the members of the virtual community thought that such a good message could only come from a very good source. There are of course some traces that indicate falseness, urge for power, or authoritarianism of the source (the eyes that see

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everything, the use of the red colour in advertisements, the childlike sentences to reward or punish university students, the use and abuse of statistical data, etc., such as can be seen in the annexes #2 and #3, for instance). It is important to take into account that the personality inside a given context entails several variables to be always considered in the case of persuasion [1], [44]: • • •

A personality is not manipulated in the same way as the emitter's credibility. The persuasive messages may adapt to the individual characteristics. People usually experience a sense of detachment when a deed they perform is inconsistent with a stable feature or their personality.

However, Rosenthal admits that a persuasive message can't provide an abundant information, but it does give some information, and the individuals use it to create their own impressions [1]. It is the case of the on-line publicity to foster E-commerce. As a rule, advertisers normally use well-known sources to increase the credibility of their message and to set the ground for implicit or explicit appeals to the belonging (cinema or television actors, cinema melodies, etc.). The credibility of the source is important whether it is in the classical studies of the traditional means of social communication as in a virtual community, because the use of highly reliable sources may (a) stimulate identification, making useful the appeals to incoherence, (b) give additional value to the belonging claims or (c) inform the individual about the efficient resources to achieve the wanted effects [1], [45].

6. Persuasion Complexity: Dynamic Persuader and Interactive Persuaded Person Intelligence has been the focus of a lot of attention in terms of its relationship to persuasion. Mc Guire has suggested that intelligence may make a person more susceptible to persuasion thanks to the growing attention and comprehension it entails, but that this susceptibility decreases by increasing the resistance against complacency [1], [46]. As a rule, people of average intelligence are usually easier to persuade than people with a high or low intelligence. Here lies one of the main problems in the metrics aimed at assessing the destruction of credibility and communicability. The star enouncers belonging to the education sector and with knowledge in marketing become real specialists in persuasion and manipulators of information, but not in a positive way, rather in a negative way. Besides, by aiming all their actions at the students, not only the interactive context of a virtual community is affected, it reaches also the real environment, damaging the current and future generations of users and the veracity of the interactive contents. In many cases, communicability becomes a mere transmission of persuasive contents, whose purpose is to foster the authoritarianism masked in a democratic context which should be the virtual communities. Obviously, to achieve such a goal a star enunciator needs to absorb the greatest amount of information sources within his reach and carry out a continuous plagiarism of contents. In some cases he may even undergo a metamorphosis in his personality plagiarizing not only the colleagues' scientific aspects, but also the fashion and the way to behave. Consequently, we may expect that some individuals surpass others in this,


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simply because they lay a bigger stress in interactive communication. Besides, users integrate their previous experiences in rememberable messages that they can evoke to explain certain specific problems in certain contexts and aim their action at this context. In the annex # 1 there is a listing about how to detect the star enunciators from the prospect of design, especially in the categories of presentation and content. A very important variable which is always to be considered in persuasion is the textual content of the message. The star enunciator must gain visibility on-line and therefore will focus there all his persuasion resources (it is necessary to resort to all the basic notions of the hypertext and the access to the hyperbase [22], that is to say, kinds of links, nodes, indexes, etc.). The metaphorical expressions which are opposed to literal ones may strengthen the persuasive effect. The studies made by Kaisa Väänänen-Vainio Mattila in this visual context are of great interest, and also the distribution of the information on the computer screen [47]. Another variable that is usually associated to the reactions of the receiver to the source is the intensity of the language, such as the range of the lexical skills in the emitter (wealth of vocabulary) and verbal immediacy (when an emitter is related to the subjects of the message). Obviously, it is always necessary to consider the context of the messages. The strategy of the message, that is, how the arguments are presented in a sequential way, juxtaposed, implicit conclusions, repetition of contents, etc. For instance, Zimbardo and Ebbesen [1], [44] suggest that it is important to present an aspect of the argument when the virtual community is mostly friendly, or the position of that who introduces the issue is the only one that will be presented, or when the speaker wants a temporary change of view, even if temporary. Now, when one, after another points of view are presented, the last one to be exposed will probably be the most effective. The repetition of a message adds something to the persuasive effect of a message, such as it happens in a radio or television broadcast (even though the supports are currently digital, for instance podcasting, digital tv, many of the persuasive techniques carried out by the analogical media can be applied to the new information supports. Lastly there is the pre-eminence of the subject chosen by the emitter. This variable stands in a direct relationship to the usefulness of the information. There are members in the virtual community who are seeking to establish contact links with the communicator, and that the accepted information to be judged on the basis of whether its acceptance favors the achievement of that goal. Each one of these analyzed variables may be regarded as a contribution to the predominion of the context as opposed to the predominion of the “I” (enunciator). The credibility of the source may be used to strengthen an appeal to belonging, assuming that other significant for the individual perceive the source as an opinion leader. Here is another of the goals of the star enunciator, to be a leader in certain fields, within record time, even he does not have the knowledge or the ability or the experience in the subjects, but thanks to persuasion he/she can present himself as a valid leader, although he has filched those subjects from other colleagues in the virtual or real community. To the extent in which a source is used with identification purposes, an appeal to coherence may turn out to be more effective. The variables of the message can also be manipulated to influence on the perception that the receptor has of the source, or to surpass expectations, and therefore influence the resistance that the receptor opposes to persuasion. The information about personality provides a certain orientation to determine the persuasion strategy, since it can indirectly indicate the autonomy level of the possible “I” in a given context. To the extent in which behaviours that indicate a personality type are absent, we may assume that the context prevails. For instance,

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here the fact of inserting the most outstanding data of the biography of the star enunciator as something indispensable or a requisite to be fulfilled inside the usability as defined by Nielsen [48]. Of course Nielsen does not speak about the paranoid deformations of personality when persuasion becomes something obsessive that only destroys the credibility of the on-line information through the constant manipulation of the statistical data, the plagiarizing of the contents of the colleagues, the obligation of the attendants to set up links to the star enunciators, the activation of websites which do not have contents except by being redirected to personal university websites, inscription to all the Web 2.0 sites (Facebook, Geocities, Naymz, Linkedln, etc.), all of this with the purpose of gaining visibility in search engines. Obviously a modus operandi of the persuader inside the context that he can manipulate and persuade, such as students and collaborators, he will use some of the techniques to obtain conformity to focus on his goals in a speedy way and without leaving written traces. The persuaders always operate on the basis of incomplete information. The worst mistake that can be made in the case of a destructive persuader is to give him the most possible information, for instance, in the case of working colleagues, a detailed curriculum vitae. Starting from it, he/she has the necessary elements to empower himself of the other’s personality (in this case the colleague to be destroyed) or foster small clone-like individual among his assistants. A typical case is that his collaborators follow studies in the same teaching centres where the colleague to be destroyed has either studied or worked. Now, in the case of having incomplete information, his perceptions of a given relation or interaction are never exactly the same as those of the subjects to be persuaded. However, in an effort to simplify the task of predicting what strategies the individuals may use to persuade others, a series of taxonomies have been created. Obviously, in the framework of the social sciences they were accepted by some and turned down by others as time elapsed. The strategies followed in annex #4 can be divided into three basic types: punishment, instruction and altruistic. The punishment strategies are aimed at increasing the possibility of the wanted answer through the offering of punishments and rewards by the emitter. The instruction strategies provide the emitter with reasons or justifications to prefer a way to answer. The altruistic strategies focus on the relationships between subject and emitter as the basis of the appeals. Regardless of the criticism or praise received by the taxonomy, many experts in the social sciences started to make experiments with them as in the case of Miller et al. [1] [44], who reached the conclusion that two strategies are exceptionally used in interpersonal relationships: negative esteem and adverse stimulation. The situations with long-term consequences seem to be marked by a high degree of possibility of the use of promises, positive alternative models, and altruism, whereas in situations like this the resort to adverse stimulation is unlikely.

7. Persuasion, Education and New Technologies Persuasion has always been present in the communicative process. One of the rhetorical questions of human communication, is: For what purpose is a communication process established? For instance, in the case of audiovisual communication, interactive and informative of the digital mass-media and according to the legislation in communication, it may be information as well as formation, as it is in Spain or simply for information as it is in


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Italy. Obviously, the designer of an interactive system applies a cognitive model for the potential user and should take into account the legislative context in which the user is immersed. Besides, this cognitive model must be built on the basis of the long experience of a designer in the graphic arts and the context where the user is immersed. This experience allows to a neat difference to be established when the interface of a hypermedia design is being designed to be used, whether it is in the traditional personal computers or in what is currently known as mobile computers. That is to say, all those devices that include a central data processing unit (CPU) of small dimension, such as a PDA, multimedia telephone, electronic book, iPod, Tablet PC, etc. Mistakenly, these days, designers of content and hypermedia interfaces think that their knowledge in psychology or training are enough to address the difficulties of the cognitive models in an efficient way. However, it is necessary to start from the perspective of communication, bearing in mind the empathy in the design, for instance, until reaching communicability, that is: qualitative communication in the current interactive systems [27], [31], [49]. Now in the cognitive process the first traces of persuasion by the designer in the interactive communicative process can be detected, since in many cases it can generate the destruction of the credibility of on-line content. The latter frequently happens in the on-line multimedia information, favoured by two factors: the low cost to change hypertextual information and the ease in the on-line data edition. These continuous changes under the shape of updating of the websites make detection easier. However, it is necessary to establish a series of techniques and “ad hoc” methods to locate them and expose them. A study in the persuasion and destruction of on-line credibility in the university educative websites must start with the professors' environment. Many of these websites are made following cognitive models of richness in design from the graphical point of view and others are more austere. The latter theoretically tend to connote a high credibility. However, in many cases it is not so, since they depict examples where the destruction of the credibility in the virtual on-line community is very high. Using one of the heuristic techniques that stem from the social sciences such as direct observation, it is possible to elaborate a table of assessment of persuasion aimed at the destruction of credibility in the virtual community and cognitive models (see annex 2). As a rule, in those websites which have been created, for example, in accordance to Nielsen’s usability principles, there is an implicit enunciation: it is necessary that they be “subjectively pleasing” [15]. Here is the first clue to detect a persuasivedestructive website, the appearance in the speech of the star enunciator as if he were some kind of showman (see annex #5).

7.1. Educational Websites and Credibility Factors The theoretic and technical notions of the cognitive models in the environment of multimedia communication are not to the service of the potential users, but rather in the sale of the star enunciator as if it was a commercial product or a marketing campaign. These are websites with practically no educative content, since there are no links to the on-line and free access lessons. In the case where they do exist, the links take to a university intranet system, where the user needs key words to have access to the information. We see a kind of personality cult, from the semiotic perspective of language, because the first area of the website is dedicated to the curriculum vitae of the star enunciator. Obviously it is not easy to

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detect the truthfulness or falsehood of the information in this area because all the study certifications or work experiences are not available. In some countries, it is customary to insert the numbers of the certifications of the diplomas, or make known the contests where access to the university places was gained. In other countries, this information is hidden because there is no transparency in the selection process, and access to the working posts in the public institutions are more related to friendship or family relationship factors, than to the previous knowledge and/or experience of the candidates. For instance, in the case of the countries of the European Mediterranean, many university posts are generated in relation to the candidates previously chosen by the departments. The implicit goal is that there can be no competition for that post from other candidates from other universities. This is a contextual factor whose diachronic analysis denotes an increase in the destruction of the credibility inside the virtual academic community.

Figure 5. Dynamic persuador has a B.A. in Physics but we can see ‘Dr’ in education area (this is an example of false PhD).


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With regard to the levels of academic achievement of the star enunciator, usually he/she mixes up the several titles and degrees in order to increase the power of persuasion and decrease the communicability of the website where he has stored that distorted information. A classic example is the use of the abbreviation “dr” in Italian. Many think that it is a PhD, that is, a person who has continued his college studies, but in reality it denotes just a simple bachelor degree. This has to do with the linguistic picaresque of Italian in relation to English, where “dottore” is said of any person who has reached a bachelor degree in law, geography, social sciences, languages, etc, and whose real abbreviation is “dott.-dottore” in men and “dott.ssa-dottoressa” in women. However, many use in the north of Italy the abbreviation in English “dr” as if it were a researcher, scientist or physician in the case of Spanish. We find the destructive factor of credibility on-line we find it in those Lombardian bachelors in computer science who present themselves PhD in the Latin America websites when in fact they are not. In the Lombardian websites, others, however, use incorrectly the “dr” abbreviation instead of the Italian “dott.” or “dott.ssa”. Simultaneously, to conceal that destruction of credibility, these “dottori” or Italian BA take part the administration board of the Italian faculties. That is to say, that if some doctor with a degree or an engineer wants his university diplomas to be recognized, they will be assessed by these pseudo PhDs. Consequently, lack of credibility may have serious consequences outside the context of the virtual community, since a BA is evaluating not only the titles or study plans which are similar to his own, even superior in the case of those who present the titles or posts of study similar to their own in the case of those who have a masters degree or a PhD. Therefore, the credibility of the on-line information is essential to carry out a previous selection where to hand in the paperwork to submit to the titles homologation process in some European countries. Currently it is not the Ministry of Education who carries out these activities, but each one of the colleges according to the degree of autonomy they enjoy. Now, the credibility information is very poor, especially in academic education from Web 2.0. For instance, Linkedln website:

Figure 6. Meteoric and motley formation.

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Figure 7. Engineer and analyst from “experience”.

Another of the elements to be analyzed is the presence of personal aspects such as hobbies related to leisure time; walking, trips, etc. Here there also is in reality a concealment of the tourism promotion or associations to make trips to specific places, damaging the correct circulation of the information in the cultural heritage environment, through the on-line multimedia systems (see annex #2). The goal is that the students register for these associations. Inside the conceit of on-line communication, the star enunciator will try to conceal the goals he is pursuing at the moment of listing his publications. At first he will hide all those that do not have a straight relationship to the post he is holding at the university, for instance. Later on, he will start to publish articles –resorting to style plagiarism, if necessary– akin to the post he is holding. What matters is to justify his current position in the university and in the virtual community in a fast way. That is the way in which a simple bachelor in arts turns himself into a researcher, the typical activity of a PhD, thanks to the associations of international standing: ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), etc. Obviously 80% of these publications do not hold him as author, but rather as co-author, since he doesn't know the issues that are treated in these publications. The prevailing of deceit in interactive communication, such as is the example of the publications in the website of the star enunciator, indicates to what extent the persuader in the virtual community keeps his image of himself and his relationships. Most of the members of the virtual community do not seem especially apt at detecting the deceit. This is because the ability to generate deceit conditions does not seem to be equaled by our aptitude to recognize it. Besides, the star enunciator knows that the truth is relative. Everything which can be true can also be false, according to the receptors of the contents and the circumstances. The definitions of truth and deceit depend, therefore, on the user of the interactive system and the context where he is immersed. As if it were a commercial product, the star enunciator tries little by little to become an international prestige brand, bolstered by associate publications and associations, even if he doesn't have the necessary knowledge to hold the position he is taking at the university. Another stratagem the persuader will use for the destruction of credibility in the university virtual community are the referential links to a set of alleged friendly websites (it is another ploy to deceive the potential users). In fact, these are direct relatives, such as a brother-in-law, those ex-students from whom he has exploited to the utmost their final project works to take hold of them in a disguised way and to start the publication in international associations such as ACM, IEEE, etc. He/she will overlap the order of the authors in those publications of scarce scientific value, giving priority to the ex-students and even in some


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cases he/she will wipe out the students altogether, and he will appear as the only author. In both situations the content of the presented work is always the same. That is to say, this is another factor that alters the persuader's behaviour and that of the interactive persuaded person. Persuasion brings about changes in people's attitude. Attitudes exert a coercion on behaviour, they condition the answers. Persuasion triggers changes in what people will and will not do, because it affects attitudes which in turn affect behaviour. Knowing that the users prefer to keep a coherence in the patterns of behaviour to be followed, and that the user wants to appear doing what is regarded as appropriate and efficient. The persuaders may create the conditions for change by questioning the coherence, the pertinence or the efficacy of the behaviour of the individuals to be persuaded. Sometimes, the persuaded user sacrifices coherence at the expense of pertinence/efficacy, or vice versa, thus easing changes in behaviour. When it comes to choice of incentives, the persuader must decide, according to the specific conditions in the context, whether it is coherence, pertinence, or efficacy which has the highest priority in the spirit of the individual to be persuaded. Obviously, in the university context the persuader may achieve the pre-set goals in an easy way, for instance by offering a paid post to his students in return for their giving away the intellectual property of the works that have been done, or that they cooperate in the promotion of his personality in the Internet global village as if he were a Hollywood cinema star. An easy way to detect this situation is to watch whether the former students –the same university– of the persuader/manipulator have become teachers or participants of the courses of the star enunciator. Simultaneously, to find out whether they have referential links from their websites, to the star enunciator. This is another ploy that the persuader uses to destroy credibility in the university virtual community, since it consists of increasing the number of links to hold the first positions in the search engines, such as: Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.

7.2. A Set of Main Components that Foster the Validity of on-Line Educational Information through Persuasion Now the persuasion process often entails the act of exerting influences on a person so that he/she responds to an object or word in the same positive or negative way in which the individual responds to another object or word. However, sometimes there is the need to change previous associations. This is done through counter-conditioning. Counterconditioning may entail associating a stimulus that triggers a negative answer with another that triggers a positive answer. It is possible to the extent in which the positive stimulusresponse link is stronger than the negative stimulus-response link. For instance, the word “informatics” may cause a slightly negative response for an inexpert user of computers, the association of that stimulus with more working opportunities, higher salary, entertainment, technological advance, etc., increases the possibility that in the future the word “informatics” (computer science) arises a positive answer. The new stimulus must be strong enough as to discredit the negative connotation that had for the user previously the original stimulus. One of the most common techniques in persuasion is the association with the object of change of some other negative or positive stimulus. The credibility of the source operates essentially on this association principle. A high credibility source associated with a message increases the possibility of acceptance of that message. The subliminal messages of the areas of interest kind may influence in an

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imperceptible and surreptitious way the cognitive associations. Evidently, the main goal is that the students participe in these areas of the interest to switch from a virtual community – some kind of coterie or clique which obeys the star enunciator at 100%. In the case of the key words or interest areas it has to be pointed out that they are used to gain visibility in Internet search engines. As a rule, the star enunciator will constantly change them, and they don't even interest them if they are redundant. The goal is no other than appearing in the first positions within a subject range, city, region or country. He will analyze the rest of those pages that appear in the search engines and will extract the key words to be found in the Html language. Starting from there, he will insert them randomly in his pages. Here is another of the techniques used for the destruction of the credibility in the virtual community.

Figure 8. Star enunciator has 63 areas of the interest –keywords for Google, Yahoo, etc. (2008).

Figure 9. Now, star enunicator shows 41 areas of the interest (2009).

Obviously it is almost impossible to deny the efficacy of the formation of associations as a means of persuasion, but the different kinds of learning seem to imply much more than a simple association. Even in the case that the disguised associations make up the basis of all learning and therefore of persuasion, human beings are capable of identifying and deciding acceptance or rejection of those inappropriate or incoherent associations when they regard them as contrary to other social and personal rules. Some examples of disguised associations


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by a star enouncer are: the austerity of the personal website (the real aim is to gain visibility on-line; that is why numerous dynamic and static means are not included, excepting the links to television interviews to increase his stardom), the manner of dress (ties, for instance), the nepotistic links (buddies, relatives, former work mates, etc.), didactic laziness (links to other on-line courses so as not to have to develop the themes accessible to all), the corrupt attendants who easily forget the other professors and show a total lack of respect towards older people, with a wider knowledge and previous experience, etc. In short, human beings may change their own associations through a higher reflexion level, but in the case of the persuaders who are aware of their position and the control they exert on the virtual or real clique, thanks to favours stemming from economical factors (working posts, grants, stays abroad, etc.) this premise is usually not kept.

8. Lesson Learned and Conclusion Something happens to the on-line credibility of the obtained results through certain search engines. The passing of time allows us to see how these search engines become something like a personal obsession for some enunciators or pupils of star enunciators, to reach the highest possible number of Internet links, as if it were some kind of spam through the search engines. This can be achieved, in a simple way, by generating a small open source programme and distributing it for free, with a link inside it to the author. Evidently the free distribution is due to the fact that if it has been made through programmers of a virtual community and many of them will stay forever anonymous, the promoters of spam and viruses in Internet get subsidies from the regional authorities for these projects. That is to say, that the lack of credibility on-line may be bankrolled in Europe with public funds. Of course this belongs to parochialism as stated by Ferdinand de Saussure makes these star enunciators preach with a bad example. These ‘modus operandis’ to ruins not only the credibility but also communicability on-line. In the work made it has been seen how the purpose of persuasion in the free access virtual communities in Internet is the boundless promotion of the star enunciator. This notion that we have introduced in the current work has already shown from the start that we are in the face of an authoritarian and vertical attitude in the context of virtual communication. It is not easy to detect his presence since this entails knowing some real data about the star enunciator. However, we find in the first analysis table of on-line credibility the metrics of binary presence in the components (presence or absence). This table allows to establish a first approach to detect the situations which destroy the veracity in on-line information and very especially in the university education context. At the same time it is important to stress two main aspects in the on-line contents. In the first place, the volatility of the information, that is to say, once a star enunciator is detected this or his team can eliminate in a total or partial way those elements which easily give away the presence of a star enunciator-persuader. The legal immunity enjoyed by the individuals who devote themselves to destroying the credibility and veracity of on-line information. In this regard, it is necessary to establish a legal framework in the international computer context, or else the veracity of the information in digital and free access support will be slowly destroyed, regardless of its goal, whether it is educative, commercial, entertainment, etc. The main problem is how to stop this phenomenon in one of the cornerstones of any culturally developed community, that is, education, and very

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especially the university context, which is the highest pillar for the progress of the information society in a free and democratic way. The democratization of the Internet has allowed the free access to knowledge and training to millions of users in the whole planet. It is necessary to eliminate the star enunciators or dynamic persuaders for its expansion to continue. The main problem currently is not only he/she, but his/her disciples, who will damage in an exponential way the credibility of on-line information, the clearness of the sources, the veracity and transparency of the contents. This may mean the end of the virtual communities in the next years. Maybe it will be necessary to implement a system of quality rules like those that exist in the software, that is to say, a ISO normative, in each one of the members who promote themselves through the free instruments of the Web 2.0. Also some international icon can be incorporated to refer to the fact that such a community does not have star enunciators who devote themselves to constantly sabotage the authenticity and/or veracity of on-line information. It has been made apparent in the current study the presence of members of the virtual community who, prompted by a boundless eagerness for protagonism destroy the quality criteria known as credibility. An expert in communicability can detect these situations, starting in some cases with real information to carry out the parallelism between the truth and falsehood. The problem is that once these falsehood situations are detected, the volatility of digital information on-line allows one to erase the traces of those star enunciators and their collaborators. It is necessary to resort to ethical and legal international codes. Otherwise, we will be witnessing the beginning of the end of on-line credibility.

Acknowledgments The author would like to thank Emma Nicol (University of Strathclyde), Maria Ficarra (ALAIPO & AINCI), Lucindo Bolatti (UNC), Jorge Vivas (UNVM), Teresina Gamba (Bergamo, Italy), Miguel (Canada, Spain & Italy) and Carlos (Barcelona, Spain), for their helps and contributions.

Annex Section Annex #1: First Profile of the Star Enunciator and Heuristic Table of the Persuasion Evaluation The profile of the star enunciator is the result of the heuristic evaluation of university websites from 1995 up to our days. •

There are three types of those: the cinema star, the pixel psychedelic and the anonymous. Among the first group, they choose to hire the photographic services of real professionals in the sector because they define themselves as artist, creative, communicator, idea makers, “human”, etc. In the second group, we have those who use the passport format. Some of them manipulate the images with special effects, for instance; the blurry look. However, in all of them they appear smiling in the best style of “the hyenas or the mocking” modalities existing in the multimedia system for


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the learning of languages. If there are no photographs of the star enunicator himself, they usually insert graphics which denote gaiety, that is, a happy person (obviously, their whole work consists in manipulating and persuading the virtual community). The fashion aspect in the pictures of the star enunciators mustn't be ruled out, especially since in semiotics there are studies which speak about the tyranny of fashion, i.e., Roland Barthes. It is common that those characters defined as disciples of the star enunciator use without need spectacles with thick glasses or frames in black, like those models of the 50s or 60s, with the purpose of drawing the attention or selling the image of young researchers or scientists. They need to constantly promote their activities as if they were a news agency. We usually find their daily notebooks on-line, the pictures when they come back from their trips abroad (flickr, for instance), etc. There is a mania towards statistic and gaining visibility on-line. Their names must appear in the first slots in the main search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask, etc. Existence of endogamy-style links towards their personal websites posted by their collaborators or virtual community. A thorough analysis of the curriculum vitae or resume makes it apparent that in their origins they do not have any training in interactive systems, but they have been able to fill that void by working as a team, that is to say, co-authorship. Once their issues are defined they start their publication in an individual manner. In the first of them, there is an endless roster of names of people in the gratitude section (over 20), because in fact the work or the knowledge stems from those people (let us not forget that he/she has no previous knowledge and/or experience of the issue he/she is introducing). They resort systematically to the art of disguised plagiarism. This art consists in copying and gluing the bibliographical sources from other authors. He or she will even become a kind of copycat of those he/she will constantly plagiarize. For instance, a bachelor in computer science, instead of busying himself with those aspects related to information structure, such as may be the data search algorithms, the different kinds of databases, the natural languages, artificial intelligence, etc. prefers to tackle issues which are totally alien to him/her from both the training and the experience standpoint: semiotics, quality, design, history of interactive systems, colours, digital newspapers, podcasting, etc. Their areas of interest are multifarious and may surpass the 12-15 subjects, simultaneously. In the first years of the stardom he/she will constantly change the name of the subjects. It is the period of major plagiarizing until getting settled in a theoretical and practical context. To this effect he will count with the help of assistants who daily control his/her competence –colleagues or workmates-, in and outside university. The study diplomas do not match the areas of interest and activities. University titles and working experience obtained in a record time. For instance, one or two BAs, a master and a PhD, simultaneously; department management, direction of interdisciplinary teams, holding of university posts, etc., in less than 15 years. Total or partial elimination of the possession of university jobs. For instance, professor in a university but in reality is a school industrial for professional formation.

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Francisco V. Cipolla-Ficarra •

Fake assumption of titles by the investigator or systems engineer, for instance in the Facebook, Naymz, Linkedln, etc. but they lack university studies.

Component and Credibility Attributes for Star Enunciator or Dynamic Persuader - Photographies: Individual and group. Style: Hollywood, special effects (Fx), anonymous. Gesture: Smiling, serious, makes to faces. - Fashion: oppressive and tyrannical. - Journalism activities (emission news and product/service information sites, i.e., digital radio, TV, press, etc.). - Statistical information and manipulation of the contents. - Spam effects of the contents (high level of diffusion on-line and reusability of the information). - Promotion of endogamy-style (links towards their personal websites). - He/she has the website with links to distant relative or relation in-law in the same university, for example. - He/she uses more than one language for on-line promotion. - Curriculum vitae or resume with false contents in Web 2.0 portals, i.e., Facebook, Naymz, Linkedln, Geocities, Flickr, Twitter, etc. - He/she changes constantly the contents in personal website. - twelve or more areas of interest. - The keywords in personal pages on-line change are homogeneous. - The content are originals (plagiarism tasks, i.e. copycut). - The use of phrases that ridicule the acting of the members of a real or virtual community. - The use of capital letters in the text (i.e. email), red colour (personal communications) or traffic lights for evaluation of the students. - He/she provocates a confusion constantly between academic contents and personal marketing or business. - He/she introduces icons or symbols on-line for the omnipresence of an information manipulator. - The dynamic persuader and/or your collaborators attack others websites in virtual community.

Design Categories: Presentation = P and Content = C P P C P, C

P P, C C C

C C C C C

C P, C

P, C

P C

Yes

No


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Annex #2: Examples of the Destruction of Credibility in the Virtual Community

Figure 10. The star enunciator –universitary teacher, provocates a confusion constantly between academic contents (teacher, writer, press, resume, etc.) and personal marketing or business (‘tienda’ –shop).

Figure 11. Those eyes give away the omnipresence of an information manipulator. The thick eyebrows reveal authoritarianism and control towards all those who access the content.

Figure 12. The dynamic persuaders to promove false tours into virtual community for your potential copycut activities.

Annex #3: Dynamic Persuader and Stadistical Information for Users Manipulation

Figure 13. Star persuader or dynamic persuader likes very much the false statistical information.

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Figure 14. Total visitors = 501.

Figure 15. Total visitors = 492.

In the figures 12 and 13 we see how two counters reach the same number on two different days (05/27/2009 = 501 visitors and 05/29/2009 = 492) and 23:30 hours, more or less, the counter is to start from scratch.


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Figure 16. ShinyStat system shows only 7 visitors 5/29/2009 –not 500, more or less. Evidently, there is a direct manipulation of the counters (star enunciator and/or collaborators) at the access to the on-line pages.

Figure 17. Community virtual and manipulation of the information in digital newspapers.

The digital newspapers are also evidence of this context: persuasion on-line and destruction of credibility. Sometimes, the news which is closest to the interests of these power groups surpasses in reader numbers the news from the front page of the papers. For instance, information technological news in the digital version of “El País” (www.elpais.es) as compared to the news on the coverpage of the paper version. This alleged reading record was reached in only 4 hours (248 punctuation –very interesting).

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Annex #4: Conformity Obtainment Techniques in Daily Life Situations Promise: if you obey, I will reward you. Threat: If you don't obey, I will punish you. Experience (positive): If you obey, you will naturally have a reward. Experience (negative): If you don't obey, you will be naturally punished. Sympathy: The persuader shows himself friendly and cooperating with the individual to gain his good disposition in such a way that he fulfills what he requires. Anticipation: The persuader rewards the individual before asking his conformity. Adverse stimulus: The persuader continuously punishes the individual, making depend the suspension of the punishment on his obedience. Debt: You owe me obedience because of the favors I did you in the past. Moral appeal: If you don't obey, you are immoral. Yes feeling (positive): You will feel better with yourself if you obey. No feeling (negative). You will feel bad with yourself if you disobey. Alternative model (positive): A well-natured person would obey. Alternative model (negative). Only a bad-natured person would disobey. Altruism: I very much need you to obey, do it for me. Esteem: (positive). The people you love will be happy if you obey. Esteem (negative). The people you love will think badly of you if you don't obey.

Among the 16 conformity obtainment techniques, the techniques from 9 to 13 appeal to the coherence with the image itself, whereas the remaining ones appeal to the personal need of approval by the persuader (1,2, 5, 7, 8 and 9) or by others (3, 4, 15 and 16). Authors: Maxwell and Smith [1], [44], [45].

Annex #5: Dynamic Persuader and Statistical Information for Interactive Persuaded Person

Figure 18. The use of traffic lights for a sarcastical and sadistical evaluation of the students tests, i.e., poor, banal, unsatifactory, illeterate, bad, insufficient, etc.


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Figure 19. The use of phrases that ridicule the acting of the members of a real or virtual community (topic: Internet, books, final project and plagiarism).

Figure 20. The use of capital letters in the text gives away authoritarianism in the electronic messages (scream/shouting). In the example, it is a cover-up behaviour to defend the extra-academic coterie to which belongs the writer of the message.

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Reardon, K. (1981). Persuasion. Theory and Context. Sage Publications: London. Card, S., Moran, T., Newell, A. (1983). The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction. LEA: New Jersey. Sharp, H. et al. (2007). Interaction Desing: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction. John Wiley: West Sussex. Sears, A. (2007). The Human-Computer Interaction Handbook: Fundamentals, Envolving Technologies and Emerging Applications. LEA: New York. Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (2005). An Evaluation of Meaning and Content Quality in Hypermedia. In CD-ROM Proc. Las Vegas: HCI International. O’Neill, S. (2008). Interactive Media: The Semiotics of Embobied Interaction. Springer-Verlag: London. Dubberly, H., Pangaro, P., Haque, U. (2009). What is Interaction? Are There Different Types? Interactions of ACM, pp. 69-75.

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Francisco V. Cipolla-Ficarra Reeves, B., Nass, C. (1998). The Media Equation –How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media Like Real People and Places. Cambrigde University Press: Cambrigde. Cipolla-Ficarra, F., Cipolla-Ficarra, M. (2009). Computer Animation and Communicability in Multimedia System: A Trichotomy Evaluation. New Directions in Intelligent Interactive Multimedia. Heildeberg: Springer-Verlag, pp. 103-115. Preece, J. (1998). Empathic Communities. Interactions of ACM, vol. 5, pp. 32-43. Ander-egg, E. (1986). Techniques of Social Investigation. Hvmanitas: Buenos Aires. Bunge, M. (2008). Semántica I: Sentido y referencia. Gedisa: Barcelona. Eco, U. (1979). A Theory of Semiotics. Indiana University Press. Indiana. Holdcroft, D. (1991). Saussure –Signs, System & Arbitrariness. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. Nielsen, J. (1993). Usability Engineering. Academic Press: London. Pressman, R. (2005). Software Engineering –A Practitioner’s Approach. McGraw-Hill: New York. Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (1997). Evaluation of Multimedia Components. In Proc. IEEE Multimedia Conference on Multimedia Computing Systems. IEEE Press: Ottawa, pp. 557-564. Kirlik, A (2006). Adaptive Perspectives on Human-Technology Interaction: Methods and Models for Cognitive Engineering and Human-Computer Interaction. Oxford University Press: Oxford. Ishii, H. (2008). The Tangible User Interface and Its Evolution. Communications of the ACM, vol. 51, pp. 32-36. Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (1996). The Resolution of the Problem of Objectivity in a Method of Evaluation for Interactive Applications. ACM SIGWEB. ACM Press: New York. Nöth, W. (1995). Handbook of Semiotics. Indiana University Press: Indianapolis. Tompa, F. (1989). A Data Model for Flexible Hypertext Database System. ACM Transactions on Information Systems, vol. 1, pp. 85-100. Apple (1992). Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines. Addison-Wesley: Massachusetts. Schneiderman, B., Plaisant, C. (2009). Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction. Addison-Wesley: Cambridge. Murugesan, S. (2007). Understanding Web 2.0. IT Professional Vol. 9 (4), pp. 34-41. Cipolla-Ficarra, F., Cipolla-Ficarra, M. (2008). Interactive Systems, Design and Heuristic Evaluation: The Importance of the Diachronic Vision. New Directions in Intelligent Interactive Multimedia. Springer-Verlag: Heildeberg, pp. 625-634 Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (2008). Communicability design and evaluation in cultural and ecological multimedia systems. In Proc. MSCommunicability ’08. ACM Press: New York, pp. 1-8. Blattner, M., Dannenberg, R. (1992). Multimedia Interface Design. ACM Press: New York. Eberts, R. (1992). User Interface Design. Pretince-Hall: London. Card, S., Moran, T., Newell, A. (1983). The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction. LEA: New Jersey.


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[31] Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (2005). HEDCDEH: A Heuristic Evaluation Disk for Communication and Design in Hypermedia. In CD-ROM Proc. HCI International: Las Vegas. [32] Dix, A. et al. (2004). Human-Computer Interaction. Pretince-Hall: London. [33] Garzotto, F., Mainetti, L., Paolini, P. (1995). Communication of ACM, 38 (8), pp. 7486. [34] Basili, V., Musa, J. (1991). The Future Engineering of Software: A Management Perspective. IEEE Computer 24 (9), pp. 90-96. [35] Basili, V. et al. (2004). New Year's Resolutions for Software Quality. IEEE Software 21(1), pp. 12-13. [36] De Souza, C. (2005). Semiotic engineering: bringing designers and users together at interaction time. Interacting with Computers. Vol. 17 (3), pp. 317-341. [37] Saussure, F. (1990). Course in General Linguistics. McGraw-Hill: New York. [38] Boyle, J. (1997): Shamans, Software, and Spleens –Law and the Construction of the Information Society. Harvard University Press: Cambridge. [39] Darrell, K. (2009). Issues In Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law. Amber Book Company: London. [40] Aykin, N. (2007). Usability and Internationalization: Hci and Culture. SpringerVerlag: Berlin. [41] Yunker, J. (2002). Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies. New Riders Publishing: Indianapolis. [42] Fabbrichesi, R. (2008). Semiotics and Philosophy in Charles Sanders Peirce. Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Cambridge. [43] Boyd, D., Ellison, N. (2007), Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 13 (1). [44] Mulholland, J. (1994). Handbook of Persuasive Tactics: A Handbook of Strategies for Influencing Others Through Communication. Routledge: London. [45] Cialdini, R. (1998). Influence the Psychology of Persuasion. Collins: New York. [46] Dillard, J., Pfau, M. (2002). Persuasion Handbook. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks. [47] Koskela, T., Väänänen, K. (2004): Evolution towards smart home environments: empirical evaluation of three user interfaces. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, Vol. 8 (3-4) pp. 234-240. [48] [48] Nielsen, J. (1999). The Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 1999. Available at: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990530.html [49] Goodwin, K. (2009). Designing for the Digital Age: How to Create Human-Centered Products and Services. John Wiley: Indianapolis. [50] Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (2009). Virtual Learning Environment: Quality Design for Foreign Languages in Multimedia Systems. New Directions in Intelligence Interactive Multimedia System. Springer-Verlag: Heildeberg, pp. 117-127.


Chapter 2

EDUCATIONAL GAMES AND COMMUNICABILITY: DESIGN, LEARNING AND INTERACTIVE APPLICATIONS Francisco V. Cipolla-Ficarra* HCI Lab – F&F Multimedia Communications Corp, Via Pascoli, Italy

Abstract In the current work a series of results of the qualitative analysis of the design and the learning process in educational games based on interactive and hypermedia systems and aimed mainly at the learning of mathematics, languages and pastimes is presented. All this analysis is made under the perspective of communicability and usability, with case studies of users (children and teenagers mainly) without disabilities (mental and/or intellectual) [1-3]. In the work a diachronic vision of the evolution of the main classical games in the computer is made and following that a look at computer assisted teaching until the mid nineties. Later on, systems aimed at education in off-line and online support are analyzed simultaneously. Through this diachronic study it can be seen how many design features have endured until the present day. Others, in contrast, have been lost because the evolution of the hardware with software support does not take place anymore. That is to say, the adult user is already familiar with educational games but cannot use them to transmit knowledge to the future generations because the games do not work with later evolutions of the operating system, for instance. Consequently, there are millions of users who wish to interact with classic games in the new hardware media of mobile informatics: iPhone, iPod, PDA, etc, but they cannot do it [4].

Introduction In this diachronic vision, emphasis is placed on the communicability of systems since traditionally there has always been a talk, since the early nineties at least, of the easy learning of use of the interactive systems. This was one of the five main features of usability that were * E-mail address: [email protected] ALAIPO – Asociación Latina de Interacción Persona Ordenador (www.alaipo.com) AINCI – Asociación Internacional de la Comunicación Interactiva (www.ainci.com)

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listed by Nielsen [1]. However, since the beginning of the new millenium, we are in the time of quality communication, that is, communicability. Both communicability and the notion of beauty in art are easy to detect when they are absent. Consequently, it is important in the design stage of the interactive systems aimed at educational games to work under some of the main attributes of communicability, such a behaviour-animated actor/character (analyses the universality, simplicity, originality and humour in animated pedagogical agents or tutors) or phatic function (asserts the direct communication in the human-computer interaction process without generating mistakes), for example. All these quality attributes are in constant evolution with regard to new technological breakthroughs and are always faced with the prospect of semiotics applied to the design of the hypermedia systems in off-line and online support [5]. In the current work we focus on the following quality attributes: adaptability of the content, behaviour animation actor/character, control of fruition, dyadic, edutainment, isomorphism, motivation, naturalness of metaphor, phatic function, transparency of meaning; presenting some examples of metrics for their measurement. These metrics, according to the methodology for the assessment of the quality of the design in the multimedia/hypermedia systems named MEHEM (Methodology for Heuristic Evaluation in Multimedia) [5], can be applied to the whole interactive system or in part of it with an excellent reliability degree in the obtained results. The advantage of working with a partial modality of the assessment of the system is that the costs of using a communicability assessor are considerably reduced. An assessor of communicability who does not need any special equipment or laboratories to carry out the heuristic assessment of the quality in hypermedial systems is another way to cut down costs in the stage design of the system, for instance [6]. The reason for carrying out communicability studies in such disparate environments as mathematics, the learning of languages, videogames, etc. is to try to find the common elements and isotopies from the point of view of semiotics, for instance, to boost its use. In contrast to the current studies related to user-centered design, participatory design, critical design, design + emotion, generative design research [7], [8], we see how communicability is not depicted graphically in each one of the areas which are indicated as study areas in the interactive design. That is a major mistake, because communicability is implicit in any communication process between the user and interactive systems. Perhaps the efforts in the extension of engineering usability today to encompass issues like the on-line publicity of Ecommerce systems, digital journalism related to text, etc., have brought about this confusion. Consequently, it is also the aim of this work to correct this deviation, since we have left behind the stage of learning how that is concerned with how to use the computer, which was the main target of usability engineering in the 90s. Therefore, it is essential to place communicability in the current design map of the interactive systems (see figure 1).

Figure 1. Communicability and design areas of the interactive systems.

Educational Games and Communicability

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Once comunicability is situated in the design context of the interactive systems it will be easier to understand the motives as to why many educators and designers resort to games to strengthen the knowledge acquired in the learning process of new languages or in the formal sciences, for instance [9-12]. Obviously in the first case memory games for the user are more used, whereas in the case of mathematics, physics, etc., it is necessary to resort to logic to solve certain problems, for instance. Now, depending on the user's age and his/her geographical location, usually these systems ought to follow the principles of minimalist design in the interfaces [13-15]. Perhaps the most important part in the education process via educational games is the possibility of reinventing the contents [16]. It is an activity that has its origin in a subject that is assigned to the user. It can also be developed by a group of users. For instance, in the teaching of mathematics online, in the first place the usability of the system is present at a first stage (use of the computer and Internet). It is a "lonely" experience for the user at the beginning, but which through the Internet and the resources of a virtual campus, such as forums, chatroom, etc., allows them to socialize and to generate a virtual community. In the virtual community, aside from the didactic contents and in some way regulated by the virtual teaching centres, such as schools or colleges, the users may be totally anonymous within them. Usually the degree of veracity of the information within them can not be reliable at 100%. Only the makers of commercial interactive systems aimed at education can have aspects of the real information of the virtual users. The activation online of the system requires the user to have a password and/or serial number for the functioning of the games. It is obvious that here veracity will also be related to the code of the product, mainly. Therefore, in educational games the veracity factor is greater in the educational context and it is less so in the contents aimed at game. However, the studies made so far make it apparent that the formation of virtual communities is important in educational games [17], [18]. Finally, in the current chapter the importance of the systems in online support for those users who start to interact with the computers, such as 4/5 year-old children or teenagers will be made clear. The obtained results show that sometimes limited results in navigation favour the educational function of inexperienced users compared with the wide access through the Internet. Consequently the current work is divided in the following way: First we have the educational aspect in the current classrooms bearing in mind the OLPC project, the evolution in time of the hypertext notions, multimedia and hypermedia as the supports of interactive digital information. Next are made public the main contextual aspects of education among multimedia students and monomedia teachers. This is followed by the importance of the graphic information in videogames and the importance of the Internet. We continue with a classification of the videogames into a series of sets and subsets. The Edutainment notion is analyzed and the case of Simcity and the Sims. Finally, the chosen strategy is followed in the elaboration of a set of metrics oriented at the communicability applied to the videogames with some results and final conclusions.

Education and Children Almost three decades have elapsed since the streamlining process of education and sciences the computer became a tool of continuous use in the classrooms. Currently the “One Laptop Per Child”, (OLPC) project [19] has as its main goal that the students –both in school

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and in college– interact during the computer lessons, through a laptop. The government subsidies in many countries are already turning this project into a reality in many cities of our planet. Consequently, in the next few years, many research works in the human-computer interaction, user centered-design, software engineering, etc. are aimed at this reality. The pedagogical advantages stated by Piaget of learning as an entertainment through the computer [20], for instance, in the eighties, have had to wait until the first decade of the XXI century. That is, we are going through the period of the transformation of the traditional education system into a system more suited to the contemporary social and economical development. In this transition it is not only the union of technologies to the education system, but rather it has to be considered as a new way of integrating the interdisciplinary subjects of human knowledge in the teaching process. All of this entails a complex scientific and cultural rethink of the current society. Obviously, there is an implicit change in the way of thinking and the training models. For instance, with e-learning it is possible to make a more creative training system as compared to the traditional system of teaching in the classrooms with a slides or videocamera, for instance. The e-learning of the second decade of the XXI century has the possibility of turning into a creative training system, in which several ways of dealing with knowledge are experimented with. However, in Southern Europe the term “creative” is very ambiguous, and it is used in a commercial fashion, through wild marketing policies, thereby destroying the possibility of changing the old education systems and keeping an obsolete structure of economical and social development. This reality is opposed to the experiments and reflections of Marvin Minsky and Seymour Papert on the issue of e-learning when they speak of “a society of the interactive mind” [21-22]. The potentials of e-learning through a laptop wired to the Internet requires new strategies in the procedure for the mnemotecnical codification of the learning in the net. This is essentially due to the fact that the construction of knowledge interferes with the memories selection coordinated by the brain. It is not accidental that Nielsen includes the mnemotecnical function as a quality attribute in the usability of an interactive system. In the studies carried out by Papert in regard to the relationship between children and virtual/simulated reality, the “logical-formal” change of the young users in simulation games has been made apparent. In the work “The Children Machine” [20], Papert has analyzed how the new technologies can improve the learning modality of the children, supporting the need of generating personalized interactive contents in order to encompass a wider range of intellectual styles. In spite of these precepts Papert himself remarked how the education institutions remained anchored to the obsolete educational systems and imposed a training method which was identical to all students, instead of bolstering an education at the level of the potential students. The experiments carried out with the LOGO language allowed him to forecast several decades in advance how the relationship of the young users with the computers should generate changes in the information society similar to those brought along by the appearance of the print [20], [22]. Although he spoke of “the knowledge machine” so that the kids explored the world, today a laptop and the Internet can generate this jump forward in teaching. In that “knowledge machine” there are examples which include what we called nowadays interactive videos, e-books and virtual reality. Now the computers offer new opportunities for a reform of the global education systems. However, it is necessary that this change takes place on the base of the pyramid of the education system, that is, the teachers and professors. In this regard it is necessary to remember that in the evolution of the


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qualitative e-learning there is an inversion of the pyramid, since the moment of its implementation until its correct functioning , as it can be seen in the following graphics:

Figure 2. Evolution of qualitative E-learning.

In these cases it is essential that the role of the teacher adapts itself to the new demands of the students, that is, at the moment of implementation the teachers are at the summit of the pyramid, and the students at the base. A correct implementation of the e-learning systems in time favors virtual or social networking among the students and the teachers, thereby turning the pyramid upside down. When this inversion takes place in the shortest possible time with high quality rates in the learning results, the lower will be the costs in the interactive systems, whether it is from the software point of view as in the hardware that manages the whole elearning system.

New Technologies in the Classrooms: The Context Factor Other studies and experiments carried out by Piaget have made it apparent that in this shared information process with the e-learning systems users and the mnemonic processes give rise to a form of intelligence which is shared in the Internet. That is to say, that in theory the laptop in the classroom and the Internet should boost the interaction between individual intelligence and collective intelligence. However, in this integration context of the new technologies in the classrooms, we have the group of the apocalyptic –as Umberto Eco said [23], who do not regard the insertion of the computer in the classrooms as the panacea of education problems. In regard to this, many think that incorporating the technological vanguards is a simple way of solving all the intrinsic and contextual variables of the continuous process of learning. Sometimes it may increase the gap among those who have resources and abilities. Now these technological resources are supposed to be available for all the students with the laptops, for instance. However, possessing this technology can only widen the gap between the technologically developed societies and those which are still in the development stage. In regard to this it is necessary to take into account that in the computer

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science context the evolution is constant, besides, the gap in computer science will remain in the global village. In the acteme –a term proposed by Kenneth L. Pike for the most basic unit in the analysis of communication behaviour [24], whether the behaviour is verbal or nonverbal –we can see how the socialization process develops among multimedia children versus monomedia adults [25], the computer is important but not enough to solve the education problems in the virtual or real classrooms. The monomedia adults, in their role of teachers or parents think mistakenly that the possibilities of socialization among the young users diminish. However, at the moment of compiling questionnaires or consulting information in hypermedia encyclopaedias, children develop an interaction of collaboration and competition which favours the learning process. Besides, in the teaching in the classrooms or the e-learning, the interaction with the with the teachers is constant, and outside the classrooms, also through the tutoring techniques. Another of the aspects stressed by the apocalyptic researchers group is that mental laziness may be fostered among the multimedia children, especially in such activities as reading and mathematics. In regard to this there are several multimedia commercial products and free access online systems where the users can interact with hypermedia systems for reading, where it is very positive to insert the classical karaoke, with animations, sounds, etc. to keep the attention and boost motivation. Besides, there is the possibility of group learning simultaneously and as if it were a game other languages. In the case of numbers and arithmetic operations, not everything is just pressing a key to solve problems. A correct design of the interactive systems may generate from an early age a natural predisposition towards them, going through each one of the stages of the acteme up to the adult age, thanks to the computer, that is, natural disposition, primary motivation, interactive reinforcing and quality stimulation. Finally, there is the matter of accompanying the child at the moment of the interaction with the computer, so that the adults can solve the questions related to the usability of the system. Therefore, in the real classroom the teacher may find himself in situations of help request by several users at the same time. This may be one of the reasons for which the use of the computer may increase the socialization among peers at an early age. Although the use of the computer through the “One Laptop Per Child” project will generate and boost an accessibility in the international school system favouring teaching every individual [19], at the same time it is necessary that the children are accompanied by the real teachers and supported by virtual teachers in the home [26]. That is to say, it is important at this early age to look for solutions of a blended or mixed type. On the one hand, the young students belongs to a group of mates and teachers, whereas outside the classroom the student is free to establish his relationships and the moment of carrying out the exercises or homework. In the set of negative aspects that some pedagogues, teachers, human-computer communication, etc., list there is the loss of interest towards reading since the early age of the young. However, it is necessary to underline that the computer has increased the time and the volume of writing, with e-mails, for instance. As a rule, children, prior to starting to attend school have already played with the computer, have written or drawn with it. Play in the computer does not mean to navigate in the internet. Around 75% of the young and potential users in the economically developed countries know that it is a machine and that it is essentially a writing tool. The new operative systems that will allow vocal interaction, visual, tactile, etc., will change this perception in the next decade. The children of the future will see it as some kind of virtual agent that will not only focus on educational issues but also on the


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daily environment, such as can be the management of a domotic or intelligent house. Currently the problem of the teenage students and the young university students is not to give them a last generation laptop computer to each of them, but rather to boost their creativity and the originality of the resolution of universal problems, for instance. The problem of these multimedia users as compared with the monomedia users is that they have a totally fragmentary way of accessing the information, and in many cases they lack time-space contextualization. In the process of interactive communication they lack the empathy qualities, that is, to try to place themselves in the other person’s position, understanding the other as the interlocutor they are interacting with. In the context of the new technologies it is important to carry out a small anchoring operation as it is usually said in publicity semiotics when the images have several meanings in relation to the addressees of the messages or the cultural factors where they are inserted. In our case it is important to briefly analyze the evolution of the off-line information supports and the hypertext notions, multimedia and hypermedia in accordance with the prevalence of the static and dynamic means.

Hypertext, Multimedia and Hypermedia Off-Line: Hardware and Software Evolution There is no single interactive multimedia technology inside the digital environment. The term “digital” refers to the numerically coded information, in such a way that it can be kept and manipulated through computer means, which allows a random access to a node, for instance. Obviously a breakthrough has been made in the basic technology, however such questions persist as: restraints in the presentation and the interactive storage of huge audio and video volumes: the time of the interaction between the user-computer is higher in the “personal” interactive multimedia than in the group multimedia or in the net; the software tools do not use yet the whole power of the hardware; the multimedia systems are based on partial models, with primitives which are not unanimously accepted. In Southern Europe, commercially, the term multimedia used to be mistakenly related during the 90s to the CD-ROM. In that time, not all the interactive multimedia had as its support the CD-ROM. Next a brief description is made of the CD-ROM in relation to other information supports. The origins of the different types of CD-Rom are to be found in the late 60s and early 70s with the appearance of the television devices known as laser vision –LV [27]. The importance of the CD-ROM lies in the spread of the multimedia/hypermedia systems in many countries in the world with education and entertainment purposes. However, these discs allowed to store as many as 60 minutes of programming but depending on the format and running time they were classified into: • •

30 minutes: based on the CAVCAS technology (constant angular speed/velocity ) admitting random reading. 60 minutes: known as CLV (constant lineal velocity) which had a sequential reading, for which the disc spins at different speeds, being slower at the centre of the disc and faster on the outer side. There was the problem of slowness in the information search, since the shift of the heading or headstock had to be synchronized with the speed of the disc. Random access was not possible.

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In the mid 90s the development of the Digital Video Disc (DVD) but which is currently known as Digital Versatile Disc began. The main characteristic of the DVD is the recording on both sides and the use of laser reading. The format and the physical size is identical to a CD, but it has a storage capacity of 15.9 Gb. There are several models: DVD-Video for the films; DVD-ROM similar to the CD-ROM but with a storage capacity of 4 Gb. The DVD will allegedly replace the current CD-ROM, which is why it is depicted in the graphic with a dot line, the DVD–RAM which allows the recording and erasing of the information, similar to a hard disk [28]. CD-Audio was introduced in the commercial market in 1982. It was the result of a joint development between Sony and Philips who in short were looking for homologation rules among manufacturers of compact discs, which are listed in the “red book”. One of the main rules was the approximate limit of 640 Mb as storage capacity of the CD, around 150,000 text pages. The reason for this dimension obeys to the fact that at that time the Sony director (Akio Morita) decided that a new audio support should be designed to bear the most popular work of classical music in Japan, which at that moment was Beethoven’s Choral Symphony with about 71-72 minutes running time, that is to say, about 640 Mb approximately. In 1984 both enterprises presented the CD-Rom reader, setting also the rules to be followed for the making of the CD-ROM in the yellow book. From there start a series of combinations and adaptations [29]: 1. The XA CD-ROM (eXtended Architecture) are an extension of the rules of the CDROM and are related to the formats of the graphic and sound formats. These fomats allow to establish the compatibility with the CD-I1. 2. The Graphic-CD are audio-Cds which are made up by graphic and textual data which are readable in a CD-Rom or CD-I. 3. In 1991 the “green book” was introduced for the CD-I which is an extension of the yellow book. In the green book are set the formats of the data of the CD-I and the programming languages. 4. The compact discs WORM (Write Once Read Many) are for the reading and the recording of the data, which is used to make backups. 5. The Photo-CD is a WORM disc which was defined by Kodak and Philips. Given the variety of formats of the image files, the Photo-CD was adopted by the main manufacturers in the field: Apple, IBM, Agfa, Fuji, etc. 6. Re-recordable laser reading discs (created by Sony). Graphically, the evolution of CD (1980-1995) thus be represented: The term hypermedia is an acronym of hypertext and multimedia. Here are joined the advantages of both technologies inside the multimedia communication process. As it has been seen in the origins of the hypertext where the textual aspect of the first systems prevails (including the static graphics in a wide sense), where is established the associative character in the structure of the information2. Whereas in the multimedia and through the media intersection there is a dynamic content of the information: video, computer animations and audio. This dynamic factor entails the factor or synchronization time among the different 1

The “I” stands for interactive. The aforesaid rules were adopted by Philips, Sony and Microsoft (they were the main makers of this product). 2 This aspect generates a less frequent determination of the hypermedia systems such as is the e-book.


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media. Consequently, the hypermedia allows [30]: the selected access to those parts determined by the user beforehand; a greater degree of detail in the structure (one resorts to the richness of the content in regard to the different media used in the transmission of the message and bolstering the communication process). Next is presented an example to see how a hypermedia system is structured.

Figure 3. Classification and evolution of the CD.

Figure 4. Graphic of a part of a hypermedia system.

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Figure 5. Example of a section of a hypermedia system.

The case of encyclopaedias in CD-ROM/DVD-ROM support which have taken the interactive multimedia systems to millions of homes, through the interactive encyclopaedias, for example: Encarta [31], DeAgostini [32], Enciclopedia de la Ciencia –Science Encyclopaedia [33], etc. In the interface of the figure 2, we see how the exact sciences issue is made up by several branches: physics, mathematics, chemistry, etc. In the graphics that is presently shown each one of these branches has a letter allocated: physics (a), mathematics (b), chemistry (c). The content is usually organized in such a way that simultaneously a background music is heard and the icons for the navigation are transformed through an animation. In the graphic is depicted the structure of access to the information about the different numerical systems in which is to be found the explanation of the mathematics area in the Science Encyclopaedia [33]. In the interface of the user there is a node inside the text that allows you to link with all the existing systems (red point): binary (1), octal (2), decimal (3)…n. Through a node guided tour which upon reaching the ending returns to its origin. In each one of these nodes there is a schematic representation of the numeric system and a brief comment, for instance, figure #5. It has been observed how the hypermedia is an interactive extension of the multimedia. Consequently, this is the reason why the notion of multimedia and hypermedia are indistinctly used in the current work (although the relationship between the signifier and the significant can not be strictly symmetrical). Besides, the amount of interaction required by the system and the control in the user’s fruition over the system are two quality criteria to be assessed in the current systems. In this interaction process with the videogame, graphic computer science has played a very important role along the time, because previously it used to resort to the lack of rendering in the scenes to gain speed in the interaction. Today quality of image and high interaction speed have a bidirectional relationship. An excellent example would be the Nintendo Wii-Fit systems.


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Computer Graphics and Interaction in Video Games In the evolution of videogames the hardware support has always played an important role. Fortunately, in the evolution of computer science the hardware has always preceded the software. Therefore, the users in Southern Europe, in the late eighties and the early nineties associated the purchase of a new computer with graphic cards and faster processors for the videogames. These computers were aimed at the young users, whose parents had started to use and program the games in Basic in personal computers such as Attari or Commodore. Oddly enough, this division between the purpose of the use of a computer and even its utility, as Nielsen would say, at the moment of establishing the principles of usability engineering, would divide the finality of use of the personal computers in Mediterranean Europe: entertainment or work. Nielsen starts with system acceptability [34], with the tension between social acceptability (today we could insert here some applications of social networks such as Facebook or Twitter) and the practical acceptability, inside which lies the usefulness with other components such as: compatibility, reliability, cost, etc. However, from the aspect of the utility of the system, Nielsen presents the five main attributes ease to learn, efficient to use, few errors, easy to remember, subjectively pleasing, which are the cornerstone of the usability engineering of the 90s [34]. This can be graphically depicted in the following way:

Figure 6. Usability for system acceptability and the question about quality metrics assessment.

Now, starting from this graphic, it is feasible to establish the division or classification of an essential component in graphic software: the special visual effects linked to sound. That is to say, two components of the computer hardware added to the speed of the processor, brought about that, in less than a decade, the children of the first computer games programmers who used to the utmost their memory resources stopped programming them and

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became mere consumers of special effects. In this regard the videogames were classified in the 90s with computers in relation to several variables such as: •

• • •

A multimedia script. The expression “multimedia script” is incorrect because it refers to the MMdirector and its programming is as if it were a movie script, that is to say, the different scenes that tell a story, the audio, the texts, the interactive zones of the interface, etc. The structuring of the content, that is, sequential or hypertextual, for instance. The types of the interfaces to access the information. The amount of required interaction, etc.

In the case of the interaction and the types of interfaces it is important to see how the interactive design models switch quickly from the entertainment industry to the artistic sector, for instance, where the timing of interaction tends to increase. In these systems the user seeks entertainment, and besides, the attention and the motivation is constant in several systems of musical multimedia in off-line support of the 90s. All of this is achieved thanks to the used metaphors. It is then when interaction or exploratory navigation is considered. Exploratory interaction is that in which the interface of the computer does not show any kind of options and the user must find out with the mouse, with the keyboard or with some other input peripheral, how to get the access to the information of the system. In regard to the kind of used metaphor, two kinds of exploratory interaction can be established: 1) Exploration guided by the kind of metaphor. 2) Exploration non-guided by the kind of metaphor. A exploration guided by the kind of metaphor is that interaction in which the metaphors allows to anticipate the likely content. On screen one of the figure 7 of the system Il Ballerino [35] it can be seen how the metaphor of the interface depicts a gallery where it can be inferred that in the frames of the pictures there are hidden paintings. On screen two, upon selecting with the cursor on the image of the Guernica there appears a video of the musician. On screen three, the musician comments on the chosen painting. Besides, at the lower left margin of the three screens of the example and in the shape of a sphere, are the navigation keys which allow to drift to other parts of the structure of the system. These keys favor the exploration of the system. The non-guided by the kind of metaphor exploration is that interaction in which the metaphor does not allow one to determine the possible content. In the interface depicted in the figure 8 of screen 1 of the system Eve, are hidden a number of shellfish (screen 2) which are musical pieces and which the user must discover with the movement of the mouse and open them to listen to the audio (screen 3). In this system and in contrast to the preceding one, the keys for the navigation of the system are also hidden. Eve [36] is a system with the maximum exploration level for navigation inside the set of music CD-ROMs of the 90s. Obviously, here we are speaking of music oriented multimedia systems. However, the young users needed an interaction which combined in many cases both kinds of exploration.


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Figure 7. A exploration guided by the kind of metaphor.

Figure 8. The non-guided by the kind of metaphor exploration.

In the combination of interaction among young users and videogames a first categorization of the videogames in the 80s can be established. Many of the videogames of those years were based on cinema, history, literature, paintings, etc. Others, in contrast, have

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been developed to take the utmost profit of the computer system. Not for nothing, since the 90s, the tridimensional graphic computer science has played an essential role in the industry of multimedia videogames. Later on, the experiments of combining 2D with 3D started with excellent results from the point of view of the users’ motivation. Many of these games competed with some films. It was the time where the first computer animations appeared on the big screen in the cinema, for instance, Toy Story, and in videogames. Now, every videogame can be presented as an interactive story and they fulfil approximately the three stages that Aristotle defined. That is, a lineal plot and some moralistic aspect at the end, where there is a simulated environment, inside which some facts occur. Besides, we have a main character which can be played or inferred by the user of the interactive system. In contrast to the cinema or the television, the role of the user is here not simply that of an audiovisual spectator, but it rather requires active participation, through a continuous interaction, where motivation and variation are two essential variables in the design of videogames and which are related to the continuous fruition of the interactive content. Another of the aspects which for a long time have drawn the attention of many searchers of the social sciences and especially the psychologists is the isolation of the user at the moment of the game, such as Klondike Solitaire or Minesweeper, which appeared in the games option of the first versions of the Windows operative system and which have lasted along the decades. It was claimed for a long time that the games were counterproductive for the socialization of its users since they fostered loneliness. Until the mid-nineties most of the videogames were designed so that the user spent the highest amount of time in front of the computer in an isolated way. They were mono-users but were enagaged a process of learning of the world or cognitive model of the designer of that videogame to know in many cases the rules of the game, its goals, strategies to reach them, etc. That is, at the beginning it was attempted to make mono-user games, but with the arrival of multimedia systems and the Internet there has been a switch to the multi-users and even a move away from another of the negative aspects, such as the lack of physical movement of the users, through a series of new games to practise sports or stay in shape, such as the Nintendo WiiFit.

Figure 9. Games –last version Microsoft Windows.

Internet, Contents and Video Games for Children In spite of this evolution in time, the first games also had a real and not virtual socialization process as the one that now exists in the Internet. For instance, children and teenagers seized the intermissions between the lessons to swap information about strategies,


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use instructions, etc. of their favourite videogames. Now, the term strategy entails in some cultures the meaning of violence because it refers to war games or destructive action, for instance. In this sense and within the context of the social sciences, especially social psychology and sociology in the audiovisual media including these videogames, one sees violent content, whose influence in the adult age has not been studied, yet in each one of the variables this phenomenon entails. Both in television and in the movies the cartoons themselves have incorporated since their origins violence actions, for instance, Popeye, Tom & Jerry, etc. and whose addressees are children. Nowadays these contents are still in force in the main Japanese, US and European entertainment industries. However, many of these characters have been incorporated in the multimedia systems but here the violent aspect that defines the characters of television and the movies has been removed. We find some examples of the kind in the off-line multimedia systems, such as Pingu [37], Blue Tortoise [38], Peter and the numbers [39], etc., whose activities for the youngest can be to paint them, move them around through several scenarios, sing with them, etc. That is, in some cases the videogames for the users of an early age contain less violence than the classical contents of the television and the movies. Obviously, here we have a commercial problem with the contens, since many of these multimedia systems use classical characters from cinema and television to increase the sales of those systems in the least possible time, in contrast to other characters created in accordance to quality rules of communicability but which are unknown by the users and would entail a heavy money investment for international marketing. In the last two decades we have gone from atomized users to those linked to the Net. However, this aspect of socialization is virtual as compared to the real socialization of the users in the 90s. Atomization may be more radical in a virtual context than in a real one. The users who knew how to program their games and who may perhaps be defined as monomedia, because of the limitations of the software and the hardware of the 80s, they had a higher level of socialization (information interchange among themselves) than the current videogames users in the net. Although these users may be defined as social-multimedia-virtual, they follow many parameters of the cognitive models of the videogames systems from the 80s and 90s.

Edutainment Playing is one of the most important activities of the human being, it is an experience of freedom and at the same time it teaches to manoeuvre inside the framework of some given rules. The human being plays because he/she is amused by it, it entertains us, it encourages us to tackle new challenges, such as daily learning. The interactive systems and the communicability in the design open up many chances of research from the pedagogical point of view such as the human-computer interaction. In the communicability lies implicit the cognitive principle (textuality), with the perception (images and sounds). Both converge towards a biunivocal relationship named “edutainment”. That is, a term that derives from education + entertainment. Edutainment is a way in which education from the point of view of the understanding of the information and the educational contents joins entertainment, under a prospect of collaboration. The cognitive sciences are also interested in learning and emotions, especially such as the entertainment and

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surprise, which play an important role. It is not in vain that the multimedia interactive systems aimed at entertainment must include in their dynamical and static means contents to foster the knowledge of the different sciences. That is why since the early multimedia interactive systems in off-line support in the 90s it has been intended to fulfil a set of secondary and main goals for the smallest users, such as: • • • •

Activities related to reading ability: language understanding and assimilation of the main language difficulties. Stimuli for creativity: listen or composing music sounds, reading of tales, drawing, attention to the science world, etc. To boost the notions of mathematics: measure, count, calculate, recognition of the sets, etc. Develop the coordination of the hand and the eye.

In other terms, it is considered as edutainment that software that is used with didactic purposes but which contains elements from the cognitive model in the design belonging to the videogames. Through a series of strategies are developed cognitive skills which stimulate attention and motivation in environments recreated by the computer. In order for an educational game to fulfil the function of educating by entertaining it must respond to some of the main features which are next listed: • • •

•

•

The structure and the access to the information must stimulate the player, better if the goals to be reached are established. Keep the maximum of known elements by the potential users, especially in the construction of the interface metaphor. Variety of non-repetitive contents. That is, to foster the quality attribute of usability of information in the interactive systems, by resorting to the notion of perspective, for instance. There is also a reference to the attribute of richness in the dynamic and static means to foster the learning process in regard to the potential users. For instance, at the moment of looking up an interactive encyclopaedia a child can appreciate the animation and sound effects, whereas an adult, because of time reasons regards them as a kind of waste of time at the moment of accessing what he is searching. Use of world-renowned characters such as those stemming from literature, animation cinema in the computers, comic, etc. In the case of virtual characters created for a given interactive system, all of them should be extremely well-made, that is, with an elegant style and in agreement with the content. Include several games and didactic activities in relation to the potential user’s skills, without causing any frustration in the user.

Currently in many education centres in Southern Europe the reigning educational culture regards computer playing as harmful to the young users, especially in the first years in which they attend schools. Contrary to this, the studies made by Piaget, for instance, have demonstrated that the processes that guide the game and those which foster learning are


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similar. In the behaviourist conception of people, reality is not a discovery, but rather a continuous construction of people. That is, it is based on the development of an asymmetrical model instead of a single model of a magisterial nature. Under this perspective playing is not a kind of escape of the materiality of the present, but rather a specific dimension (neither spatial nor temporal) of the behaviour that allows to rebuild reality. It is a space where to exercise for the pupils to live in society. That is why it is necessary that there is an intersection between the real world of the child and his activities outside school.

Classification of the Video Games In the last years of the 20th century the commercial factor also had a negative influence on the classification of the interactive systems in Southern Europe, because they ignored the content and the potential users. The correct thing is to talk of content. This, linked to the other design categories (presentation or layout, content, navigation, structure, compatibility or conectibility and panchronic) has for instance allowed firms such as Microsoft to be pioneers in this field. They, since the early 90s and until the first years of the new millennium established the first non-commercial classification criteria through their off-line multimedia encyclopaedias, that is, guided by the contents and the goals they pursued, in the interaction of the potential users: consultation, entertainment, study, etc. Next we present some sets and subsets of contents for videogames that take into account some variables related to humancentered design, such as the age of the potential users, the storage support of the programs and the databases used for the interactive system such as their diachronic factor.

Role and Adventure Games This is one of the groups of videogames that has undergone a greater transformation in the last 25 years, especially with the dynamic means and the support of the interactive systems. Before the floppy files were downloaded in the hard disk of the computer, then there was a transition to the CD-ROM and DVD with the possibility of copying them in the hard disk for a greater speed in the interaction. Obviously the amount of 2D and 3D animations and special effects, such as the quality of audio have increased with the passing of time. From one interaction with the computer keyboard there has been a switch to the mouse and the joystick. Currently there is a tendency towards other interaction systems, such as the voice, the eye movement, touch, etc. although this last way of interaction was developed decades ago, especially in the tourist information standpoints or in the cash dispensers of the banking institutions, and which currently is being proposed in the entertainment systems of the immersive multimedia, for instance. These videogames belong to several genres of content: police, magical, historical, literary, artistic, etc. In them, the user is transported to a virtual world where reality tends to be more by simulation than by emulation. Some examples of videogames which have been historic are: Blade Runner, Final Fantasy, Monkey Island, Tomb Raider among others.

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Action Games In this set of games we can establish several subsets: •

•

•

•

Run and jump: is about those videogames where the user has the mission of fleeing risk situations. A couple of classical examples are Rayman or Supermario. Their origins are in the tridimensional screens of the computers of the 80s and many of them have been taken to tridimensional environments for the interaction in the Net or in multimedia phones, for instance, Asterix and Cleopatra (Gameloft), a videogame with 11 different levels. Shooters. Here lies the origin of the controversy among educators, parents and young users of the video games, since they are considered in many cases the epicentre of the violence in high school institutions. Here the user must almost always shoot at everything that comes into sight. Although the tridimensional graphics are not of high quality to gain speed in the movements, they have been increasing the final rendering of the scenes, and of some objects that make it up, creating the optical illusion in the user that they are moving in a 3D space. The weaponry is multifarious as the enemies who range from people to robots, immersed in real landscapes, semi-real or science-fiction. Some of these videogames that are inserted in the current subset are: Quake, Doom and Half Life. Sports. These are the ones that have allowed to give a quality breakthrough in the interaction of the videogames since they have put an end to passivity of the movement in the users whereas they are interacting, such as is the case of many Wii products of the Nintendo enterprise. However, already in their origins these videogames required a great interaction in the early 90s through the keyboard or joystick for soccer, basketball, golf, motorcycling, car racing, etc. Later on the graphic quality has been perfected, until reaching the quality of a television image, and the great breakthrough were the Nintendo interactive systems, for instance. Some good examples are the following videogames: NBA, FIFA, Personal Trainer and Dakar Rally. Classical: Usually they have their origin in the real world. Inside them it is feasible to establish the following three subsets:

1. Game rooms emulators. They had their origins in the real gambling slot machines rooms. Tetris, labyrinths and wall breaker. 2. Table games. This is about existing games such as cards, checkers, chess, monopoly, etc. They allow group playing but also to measure the ability of each player against the computer. 3. Logical games. In this subset are the memory games, puzzles, didactical quizzes, sudoku, mainly. Currently we see how some of them have been transferred to the videoconsoles to exercise language, logic memory and intelligence, especially among the elderly. 4. Simulation games. Although a videogame is a simulation of something else, the players and also the designers and the videogames programmers know very well which of are those that are included in this set. Many of them derive from flight


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simulators such as the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 or Racer Free Car Simulation [40], [41]. That is, these are games that reproduce as faithfully as possible those situations that must be faced in real life, from driving a car to flying a plane to managing a city as a mayor, etc. In regard to the city and its inhabitants, there are games which have evolved jointly with graphic computer science, and have used to the utmost the latest news in software and hardware, such as in the case of Simcity. Without any doubt an excellent example of what a videogame for teenagers and adults should be like, in the simulators category. Its author Will Wright has allowed the development of other similar products such as Simearth and SimAnt [40].

Simcity and the Sims: A New Era for Video Games In the decade of the 90s the users started to leave the keyboards, mice and joysticks plugged to the PCs to interact with the videogames to switch to the new support of the videoconsoles by two international manufacturers such as Sony and Nintendo. It was the time of the launching of the videogames and which increased exponentially the multimedia industrial sector in Europe, for instance. Some tridimensional interactive games such as: Tomb Raider, Monkey Island, Dune, Doom, SimCity, etc. with a low quality in rendering the animated images in the first versions served as the access to Internet of millions of users. These are especially the games belonging to the simulators category, which are called in the USA “Godgame”, that is, the games where a god is personified. Almost all of them have had in their origins the CD-ROM support (Civilization, Afterlife, etc.) and some of them have evolved in the later versions in DVD and Internet. One of the more widespread videogames at that time was the SimCity, programmed in 1985, whose programmes and videogames files were stored on a floppy. Its mentor was Will Wright. He is regarded as a pioneer in the simulation games [40].

Figure 10. First SimCity –floppy version (1989).

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Figure 11. The importance of stadistics information in the first version of SimCity.

Figure 12. SimCity 2000 –flopys (1993).

In 1989 international commercialization started through the software house Maxis. Will Wright and Jeff Braun founded that enterprise in ’87. Between 1990 and 1991 other multimedia interactive systems appeared which were aimed at entertainment and which belonged to the category of the simulators: SimEarth and SimAnt. The latter is an interesting good example of the life of the ants in their anthill. In the meantime, the versions of SimCity kept on being updated, using the new novelties of hardware and graphic computer science,


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animated or static, such as were SimCity 2000 and 3000. At the same time there were other novelties inside the current videogames category and by the same software company, such as SimTower and SimLife. In 1997 it was sold to the Eelectronic Arts company and Will Wright was the chief designer of the videogames.

Figure 13. SimCity 3000. First CD-ROM version (1997).

Figure 14. SimCity 4 –CD-ROM’s (2003).

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Figure 15. SimCity Societies –DVD (2007).

Figure 16. Characters 3D and the simulation of the life.

The secret of SimCity consisted partly in the fact of building cities whose inhabitants were pleased with the services provided by the authorities of the community to which they belonged (in this sense it can be said that it has been a harbinger of e-government) and see the growth of the population with the passing of time and the improvement of the city. It is not in vain that the small tents became supermarkets, the houses mansions, and the same with the other buildings. In other words, the qualitative progress of the community, that is, to improve


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the life quality of its citizens. Along this line of work and following these cognitive models in the design, the new developments of the software would converge in the social aspect of the inhabitants. In 1999 appeared The Sims (figure 16). Here the main goal focused on the happiness of the people, because the game simulated the life of a group of people from different age groups and to whom different physical, professional, and personality profiles are given [40], [41]. With the passing of time, these characters evolve in each one of the aspects of training and working life, etc. Without any doubt this was a videogame which simulated the social life of millions of inhabitants in Western culture. The commercial success of the videogame led the designers and programmers to generate additional modules as if it were a commercial operative system, such as: House Party, Hot Date and Vacation. Later on this was adapted to the videoconsoles such as Play Station and the online version. The success of the design in the SimCity videogame and later on The Sims, lies in some principles presented by Papert, Minsky and Piaget, that is, the possibility of a fun learning building whatever the user wishes, as it happens in the traditional Lego. Mitchel Resnick experimented with children in the construction of robots [42]. The experiments were carried out with his programming language Starlogo. In it, multiple instructions were executed simultaneously by the robots, simulating the way in which certain processes take place in nature. For instance, a rudimentary version of what would be the SimAnt which simulates the life of an ant in the anthill, it allows us to see the mechanism of its general functioning, since the behaviour of each ant is determined by its situation, by the perception it has towards the other aunts which are close to it, and by a set of rules. Like the objects of StarLogo by Resnick the ants change their situation in relation to the role they are playing in that moment, and where they are located. Interacting with SimAnt you learn of the existence of the ants pheromones, that is, their chemical element, virtual in this case, through which the ants, just like the objects from StarLogo communicate among themselves. In another videogame related to nature such as SimLife, different species of plants and animals can be obtained due to the mutations. In these games underlies the factor of creativity and planning. In this regard Wright has included in the cognitive model of his videogames the possibility that each user has of redefining the game’s rules in relation to his/her manifest or latent wishes, as Freud contended in his work “The Interpretation of Dreams” [43]. This is the reason why there are natural disasters in SimCity and in the Sims the characters may die. The user interacts with a very wide virtual reality given the options that these simulators implicitly have and this user needs time to analyze them and experiment with them. Little by little the user gets acquainted with them until attaining a high interaction level with the multimedia system. Obviously the communicability factor underlies the design of each one of the videogames, and it is in the videogames of the simulator type where each one of the components of the metaphor of the interface must be studied down to the latest detail, so that the potential users can fulfil the satisfaction requisite in the interaction process, just as Nielsen enunciated [1]. Although he was opposed at the beginning to measuring the quality of the interactive systems [44], with our quality attributes, methodology and heuristic techniques, decomposing the elements that make up the design of these systems and establishing relationships between them, through the concepts and experiences of the formal and factual sciences it has been possible to establish some metrics for quality.

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Communicability, Usability and Heuristic Assessment: Obtainment of the Metrics Next is described the procedure to turn the criteria or quality attributes into measurement elements. In keeping with the classification of measurements established by Fenton, N. and Plegger, S. the aforementioned procedure is known as metrics [45]. Three methods are suggested to carry out the heuristic assessment of the hypermedia applications by a specialist in communicability assessment in the interactive systems. These methods are known as empathy, partial and total modality (in the total modality all the components of the system are examined. As a rule, it is possible to resort to the total modality for an overall verification of the system in the face of many errors), whereas in the partial modality the quality criteria can be presented within a graphics or a heuristic assessment table [46]. In this latter modality the primitives of the interactive systems are indicated graphically on-line and/or off-line, as well as their scope, whether it is in a broad or a restricted sense. To each one of these quality criteria is allocated a listing of the components or primitives aimed at the design of the interactive systems to carry out their assessment. Additionally it is indicated what is the goal of the measurement and what is the procedure to carry it out. In the case of the empathic modality, it depends on the experience of the communicability assessor, whether it is in carrying out heuristic assessments as in designing interactive systems. In this case, the quality of the obtained result which can later be checked with a total or representative assessment will depend on the time factor. That is, the higher is the assessor’s age, the greater will be the possibility of accuracy of the obtained results. We present the basic process followed for the obtainment of the assessment method suggested in the research work to establish the set of metrics that allow one to carry out the heuristic assessment of the interactive systems. This process is made up by the following stages: a

b

c d

Selection of the categories of interest to be assessed. The categories are presentation or layout, content, navigation, structure, compatibility or conectibility and panchronic. Assignment of the “criteria or quality attributes” to the categories selected in the preceding point. Some of the quality criteria regarding communicability in the current work are adaptability of the content, behaviour animation actor/character, control of fruition, dyadic, edutainment, isomorphism, motivation, naturalness of metaphor, phatic function and transparency of meaning. Application of the procedure fitting each one of the quality criteria, for that it is necessary to break down the quality criteria into measurement factors. Definition of the heuristic metrics. The main technique that is applied in the presented methodology respects the quality models of software engineering, that is, going from the general to the particular. It is a method experiment along the years that has allowed to gain speed and quality in the obtained results, with restricted costs in comparison with other methods of the usability labs, for instance. The four stages can be depicted graphically as an inverted and truncated pyramid, since the goals of the set of activities switch from being more general to more detailed during the procedure for the definition of the heuristic metrics.


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Figure 17. Stages used to obtain the metrics in the interactive systems in the current methodology.

In part A of the pyramid the system is considered as a structure integrated by six basic categories which are interrelated in a bidirectional way. A quality failure in any of these categories will directly affect the communicability of the system. Next there is a sketch that points out the relationships between the presentation or layout, content, navigation, structure, compatibility or conectibility and panchronic categories:

Figure 18. The components of the design and communicability multimedia/hypermedia systems are bidirectionally among them.

In part B of the pyramid are established the categories that are more closely related to the “engine” of an application, such as are the organization of the information and the behaviour of the system. The present work is focused mainly on the layout or presentation, navigation or dynamism, content and panchronic. The categories structure, conection or compatibility must also be considered given the intrinsic and interrelation characteristics with the quality criteria which is being assessed. In the parts B and C of the pyramid it was used at the first moment a set of quality criteria belonging to software engineering (reusability, accessibility, etc), Next

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these criteria have been readapted and perfected for the multimedia/hypermedia systems, obtaining a new set of quality criteria to be assessed. The said process can also be depicted with another inverted pyramid, on which basis are located those criteria belonging to software engineering and in the upper part there are those criteria belonging to the multimedia systems. It is at the summit of this pyramid where is depicted the highest quality for the multimedia/hypermedia systems. The part D of the pyramid is made up by the metrics which make up the heuristic assessment of the system (see Appendix #1). A wide study has been made of the existing metrics in the software sector, human-computer interaction, usability, etc., and it has been observed that most of the metrics now being used in software engineering turn out to be insufficient to assess the multimedia systems since in the latter it is necessary to measure simultaneously the active means and the passive means. interactive systems analyst would have to combine experience and/or knowledge in both the factual and the formal sciences. In order to illustrate this, a list including the communicability analyst’s experience and/or knowledge. Each of the components has a one-to-one relationship with the others: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Communication social Communication and information theory Computer science Computer graphics and computer animation Cultural system Digital design Ergonomics Information technology Linguistics and literature theory Mass media theory Metaphor theory Methods and techniques for communicability testing methodology of scientific research Pedagogy Planning and administration of control Publishing communication Semiology or semiotics Social psychology Sociology Statistics Telecommunications Theory of science Usability engineering Video games story

We can see a intersection between factual and formal sciences. Graphically depicted in the following way:


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Figure 19. The assessor’s experience allows him to detect from the homepage and the design category the presentation towards which he/she must interact to trace eventual weak point in the system.

In this work new quality criteria have been defined as well as metrics to solve the problems detected during the research. Among these problems is the impossibility of accessing the chosen node, audio switch off, stop of the video, etc. The stages of the process used to obtain the metrics are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Determination of the first set of metrics aimed at usability and communication. Assessment of the study cases (interactive systems) and the metrics. New metrics definition. Inclusion of the communicability and generation of new metrics. Redefinition of a new set of metrics to assess exclusively the communicability in the design of the interactive systems.

In the first stage we started to define the first metrics for a reduced set of attributes, such as: reusability, consistence, self-evidence, prediction, fruition control, isomorphism, motivation, naturalness of the metaphor, transparency of the meaning, richness, etc. which made up the methodology named MEHEM [5] which is aimed at the usability of the interactive systems. With the passing of time and the democratization of the Internet we are in the communicability era and we are targeting those new interaction models on the users base of the pyramid of access to the cutting-edge technology both at home and in the office. These metrics confined themselves to determining the existence or not of the assessed component and were related mainly to the categories of structure and dynamism. What was searched inside these categories was to check the efficacy of applying the semiotics notions [5], [47]. The assessment at this stage encompassed the whole multimedia system. In the second stage the set of systems to be assessed was established. At first work focused on a sample (the notions of sample and universe stem from statistics) of 600 online and off-line interactive systems, but it was randomly widened until the sample reached the 180 systems. When the sample reached the 38, the universe of study surpassed the 380 (our sample of CD-ROM’s DVD’s and websites in Appendix #2). The errors detected needed new quality attributes to prevent them in the design. In these first metrics oriented at communication, such as the experiments made with users, the graphics with results can be widened in the following bibliography for the interested reader [46-54]. With the appearance

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of new errors in the second stage it was necessary to introduce new quality attributes such as are behaviour-animated actor/character (analyses the universality, simplicity, originality and humour in animated pedagogical tutors) or phatic function (asserts the direct communication in the human-computer interaction process without generating mistakes), for example. Besides, work started on the representative modality and modifications were constantly introduced in the metrics procedure section, since the goals to be covered with the metrics were also widening.

Heuristic Assessment Modalities In usability engineering the cost and time factor have a relevant importance when it comes to carry out a test or assessment of the usability of a system [1]. This equation is also important in communicability, with the difference that thanks to the suggested methodology communicability costs are remarkably cut down. As a rule, when an assessment is made prices are established in regard to the relation person/hour. In contrast to other methods or heuristic assessment techniques where the factors time-equipment, installations, staff, etc., make more expensive the cost of an analysis of the components of the multimedia system, with the suggested method the assessment costs are remarkably reduced, since it needs neither a lab nor a high number of staff. With the suggested method an expert in heuristic assessment has three analysis modalities available: empathic, representative and total, with a high reliability level in the reached results. In these modalities are applied the primitives of the interactive systems and statistics. The total modality encompasses all the constituent parts of the universe of study, that is to say, the nodes, links, hierarchical links, etc. Inside this modality the “average” statistic concept is the most used. On the other hand, the representative modality is based on the notions of mode and universe of the descriptive statistics (partial and all the design components of the interactive systems). In the emphatic modality the communicability assessor relies on experience and can foresee in the interaction in some given contexts of the system which are the components of the structure of the system where the advantages and difficulties of the potential users are to be found. In the total modality all the constituents of the system are analyzed, that is, every frame, every node, every guided tour, etc. This modality has been used in the verification stage of the suggested methodology as well as in the creation of the multimedia applications aimed at tourism, education, cultural heritage, etc. Now in order to obtain reliable results inside the modality representative one resorts to: • • • • •

Random choice on the universe of study (sample). Descriptive statistics. The metric totals of a binary presence in the heuristic assessment table. Metrics is related to the measurement notion presented by Fenton [45]. The use of primitives of the design of high level interactive systems which cuts down the ambiguities and indirectly waste of time. A specialist in communicability assessment.

The representative and empathic modality have a lesser cost in comparison to total modality since they require a shorter time for the assessment of the system, especially in the


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emphatic one, which requires less than 15 minutes. This does not mean that the obtained results are any inferior, for the representative and, specially, the emphatic modality is the consequence of a series of experiments carried out for years in Southern Europe. Obviously, this latter modality is more economical than the others because of the shorter time spent by the assessor in analyzing the system and to quickly check the presence of quality, if we are dealing with a thorough expert in communicability assessment. Our universe of study is made up by European commercial multimedia/hypermedia applications mainly and others of free access in the Internet. This universe responds to a random choice of the study cases (see Appendix #2). Next the obtained results:

Figure 20. Results of the heuristic evaluation. The quality value scale goes from 0% to 100% ―100% being the highest mark and 0% lowest score.

Lesson Learned Children have a natural inclination to assimilate since an early age everything that the context offers. It is an important part of the endo-cultural anthropological and transculturization process. Currently the economically developed societies are allowing more wiggle room to the new technologies than to the family group. In this process many children interact with the computer with merely playful or entertainment purposes instead of an educational learning process as Piaget claimed, for instance.This is a problem to be solved by the designers, that is, to insert educational contents in the videogames and vice versa. The designers’ profile has changed the extent to which there was an evolution of the interactive information supports. For instance, in the time of off-line multimedia, whose support par excellence was the CD-ROM, it could be seen how there was a whole team of professionals to develop an interactive program aimed at children, teenagers, young and

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adults. Some defined these as interdisciplinary projects. The truth is that in those projects there was a greater wealth of contents from the design viewpoint and each one of the categories we have analyzed in the current work because the support of the information was changed, that is, from paper or analogical, to the digital or binary. Those were professionals hailing for the most part from the graphic arts, with great experience in colour, typography, illustrations, photography, the distribution of the information in the pages, etc. With the rest of the team members, computer experts, computer animators, specialists in sound and digital music, etc. they made excellent interactive contents from a pedagogical viewpoint and provided quality in the documentation of the information, for instance. With the apogee of the Internet in the mid-nineties, those interdisciplinary teams started to disappear because of cost reasons. The marketing and the commercial market demanded the production of the highest quantity of possible titles in the least possible time. The quality of those on-line products was lower than those in the off-line support, from the entertainment and contents viewpoint, excepting some industries located on the West Coast of the USA. However, the entertainment industry was the first activity in the European multimedia sector. Later on, with the social nets and Web 2.0 it is difficult in many cases to detect quality contents because most of them are rehashes of the off-line support versions of the early nineties, whether it is from the viewpoint of cognitive models as from the design, considering each one of its categories. In the first decade the quality of the contents for the children has been lost due to the new designers and their scarce culture of carrying out sources research or the documentation in real or digital libraries. The Web 2.0 designer stems from a very lax training in the European university context, due to the reforms of the study plans, which affect not only computer science but also social sciences and also the rest of the sciences. These reforms in Southern Europe have not churned out qualitative professionals but more quanta professionals. That is, the statistical factor prevails over the scientific one in the universities and in the states that issue those titles. For instance, it is possible to come across an individual with a B.A. in English philology and literature who presents a project based on open source software, thanks to the virtual community to which he/she belongs and from which he/she has obtained most of the knowledge to carry out their projects. Addtionally, at the moment of presenting it, there is no professor in the university panel who assesses the linguistic aspect of the future professional because this designer is presenting an alien project to a field of study in the faculty. Consequently, there is a future pseudo-professional in Web 2.0, without any knowledge of the project being presented and without having been evaluated in the theoretical field of his university diploma. These professionals have replaced the interdisciplinary teams of the origins of the interactive systems. As a rule, it is very complicated to explain to them why an online or offline edutainment content where here is no end of dynamic and static means aimed at all the members of the family, must include an area aimed at entertainment to boost and eventually assess the acquired knowledge. Nowadays it is necessary that on-line websites include interactive games for potential users. The ideal thing is to develop them to the requirements of the users who have access daily to those websites or to use the concepts deriving from the theory of inference in the social and interactive communication, for instance. Otherwise one can use the classical games such as puzzles, images composition, pieces movement, crosswords, etc. to foster the interaction of the system. Obviously, the final goal , as some scholars like Piaget, Minsky, etc. claimed is to learn through play so that the future


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generations can surpass the current multimedia users. In this sense, the fact of incorporating body movement in the interaction is an interesting progress for interactive design and communicability. It would be interesting to boost in the games other senses such as taste and smell. Luckily, the hardware keeps on evolving more quickly than the software. Moreover, as has happened with the Nintendo Wii-Fit, when industrial production in the multimedia sector incorporates a sense and democratizes it, it is not long before it is experienced with new peripherals to seize the messages of the other human messages which are not the audiovisual and the physical movement of the young users. The technological and pedagogical advances to improve the quality of interaction and communicability of the future generations encounter barriers inside the same community where they were conceived. The problem focuses on the university educational structures which do not change along the decades and many want to change the façade of these structures through a change of the system. This is especially so in the so-called economic regions of wellbeing and social advance, supposed examples of which would be BadenWürttemberg, Catalonia, Lombardy and the Rhône-Alpes region. However, there are alarming situations within some Lombardy university classrooms and oddly enough in those courses managed from humanistic studies computer labs or education sciences, where the university students are mixed up with the professional training students in the courses subsidized by the European Union. Obviously, in the face of realities like this it is very complex and hard to attain excellent results and to produce professionals for online videogames aimed at Web 2.0 and Web 3.0. The business-oriented goal of the public universities as well as the stardom craving and personal profit of some from the economic point of view of those who promote such distortions will seriously affect the advance of that part of the entertainment industry that is based on multimedia games. This is not only a problem of principles or scientific knowledge as those stated by Piaget or Minsky, but also of the ethics of the sciences. The serious problem is that it is very complicated to detect them and correct them because they are very well camouflaged inside the very same educational structures and supposedly are champions of education in their societies. One can quickly change a videogame that doesn’t work, but a corrupt educational structure takes decades to remedy.

Conclusions The results obtained through the universe of study of the on-line and off-line interactive systems make it apparent that the qualitative edutainment and the rest of quality attributes in the learning-oriented systems are low in the international context. The multimedia products in off-line support overcome by far the quality of the portals dedicated to pastime and on-line training of languages, mathematics, classical games, etc. of numerous websites whose content is edutainment. The hardware factor or technological novelty surpasses the software or the content with communicability. The main problem is the lack of professionalism of the agents who take part in the design of the interactive systems. Many of them stem from the formal sciences and they devote themselves to the computer videogames because they have children who like to play with computers .That is, their family environment is the lab. However, they lack training in the context of the factual sciences. In the literature we find an endless series of works where the technological factor makes apparent the presence of young multimedia

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users and monomedia researchers. We find the exception in great commercial companies which in the last few decades have known how to use to the utmost the studies of Papert, Minsky, etc., such as the simulation games in Marshall Mc Luhan's global village. In the 90s the CD-ROM support allowed a bridge to be built among professionals with great experience in the context of graphic arts, cinematography (for instance, tracking animation), television, radio, the specialized magazines, etc. and the era of digital and interactive communication. That is, those contents were more oriented at edutainment than to the current interactive systems. The methodology presented to elaborate metrics and evaluate the communicability of the interactive systems has demonstrated to be very positive. This is especially so in the generation of a new professional oriented at videogames, where this person must have wide historical knowledge of the evolution of the entertainment industry. A diachronic vision in the assessment of communicability is very positive in establishing not only tendencies in the interactive design of the videogames but also to avoid the design mistakes. The positive factor of the current videogames is the possibility of inserting physical movements while there is an interaction with them. However, an endless number of variables remains in the local and global context of the users to be analyzed in the future ,and all of them tend to increase the communicability and usability of the interactive applications.

Acknowledgments The author would like to thank Emma Nicol (University of Strathclyde), Maria Ficarra (AINCI & ALAIPO), Daniela and Carlos for their helps and contributions.

Appendix #1: Examples of Metrics 1. Behaviour Animated Actors/Characters Attributes: Universality, Simplicity, Originality and Humour Primitives and Design Categories: Primitives Entity Frame Guided tour Link Node Polytopes Sememe

Design Categories Content – Presentation Presentation – Content – Dynamic – Panchronic Presentation – Structure – Dynamic Structure Content Presentation – Content Content

Determine: The use of their body, gestures, words, sound, music, components or accessories, backgrounds or environment for the local or international communication; The relationship among text, image and audio in the dynamic and static media’s. Procedure: Interaction with hypermedia system, direct observation, analysis and taskbased heuristics (i.e. To choose ten guide tours, from five entities and record in each of the nodes the slot of audio, text and animations that promote the progress).


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2. Dyadic This metric to evaluate the relation among accessibility, communicability and usability in hypermedia systems. Attributes: Inferentia, Ambiguity, Organization, Interaction, Clearness, Globalization. Primitives and Design Categories: Primitives Element Element type Entity Frame Frame principal Guided tour Hierarchical links Hypertrails Keyword links Link Node Polytopes Referential links Sememe

Design categories Content Dynamic – Structure Content – Presentation Presentation – Content – Dynamic – Panchronic Presentation – Content – Dynamic – Panchronic Presentation – Structure – Dynamic Structure – Dynamic Structure – Content Content Structure Content Presentation – Content Structure – Content Content

Example #1 Determine: The relationship among text, image and/or audio in the dynamic and static media is univocal or illimitated; the study of components for access to information; pronunciation of words, as it can set off various meanings in a language; the icons and their components that depending on international cultural setting have different meanings. Procedure: Interaction with hypermedia system, direct observation, questionnaires, analysis and task-based heuristics (i.e. To choose the first frames of the different entities and examine whether the different elements slot of the images, texts and sounds on screen maintain a relationship univocal between meaning and significance).

Example #2 Determine: The relationship among text, image and audio in the dynamic and static media can be interpreted in only one ways; the study of clarity of a presentation and it’s content; the analysis ambiguity, vagueness and indefiniteness of meaning; the correct access to the information when the relation among meaning, signifier and object does consider all its meanings. Procedure: Interaction with hypermedia system, direct observation, analysis and taskbased heuristics (i.e. to choose ten entities and to determine the locution in the audio sememe. This is performed by one person or by several in alternation and the relation between text and locution is correct).

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Appendix #2: CD-ROM, DVD and Website Multimedia off-line (CD-ROM/DVD) [c = children and t = teenagers] - Aprendo a leer. ZetaMultimedia (1999) [c] - Braincity. Digital Illusion, Barcelona (1995) [t] - Cartoon Jukebox. Philips Interactive Media, Eindhoven (1995) [c] - Cómo Funcionan las Cosas. ZetaMultimedia, Barcelona (1999) [t] - Corel: Nikolai’s Trains. Corel, Ottawa (1995) [c] - Cosmic Family. Ubisoft, Paris (1997) [c] - Creative Write Writer 2.0. Microsoft, Seattle (1996) [t] - Educación infantil: Trampolín. Anaya, Madrid (1998) [c] - English Communication, ZetaMultimedia, Barcelona (1999) [t] - English Course I, ZetaMultimedia, Barcelona (1999) [t] - English Course II, ZetaMultimedia, Barcelona (2000) [t] - Fine Artist 2 . Microsoft, Seattle (1996) [t] - Green Bear. Corel, Ottawa (1995) [c] - Inglés con Pipo. Cibal Multimedia, Mallorca (1999) [c] - Interactive English Academy. DeAgostini, Novara (2001) [t] - Interactive English Junior. DeAgostini, Novara (2000) [c] - Interactive English Learning. Microsoft Encarta, Madrid (1999) [t] - Jorge el Curioso. Aprende jugando (1999). TDK Recording Media Europe, Luxembourg (1999) [t] - Juega con las ¡Matemáticas! ZetaMultimedia, Barcelona (2001) [t] - La Abeja Maya. ZetaMultimedia, Barcelona (2000) [c] - La Fábrica de Lápices. Philips Interactive Media, Eindhoven (1995) [t] - La Gran Aventura de las Palabras. Anaya, Madrid (1998) [t] - Lectura y Pronunciación. Iona, Barcelona (1997) [c] - Mi primer diccionario. ZetaMultimedia, Barcelona (1996) [c] - Mi Primera Aventura Matemática. ZetaMultimedia, Barcelona (1997) [c] - Mis Primeras Palabras en Inglés con Pipo. Cibal Multimedia, Mallorca (2006) [c] - Noddy. ZetaMultimedia, Barcelona (1999) [t] - Passport: Un frasario Turístico Interattivo. DeAgostini, Novara (1999) [t] - Supercocos Matemáticos. Anaya, Madrid (1999) [t] - Teletubbies. ZetaMultimedia, Barcelona (1996) [c] - The Interactive Alphabet. Corel, Ottawa (1995) [c] - The Theatrix Interactive. Stirling Technologies, Mirrabooka (1995) [c] - Wallace & Gromit. ZetaMultimedia. Barcelona (1997) [c] - Wild Board Games. Corel, Ottawa (1995) [t] - www.babyonweb.com [c] - www.britishcouncil.org/kids.htm [c] - www.lagirandola.it [t] - www.myplaycity.com/es/free_kids_games [t]


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[20] Basic Books: New York. [21] Minsky, M. (2007). Commonsense Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of the Human Mind. Simon & Schuster: New York. [22] Paymal, N. (2008). Pedagogia 3000. Editorial Brujas: Cordoba. [23] Eco, U. (2001). Apocalittici e integrati. Bompiani: Milano. [24] Pike, K. (1967). Language in Relation to a Unified Theory of the Structure of Human Behaviour. Mouton, The Hague: Mouton. [25] Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (2005). An Evaluation of Meaning and Content Quality in Hypermedia. In CD-ROM Proceedings. HCI International: Las Vegas. [26] Cipolla Ficarra, F. (2005). Heuristic Evaluation of Animated Help in Hypermedia. In CD-ROM Proceedings. HCI International: Las Vegas. [27] Leonard, L. (1986) What is CD-ROM. CD-ROM the New Papyrus. Microsoft Press: Washington. [28] Glatzer, H. (1998) CD or DVD? That is the Question. Computer Graphics World, 21, Vol. 2, pp. 57-58 [29] Botto, F. (1992). Multimedia, CD-ROM & Compact Disc. Sigma Press: Wilmslow. [30] Reynolds, L., Derose, S. (1992). Electronic Books. Byte, Vol. 6, pp. 263-268. [31] Encarta Premium CD-ROM (2007). Microsoft: Madrid. [32] Enciclopedia Multimediale CD-ROM (2005). De Agostini: Novara. [33] Enciclopedia de la Ciencia 2.0 CD-ROM (1997). Zeta Multimedia: Barcelona. [34] Nielsen, J. (1990). Hypertext and Hypermedia. Academic Press: San Diego. [35] Il Ballerino CD-ROM (1994). Polygram Video: Milano. [36] Eve CD-ROM (1996). Real World Multimedia: Wiltshire. [37] Pingu CD-ROM (1999). ZetaMultimedia: Barcelona. [38] Blue Tortoise CD-ROM (1995). Corel: Ottawa. [39] Peter and the numbers CD-ROM (1994). Ubisoft: Paris. [40] Berens, K. and Howard, G. (2002). Videogaming. Rough Guides: London. [41] Eberly, D. (2001). 3D Game Engine Design. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. [42] Maragliano, R. (2004) Nuovo Manuale di didattica multimediale. Laterza: Roma. [43] Sigmund, F. (2005). The Interpretation of Dreams. Barnes & Noble: New York. [44] Nielsen, J. (1996). Usability Metrics: Tracking Interface Improvements, IEEE Software, 6, Vol. 13, pp. 12-13 [45] Fenton, N. (1997). Software Metrics: A Rigorous Approach. Chapman & Hall, Cambridge. [46] Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (1996). A User Evaluation of Hypermedia Iconography. In Proceedings Computergraphics. Paris: GRASP, pp. 182-191. [47] Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (2001). Communication Evaluation in Multimedia –Metrics and Methodology. LEA, Vol. 3, pp. 567-571, LEA: New Jersey. [48] Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (1997). Evaluation of Multimedia Components. In Proceedings International Conference on Multimedia Computing and Systems. IEEE Computer Society, pp. 557-564. [49] Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (1997). Method and Techniques for the Evaluation of Multimedia Applications. In Proceedings HCI International ’97. Elsevier: San Francisco, pp. 635638.


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[50] Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (1998). Method for evaluation of hypermedia usability. In Proc. 7th IFAC/IFIP/IFORS/IEA Symposium on Analysis, Design and Evaluation of Man Machine Systems and Human Interface. Kyoto: Elsevier, pp. 173-178. [51] Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (2001). Panchronics: An Attribute of the Quality for Hypermedia Systems. In Proceedings International Conference on Information Systems Analysis and Synthesis. Orlando: ISAS, pp. 289-294. [52] Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (2002). Homepage and Communications: Quality Metrics. In Proceedings Eight International Conference on Distributed Multimedia Systems. San Francisco: DMS, pp. 202-209. [53] Cipolla-Ficarra, F. (2008). Eyes: A virtual Assistant for Analysis of the Transparency and Accessibility into University Portal. DVD International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomic. AHFE: Las Vegas. [54] Salas, N., Peyton, D. (2009). Reading: Assessment, Comprehension and Teaching. Nova Publishers: New York.


Chapter 3

PLAYING TO LEARN: EXPERIENCES IN VIRTUAL BIOLOGY ENVIRONMENTS Muwanga-Zake and Johnnie Wycliffe Frank University of New England, Australia

Abstract A game named Zadarh was used in South African economically disadvantaged schools. Playing games in virtual environments appears to accrue benefits in constructivist learning of science, albeit with fun, which motivates students to study. However, there are curriculum implications, some of which require teacher training. Games should be evaluated before they are incorporated into school curricula.

Introduction Play is human nature, which we remember and return to because of the excitement involved. Hence, play is in most cultures used in learning common rules and in achieving social harmony among children as well as adults. Additionally, practical subjects such as science include playful interaction with objects. This chapter outlines theoretical frameworks that apply in playing to learn and characteristics of games that are important in encouraging learning. ‘The trend in attitudes to play through the twentieth century has so far been one of increasing acceptance that it is important for cognitive, social and emotional development’ (Smith, 1986: 8). Regrettably, abstract and boring systems, as well as watching television, replace such enjoyment in learning (Glover, 1999: 3). Fortunately, robust virtual environments and realities ease the rigour in designing and in executing educational play. It has to be noted that virtual environments are now designed for television sets, mobile telephones and computers. Therefore, in this chapter Information and Communications Technology (ICT) includes all of such technologies, although the case reported on here is specifically a computer game.

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In this case study, student experiences reveal opportunities to learn science with fun and enhanced understanding; extrinsic and intrinsic motivation; memory strategies (grouping, imagery, and structured review); exploration tendencies; and collaborated learning. The game engendered social constructivism.

Organisation in the Chapter Every part begins with a theoretical framework. The theory and literature is then supported or is opposed by practical experiences that were observed when students and teachers used Zadarh. The experiences are placed in shaded boxes.

Context The chapter provides data from experiences of teachers and students who played a biological exploratory computer game named Zadarh. Zadarh was designed by Professor Alan Amory at the University of Natal during year 2000. The role of playing games in learning was investigated by the use of Zadarh in South African schools in Black townships or rural areas during the third and fourth school term quarters in 2002 and 2003. The teachers in these schools had very varied higher education qualifications in Biology. The numbers of teachers, and therefore students varied, but dropped to 26 Grade 11 – 12 teachers and 192 students in 23 schools. The aim of Zadarh is to scaffold understanding of concepts which had been proven to be difficult in Grade 10-12 Biology. Students in grade 10-12 include pre-university entrance studies in the South African schooling system, often with ages above 16 years. The experiences were investigated using the following questions as guides.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Question What values do students and teachers attach to Zadarh? What in Zadarh makes it desirable / undesirable to students? How does Zadarh contribute towards understanding selected biology concepts? What stages do students consider as important when they play Zadarh? How does the interaction with Zadarh relate to the nature of science, and how well does it teach the concepts? What outcomes does Zadarh support? How best can Zadarh be integrated in the school? How best can Zadarh complement the teaching methods employed by the teachers?

○

○ ○ ○

Activity and Tools Observing and interviewing teachers and students while playing Zadarh, with and without assistance. Talk-aloud protocol as students play Zadarh Video or audio records where participants agreed Fill-in questionnaires

Figure 1. Research questions and activities on Zadarh.

Zadarh was applied in economically disadvantaged schools in which students were struggling with learning. A major concern is that educational games are designed, recommended, marketed and acquired in schools without due consideration of the socialeconomic and ICT status of the schools. For example, there was the mistaken assumption that teachers and students had the necessary ICT skills to play and pedagogically use Zadarh

Playing to Learn: Experiences in Virtual Biology Environments

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effectively. Generally, the use of ICT in economically disadvantaged communities is rare because of limited access and the high cost of ICT, in relation to the incomes of those communities. Thus, in the case of Zadarh, the design and deployment had to adopt a social constructivist paradigm, which included teachers’ and students’ inputs as well as training them in ICT skills. Teachers required further training teachers in pedagogies most suitable for Zadarh.

The Conceptual Framework of Play Applied in This Chapter Burghard (cited in Cohen, 1993: 5) and Smith (1986: 2) state that play is characteristic of animals in which it has a pleasing effect, stimulus seeking, role relationships, no threat or submission, and is marked by a relative absence of final consummatory behaviour. Among human beings, play is not easy to define due to its inherently subjective nature and differences in cultural values (Cohen, 1993: 5; Docket & Fleer, 2002). Docket & Fleer believe that play is an attitude of mind. Therefore, any activity can be play to someone. The times when a person attaches emotion to a task can be described as play (Rieber, 1996a; Draper, 2000). However, play is pleasurable, rule-governed, voluntary, active, meaningful and episodic (Docket & Fleer, 2002: 15-17; Cohen, 1993; Csikszentmihalyi, 1988). One important aspects of play that engender learning activities are the emotions referred to as flow. The term "flow" describes an "autotelic experience" of extreme happiness, enjoyment, and satisfaction to the extent that a person flows along spontaneously with the activity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988: 29). Csikszentmihalyi explains that people in a flow state are fully absorbed in activity during which they lose their sense of time and continue with an activity for the sake of it. Furthermore, flow could involve some level of active, often physical, engagement, and processes. The requirements for flow include: • • • • • • •

Perception that there is something to be done A balance between the challenge and the skills required A possibility of increasing complexity or difficulty of the activity – a possibility for one to improve Clarity of what is to be done – this includes clarity of goals Quick unambiguous feedback Clear rules One should be able to control outcomes (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988: 29-33).

Burghard (cited in Cohen, 1993: 5) seems to disagree with Csikszentmihalyi, that there has to be a clear perception of a function of play. This could be true of other animals, which Burghard includes in defining play. Burghard’s view points at play without rules, which could be true of what I refer to as spontaneous play. Spontaneous play can happen anywhere anytime. This kind of play is outside the scope of this chapter; this chapter is about play specifically designed for learning among human beings. Another important point to note from Cohen (1993: 168) is that rules become more sophisticated with development. According to Piaget (reported in Cohen, 1993: 168) and Fenson 7 Schell (1986: 22-27) rules are in concord with the stage of development. This implies that adults too play more sophisticated games.

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Similar to play, the concept 'game' has long been indefinable (Quinn, 1997). In some instances ‘play’ seems synonymous with ‘game’. However, one can play a tennis or soccer game. One can also play drama, which is in some cases a simulation of real life situations. So a play is not necessarily a game, and while a game is real, a play can be a simulation. In that case all games are played, but not all playing involves games. Some games are serious, whilst others are for fun. On the other hand, play is apparently always for fun. Therefore, Horn & Cleaves's (1980) notion of a game is meaningful and relates with play adequately: A game is play constrained by a set of explicit rules particular to that game and by a pre-determined endpoint. There are cooperative and non-cooperative games (Levine, 2001), and players can decide to compete. Furthermore, since games appear to be subsets of play, characteristics of play, such as the subjectivity, apply to games. For example, a game is fun as perceived by the player (Quinn, 1997); this is compatible with play being a state of mind (Docket & Fleer, 2002). Draper (2000) explains that ‘not all computer game(s) give enjoyment (i.e. satisfy various kinds of intrinsic motivation) because motivation and so fun is not a property of an activity, but a relationship between that activity and the individual's goals at that moment’. Of course, playing is subjective (to the individual and culture) and so is enjoyment. For example, adding colour and music might not automatically add value to enjoyment. In similar light, ‘it is difficult to pitch games at the right level of interest and challenge for the user, to the effect that games may be too easy or too difficult to play, with a decrease in motivation in either case’ (BECTA, 2001: 3). According to Draper, what matters is the demand level of a game – if it is to be fun, a game must be matched to the player's arousal level, which in part varies independently of the game, for instance with the time of day. Ultimately, designing and using games for education are complicated by the observation that teachers and designers of instruction consider motivation in terms of what they can do to get students to study, and so motivation is often an "add-on" feature (Karaliotus, 1999). Activities in Zadarh fit Pelligrinni's definition of a play (Draper, 2000). Students enjoyed to fantasize and competed to see who would earn the highest score. Students also seemed to achieve (Rieber, 1996; Draper, 2000; Csikszentmihalyi, 1988) although flow could not be measured. An indication of interest in the game was that students played through the school 'break' without realising it. Zadarh managed to instigate 'flow' by drawing students into deep concentration, providing some challenges that students were able to solve, with immediate feedback, and control over their play. However, the concern was striking a balance between challenges, important knowledge and skills, as well as motivation. This is borne out the fact that students were divided about whether Zadarh should be made more entertaining or more factual (see students’ evaluation in the ‘evaluation’ section). It was clear that extremely hard puzzles can be de-motivating. For example, students easily left tasks that appeared hard. On the other hand very easy tasks became uninteresting. For example, there were signs of losing interest in opening a safe once they knew how it worked.

Teachers were more concerned with the seriousness of study. Indeed, few 'serious' teachers would want a playful class. As such, lessons arising from play are not often desirable in the traditional educational curricula (Rieber, 1996a). [


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All teachers complained that students might take Zadarh just as a game instead of a learning tool or method. However, results do not show any undesirable outcomes that Rieber (1996a) is worried about. Zadarh helped in achieving desirable outcomes through dialogue as students played and visibly enjoyed the game.

Following from the teachers’ concerns above, is to see how to use play without imposing it so ‘seriously’ upon students (because imposing a game removes the fun of playing it). Quinn (1997) points out that a game is fun as perceived by the player. In support, Docket & Fleer (2002), state that a play is a state of mind – so playing a game cannot be imposed. It was possible for students to become addicted to Zadarh since they were eager to obtain personal copies of Zadarh. The challenge is a balance between motivation and addiction. Thus, the implementation of games should be done with care and with a specific purpose in mind (Mosimege, 1997: 534). Games might also produce students who have always got to be enticed to study. Mosimege recommends going beyond enjoyment and giving students a thorough understanding of a game in class.

Playing to Learn Although reports of the effectiveness of educational games, measured against learning have been inconsistent in different games and subjects (Randel, et al., 1992), play has become unquestionably important for learning (Smith, 1986: 9). The problem of leisure extends to people's attitude towards play. One challenge is the observation that play and games are often gender varied (BECTA, 2001; Holmes & Geiger, 2002: 131), with females taking on leisurely games (See students’ evaluation in the ‘evaluation’ section’). However, it has been established that ‘the ability to perform transformational operations on roles and play objects contribute to and helps establish creative skills’ as well as verbal intelligence (Holmes & Geiger, 2002: 130-131; Levin, 1996: 2). Play tends to enhance independence which is necessary for creativity. Additionally, playing relaxes a person – it could remove fear, while maintaining a highly challenging environment (Jensen & Caine reported in Wilson & Spears, 2003; Levin, 1996: 2). Creative skills are important in learning and appear to be a product of higher levels of flow (Rieber, Smith, & Noah, 1998). For example, high school biology students who were taught a portion of their instruction by simulation games had comparable achievement gains to those taught by worksheets (Randel et al, 1992: 267 reporting studies conducted by Spraggins & Rowsey, 1986). Students reported more interest in games than in conventional lessons (Randel et al, 1992: 268). Rieber (1996a) and Draper (2000) note levels of flow (E.g., participation for fun, problem solving [development of physical and mental perceiving tools], and catalytic action (intuitive, spontaneous, and creative action). The first part is a sort of bait that lures a student into the programme. Then, a player is immersed into an experience, which Jensen & Caine (Wilson & Spears, 2003) state could be orchestrated, and could lead to active cognitive processes. Furthermore, Rieber and Draper (ibid.) suggest that play involves discovering the outcome of a process (the consequences of some rules), or "learning by exploration", and so play is about performing a process to discover what the outcome will be (e.g. will I win? can I build this chair?

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and if so, how?). Therefore, play can achieve quality learning because play requires creative higher-order thinking and intuition coupled with intense personal commitment and involvement. As such, play is uncertain but involves making decisions all the time, which call upon cognitive and intuitive speculation. Thus, effective games are often good in the sophistication of the user interface and/or content (BECTA, 2001: 3). Therefore, playing can enhance the following: Problem solving; Critical thinking; Understanding; Motivation and paying attention; Memory strategies (grouping, imagery, and structured review); Visualisation and discovery, and; Collaboration and social development (BECTA, 2001: 3; Randel, Morris, Wetzel & Whitehill, 1992; Ivala, 1998; Birenbaum, 1982: 4; Rieber, 1996a; Rieber, et al., 1998; Kirby, as cited in Mosimege, 1997: 530; Hogle, 1996: 11). Play allows students to build relationships and social understanding (Glover, 1999: 9). Games also improve affective strategies (anxiety reduction and self-encouragement) (Hogle, 1996:11). Playing games is applicable in many pedagogical paradigms (Figure 2) (Bindra, 1969) and offers opportunities for equity in terms of enabling multiple forms of learning as described by Gardner. Sugar & Sugar (2002: 4-8) show how playing games supports multiple intelligences as well as experiential learning. Therefore, play should be easy to incorporate in different learning strategies. Constructivist paradigms are particularly prominent in playing computer games (E.g., Hogle, 1996; Rieber, 1996a: 46; Amory, 1997; Turoff, 1995; BECTA, 2001). Play is a primary vehicle through which children learn to interact with, control, and construct their world (Levin, 1999: 2). Exploration thorough games in virtual environments (VEs) provides constructivist opportunities for building, and for changing concepts (Rieber, 1996a: 45) and involves a high degree of cogntion (Glover, 1999: 11). Desired attribute Motivation: Malone & Lepper (1987), Ayayee & Sanders (1998: 53, 56), Draper (2000), etc.

Scaffolding, and helping disequilibria and transformation: Rieber (1996a); Duffy & Cunningham (2001: 183). Experiential learning: Kraft & Sakofs (1988) and Adey (1987) Learning by doing cheaply (without contravening ethical rules) Co-operative learning and discipline

General learning paradigm Extrinsic: E.g., winning and scoring = Behaviourism Intrinsic: E.g., exploration, control, fantasy, problem-solving, and imagination = Cognitivism Intrinsic: E.g., manipulation and constructing models, and creativity = Constructivism Cognitive apprenticeship (accommodation and assimilation) Social constructivism

Play Playing challenging games, with music, scoring, and open micro worlds

Schema reorganisation = Cognitivism Schema construction = Social constructivism

Simulate real life situations and activities in games.

Collaborated schema construction = Social constructivism

Team playing Rules in games

Figure 2. Paradigms in playing games.

Provide challenge in games and effective feedback in a game.


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The students can think about their actions during play and so engage metacognitively with one another and the game. There is extensive cognitive activity and self-initiative to master unstructured situations, rules (or generalisations), and discoveries, and to exercise the relationships between these and their consequences (Leutner, 1993: 114; Winn, 1997). Hence, exploration of, and interaction with, a virtual game can be similar to a scientific investigation. Zeltzer (1992) uses "interaction" to mean the extent to which the participant logically follows the laws that govern the environment. An activity such as play that enables interaction, intrinsically "engages", and leads the student through problem solving experiences (Quinn, 1997).

Zadarh and learning strategies At the first level, the concern is whether the learning strategy Zadarh uses achieves the objectives for which Zadarh is designed, regardless of whether it is compatible with the teachers' strategies. At another level, can Zadarh fit well enough into teachers' classroom strategies to be integrated into school curricula? Zadarh employs the three major learning strategies, as recommended in Ertmer & Newby (1993) as well as in Sprinthall & Sprinthall (1990), although it supports constructivism predominantly. I outline aspects of Zadarh that relate to particular learning theories. Zadarh was behaviourist in associating a correct solution with extrinsic motivation (Fosnot, 1996 8), which was in form of scores, and in encouraging stimulus and response 'cause and effect' relationships (Conway, 1997: 1 – 2; Child, 1997: 10). However, Zadarh does not subscribe to the notion of filling-up students (Winn, 1997; Child, 1997: 10) because students use their knowledge and skills to solve problems. Zadarh has most of the elements of cognitivism such as intrinsic motivation, which was evidenced by students wanting CDs of Zadarh. Students had constructed or reconstructed schema from interacting with the social and virtual environments when they claimed to understand concepts better (Piaget as cited in Driver et al., 1994: 5, and Scott et al., 1987: 7). Zadarh improved the students' 'control and exclusion of variables' (Adey, 1987: 17-19), when for example; students prepared oxygen or tried to play a piano. Other well-illustrated aspect of cognitivism included understanding the frames of reference, and proportion, since their movement through the game improved with play. These are made apparent in the virtual environment. For example, distant objects are smaller. Zadarh makes learning an adventurous, problem-solving, and discovery activity (Lawton & Hooper, reported in Mwamwenda, 1993: 71; Wollman, 1990: 555). A test would be necessary to examine the students' ability to transfer information they learnt from Zadarh to different situations in life (Anderson, et al., 1996). They were however able to transfer knowledge from previous lessons to Zadarh, for example; when they worked out the pyruvic acid stage of respiration. It should be noted that some students, and teachers too, stated that playing Zadarh was the first activity where they had ever applied knowledge. Whether this kind of applications enhanced the students' self-concept (Weiner cited in Rieber, 1992: 99) is a matter still to be investigated.

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The discussions and arguments between students as they worked through some problems in Zadarh were reminiscent of cognitive conflict and conceptual change (Tobin & Jakubowski’s as cited in Etchberger & Shaw, 1992: 412; West and Pines as cited in Wollman, 1990; Prawat, 1992: page 4, para 3). Zadarh, by the fact that it is a game, provides perturbation or disequilibria as well as awareness of a need to change, when a player finds that s/he cannot solve some problems. For example, students saw the need to refer to teachers, their textbooks or me when they lost faith in themselves. The students' commitment to change was evidenced by the decisions they made, which contradicted their earlier understanding. They also realized that the change in understanding required their own introspection and discussions with others (Hannafin & Rieber, 1989: 96). Thus, in all, Zadarh provided platforms for students' conceptual transformation, especially since new conceptions could be used to solve the problems (Posner, Strike, Hewson, and Gerzog as cited in Wollman, 1990: 555; Geelan, 2000: 4). Another cognitive aspect Zadarh supports well is spatial cognition as well as higher order thinking skills because students get a chance of creating meaning by manipulating objects (Osberg, 1997) in the VEs of Zadarh as well as Piaget’s stage theory on the ability to comprehend perspective, transformations, ordinal relations, and probability (Cobern, 1996; Patterson & Milakofsky as cited in Osber, 1997). Indeed students commended Zadarh's visual enhancement of their understanding, better than their textbooks do. Students showed improvement in their movement in Zadarh, which might imply that their spatial cognition improved. However, this improvement was curtailed by the limitation of movement to right angles only. The constructivist nature of Zadarh It is worth noting that students managed to reach stages that teachers or I could not reach, implying that students are more inclined to take chances and to explore. The implication is that we teachers limit students’ exploration of learning experiences, and confirms the need for open constructivist environments. Zadarh is a constructivist game at an individual's level and at a social level, although not all constructs relate to biology concepts. That is, there are activities, which encourage biological constructs, such as calculating the 'molecular mass', but there are also constructs, which are generic or which relate to computer literacy, such as the meaning attached to 3D visual. In both cases, processes such as critical thinking, thinking about one's thinking (metacognition), and problem solving are encouraged, which Yumuk (2002: 142) believes are essential for learning. Jegede (1998: 160) and Yore (2001) argue that such constructivist approaches are essential for learning science. Playing Zadarh provoked student's conceptual schemes in some instances (Kuiper, 1994: 280; Shymansky et al., 1997). For example, in calculating the molecular mass of glucose, some students understood the meaning of the equation better. In other instances, such as fitting the shapes representing the enzymes, Zadarh enhanced constructions of schema (Cobern, 1996: 301; Tamir, 1996: 95) from interpreting experiences and solving problems (Driver et al., 1994: 5; Birenbaum, 1996: 6; Cunningham, 1991: 14; Geelan, 2000; etc).


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Zadarh supported autonomy – students could play alone and make individual decisions and interpretations (Holec, 1979: 3), which Birenbaum (1996: 4) calls interpretative constructivism. However, autonomy included deciding on when a student could cooperate with others. Hence, unlike findings made by Adams (1998), playing Zadarh also encouraged group discussions during which students supported each other in a manner Vygotsky (1962) describes as social constructivism. Multiple intelligences in Zadarh Of the intelligences listed in McKenzie (2001), the following can be realised by playing Zadarh: • • • • • • • •

Visual/Spatial –from illustrations, art, puzzles, anything eye catching, etc. Verbal/Linguistic – from discussions while playing Zadarh Mathematical/Logical - from reasoning and problem solving Bodily/ Kinaesthetic - through movement of the mouse Musical/Rhythmic – through playing the piano Interpersonal – from discussions Naturalist – from biological concepts in Zadarh Existentialist – from lessons on evolution

Motivating Learning through Play Playing games is emotive. An emotion can be considered as an attitude (liking or disliking), which consciousness (awareness or attention to information) takes towards the information a person is receiving and processing (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988: 19). Motivation towards playing a game therefore starts with a positive attitude. One of the most important outcomes of play is motivation towards learning (Rieber, 1996: 44-46) and students identify motivation as a major factor in learning (Ayayee & Sanders, 1998: 53, 56; Rieber, 1996a). Therefore, play could be used to increase interest in subjects such as science and mathematics includes motivation. Research point at challenge, curiosity, fantasy, and control as common to intrinsically motivating learning environments (Karaliotus, 1999; Malone & Lepper, 1987). The traditional learning theories allude to motivation in various ways. For example, extrinsic motivation is behaviourist in re-enforcing desired activities (Hannafin & Rieber, 1989: 93). Draper (2000) states that extrinsic motivation refers to external reasons for action (e.g. scoring in games), while intrinsic motivation refers to a person's inherent enjoyment in the activity for its own sake (e.g., solving a game puzzle). Intrinsic motivation requires the individual to possess the power to control destiny. Therefore, an intrinsically motivating game allows a player a greater extent of autonomy to alter the parameters of the game to suit that player’s felt needs. However, Bindra (1969: 11-12) links extrinsic with intrinsic motivation. First, activities of the nervous system create desire. Second, a stimulus in the environment, such as food stimulates action. This stimulus might have affective properties, such as ‘emotion’. Motivation is then a function of neural change, and its interaction with an external object.

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That is, motivational actions are naturally instigated internally, but are observed as a person acts to satisfy internal body needs. In other words, motivation is initially driven by the desire to participate in a task and is subsequently sustained by choosing to persist in the task (Karaliotus, 1999). Playing a game would follow a similar sequence: natural desire for enjoyment, and then seeking objects to play with. There is satisfaction through rewards and opportunities for further exploration or the player tries again or looks for another game. Thus, although self-regulated learning requires intrinsic motivation (Malone & Lepper, 1987), it survives on extrinsic rewards. Rewards can be highlighted through self-driven activities such as evaluation and monitoring, which (Hogle, 1996: 11) believes are characteristic of playing games. Although extrinsic and intrinsic motivations apparently overlap, one of the stages of either motivation is to initially feel the desire to participate in a task and subsequently choosing to persist in the task (Lepper as cited in Karaliotus, 1999). Furthermore, persistence is driven by enjoyment, and requires a challenging situation and uncertainty about the outcome of an activity. Malone (as cited in Malone & Lepper, 1987) explained that challenge refers to the level of difficulty and also to performance feedback for the player, and includes goals, predictability of outcome, and self-esteem. Malone also advises that games in which curiosity engages deeper cognitive processes are intrinsically motivating. Draper (2000) includes fun and amusement as drivers of intrinsic motivation. Such motivation is driven by a desire for self-actualisation – a desire to perform tasks to the utmost personal level (Maslow, 1968). Prescribing motivation in formal educational settings is problematic. Part of the challenge is that teachers consider motivation in terms of "that which gets someone else to do what we want them to (Karaliotus, 1999). That is, the education system and instructional designers rely so much on extrinsic motivation. Karaliotus complains: " Instructional design models typically treat motivation as an "add-on" feature or concern. Frequently, designers fall prey to first designing instruction from the point of view of the subject matter and then ask "How can I make this motivating to the student?" Instead, motivation and learning should be considered together from the start.

Karaliotus (1999) thus advises that instructional designers have to blend motivation to the learning process to achieve selfregulated learning by: 1) making goals interesting for their own sake (i.e. intrinsic motivation); 2) enabling students to monitor their own learning and troubles; and 3) students taking the necessary steps to alter their learning environment to enable learning to take place.

Consequently, most students need support and sufficient opportunity to use the resources by supporting the goals and motives valued by them, without removing the students’ authority over what they learn and how they learn it (Karaliotus, 1999). A well-designed learning programme would offer students the control they deserve to construct concepts.

Self-Regulated Learning Games offer a practical means of meeting the microworld assumption of self-regulation, and offer many intriguing psychological and social insights to microworld design (Rieber, 1996a: 49-


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50). Rieber sees the use of games as that of attracting people to knowledge, through fantasy, challenge, and curiosity. The British Educational Communication and Technology Agency (BECTA) (2001: 1) explain some of the reasons for these assumptions. BECTA argue that ‘games use technology to represent reality or to embody fantasy, and provide an environment in which action can be practised or rehearsed with, ultimately, little consequence. Furthermore, some games can be cooperative and non-cooperative’ (Levine, 2001, BECTA, 2003). Self-regulated learning involves intrinsic motivation (Malone & Lepper, 1987). Zimmerman as cited in Rieber (1996: 47), self-regulated learning has the following characteristics: • • •

Must be intrinsically motivating – participating in the activity is its own reward / no external incentives needed Students should be metacognitively active – engage in planning, goal setting, monitor and evaluate their learning Students are behaviourally active – take necessary steps to select and structure the environment suitable to their learning style.

For example, computer games in learning are recommended for motivating self-regulated learning, especially within a constructivist framework (Rieber et al., 1998). This is because effective students self-regulate their learning (Rieber, 1996). Rieber explains that the process of self-regulation yields a resolution or solution. Therefore, a self-regulated person takes responsibility for participation and for the outcomes or consequences of participation. Zimmerman (as cited in Rieber, 1996a: 47) explains that self-regulated learning includes metacognitive activity (E.g., planning, goal setting, monitoring, and self-evaluation), and behavioural activity (E.g., selecting and structuring the environment for one's learning style). These processes fit Laurillard's (2000) explanation of a student’s active narrative construction. Play provides (narrative) frameworks and goals that require metacognition, and increases self-esteem, for example when one scores or wins a game (Rieber, 1996a; Willis, 2000: 7). Self-regulated play (intrinsically motivated) can attract students to science, and can inculcate responsibility for their learning and for outcomes. Karaliotus (1999) explains that designing instruction for self-directed learning blends motivation with the learning process, and includes goals that are interesting for their own sake to students. Self-regulated students learn what they value, set own goals, and use learning methods they prefer with little support. For example, such students might occasionally be provided with conversational frameworks and defined task goals in narrative multimedia, which involve inter alia media controls (Laurillard, 2000). Additionally, the Curriculum Initiatives Branch (CIB, 2002) recommends the inclusion of graphic organisers (mind maps), flow diagrams (sequence of ideas, procedures or events), sequence of illustrations in form of three-dimensional qualitative frames in conversational frameworks as forms of support to students. Furthermore, exploration along interesting questions that elicit the students’ existing conceptual frameworks, and beliefs, create interest and stimulate curiosity in contexts that students can relate to. The generation and persistence of motivation is necessary for goal-directed actions such as exploration (Bindra, 1969: 13), and is attainable if a game is fun, enjoyable and when a player uses deeper cognitive processes to overcomes challenges and solves puzzles (Draper, 2000). However, extrinsic motivation could play a role in encouraging students to pursue learning. For example, Malone & Lepper (1987) advise that performance goals, predictability of outcome, and self-esteem through scoring are important for persistence of motivation. Hence, students reported more interest in games than in conventional lessons (Randel et al., 1992: 268).

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All teachers were noted: • Students enjoyed Zadarh, which meant that they would learn with fun (100%) • Zadarh required students to be observant or focussed (46%) One student summarised the experience with Zadarh as exciting. This excitement is confirmed by many other observations, which can be divided into two categories: The general interest in computers (that individuals generally enjoy manipulating machines which award scores, such as computers) and the discovery that students can actually solve problems by themselves, especially using a computer. Zadarh enhanced intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Intrinsically, students wanted to see and to know what was around and could explore without guidance. Scores extrinsically enhanced further exploration as well as competition between students. Another motivating factor in Zadarh is the graphic design and the 3D objects and scenarios as explained by the CIB (2002), as well as (Windschitl et al., 1997). The 3D vision and free movement in a 3D environment excited students to the extent that they commended the graphics. These observations demonstrated the mutual dependence of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation (Bindra, 1969: 11-12). The link between motivation and learning (Malone & Lepper, 1987) was indicated by the desire students expressed to play Zadarh. In fact, students scored 9/10 for Zadarh as a better way of learning, 8.9/10 that Zadarh promoted learning, and 8.7/10 that they gained more understanding than before. These scores support their answers in part (g), which point at the possibility that Zadarh can inculcate self-directed learning. Students also realised the benefit Zadarh offers, which is learning with fun, and reported more interest in games than in conventional lessons thus supporting theorists such as Draper (2000), Randel et al. (1992: 268), Quinn (1997), and Karaliotus (1999). This conclusion concurs with earlier findings that the difficulty and enjoyment of biology topics are positively and significantly correlated. Zadarh offers students the opportunity to regulate the pace – slow students and those who had to consult textbooks had the time to do that, while knowledgeable ones proceeded at a faster rate. There was also choice – there were students who looked for particular challenges after browsing through the game. Indeed, there is evidence that Zadarh improved attitudes and motivation towards learning as students chose what to do and solved problems they chose by themselves (Willis, 2000: 7; Ayayee & Sanders, 1998: 53, 56; Rieber 1996a: 47). Thus, Zadarh satisfied some of the conditions for self-regulated learning, such as instilling intrinsic motivation and engaging students in planning actively.

Visualisation and discovery - Students’ exploratory tendencies ‘It goes straight!’: They seek assistance from me after a few of them have tried. I show them the help and campus icons. ‘There is fire!’: They seem stuck, until the facilitator started a discussion on how to put the fire out. One students notices a fire extinguisher – but ‘it is out of order’. ‘Where do we get another one?’ ‘May be there is one in the house – let us look’ Example of instructions from a colleague: Straight – Left – Straight – Left – Click – etc.


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Assessment of misconceptions Some students misunderstood information or actions they took. For example, a statement like ‘I must get the oxygen so as to get in the store room’ comes from a student who misunderstood the need for oxygen in the game. Another statement ‘through cellular respiration you can convert carbon dioxide to oxygen or vice versa’ shows that this student concluded that respiration is reversible. Another student might think that plants do not respire: ‘plants make oxygen from carbon dioxide and animals make carbon dioxide from oxygen’.

Problem-Solving After reading through literature, for example, in the above, one recurring concept is problem-solving. Problem-solving appears as a scientific process and as an essential ingredient in cognitivism and constructivism. In playing, cognition happens because the nervous systems receives and recognises stimuli or objects and works out a relationship between them (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988: 19). Jonassen et al (2003: 20-29) debate problem-solving in detail. In the context of ICT games, the clarity of the problem is important. Jonassen et al. state that well-structured problems present all elements of the problem, engage a limited number of rules and principles, have preferred, prescribed solution processes, and possess correct, convergent answers. Such problems seem behaviourist. On the other hand, ill-structured problems may have many alternative solutions – these are likely to be subjective and constructivist. On addition though, vague problems offer multiple options of play and solutions, thus allowing accommodating a wider spectrum of cognitive levels and socialisations. Vague problems therefore have multiple criteria for assessing their solutions. Problem solving and understanding Category 1 Problematic situations These are situations in which students reported that they got stuck. E.g., When we got stuck downstairs and didn’t know how to get out. Running around in circles (getting lost). Finding one of the doors. Not being able to cross the bridge. When we were looking for a date. I remember where we had shapes and unable to complete them. When we could not get out of the room with a piano. Category 2 Problem solving Problem solving referred to cases where students realised that they had to do something for them to progress in Zadarh. Most of Zadarh comprised such situations, and so much of the data indicates that students often had to solve problems. Examples indicating the role of problem-solving instances include: • Related to fire There was fire and we needed to put it out. We solved and managed to put out the fire ‘Getting Carbon Dioxide to put out the fire in the store room’. ‘I also remember when we struggled to find the door to stop the fire’ ‘The gas cylinder were a bit tricky because we kind of forgotten the light’. The filling of the tank with carbon dioxide to put out the fire.

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Muwanga-Zake and Johnnie Wycliffe Frank • Related to enzymes Matching the enzymes. The lock and key enzyme action. • Related to molecular mass We solved the safe combination of the weight of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen. When we had to open the safe by calculating the molecular mass. The place where you find glucose and water, and then you have to calculate the code that you should use as a password. Having to find those two coins with the code. Trying to figure out the coding to open the entrance. • Related to the equation of photosynthesis and respiration We could not solve the piano problem. We spent more than 15 minutes trying to work it out. Working out the equation together – one student acts as a subscriber. 6 molecules x O2 + C6H12O6 = 6 x CO2 + 6H2O (or 6 x H2O). Energy released. Photosynthesis is the opposite of respiration.

Some challenges discouraged students because they found them very difficult, and there was no support towards solving such problems. As an example, students ended up at a site surrounded by water. Students simply left the game, feeling defeated after being perpetually stuck at this site. This observation supports Malone & Lepper's (1987) argument that the level of difficulty and feedback affects motivation and self-esteem.

Memory strategies (grouping, imagery, and structured review) This section indicates the answers students gave in the questionnaire to question number 3 (Appendix V): What information do you remember from using this material? Their answers can be placed into three categories below. Category 1 Students generally remembered the major topics in Zadarh. For example, • About molecules: E.g., Calculating molecular weight; The molecular form of compounds; The formula of glucose. • About photosynthesis: E.g., ‘I learnt more about photosynthesis’; ‘Oxygen and light are needed for photosynthesis’; ‘Photosynthesis for plants need light, water, and carbon dioxide’. • About respiration: E.g., ‘Respiration requires oxygen’; ‘2 glucose produce 4 pyruvic acid’, and • About enzymes: E.g., ‘Only the exact part of the puzzle will fit the enzyme action’. These were activities and statements, which indicated applications of general biological knowledge, and therefore memory. Realising a need for oxygen for cellular respiration; ‘We find the oxygen by first adding carbon dioxide with animal cell then to the pressure’; Collecting carbon dioxide from cellular respiration; Using carbob dioxide to extinguish fire; etc. These kinds of activities and statements led to teachers’ and students’ recommendation of Zadarh for revision.


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Collaboration and social development • About the safe School 1 Students started by making suggestions to one another regarding the meaning of the numbers on the safe. Suggestions included: Molecules; Numbers; Moles; Mass number; Molecular weight, each of which they tried out without success. The facilitator suggested that they should look at the equations of respiration. They worked out the molecular weight for the reactants and then the products, realising that these were equal. But then, this could not sort out entering those numbers on the safe. Some collaborative discussion foillowed School 2 ‘Safe code = No ? = 6 + 1 + 8 equals 15’ ‘How do you put the code?’ The facilitator sho It does not work! It is a molecular weight? OK. Atomic mass of Carbon? And Oxygen and Hydrogen? How many each? 6 x 32 = 192; 6 x 12 = 72 12 x 1 = • When playing the piano ‘Hey, it has real sound!’ ‘There are molecules on the buttons’ Students work out these codes: A G D F; F D G A; G F E D C B A; CO2 + H2O = ? • Playing with the blue flower What is this? Click – OK. Let us write each button and then start again. Students clicked randomly on the petals, and were reading the statements that showed up. They realised that these can form statements about respiration and photosynthesis. They then tried to mentally work them out until the facilitator suggested to them to write the statements. So they started writing while noting the position on the leaf as follows: 1st – plant cells; 2nd – animal cells; 3rd – respire; 4th – photosynthesise; 5th – and; 6th – in the light; 7th – dark.

What stages do students consider as important when they play Zadarh?; and How does Zadarh contribute towards understanding the biology concepts? This section indicates the answers students gave in the questionnaires to questions: What events do you remember when using this material? We have to be aware that the number of categories or concepts depended upon how many students reached a particular spot in Zadarh. The answers can be placed in the following three categories. Parts in Zadarh, which students thought taught them most This section provides the answers students made in the questionnaire to question number 4: What part in the process of using the programme teaches you most? I found that their answers fell into the following four categories. Students were adventurous much more than the teachers. It was interesting to note that points at which teachers felt stuck or complained for lack of guidance, students felt that these were challenges or problems to solve, and so in most schools, students reached places, which the teachers had never seen. Therefore, the enthusiasm and excitement was much more pronounced among students than among teachers, to the extent that, in all schools, students requested for copies of Zadarh and asked their teachers to give them a chance to play Zadarh.

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Students visited different sites in Zadarh, and so their responses depend upon how many, and which sites they visited. However, it was notable that students, almost instinctively, consulted each other as they played Zadarh, and in the process talked loudly. So, the talk-aloud protocol that I had planned as a method of collecting data was almost given without request. Secondly, they gathered around one who they believed knew how to go about playing Zadarh, and would go back to their own computers after solving a problem. It was easy to see students who were either stuck or enjoying an occasion. Category 1

Problem-solving

These were situations in where students felt that they had to do something for them to progress. It seems that problem-solving situations were more informative to students. Here are examples of statements to that conclusion: Finding the coins to open tools; Searching for the key; The correction of puzzles; Enzymes where we had to put shapes; Calculating molecular masses’; When you try solving the problems of the game; The puzzle-solving; I learnt more when trying to solve a problem especially the piano notes; I think the best was when we tried to gain oxygen from the process of photosynthesis; Finding the combination of the safe – you have to work hard; Using tokens to open something. Category 2

Enjoyable situations

These are answers, which indicate that students were enjoying what they were doing. Playing the piano tops the list of enjoyable events, although it could also belong to category 1 because it was a puzzle. Other students expressed their satisfaction with the fun involved: E.g., The manner in which the information is set out. I.e., fun, exciting. Category 3

Structures

Students claim to have learnt from structures such as that of the chloroplast: E.g., The clear structures of chloroplasts, and mitochondrion or of the working of the enzymes: E.g., The working of enzymes; The enzyme pair and finding the code. Category 4

General impressions

Some students were simply impressed by the presentation (E.g., the chapter of photosynthesis and respiration is well demonstrated than in books), which in some cases can be linked to the use of virtual reality (E.g., through interacting and by seeing how things we learn about work actually teaches us a lot; The interaction between the user and the programme).

Students’ thoughts on how Zadarh taught them The question put to students in the questionnaire was: How does this programme teach you? (Question 5). This question was not very different from question 4 above, but was intended to find out how students thought they learnt. The answers they provided show that the question was ambiguous. Nonetheless, students provided some relevant information. Category 1 Learning from play and fun Students felt that playing and fun teaches them well (E.g., ‘It is easier to understand when you


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learn and play at the same time’; ‘It teaches me to learn while having fun’; ‘It is an excellent teacher, it is fun and it is very organised’; ‘You discover a lot of things while playing’; ‘It incorporates fun with learning, it isn’t a bore or tedious’), perhaps more than reading textbooks (E.g., ‘It is easier to learn than studying a textbook’). Category 2 Source of problem-solving skills There are indications that students thought they learnt through solving problems, as stated above, and how to solve problems (E.g., ‘how to solve a problem’; ‘from the enzymes part you learn how to deal with different situation in life’; ‘it needs a person to think very hard to figure out new to handle a situation at the same time it teaches you biology’; ‘to be attentive and think smartly to keep going’; ‘How to basically solve problems with not much information or instructions’; ‘it also teaches through puzzles). Category 3 Imparts many study skills Using Zadarh appeared to contribute towards other study skills. Here are examples: • Perseverance: Examples – ‘It shows me that I have to work hard to get something and that I must not stop trying until I get it’; ‘by the fact that it is tricky. You have to search a lot’; ‘You have to be patient and a great deal of concentration is of essence’. • Planning: Examples – ‘You need to know exactly where you are heading’; ‘It teaches me more on how to plan’. • Research or searching for information: Examples – ‘It teaches us letting us search and find information for ourselves’; ‘It requires you to research and ask why and how’. • Memory: ‘ and also exercise my memory’; ‘It tells/shows you how much you know’; ‘To remember things’. • Thinking: Examples – ‘It challenges the mind’. • Observation: Examples – ‘It teaches you to actually use your mind and to notice more of your surroundings’; ‘That its easy to learn by pictures than reading a textbook and to be very observant inside the rooms’. These examples show that Zadarh can inculcate independent study skills.

Opportunities to Solve Some Challenges in Science Education through Playing in Virtual Environments Several theorists and professionals (E.g., Ogunniyi, 2000; McComas, Clough & Almazroa, 1998; Muwanga-Zake, 2000) identify numerous problems in science education in economically struggling communities, which ICT can be used to solve. However, educators, including science teachers tend to misevaluate and misuse the ECPs. Therefore, schools in developing communities acquire ECPs they do not need or which cannot effectively use. Figure 3 outlines some of the solutions that playing games provide. Rieber (1998) sees the use of games as that of attracting people to knowledge, through fantasy, challenge, and curiosity. Playing games offer a practical means of meeting the microworld assumption of self-regulation, and offer many intriguing psychological and social insights to microworld design (Rieber, 1996a: 49-50), and is an example of applications of radical constructivism

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(Rieber, 1992: 94; Rieber et al., 1998). The British Educational Communication and Technology Agency (BECTA) (2001: 1) provide an environment in which action can be practised or rehearsed with, ultimately, little consequence. Furthermore, some games can be cooperative and non-cooperative (Levine, 2001, BECTA, 2003). Challenge

Need

Diagnostic assessment and remediation is difficult for large numbers of students

Students’ understanding is continuously diagnosed as they learn

Challenges with the Nature of Science Students do not have enough practical experiences and open environments to construct knowledge Science is a boring subject and the number of students enrolling for it is dropping.

Application of selected philosophies Provide open environments in which students are not restricted to test their ideas Find ways of making science interesting to students Get stakeholders involved in designing curricula

Science is a foreign culture Some science processes are too long or very dangerous in a school laboratory.

Role-play or simulate such processes

Possible solutions from ICT games Allow students play as many times as they wish, and use data on their performance for diagnosis and remediation. Playing scientific games in virtual environments; ICT-enhanced research Constructivist virtual environments in which students can try out their ideas freely as co-designers Make studying science interesting and enjoyable through interactive ICT games Context-sensitive design that include stakeholders. ICT-simulated processes in games

Figure 3. Possible ways by which playing ICT games could provide solutions to challenges in education.

Playing Science Games Figure 4 represents the intercourse between paradigms of pedagogy and the nature of science. In Figure 4, playing can belong to any space. For example, games can be empirical and constructivist when students collect data and form constructs from experimenting in a game. The benefits accrued from learning science associated with play, especially by the use of software based on constructivist-teaching environments have been articulated widely (e.g., Rieber, 1996, Amory, 1997). Play performs important roles in psychological, social, and intellectual development (Rieber, 1996). Learning through play appears to be long-term and can enable intellectual and social growth (Singer 1995 as cited in Rieber 1996: 46). Constructivist Instructional Design enables students to build and change concepts from play experiences (Rieber, 1996: 45). Leutner (1993: 114) relates play and learning thus: compared to traditional class instruction, exploration calls for a high degree of activity and self-initiative, which requires students to master unstructured learning situations, and rules. An important aspect playing and learning is that both involve discovering rules and the relationships between them. Exploration of a game during play could be described by rules similar to those involved for example in carrying out a scientific investigation. Additionally, benefits of playing science games include improvement in practical reasoning skills, motivational levels, and retention (Blanchard, as cited in Rieber, et al, 1998). Play is in


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some aspects an experiment with the surroundings involving forms of problem-solving. Thus, play is a learning process is its interactive nature as students observe the consequences of their actions in a game. The interaction depends on the fidelity and accuracy of the reactions to the student's actions. An activity that intrinsically "engages", and leads the student through an interactive experience to solve problems is desirable to learning (Quinn, no date).

Figure 4. Possibilities of overlaps between learning theories and science philosophy: Science games could be anywhere in the matrix.

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Learning embedded in games would challenge students to think and put their ideas into practice, while enjoying the learning process, if the environment is made rich enough to accommodate student’s ideas. Some the challenging questions include deciding when during the lesson games would be introduced, and to what extent environments can be designed to accommodate most of the students’ ideas since these might be very divergent. Zadarh in terms of the NOS The first weakness is that designers do not reveal the science philosophy upon which they base Zadarh. Neither did teachers comment on the NOS in the programmes. This does not mean that the designers and teachers did not hold any science philosophy, but it might mean that they did not find it necessary to state those philosophies. This lack of exposition might account for the teachers' and designers' failures to explain why they present science in the way they do. Furthermore, it shows how science instructional designers and educators have ignored the NOS. The NOS should not be ignored in any endeavour to teach science. Furthermore, the user cannot introduce ideas or experiment on hypotheses. For example, it is not possible to alter variables such as speed in case of Zadarh. Hence, programmes fall into the category of dissipating knowledge as absolute truths (Lederman, 1998). However, these might be limitations of computer technology. A great deal of Zadarh qualifies as rationalist because playing involves rationales based on some prior knowledge and equations or predictions (O’Hear, 1989; Popper, 1974; etc.). Zadarh presents knowledge as facts, but students challenged this knowledge by their own or by referring to textbooks. Zadarh combines rationalism with some empirical approaches such as the preparations of oxygen or carbon dioxide from photosynthesis and respiration, respectively (Medawar, 1969: 27, etc.). However, positivism in Zadarh is limited to critical observations (O’Hear, 1989: 14 19), for example, in terms of knowing where one has been, in the feedback, and in verification of facts. Zadarh also includes spatial frameworks or physical models (Schlick, 1925: 530 – 531) characteristic of objectivity in form of structures of biological concepts such as chloroplasts. Zadarh satisfies Popper's (1974: 978-984) advice for risky predictions, when a player takes chances during play, although these are not strictly investigative in nature or about science concepts. Students were able to make what Popper refers to as 'daring hypotheses', but out of intuition. The problem is that risky predictions are of no consequence in Zadarh, other than being stuck and not scoring. Deducting score can possibly make a player more careful, and unfortunately less daring. But then, Zadarh does not follow any sequence of steps, which scientists follow to answer scientific questions (Lederman, 1998; O’Hear, 1989: 12) – there is no method, since each student can do anything or can follow a different route. Zadarh relates to scientific inquiry by testing a player's knowledge and by offering opportunities for a player to apply that knowledge (Henry 1975: 62; Wartfosky, 1968: 205; etc.). Furthermore, causality is part of Zadarh as it is with most games, since players start from some prediction, which they go on to try out (Feigl, 1953: 408; Russell, 1929: 390; Wartofsky, 1968; Medawar, 1969; Nagel, 1971). In a game like Zadarh, conditions give some idea to the player what to do. If we take a laboratory as a place where skills are tried and knowledge is tested, then the virtual environment in Zadarh served as one. A number of NOS processes were achievable. For example, teachers and students mentioned that they gained manipulative skills, interest in science, group skills, hypothesis testing, finding facts, problem solving, becoming observant,


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and relating abstractions to reality (Henry, 1975: 61 – 74; Lederman, 1998; DoE, 2002; Tobin et al., 1994: 46). Zadarh also contributed towards scientific inquiry by affording students opportunities for constructing models (Stratford, 1997: 3-4; Dede et al., 1997; Sanders 2002; etc.). Furthermore, Zadarh provides experiences similar to those experiments offer (Medawar, 1969: 35), such as the preparation of O2, which can lead to useful observations and eventually to a conceptual framework of generalised expectations (Wartofsky, 1968: 206). Zadarh clearly helps discovery and testing. Intuition in Zadarh Perhaps one misunderstood aspect of Zadarh is the difficulty to achieve an optimum balance between enjoyment and the difficulty of puzzles. Students scored 7.5/10 'too much of learning than a game', which corresponds well with 6.9/10 'I would like more fun'. They also scored 4.8/10 (the lowest score) 'It is too much of game than learning', which is related to 'I would like more facts' (6.3/10). These scores imply that students wanted more fun in Zadarh, bearing in mind that a balance between fun and learning is needed. At the same time they wanted more problems to solve - 'I would like more problems to solve' (6.7/10). Hence, it is possible that fun is associated with solving problems. Problems to solve include the suspense due to the player being unaware of where he is, and whether he has been at a site or not. In my opinion, this increases the player's intuition and imagination, and subsequently, higher order thinking skills, which might restructure conceptual understanding (Ross, 1977; Adey, 1987: 19; Wellington, 1994: 24). For example, some of the choices students made in direction or actions were not logical (Ross, 1977; O’Hear, 1989: 10), but then students solved more problems than teachers or myself. One particular instance was when a group of students decided to take a lift although they had not completed previous tasks. The logical thing to do would be to make sure that one completes all tasks and to think that there might be tokens needed when one goes to and into the lift. Other instances of intuition happened when guessing where tokens fitted. Zadarh achieved most of Medawar's (1969: 55-57) forms of intuition. For example, the puzzle involving fitting together shapes was inductive intuition' since these called upon the students' creativity, while fitting tokens into slots required 'instant apprehension'. Students deduced from these activities that each enzyme 'fits' a particular substrate. Furthermore, Zadarh caters for the "affective" aspect of learning as perceived by Lederman (1998) and Gagné (1985). Zadarh inculcated among players the willingness to collect and use the evidence (respect for evidence) when students realised for example that they had to calculate the molecular mass of glucose; willingness to change ideas in the light of evidence (flexibility), whenever students failed to solve a problem and then used some other ideas, and; willingness to review procedures critically (critical reflection) when students had to refine their playing skills or problem-solving skills. Students’ answers to interviews revealed that they mostly remembered a challenging situation, whether they had solved them or not. It is not far-fetched to assert that students enjoyed and remembered solving tricky situations, and that they learnt new concepts and skills in the process. These observations support the view that solving problems while playing games contribute towards learning (Randel et al., 1992; Rieber, 1996a: 45; Leutner, 1993: 114; Draper, 2000). Talk-aloud transcripts indicated that students thought about their thinking (i.e.,

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metacognition occurred) as Birenbaum (1982: 4), Rieber (1996a), and Rieber, et al. (1998) suggest. However, they relied upon each other's support or upon guidance from a facilitator, which might imply that they co-constructed not only the concepts but also the processes they had to go through to solve problems. I have already pointed out a student who claimed to have understood the structure of a chloroplast better, because Zadarh presents it in three dimensions. This comment supports Windschitl et al. (1997) argument that traversing multiple three-dimensional qualitative representations and frames increases conceptual understanding, and leads one to recommend 3D virtual environments.

Implementing a Game into a School Curriculum There are technical, protocol and curriculum issues to consider. Assuming that technical requirements are met (Hardware [RAM, interface tools, processor, screen resolution, hard drive, etc], and software [mainly the operating system], consider whether to upload a game on each station or on the LAN server. There is the option of storing the game on CD ROMs to reduce on crowding the hard drive. This consideration is related to issues of licensing, access to students and the target grades. Another consideration is timetabling. Games take longer if they are used as learning strategies. The timetable requires negotiation with the school administration and other staff. Learning the coordination skills between the interface such as the keyboard or mouse and the screen are essential for playing games (ref.). Unfortunately, educators often assume that students are well-skilled in using technology. Young students and students from developing communities where technology is always late need time to learn the technology skills Teachers could run Zadarh without assistance in only 3 out of the 23 schools. And had to be trained in basic skills such as switching on the computer, logging into the computer, installing Zadarh, using a mouse, and playing Zadarh. Fortunately, all teachers were enthusiastic to use computers and to play Zadarh. However, teachers found accessing and demonstrating Zadarh to students easy once it was installed on the computer. Teachers also found that responses of Zadarh to inputs were immediate. One teacher (out of 26 teachers) appreciated the option of restarting Zadarh where you left off, along with your score. Teachers did not encounter problems in spelling, gender, or cultural biasness, and violence in Zadarh. One-half of teachers believed that Zadarh was easy to use for teaching the topics it covered, but as a revision exercise. However, teachers advised to include the ability to set difficulty levels (58%) and to design the game in such a way that students could play it without continuous support. Zadarh would fit in afternoon study, after 'normal' lessons, since it might require extended periods. It can be used to introduce concepts it deals with before a lesson. In this case, students would have to be guided much more. Zadarh can be used as a revision. This is in line with Randel et al's (1992: 264) recommendation as pre-course knowledge was found to improve the


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utility of games. Obviously, students used pre-Zadarh information to play with more focus. The pre-knowledge is reputed to reduce cognitive load (Wilson, 1995b; Hannafin & Rieber, 1989: 96; Hannafin & Sullivan, 1995). However, even those who had not studied the concepts fully obtained some understanding, which would make a follow-on lesson easier, and which might motivate students to find out more. The potential application of Zadarh is undermined by the teachers' attitudes towards play as a possible alternative to classroom instruction. Teachers would use Zadarh but have the following reservations: • Time for students to use Zadarh (100%) • Computers are often used by computer science (in the three schools offering computer science) • Zadarh can be used for revision or as an additional source of knowledge.

Teacher quality Interviews revealed that teachers could not name accurately the specific outcomes for biology, and avoided responding to questions about how Zadarh addresses biology outcomes. However, all teachers believed that Zadarh could lead to the achievement of some aspects of the four science specific outcomes, without giving explanations on how. But they also claimed that other, probably cheaper, means such as practical work can be used to achieve these outcomes. Thus, thirty eight per cent said that there are no outcomes from playing Zadarh, which other methods of teaching cannot achieve. Of those (62%) who believed that Zadarh led to enjoyment, 42% thought that this was not important. For example, one argued that Zadarh might not allow clear teaching except ‘playing’. That is, only 19% thought that enjoyment is a very important aspect of learning, and a game like Zadarh provided it. Nevertheless, teachers also had reservations about playing. Among the 62%, the main advantage Zadarh offered over practical work was motivation. Only 12% (3 out of the 26) teachers in the questionnaire could articulate whether Zadarh presents the nature of science or biology adequately. Apparently, most teachers did not comprehend what the Nature of Science (NOS) implied. First, the weaknesses of teachers in science and the science curriculum undermined the data. For example, it is evident that teachers lacked knowledge of the Specific Outcomes, and so their critique on whether and how Zadarh achieves these outcomes were compromised. However, this is the reality in some schools. data includes schools' readiness to use computer-based programmes, besides using these programmes in education.

Considerations in Designing Educational Games in Virtual Spaces A game for learning would not differ extensively from a normal lesson. For example, players can start with simpler tasks, have to use already mastered knowledge and skills, and should know or negotiate the expected outcomes. A designer has to plan a game in such a way that a player achieves flow. Rieber (1996a) and Draper (2000) give factors that a designer has to consider. For example, the game must have clear goals and the player has to

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see that s/he is in control to the extent that those goals are achievable. Another important element is that a game provides immediate, clear and consistent feedback as to whether one is reaching the goals. The feedbacks as well as a well designed challenge motivate a player to concentrate effortlessly and so to be absorbed so that time passes without notice. Consideration of technical issues include the capacity of hardware and compatibility of software to run a game. It is therefore important to criticise the hardware and software requirements of a game. For example, more recent games might require special additional play stations and interfaces tools, a high capacity of the hard drive and, often, of RAM. Some Games for different subjects have to be designed differently. In the first place, some designers such as Rieber (personal interview, 2004), do not believe that games should be designed for a result. This is because desiring a result and learning as a process are not always compatible. An example is science, which is a process-oriented subject, while playing is a result-oriented activity. Hence, Rieber (1996a) argues that doing science is not playing because science is not necessarily done for a known result. However, against Rieber’s view, Zadarh was designed such that each step of playing involves scientific processes and understanding science concepts, while a step counts towards the final result.

Virtual Environments (VE) The VEs ensure two important components of memory: (i) phonological (sound/language related) and (ii) visual -spatial (vision and space related) (Baddeley, 1992: 557). According to Paivio’s (2006) dual cording theory, the phonological and the visual-spatial human cognition simultaneously and mutually enhance each other. These non linguistic activities, such as images, drawing pictures, and kinaesthetic activity, provide variety and help in elaborating knowledge relationships to enhance a student’s understanding (Marzano, Pickering & Pollock (2004). Hence, in Zadarh VEs are designed with lots of non-verbal activities. Interactions with virtual objects support active learning, since according to Cornish & Garner (2008), active learning requires a student to interact with new knowledge by searching for connections with existing knowledge. The interactions enhance dialogue with self (reflection) as well helps a student to review own cognitive processes (Ormrod, 2006). However, the number of simultaneous activities should depend upon the cognitive load. For example, there could be difficulties in switching attention between the different senses for various tasks (Dede, 1995) and a brain can handle a limited number of chunks of information (Miller, cited in Malinowski). Therefore, one concept is dealt with at a time and movement is slow in Zadarh considering that students had problems understanding biology.

Virtual environments and micro worlds in Zadarh Zadarh comprises virtual environments (VEs) micro-worlds (or phenomenaria), (Rieber, 1992: 94), and offers virtual realities (VRs) comprising interactive 3-D simulated experiences (Jonassen et al., 2003: 201) as well as sound cues to provide students with opportunities for exploratory learning activities.


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Figure 5. The Opening window of Zadarh.

NB: This opening window gives you three options (Figure 5): 1. To start a new game; Click on ‘Yes’ across this option, a new game will start. Zadarh starts with music together with a series of introductory screens, which are followed by instructions about your mission. Pressing the button ‘Esc’ on the keyboard of your computer can skip the introduction. 2. To continue to play the last game; Click ‘on Yes’ across this option, the last played game will open at the point you left it. 3. Exit; Click on ‘Yes’ across this option, the opening window will close, and you will not play Zadarh. Zadarh entry room Save Game Temperature Load Game Percentage air Score

Help

Direction Menu window Figure 6. The entry room – note the choice of 3 optional entries into different environments.

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Zadarh menu A mouse is used to move and to change direction. The menu provides opportunities for direction and a compass, which indicates the direction a player is are facing. A game can be saved under your chosen name. You can load a new or old. A window will appear with a list of all saved games. There is a score every time a problem is solved. A similar score can be obtained by solving different problems, and some solutions lead to accessing tools for the subsequent activities.

Micro-worlds Successful micro-worlds rely on students regulating and controlling their own learning’ (Jonassen et al., 2003: 191).

Zadarh micro-worlds (or VEs) provides a lot more freedom to manipulate, explore, and experiment than is possible in real micro-worlds such as aquariums, or laboratories because nothing is damaged or permanently changed as a result of the activities. Zadarh VEs are open learning environments (OLE) in a manner described by Doll (1989: 246), Hannafin, Hall, Land, & Hill (1994: 48), as well as Hannafin et al. (2004: 7), and so are sites for unrestricted modelling (Stratford, 1997: 4-12). Hence Zadarh encourages interactive constructivism (Yore, 2001) in accommodating student’s input, and allows some degree of design, to choose interactions, generate and solve problems, goals, and /or the way to pursue those goals (Rieber, 1992:94; Hannafin, 1999; Savery & Duffy, 1995). Zadarh allows students to choose concepts to learn. The constructivist design anchors learning activities to the student's long-term or larger problems, but in a form authentic, and therefore open, to a student (Savery & Duffy, 1995: 32-33; Hannafin, 1999). Openness brings with it multiple challenges. Each student might choose activities, pace and direction, to the extent that the end outcome is uncertain and uncontrolled. Thus, Wilson (1996), Dede (1995), and Perkins (1996) note differences in the amount of guidance or direct instruction found in open learning environments, and observe that varying degrees of guidance pose different instructional challenges. In such an environment, strategies for providing guidance, feedback to actions and collaboration, are not so straightforward (Winn, 1997; Hannafin, 1999). For example, while a teacher could use Zadarh to scaffold a student’s understanding, the open nature of the VE in Zadarh has the potential towards making planning for learning objectives fuzzy and ill defined. However, Wilson (1996) supports openness, arguing that an environment that is good for learning cannot be fully packaged and defined. Therefore, Zadarh was designed to be tentative to accommodate freedom, by providing students with perspective-setting or -altering contexts that help to activate relevant prior knowledge, experience, and skills related to the problem and to potential strategies to be deployed (Hannafin, 1999). There are complaints that VEs have suffered prevalence of technology and aesthetics rather than promoting knowledge – they simply supply information without knowledge-building processes (Barbera, 2004, 14).


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Virtual Realities (Vrs) (Activities in Micro-Worlds in Ves) This chapter considers Steuer’s (1995: 40) definition that VR (also coined ‘telepresence’) comprises an individual’s experiences in VE (i.e, in environments mediated by technology, especially computers). This is similar to ‘presence’, which happens, in natural environments. According to Dede (1995), Zeltzer (1992), and Dede, et al. (1997), VR improves students’ understanding because VR accommodates autonomy, imitates presence, and allows interaction. That is, VR experience facilitate perceptual constructivist learning (Greening, 1998). That kind of VR motivates a student by inducing him/her to spend more time and to concentrate on a task. Inter alia, playing in micro-worlds can improve decision-making to solve puzzles (Windschitl, Winn, Hedley, Fruland, & Postner, 1997). Zadarh micro-worlds incorporate cognitive apprenticeships, which provide opportunities for modelling, reflection, exploration, and for a student to reflect on his/her knowledge (Wilson et al., 1993). As an adventure game, Zadarh allows players to master each environment, starting with simpler to more complex tasks (Jonassen et al., 2003: 191) in concord with conceptual understanding. Zadarh also immerses a student into activities (Jonassen et al., 2003: 201) and each student is able to subjectively or in collaboration with other students choose tasks. Zadarh realities are comprehensive and realistic but exceed experiences in real micro-worlds to the extent of disbelief and suspense in manner described by Dede (1995), Osberg (1997), as well as Moshell, Hughes, & Loftin (1999). That is, the user becomes isolated from the real environment and interprets the images in Zadarh as being real. This makes the user interact and manipulate objects intuitively like an inhabitant of Zadarh. Teachers (69%) wanted more realistic simulations Complaints about reality include the direction of movement, which is restricted to right angles (100%), and about the speed, which cannot easily be varied (23%). Teachers pointed out exciting realities as the sound of the piano, the sound of closing or opening doors, and the lift (100%). However, realistic simulations are not possible where the topics deal with microscopic concepts and processes. Teachers thought that some of the skills used in the game matched those in the real world, especially mental skills such as problem solving (100%). Examples of problem solving the teachers gave include the whole process of extinguishing the fire – i.e., the preparation of carbon dioxide, and include dealing with molecular equations and masses, as well as solving the glucose-pyruvic acid equation. 65% of the teachers believed that the programme was interactive. However, with a statement like ‘It is complicated and does not give room for any additional work from the student or teacher’, this teacher also realised that the player could not introduce new information into the game.

Virtual Realities or Practical Work? It is inevitable for one to compare activities in virtual environments and those in laboratories. One immediate concern is over-simplification of reality in virtual realities. It is a general belief that constructions of concepts arise from experiences of phenomena (E.g., in

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Scott et al., 1987: 7; Harlen, 1993: 28; 2000; etc), and both virtual environments and laboratories offer such experiences, including process-oriented manipulation and transformation of objects (Driver et al, 1994: 6; Mwamwenda, 1993: 71; Kumar, 1994: 59), which create disequilibria. Zadarh environments provided the emphases that Yore (2001) recommended for constructivist science classrooms. For example, Zadarh encouraged students' ideas, discussions and debate, and application of scientific knowledge. Therefore, in my opinion, virtual environments can offer opportunities for scientific inquiry, as do laboratories. There are also instances in Zadarh where perhaps VEs exceed laboratories – for example, preparation of carbon dioxide from plants is not an ordinary activity in school laboratories.

Evaluating a Game for Learning Overview of Methods to Collect Information The overall goal in selecting evaluation method(s) is to get the most useful information to make choices in the most cost-effective and realistic fashion. The following table provides an overview of the major methods that were used for collecting data during the evaluation of Zadarh. The evaluation was limited to Kirkpatrick's level 1 (reaction - the acceptance and use of the programs) and level 2 (the analysis of learning from the programmes) (Boverie, Mulcahy, & Zondlo, 1994: 82). In the context of a developing community, the evaluation included technical skills among staff and among students, as well as finding out the challenges in the pedagogy, which the game helped to solve (Reeves & Hedberg, 2003: 119; Shakeshaft, 1999: 3). Method

Overall Purpose

Advantages

Challenges

Questionnaires

To quickly and/or easily get lots of information from students and teachers in a non threatening way

Were anonymous, inexpensive to administer, and easy to compare and analyse

Interviews

To triangulate questionnaires to fully understand teachers’ and students’ impressions or experiences, or learn more about their answers to questionnaires

A wider range and deeper Required much time to understanding of teachers’ administer and to and students’ experiences was analyse. obtained

Observations of teachers and students as they played Zadarh

To gather accurate information about how a program actually operates, particularly about processes

Obtained clearer understanding of the interactions during play.

Focus groups

Explore experiences in depth through group discussion

Quickly and reliably got Was hard to record and common impressions among analyse many statements participants Was necessary in light of the communal nature of participants

-Clarifying questions or translating the questions to local languages

Was challenging to record and to interpret Made some students act


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The evaluator has to consider Rieber’s (1996a) and Draper’s (2000) factors outlined for designers. Castellan (1993: 234 – 235) and Percival & Ellington (1984: 110-120) advise that designers should consider: • •

•

Technical accuracy – whether programmes execute easily, correctly and accurately on school ICT Pedagogical soundness – whether instructional goals are articulated clearly, it is clear where technology ends and subject begins, technology is appropriate to the concepts learned, students can use the programmes, and whether the technology permits selfassessment, and to what extent the programme covers or fits into the curriculum. Substantive fidelity – concerns accuracy of content and whether the content is worth learning.

1. Technical Issues 1.1. Skills / Knowledge Required What special technical skills and knowledge are necessary in order to use this programme effectively?

1.2. Compatibility of the Programme with School ICT / Computers Immediate: Simple setup, access, or understanding of controls (less than 10 minutes). Installation on the computer Starting the programme on the computer, and time required to access software, navigate menus and begin using the programme. Pre-Lesson set up. The time taken to become familiar with the programme or to explain the programme to somebody. Response of the programme to inputs

Moderate: Some attention needed to setup, access or understand controls (About 10 minutes).

Significant: Complex set-up, access, or understanding of controls (more than 10 minutes).

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1.3. Help and Documentation Is there guidance, help or supporting documentation? The following may help you consider the above question: a. Are the loading and running instructions clear? b. Is sufficient information given to enable the user to know what the software does, and how it behaves without having to run the software? c. Is how you move around in the programme clearly explained or marked? d. Help. Is there a help option in a manual or on-screen to explain technical points, menus and icons?

1.4. Design and Navigation How easy is it to brose through the programme? The following may help you consider the above question. a. b. c. d. e. f.

Is the vocabulary in the menus understandable to intended users (E.g., students)? Are the icons useful and can they be easily selected by a mouse click? Can parts of the programme sequence be by-passed if desired? Can you get in to and out of parts of the programme easily? Can you restart where you left off? Can you make notes using the computer (E.g., using ‘Word’) whilst using the programme? g. Can you select and print text or diagrams you want? h. Does the programme keep records of performance and show the trail of past sites a player has visited? i. Can the teacher access student performances and identify each students progress? j. Do you like the colours and graphics and do they serve any purpose? k. Do you like sound effects and music and do they serve any purpose? l. Does the game leave the desk top visible for use of other programmes?

1.5. Level of Use a. Can the level of activity be set? b. Can the programme be used without much help from the teacher? E.g.: i. Does the software provide a tutorial? ii. Can students find specific information or activity easily (without assistance)?

2. Curriculum Issues The programme must provide skills and knowledge that are relevant to users (E.g., students and/or teachers).

2.1. Subject Related Skills, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving Skills, Generating Hypotheses and testing them, Application of Number, Etc). a.

List the benefits (from among those above or similar) of using this programme that are not as easily achievable under normal teaching in a class


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b. List the weaknesses (from among those above or similar) of the programme for classroom use c. State the range of Grades at school which could use this programme (E.g., Grade 1012) Is the quality of the content acceptable? Consider the following aspects: d. Accuracy. List the errors you have encountered (state that they are too many if this is the case) e. Spelling. List the spelling mistakes (state that they are too many if this is the case) f. Is there violence, adult language, or themes that are inappropriate to the intended users? g. Is there any evidence of bias? E. g., cultural, gender or racial bias. Indicate in which way.

2.2. Content a.

If the programme deals with content, which of the topics or concepts the programme purports to teach are not well-covered? b. For what knowledge /content would you specifically recommend this programme? c. Is the extent of the content sufficient and appropriate for the target audience? Is information sufficiently detailed or is information too detailed? Please explain with one example. d. Is the information arranged logically? E.g., topics follow each other as a succession of developing ideas, as opposed to randomly linked material. Suggest a better logical sequence.

2.3. Tasks and Exercises - It is Desirable to Incorporate in a Game Tasks and Problems to Solve a. Are the tasks useful and relevant to the user? b. Can you complete the tasks by only using the information provided in the programme or you need reference outside the programme? c. Is the sequence of tasks logical? E.g., do the tasks or exercises become progressively more difficult?) d. Is there feedback ? Is it offered at the right time? Does the feedback provide explanations?

3. Interactivity and Enjoyment 3.1. Is the Game Genuinely Interactive? 3.2. Does the Programme Allow Construction of Knowledge and New Ideas? 3.3. Does the Programme Allow Players to Introduce their Own Ideas or to Design Own Tasks? 3.4. Would Users Enjoy Using the Programme? Enjoyment implies that Users become absorbed into the Programme. a. Which aspects have you enjoyed? (One example is enough) b. Can you obtain such enjoyment by other means in class?

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Muwanga-Zake and Johnnie Wycliffe Frank c.

Which aspects of the programme are boring? I.e., parts where users lose interest in the programme.

4. Virtual Environments a.

Where the programme simulates a real world environment, do the laws governing actions and consequences, and the behaviour of individual elements, follow accepted models or rules related to the same real world situation? b. Do the skills practised in the virtual environment match those that would be required in the physical world?

5. Special Needs Comment whether the game caters for equity in terms of special needs

6. Evaluation against How a Game Represents the Nature of a Subject and Whether It Can Achieve the Desired Outcomes (This is an example for science in schools – use outcomes of the subject the programme is about) Does the programme support this? Place a tick (√) in the appropriate box

6.1. Learning Outcome 1: Scientific Inquiry and Problem-Solving Skills (Science Process Skills)

Key Skills

Information Processing Data processing Challenge own thinking and knowledge Problem Solving Enquiry Skills

The student is able to use process skills, critical thinking, scientific reasoning and strategies to investigate and solve problems in a variety of scientific, technological, environmental and everyday contexts. Students’ understanding of the world will be informed by the use of scientific inquiry skills like these given below: Develop & apply mental calculation skills. Solve problems & explain reasoning behind the solutions. Sort, classify, sequence, compare, and contrast. Analyse relationships, Locate & collect relevant information. Individual student competence Identify & understand a practical problem, plan a procedure, and review solutions. Ask relevant questions, define problems, plan action and research, predict outcomes, anticipate consequences, test conclusions, and improve ideas. Researching concepts, test conclusions & improve ideas.

6.2. Learning Outcome 2: Nature of Scientific Knowledge Key Skills

The student is able to identify the sources of scientific knowledge and to evaluate knowledge claims, taking cultural and historical contexts into consideration. It is important for students to understand how scientific knowledge develops.

Playing to Learn: Experiences in Virtual Biology Environments Communication

Speak, listen, understand, and respond effectively, critical reflection/analysis.

Working With Others

Group work. Awareness & understanding of others needs

Research skills Creative Thinking Skills Evaluation Skills

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Be able to identify strengths and weaknesses in procedures, as well understand the context under which findings were obtained. Judge the limitations and applicability of information. Apply, generate & extend ideas, suggests hypothesis, apply imagination, find alternative, and innovative procedures. Develop judging criteria for procedures and, have confidence in choices. Relate kits to everyday / workplace equipment. Judge value of what is read/heard, and actions. Develop judging criteria for own/others’ work/ideas, have confidence in judgements.

6.3. Learning Outcome 3: Constructing and Applying Scientific Knowledge Key Skills Interpreting, data processing Draw reasonable conclusions from data Creative Thinking Skills Evaluation Skills

The student is able to state, explain, interpret, and evaluate scientific and technological facts, concepts, principles, theories, models and laws, and can apply them in everyday contexts. Develop & apply mental calculation skills. Solve problems & explain reasoning behind the solutions. Sort, classify, sequence, compare, and contrast. Analyse relationships Make reasonable conclusions, test conclusions, & improve ideas. Apply, generate & extend ideas, suggests hypothesis, apply imagination, find alternative, innovative procedures. Relate data to everyday use

6.4. Learning Outcome 4: Science, Technology, Society, and the Environment

Skill Financial aspects Enterprise Education Education for Sustainable Development Management Safety

Science, Technology, Society and the Environment: This outcome is necessary to help students to make informed decisions and to have a broader understanding of how science relates to their everyday lives, the environment and to a sustainable future Value for money. Develop sense of responsibility. Develop confidence, self-reliance & acceptance of change. Make informed individual/collective local/global decisions to improve quality of life without damaging the planet for the future. Are you able to organise the programme for all your classes? What advantages does the programme provide in this regard? Safety of using Somerset kits, and how this informs students of the need for their safety, and care for the environment

6.5. Outcomes that cannot be Duplicated or done the same way by other (NonComputer-Based) Resources? E.G., Enjoyment, Etc.

7. Students’ Evaluation of the Game (Individual or Focus Groups) Male

Female

Age

Grade

7.1. Allocate a Score for Each of These Attribute 0

1

2

3

4

Marks 5

6

7

8

9

10

Average

Coverage of content a. Compared to the whole syllabus b. Compared to the topic covered Feedback o Speed of feedback o The programme does what I want I understand the plan of the programme It is easy to find my way through this programme I know the aim of this programme I can achieve the aims of this programme It promotes learning Content is relevant to the syllabus It is fun to use the programme I would like more learning I would like more fun I would like more problems to solve I have gained more understanding than before It is a better way to learn

7.2. What Events do you remember from using this Programme? 7.3. What Information do you remember from using this Programme? 7.4. What Activity in the Programme teaches you Most? 7.5. What would you add or take away from this Programme? I give permission fro this information to be used without mention of my names and institution whatsoever. Signed: ………………………..


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Students’ Evaluation of Zadarh Students awarded scores in a blank table (see 'A manual for Evaluating Educational Computer Programmes', Part E). The scores in Table 16 are a summary of scores from 60 students. I picked at random 5 score sheets for girls and 5 score sheets for boys from 6 schools. I held focus-group discussions with each of the five students to clarify some of the statements. The scores are out of a maximum score of 10. The scores support the data from questionnaire. Figure 7 (arranged from highest to the lowest) shows that students considered it a better way to learn (score = 9.0), and that Zadarh promotes learning (8.9). They also claimed that they gained more understanding with Zadarh (8.7) possibly because it is fun to use (score = 8.5). In fact, the score recommending more fun (6.9) is slightly higher than that recommending more facts (6.3). This agrees with the students' comments on 'how Zadarh taught them', which indicated that playing adds fun to learning and is desirable. However, students thought that the learning aspect of Zadarh was more prominent than the playing aspect (Score = 7.5). A score of 4.8 (the lowest score) confirms this thought further, indicating that the game aspect was less than the learning aspect. They also seem to show that Zadarh should have more content (coverage of content = 5.2), but the content it has is relevant to their syllabus (8.5).

Attribute It is a better way to learn It promotes learning I have gained more understanding than before Content is relevant to the syllabus It is fun to use the programme Feedback It is too much of learning than a game Clarity of objectives I would like more fun I would like more problems to solve Organisation of the programme Objectives are achievable I would like more facts Coverage of content It is too much of game than learning

Males Av. Score/10 8.9 9.0

Females Av. Score/10 9.0 8.9

9.0

8.5

7.4 8.1 7.7 7.4 6.7 6.4 8.1 6.6 6.9 7.1 6.8 4.7

9.1 8.7 8.1 7.5 7.3 7.2 5.9 6.6 6.1 5.9 4.2 4.8

Average 9.0 8.9 8.7 8.5 8.5 8.0 7.5 7.1 6.9 6.7 6.6 6.4 6.3 5.2 4.8

Figure 7. Scores students awarded to various attributes of Zadarh.

Overall, males wanted more of the subject matter. That is, male students wanted more facts or content, and more problems to solve than females, but females scored higher (Figure 8). However, females thought that the content was more relevant to their syllabus than males.

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I would like more problems to solve I would like more facts Coverage of content Content is relevant to the syllabus Average Game score after 1 hour

Males 8.1 7.1 6.8 7.4 188

Females 5.9 5.9 4.2 9.1 245

Figure 8. Differences in scores between male and female students.

The likely implication of the higher score is that they probably visited more venues in Zadarh and saw that Zadarh covered more content, presented more facts, and presented many problems to solve. Therefore, responses to the four statements above depend upon how far a student went into the game. One of the explanations made by some female students, which I also observed was that males did not easily cooperate with one another – they rarely sought help, and so scored less in tasks that required cooperation. This is rich and diverse data. But it shows important and very deep feelings and experiences individual participants had.

Conclusion Games offer the students' excitement and enjoyment as they play. The other aspects of games such as the way it challenges students with problems to solve are important to enhance interest in and motivation to study. Games opportunities in dealing with abstract concepts and concepts that are too expensive, lengthy, or dangerous to investigate in a school environment Play is indeed a source of conceptual frameworks, which should continue through the education systems. Although results did not favour any gender, males seemed to concentrate on non-scoring activities more than females. It might be that the whole problem of fewer females opting for science and related careers starts in their childhood, which restricts them to particular games or particular aspects of games. For example, it might be easier to turn a male into an engineer because the games boys play often involve dismantling and constructing things. These games, together with problem-solving skills, subconsciously continue throughout the life of the male child, to the extent that even those who have not studied engineering end up with some sort of engineering-related hobby such as motor mechanics or building structures. Therefore, building interest towards science-related careers among females ought to start in their childhood, to the extent that we should provide the same toys and games to girls. The experiences with Zadarh agree with lack of consistently positive effectiveness of educational games (Randel et al, 1992). Findings show a variation between schools and between students, due to school pedagogy, and management of computers, as well as due to the abilities of students and their teachers. Another reason is the thinking that play is a leisurely affair with no benefits in the academic subjects. Rieber (1996) rightly notes that lessons arising from play are not often desirable in the traditional educational curricula. Indeed, no teacher would want a playful class. However, this could be due to the fact that contemporary society and educational discourse considers human learning to be a non-playful


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process because we always associate hard work with study. Furthermore, performance tests do not assess the gains to the affective domain, which, together with cognitive domain, are primarily the focus of using games in learning. While there is a danger that play in a classroom might produce a people who will always take a playful stance on everything, and a people who without fun do not attempt to learn anything, it is also fair to make learning interesting and attractive since today there is much knowledge competing for attention. These ideas inform instructional designers to carefully include fun in their programmes. Indeed, many computer programmes have inherent play in them, which attract people to using the computer. If playing is critical for early childhood learning, why not for adults, who nonetheless continue to play games outside class? The results support the idea that enjoyment, through activities such as during practical work or indeed play might be one way of increasing the time students spend studying science. Traditionally, hands-on practical work is thought to increase memory and understanding. Virtual games provide similar manipulations with the advantages that there is no damage to anything and that the game can be played anywhere and time. The challenge though is how to design a learning programme that is fun to use across cultures and age groups, and how to be able to evaluate such programmes without undermining or promoting a particular culture. It is apparent that there are pro and cons regarding the use of play in education, and the decision as to whether a game is beneficial or not is subject to the player and to a particular game. That is evaluating a game is likely to be idiosyncratic interpretative affair. It is probably because of the subjectivity of play that it is difficult to obtain conclusive evidence about the use of games in classrooms. Research is needed to establish how to obtain the values teachers and students attach to games in education, to know what kind of values teachers and students attach to games, to see how games contribute towards solving problems in science classrooms, and to see how such games can be included in a curriculum.

Some Issues for Developers •

•

• •

• •

Traditional lessons avoid play to the extent that it might take a while to change the mind-set that learning must comprise seriously conducted activities. It was difficult to convince teachers (and other stakeholders) that a lesson could include playing games; Educational software often has a shallow market size. One cause of this is that a good game is also specific about the subject content and curriculum as well as pedagogy. Therefore, educational games require heavy financial injections, probably from the government; There were resentments against collaboration when it were suggested that the game score could be used for assessment. This is matter for negotiation with students; The balance between focussed outcomes and open constructivist environments is challenging. It requires a well thought out balance between guidance in a game and allowing for players’ inputs; Loading a game upon a school server can make the intranet slow; Desiring a result and learning a process are not always compatible (Rieber, 1996). Science is a process-oriented subject. Hence, doing science then would not qualify as

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•

•

•

• •

• •

•

playing because science is not necessarily done for a result. Play would be scientific if the aim of the lesson is to "get the right answer". Thus, the challenge for instructional designers is to create games where each step of playing counts towards the final result, while processes within and between steps contribute to understanding. The subjective and cultural nature of play is problematic for instructional designer. For example, one culture may enjoy something that is considered undesirable by another culture, and something enjoyable or motivating now might be painful tomorrow. Individuals differ in the kinds of games they like, and when they like to play. Draper (2000) explains that not all computer game(s) give enjoyment (i.e. satisfy various kinds of intrinsic motivation). This is because motivation and so fun is not a property of an activity, but a relationship between that activity and the individual's goals at a particular moment (Draper, 2000). The other problem that Draper (2000) points out is that designers of games tend to think that features such as colour and music automatically add value to enjoyment. According to Draper, what matters is the demand level of a game - if it is to be fun, a game must be matched to the player's arousal level, which in part varies independently of the game, for instance with the time of day. Finally, playing games might lead to addiction, and oversimplifying reality. Following from the above, is to see how to use play without imposing it so ‘seriously’ upon students (because imposing a game removes the fun of playing it). Games might also produce students who have always got to be enticed to study. Additionally, Designing and using games for education are complicated by the observation that teachers and designers of instruction consider motivation in terms of what they can do to get students to study, and so motivation is often an "add-on" feature (Karaliotus, 1999). The third challenge is the observation that games are often gender specific (BECTA, 2001), with females taking on leisurely games. Play can be time consuming, too complex for classroom use, loss of educational focus as student becomes involved, dealing with disaffected pupils, the use of inappropriate vocabulary or reading level as well as technical challenges. Finally, playing games might lead to addiction, and oversimplifying reality. Therefore, the implementation of games should be done with care and with a specific purpose in mind (Mosimege, 1997: 534).

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Chapter 4

THE ROLE OF CONTEXTUAL INTERFERENCE AND MENTAL ENGAGEMENT ON LEARNING Phillip D. Tomporowski∗, Bryan A. McCullick and Michael Horvat Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia

Abstract Evidence obtained from several research areas has led to renewed interest in the possible association between games that are performed under conditions requiring moderate-tovigorous physical activity and the emergence of children’s executive function, which is the capacity to think before acting, the ability to retain information in mind, to reflect on the possible consequences of specific actions, and to self-regulate behavior. The goal of this chapter is threefold: first, to describe the phenomenon of Contextual Interference and how skill learning conditions influence the emergence and development of children’s basic cognitive processes; second, to summarize findings obtained in several areas of research that link physical activity to mental functioning and academic performance; and third, to highlight the role that physical education can play in facilitating specific types of mental processes that are essential for children’s successful goal-oriented behaviors. Games in which action requirements change unpredictably require mental engagement and executive functioning; subtle variations in practice routines are hypothesized to markedly influence how children learn associations between physical actions and their consequences. Examples of games designed to combine physical activity with mental challenges are provided, and special emphasis is placed on instructional conditions that address children’s individual differences.

Introduction: Games and the Transfer of Knowledge Over many millions of years, members of our genus, Homo, have evolved the capacity to adapt to an ever changing environment (Geary, 2005; Mithen, 1996; Tattersall, 1995). Advances in technology and research methods have allowed anthropologists to obtain an increasingly clearer understanding of the changes that have occurred from our earliest ∗ Corresponding Author: Phillip D. Tomporowski, Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, 300 River Road 115 Ramsey, Athens, GA 30602, Office: 706-542-4183, FAX: 706-542-3148, [email protected].

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ancestors to modern humankind. The analyses of factors that have shaped our species’ physical characteristics have long been of interest to anthropologists. More recently, conditions that have contributed to the emergence of human cognition and behavior have become a topic of study. Investigations of bone structure and skull size and shape have provided insights into changes in brain structures and functions that emerged over the millions of years that pre-date our existence (Ardila, 2008). Philosophers and scientists alike have long posited how structures of the mind and conscious emerged and what roles they have played in our evolution. These various positions have been most hotly debated over the past decade (See Gangestad & Simpson, 2007; Ginitis, 2007 for reviews). Cultural anthropologists have emphasized the importance of community rituals for ensuring the survival of social groups. Even before the emergence of language and symbolic representation, our ancestors communicated with others and gained an understanding of the importance of voluntary control of movements and actions, and the development of skills. Some have speculated that our ancestors’ ability to control their physical movements provided the stimulus that led to the emergence of human consciousness, thought, and reasoning (Bronowski, 1973). The present chapter focuses on the role physical activity games play in teaching children to control voluntary motor actions. A case is made that a child’s successful performance in diverse real-world situations requires his ability to select appropriate information and to initiate movement strategies that result in adaptation and goal attainment. Games provide a natural context for teaching children predictive relations between action and outcomes, as controlled movements require the selection, ordering, and temporal sequencing of muscle contractions. For children who are deficient in some aspect of functioning (cognitive, sensory, or physical), this approach will also facilitate movement performance in a naturalistic setting. The overview of recent advances in cognitive psychology will elucidate how subtle alterations in instructional content when playing games can substantially impact how effectively children control their thoughts and actions. A physical education model will be presented that describes methods of increasing children’s mental involvement.

Learning and Student Engagement Contextual learning emphasizes interrelations existing among a learner, a teacher, and a naturalistic environment that present a problem to be solved. The harsh environment in which our early ancestors lived forced them to learn how to overcome challenges that were essential for survival. Progression from infancy to childhood and on to adulthood was marked by the accumulation of skills that resolved the daily problem of staying alive. Modern humans have also been forced to acquire skills required to face daily challenges. Early 20th century educators emphasized the importance of reality-based learning in which learners acquired knowledge by solving real-world problems (Dewey, 1886). Researchers who studied the processes of learning in the 1950s were particularly interested in how knowledge was accumulated, retained, and transferred. A series of experiments conducted by William Battig (1956; , 1966) revealed that the transfer of knowledge to new learning conditions depended greatly on how the knowledge was initially acquired. The context of initial learning played an important role in how skills acquired in one situation were applied in novel situations. He observed that individuals who acquired movement skills under unpredictable conditions were

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better able to deal with new learning tasks than individuals who acquired movement skills under predictable and unchanging learning conditions. These observations, which did not support the behavioral learning theories that prevailed during this period, were viewed by most researchers of the time as anomalies. It was not until the introduction of cognitive learning theories in the 1970s that researchers began to focus attention on mental processes that are involved in problem solving and the roles of mental effort (Kahneman, 1973) and levels of processing (Craik & Lockhart, 1972). More recently, considerable theorizing has been made about the processes of mental engagement and mindfulness (Weber & Johnson, 2009) and the roles they play in learning and transfer of knowledge.

Measuring and Assessing Mental Engagement Cognitive researchers are interested in isolating and understanding the mental processes individuals use to detect changes in their environments, identify the specific nature of those changes, evaluate whether and how responses should be made, and prepare the body for voluntary actions. The information-processing model shown in Figure 1, depicts how researchers believe that information flows from the environment into the central nervous system. The manner in which stimulus detection, response selection, and response programming operate is hypothesized to be modified by executive processes that determine the “mental effort” involved in processing. Tasks that call on highly learned and repetitive responses that have been acquired via extended practice (e.g., opening a combination lock) require the allocation of little, if any, mental resources. Novel tasks that require the individual to consider multiple response pathways draw on mental effort resources. Numerous cognitive theories have proposed “executive processes” that are hypothesized to play important roles in regulating human thought and action. Considerable research and debate has focused on the development of executive functions in children (Best, Miller, & Jones, 2009; C. Hughes, 2002a, , 2002b; C. Hughes & Graham, 2002; Zelazo, Muller, Frye, & Marcovitch, 2003), and a general consensus has emerged over the past decade concerning its attributes. Psychometric research has identified three processes that provide the foundation for executive function: response inhibition, working memory, and switching (Lehto, Juujarvi, Kooistra, & Pulkkinen, 2003; Miyake et al., 2000). Neuroimaging research has provided convergent evidence for multiple but interrelated components of executive function (Casey, Amso, & Davidson, 2006; Casey, Galvan, & Hare, 2005). Response inhibition is defined in terms of one’s ability to withhold making well learned or highly practiced responses, and the ability to stop ongoing response sequences when circumstances require doing so. Response inhibition is viewed as critical to adaptive functioning, as successful goal-oriented behaviors often require a child to suppress prepotent behaviors, which may lead her to gain immediate reward but at the cost of reducing the possibility of her attaining later goal-oriented rewards (Barkley, 1996). Working memory involves the ability to maintain and manipulate information over brief periods of time (Alloway, Gathercole, & Pickering, 2006; Huizinga, Dolan, & van der Molen, 2006). Working memory also provides individuals with the ability to monitor incoming information and “update” conscious problem-solving activities in an “online” manner. Shifting reflects the ability to stop mental processes required to perform one task and to initiate processes required for a different, now relevant, task (Rogers & Monsell, 1995).

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Executive Functions

Stimulus Information

Perceptual Processes

Decision processes & response selection

Response Programming

Behavior

Figure 1. Information-processing model.

Executive function is critical as it underlies the rules that guide children’s behavior (Zelazo & Frye, 1998) and children’s executive functions are deployed in cognitive and learning activities both inside and outside education classes. Specifically, cognitive shifting, inhibition, and working memory are directly related to successful math strategies and higher math scores (Bull, Johnston, & Roy, 1999; Bull & Scerif, 2001; Espy et al., 2004; St ClairThompson & Gathercole, 2006) and to high English, math, and science scores (St ClairThompson & Gathercole, 2006). The influence of executive functions is also reflected in writing skills (Hooper, Swartz, Wakely, de Kruif, & Montgomery, 2002; St Clair-Thompson & Gathercole, 2006). Inhibition is related to reading (Gernsbacher, 1993) and vocabulary learning (Dempster & Cooney, 1982). As evidence that executive functions play a causal role, preschoolers exhibiting high executive functioning later had higher math and literacy scores in kindergarten (Blair & Razza, 2007). Cognitive scientists have developed methods and procedures to verify the existence and operations of hypothesized mental constructs. “Effort” and “engagement” and other terms that reflect mental processing are defined operationally; that is, their meaning is specified by measuring an operation (Underwood, 1957). Mental effort is often described as a limited resource that can be drawn upon and allocated to fuel the mental operations required to overcome challenges and problems (e.g., Kahneman, 1973). The belief has been held by many researchers that the more mental effort an individual allocates to a problem, the better the performance and learning. While this view is appealing, it has been challenging for researchers to devise measurement procedures that demonstrate an individual’s allocation of mental resources. An influential theory of memory storage and recall developed by Craik and Lockhart (1972; , 1990) focused on the notion of Levels of Processing (LOP). They proposed that incoming information is processed at different levels of analysis, with early (shallow) processing preceding later (deep) semantic meaning. Importantly, deep processing provides an individual an opportunity to “keep things in mind” where it could be maintained via rehearsal and elaborated upon. The extent to which an individual remembers events and information was hypothesized to depend on the type of mental rehearsal employed and the level of analysis applied to the to-be-remembered information. Many experiments have been conducted in which participants’ LOP was manipulated by arranging learning conditions whereby some individuals were permitted to engage only in shallow processing and others employed verbal rehearsal techniques that ensured deep information processing. In the main, individuals who engaged in deep processing derived greater memory benefits than those limited to shallow processing. While the LOP approach to studying resource allocation received some criticism (Baddeley, 1978; Eysenck, 1988), the methods were an important


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advancement in the study of human memory. Researchers have amassed clear evidence demonstrating the value of instructional approaches designed to increase the deep processing of semantic information. Children and adults who employ mnemonic memory strategies improve their encoding and recall of words and symbolic information (See Hertzog, Kramer, Wilson, & Lindenberger, 2009 for a review). Educators are well aware of the role of attention and mental involvement in children’s motor-skill learning, and the authors of many publications have provided recommendations concerning ways to increase children’s mental involvement and attention to tasks (Lee, 1994). Motor-skill learning, however, develops via different brain mechanisms than those involved in the storage of declarative semantic information. Events that people remember (episodic memory) and facts that are remembered (semantic memory) are stored in areas of the cerebral cortex via neurological pathways controlled by the hippocampus, a structure of the limbic system that plays a critical role in relational learning (Suzuki & Clayton, 2000). Voluntary movement sequences depend on procedural memories that are established via associative learning and stored in deep structures of the brain such as the basal ganglia (Serrien, Ivry, & Swinnen, 2007). The differences that exist between declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge provides a basis for the truism that there is a great deal of difference between knowing “about” something (e.g., describing a piano) and knowing “how” to do something (e.g., playing a piano). The fundamental differences in the manner in which declarative and procedural memories are acquired should also guide instructional methodologies. While mental engagement facilitates the acquisition of both declarative and procedural skills, subtle differences in contextual conditions may have substantial impacts on learning. For example, the instructional methods employed in LOP research, which direct individuals to embellish the meaning of words, may not be well suited for motor-skill learning, which depend on establishing associations between voluntary movements and their consequences. Perhaps instructional methods that focus the learner’s mental involvement on the selection and sequencing of muscle contractions that lead to the resolution of movement problems are more effective for motor-skill learning. Research conducted on the contextual-interference effect provides both researchers and practitioners alike with methods of verifying children’s mental engagement during motor-skill learning.

The Contextual Interference Effect Based on early research conducted by Battig (1966), which was described previously, several contemporary motor-learning researchers have conducted experiments that examine how alterations in instructional context during initial practice sessions affect skill retention and transfer of learning to novel tasks. In these studies, associative learning was found to be more robust when training occurred under conditions that varied from trial to trial than when conditions remained fixed and predictable. Individuals who practice skills under varied training conditions (i.e., actions are varied across practice trials) learned more than those who practiced skills under constant training conditions (i.e., actions remain constant across practice trials). Explanations for the facilitating effects of varied practice on learning have focused on the amount of mental involvement required of the individual during practice (Guadagnoli & Lee, 2004). Under varied practice conditions, every change in successive practice trials requires the individual to inhibit previously used movement action plans and to

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call into action a different movement plan. Successfully shifting movement action plans from one task to another involves multiple mental operations. The individual must recognize the environmental conditions that define the task, retrieve a movement program from long-term procedural memory, and apply movement parameters to actions that are planned to perform the task. Training conditions that incorporate task conditions that switch unpredictably are reported to be more mentally effortful than conditions for which individuals repeat the same movement patterns for each trial within a given block. Executive functions, such as response inhibition, strategy selection, and planning, are central to the mental processes that occur during varied practice conditions. An important benefit derived from variable practice conditions and accompanying mental engagement is an enhanced ability to adjust actions and behaviors to wide variations in environmental conditions. Individuals who experience unexpected shifts in task demands during practice are better able to transfer what has been learned to novel situations than are individuals who acquire skills under less mentally challenging conditions that depend primarily on rote behavior. Results obtained from several lines of research provide convergent evidence supporting the role that mental involvement plays in learning about the relations that exist between actions and their consequences and the executive processes that control goal-directed behavior. The evidence suggests that the games children play can be designed to provide them with foundational knowledge about movement regulation that transfers beyond the acquisition of a specific set of sport skills.

Converging Evidence for the Role of Contextual Interference in Learning Besides motor-skill research, which has shown that variations in initial learning can influence retention and transfer, similar evidence has been obtained from a diverse group of research domains. Under a wide variety of conditions, it appears that specific types of training experiences can foster mental engagement and facilitate the emergence and utilization of executive functions.

Embodied Learning Research Physical movement is central to existence. From an evolutionary perspective, it has been argued that the manner in which the brain evolved to organize and control movement explains the emergence of human cognition (Llinas, 2001). The central viewpoint of embodied cognition holds that cognitive processes are deeply rooted in the body’s interactions with the world (Wilson, 2002). Considerable research on infants’ acquisition of movement skills reveals the interrelation among physical activity, mental effort, and cognitive development (Thelen, 1996; Thelen & Smith, 1994) and factors that contribute to developmental delays (Spencer et al., 2006; Stockman, 2004; Thelen, 2004). As infants move, they learn about their environments and how tasks are solved (Adolph, 2008; Sommerville & Decety, 2006). Sensorimotor activation has been shown to influence both reasoning and problem-solving (Gallese & Metzinger, 2003; Jackson & Decety, 2004). Motor and cognitive development are interrelated phenomena that emerge over a protracted period (Diamond, 2000).


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Cognitive Development Research Developmental studies of children’s executive function reveal that the foundational processes emerge at different points in time and each has its own developmental trajectory (Best et al., 2009). In general, executive functioning develops rapidly through the elementary school years and then develops at a slower pace during adolescence (Brocki & Bohlin, 2004; Huizinga, 2006). Behavioral and motor inhibition is the first area of executive functioning to develop rapidly. This is followed in the school years by the development of more complex executive components, such as shifting and working memory (Brocki & Bohlin, 2004; Klenberg, Korkman, & Lahti-Nuuttila, 2001; Lehto et al., 2003). The emergence and development of processes that underlie executive function continues throughout childhood and adolescence and even into young adulthood (Casey et al., 2006; Posner & Rothbart, 2007). Further, the development of executive processing skills is not an all-or-none phenomenon; they emerge gradually with continued practice, utilization of feedback, and refinement, especially when more complex tasks are performed. Importantly, their emergence may be conceptualized in terms of how children learn specific mental skills that lead to improved planning and problem-solving performance. Conceptualizing executive function as sets of mental skills acquired gradually via practice enable the formulation of specific hypotheses concerning the long-term benefits of physical activity game training on cognitive performance. The executive skills children acquire on the playground would be expected to transfer and be used in academic tasks and real-world conditions that involve behavior inhibition, working memory, and strategy. Developmental research provides evidence that children’s ability to deploy executive skills to solve problems is influenced by environmental conditions. Impoverished environments can degrade mental development and hinder the refinement of problem solving skills, whereas enriched environments in which children experience conditions that stress the importance of complex rules to solve problems lead to thoughtful and more sophisticated problem solving skills (Frye, Zelazo, & Burack, 1998; Zelazo & Frye, 1998). Interventions designed specifically to improve children’s executive attention have been shown to improve not only task-specific performance but also to generalize to general problem-solving tasks (Diamond, Barnett, Thomas, & Munro, 2007; Rueda, Rothbart, McCandliss, Saccomanno, & Posner, 2005).

Play Research Play is a form of physical activity that has been proposed to serve an important role in normal maturation and in the emergence of children’s cognitive processes (F. P. Hughes, 1995; Johnson, Christie, & Yawkey, 1987; Panksepp, Siviy, & Normansell, 1984) and socialization (Pellis & Pellis, 2007). Indeed, restrictive environments which limit children’s access to time for free play, rough and tumble play, and physical activity have been hypothesized to impede socially appropriate behavioral patterns (Diamond et al., 2007; Panksepp, 1998). Evidence supporting the importance of play behavior to cognitive development has come from numerous studies that have assessed the effects of exploration of novel and enriched environments on animals’ neurological development (See Black, Jones, Nelson, & Greenough, 1998; Briones, 2006; Greenough & Black, 1992). Interestingly, the

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manner in which rodent brains respond to physical activity depends on the specific type of physical activity performed. Running, for example, which engages large-muscles leads to increased capillary growth in the brain, whereas small-limb activities that are used to climb and maintain balance result in neuronal adaptations and long-lasted structural changes in the brain (Black, Isaacs, Anderson, Alcantara, & Greenough, 1990; Isaacs, 1992; Kleim, Vij, Ballard, & Greenough, 1997). Similarly, children’s neurological development is thought to benefit from exploratory play and physical activity. Neural networks, which are relatively undifferentiated at birth, become increasingly more specialized during childhood (Casey et al., 2005; McLeod, Plunkett, & Rolls, 1998). Further, the pattern of children’s neural specialization is determined, in part, by environmental stimulation (Huttenlocher, 1994; Katz & Shatz, 1996; Kolb & Whishaw, 1998). These results suggest that, through play and physical activity, children learn to decide when it is appropriate to act and when an action should be inhibited. Behavioral inhibition has been viewed as a cornerstone of executive function. It may be the case that children who are motorically active gain from those experiences and acquire greater behavioral control than children who are less motorically active (Campbell, Eaton, & McKeen, 2002). Play that necessitates effortful mental involvement appears to influence children’s ability to control their movements and selfregulate their actions. Environments that elicit children’s effortful mental involvement may promote behavioral change via the emergence and utilization of executive functions needed to regulate actions and to achieve goals. On the other hand, environments requiring only repetitive actions with minimal mental involvement may foster infants and children who exhibit passive, reactive behaviors that do little to promote the advancement of executive functions (Blair, 2002).

Physical Rehabilitation Research Numerous treatments have been proposed to remediate damage caused by injury or diseases that influence the nervous system (Carey, Bhatt, & Nagpal, 2005; Doyon, 1997; Nudo, 2006). Activity-based treatments have been developed to restore skills lost to cardiovascular accident (stroke) and other CNS insults. Recently, researchers have begun to evaluate how subtle variations in exercise treatment methods alter rehabilitative progress. Interests in the specificity of exercise training have been spurred by data obtained from studies that demonstrate distinct differences in the manner in which the brain responds to specific forms of physical activity. The neural networks that are developed following repetitive, mindless, and unskilled behaviors differ from those that are developed following the learning and practice of a new skill or sport. Several researchers have noted that the direct effects of exercise are potentiated by skill training (Carey et al., 2005; Will, Galani, Kelche, & Rosenzweig, 2004). Two recent studies have demonstrated that children (Pesce, Crova, Cereatti, Casella, & Bellucci, 2009) and adolescents (Budde, Voelcker-Rehage, PietrassykKendziorra, Ribeiro, & Tidow, 2008) who participated in a physical education class that included complex motor activities evidenced greater learning of later class-room information than did adolescents who participated in aerobic activities that did not stress mental involvement. Research conducted with animals, non-human primates, and humans have demonstrated that brain structure is altered most under conditions in which movements of a challenging task are performed in conjunction with high levels of mental involvement. Nudo


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et al. (1996) noted increased areas of motor cortex activation in primates required to engage in skilled motor movements to retrieve food pellets. Similarly, Pascual-Leone et al. (1995) observed that the representational map of motor cortical regions in humans increased when participants learned a complex series of finger and hand movements. A review of animal studies that assessed recovery from brain injury concluded that animals living in enriched environments experienced a quicker recovery; however, these benefits were enhanced when enrichment treatment also included an exercise component (Will et al., 2004). The combination of motor movements and mental involvement is considered essential for the promotion of neuroplasticity and functional rehabilitation (Carey et al., 2005; Woodlee & Schallert, 2006). In summary, research from a variety of areas provides evidence to suggest that training methods that place cognitive demands on learners (e.g., contextual interference) produce improvements in executive function. It is plausible that children’s games designed to present ever-changing rules to solve problems elicit mental engagement that leads to thoughtful executive problem solving.

Physical Activity and Executive Function For millennia, the connection between a healthy body and a healthy mind has been a central theme in Western civilization. The body-mind association has been supported by cross-sectional studies of older adults’ (See Tomporowski, 2006, for a review) and children’s mental ability (See Tomporowski, Davis, Miller, & Naglieri, 2008 ; Trudeau & Shepard, 2008 for reviews), which typically show that physically fit and/or active individuals perform some cognitive tasks better than less physically active individuals. This is also apparent in individuals with cognitive disorders (Zagrodnik & Horvat, 2009). In addition, case-controlled studies provide evidence that an increased level of physical activity early in life postpones age-related declines in cognition (Dik, Deeg, Visser, & Jonker, 2003). While evidence for the benefits of physical activity on mental function has existed for some time, many claims for the far-reaching benefits of exercise on mental functioning, academic achievement, and intelligence have been based on relatively recent experiments that provide evidence for a causal relation between exercise training and cognition. Several experiments conducted with middle-age and older adults indicate that aerobic exercise programs have a positive impact on cognitive function (Colcombe & Kramer, 2003). A subset of studies conducted with older adults has included measures of brain function and demonstrates that exercise training leads to specific neurological adaptations (Colcombe et al., 2004). While fewer experiments have been conducted with children, the results have been consistent with those obtained in studies with adults showing evidence of improved cognitive function (Davis et al., 2007) and alteration of brain activation (Davis et al., accepted). Recent reviews of the exercise literature indicate that chronic exercise appears to affect some types of cognitive function more than others. Colcombe and Kramer (2003) reviewed studies that assessed the effects of aerobic exercise training on older adults’ cognitive function and concluded that exercise produced a moderately large effect on overall cognitive performance; however, the greatest gains were found for tests of executive function, followed by tests of effortful controlled processing, perceptual processing, and information-processing speed. Similar conclusions were drawn by Tomporowski et al. (2008) following a review of

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studies that assessed the impact of exercise on children’s intelligence, cognition, and academic achievement in terms of an executive function hypothesis. In summary, the results of a number of recently conducted experiments provide evidence for a causal link between exercise and cognitive function in children and in older adults. Presently, the dominant explanations for the robust effect of exercise on executive function are couched in terms of biological adaptations (van Praag, 2009). The physical challenges of exercise have been proposed to directly influence and modify neural networks, particularly those in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain (Kramer & Hillman, 2006). Biologically-based explanations are supported by research conducted with animals, which demonstrated that exercise regulates the production of proteins, such as brain derived neurotropic factors (BDNF), which underlie neural integrity (Vaynman & Gomez-Pinilla, 2006). While the case has been made that physical activity alone may affect children’s cognitive function directly via changes in neural integrity, there exist alternative explanations (Tomporowski et al., 2008). For instance, it is plausible that the relation between exercise and cognitive function may be moderated by the type of mental activities in which children are engaged while being physical active. The importance of children’s “thoughtful decision making” during physical exercise classes as a means to promote critical reasoning has been posited by several researchers (McBride & Xiang, 2004). In summary, these findings highlight two points that are relevant to educators: 1) physical activity appears to prime and prepare the CNS to benefit from environmental experiences and 2) skill acquisition, as opposed to simple repetitive movements, is essential for the development of cortical networks that are involved in executive function. Research conducted in a number of academic areas of study provides convergent evidence for the importance of perception, action, and movement on cognitive development. These recent breakthroughs support a model that describes how specific forms of exercise training produce substantially better student outcomes relative to current practices (See Figure 2). Two variables are hypothesized to contribute to the modification of cognitive functions that underlie academic outcomes: 1) Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity is hypothesized to influence directly neural networks that underlie cognition and especially executive function; 2) the environmental context in which exercise training is performed, along with action-perception couplings, is hypothesized to moderate the association between exercise and cognition. Given that exercise-induced arousal primes and prepares the CNS to benefit from environmental experiences, teachers are uniquely positioned to aid in the emergence and development of basic cognitive processes in children.

Direct Instruction

Physical Activity

Physiological Adaptations

Executive Function

Academic Outcomes

Figure 2. Hypothesized relation between physical activity and executive function.


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The Learning Curve and Mental Engagement

PERFORMANCE

Both theories of motor learning (Schmidt, 1975) and cognitive learning (Ackerman, 1987) explain learning in terms of a progression through specific stages. While numerous conditions characterize each stage, mental involvement plays a central role in describing differences that exist among them. During the cognitive stage, the novice is faced with a problem-solving task that requires her to create a general plan of action before beginning physical practice. Prior to the first movement, the learner constructs a mental model of the task. This mental model establishes a relation among task conditions, actions to be taken, and the outcomes that are expected from these actions. Through experiences derived from physical movement (practice), the learner codes connections between environmental conditions and movements (Guarrera-Bowlby & Gentile, 2004) . This psychomotor coding process provides the basis for the emergence of a motor program that is used to instruct the body to move in specific ways. During the associative stage, psychomotor coding becomes refined as repeated practice solidifies the neural networks that direct and guide the learner’s movements. With extended practice, motor movements are performed with greater efficiency and less executive mental involvement is required. Indeed, the autonomous stage of learning is defined in terms of the absence of executive control and mental engagement. The negatively accelerating learning curve described in Figure 3 depicts the relation between practice and performance. While the shape of the curve can vary greatly as a function of the type of task being learned and the specific abilities of the learner, the stage-like progression toward automaticity remains unchanged.

Autonomous stage

Associative stage

Cognitive stage

TRAINING Figure 3. Hypothetical learning curve.

A novice’s performance gains are greatest during learning’s initial stages. Paralleling these improvements, the learner’s movements are shaped as he/she is rewarded by experiencing successful approximations of behaviors that will lead to goal attainment. Feedback derived from the movements themselves serves to reinforce the activation of the executive processes that guided the selection, sequencing, and timing of muscle contractions. Neurological systems that link action and outcomes are activated and elicit the experience of pleasure. From a phylogenetic perspective, it is logical that the mobilization of physical and

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mental efforts involved in overcoming the challenges of skill learning are rewarded by the same mesolimbic system structures that reward actions that result in reduced hunger by eating and reward thirst by drinking. Observations of children’s game-playing behaviors support the view that learners experience great reward early in training. A child or adolescent may be engaged for hours with a new toy or game; however, as the game becomes less challenging, the child’s motivation to continue playing wanes. Thus, following predictions derived from the contextual-interference effect, games designed to vary response requirements would be expected to promote greater mental involvement, motivation, and long-term effects on executive functions than games in which motor actions are predictable, unchanging, and lead to rapid learning. In summary, the information provided in the preceding sections suggests that children’s games designed to elicit moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and encourage mental involvement may benefit children’s physical and mental development. Addressed in the next sections are suggestions and recommendations concerning how such games can be developed and adapted to individual children’s capabilities and skill levels.

Physical Activity Games: Connecting the Science to the Teaching of Physical Education The information emerging from the exercise psychology literature has important implications for the health and well-being of children. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) prompts crucial physiological changes in the brain, particularly when MVPA is coupled with the increased mental involvement inherent in “skilled exercise” or game play. Thus, it appears that the teaching of physical education should play a substantive role in a school curriculum. In this section we argue for the implementation of theory-based physical education and/or extracurricular physical activity programs as a vehicle for facilitating the emergence of children’s foundational executive processes. The section begins with a brief historical overview of physical education in schools and concludes with a description of what a physical education class or physical activity program developed and guided by the exercise psychology literature might look like.

Historical Overview The history of school physical education is relatively short; however, the philosophy of physical and mental health can be traced back for centuries.

The Beginning While Greek and Roman influence on physical education and sport is unquestionable, it was not until the late 19th Century that physical education was formally recognized as a subject to be taught in school. At that time, “physical training” was heavily influenced by German and Swedish approaches to teaching what was termed “gymnastics.” The high rates of European and Scandinavian immigration at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th


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centuries brought to North America an influx of customs from Europe that extended well beyond food, music, and religion. The German and Swedish gymnastic systems, while distinct from and in competition with one another, had very similar purposes. Both focused on building physical strength and increasing participant vigor while promoting the traditions of the homeland (Siedentop, 2007). Eventually, derivative gymnastic systems in North America adapted and extended the German and Swedish systems by uniquely focusing on the promotion of female physical activity, dance, bodily development, and calisthenics. In 1893, a major event that still influences physical education today occurred when Thomas Wood proposed what he termed the new physical education. Wood, a physician, posited that physical education was not only important to the physical well-being of children but it also made important contribution to the “social, emotional, and intellectual development of the child” (Rice, Hutchinson, & Lee, 1958 p. 327). Wood claimed that physical education was vital for the development of the “whole individual” (Lumpkin, 2008 p. 273), a belief that was in line with the prevailing educational tenets advocated by such leading educational theorists Edward Thorndike and John Dewey. Wood’s redefinition of physical education prompted debate that went beyond whether one gymnastic system was superior and considered whether physical education should be an “education of the physical or an education through the physical” (Siedentop, 2007 p. 42). After more than a century, this debate continues. Luther Gulick, a leading proponent of the new physical education; particularly “education through the physical” delivery, argued that physical education should include play. He advocated play as an “educational force” very early in the 20th century (Lumpkin, 2008 p. 274). This view appeared to gain acceptance during the 1930s, but during the first and second World Wars and throughout the 1950s the prevailing philosophy was that physical education should be the means by which citizens prepare for war. During these years the philosophy of an “education of the physical” using calisthenics and fitness testing was the zeitgeist guiding school based physical education (Lumpkin, 2008).

The Late 20th Century By the 1960s and 70s, however, the pendulum had swung again and the notion of playing sports and games reemerged as the framework for the design and delivery of school physical education. Also during this time, women and people with special needs were included and there was a focus on how physical education programs were designed and delivered to serve individuals in these two groups. Perhaps one of the most significant events influencing physical education occurred in 1986 when the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) introduced a set of standards for defining a physically educated person. The definition embraced both the “education of the physical” and the “education through the physical” approaches by including cognitive and affective outcomes that were as important as psychomotor outcomes. At the end of this last century and throughout the current decade, obesity has emerged as a major health-care issue. High numbers of children and adolescents now classified as obese and overweight has profoundly influenced the physical education profession. Given the severity of the epidemic it is surprising that many are turning away from the notion set forth over a century ago by Wood and underscored by NASPE that physical education should be a

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major contributor to the healthy overall development of children. What has happened is that many academics, policy makers, and, subsequently, physical education practitioners have endorsed physical activity primarily as a means for reducing children’s body weight.

Physical Education Today: What Was Old Is New Again Ideally, physical educators aim to help students become physically educated citizens who will be physically active for a lifetime. A physically educated person should be able to perform motor skills competently, know how to apply movement concepts (e.g., space awareness, effort, time) and strategy, be physically active, become healthy and maintain that health, be socially and personally responsible, and value physical activity for a variety of reasons (NASPE, 2004). On one level, this definition appears to reflect Wood’s and Gulick’s early views of physical education. However, the recent focus on stemming and reversing the childhood obesity epidemic has led educators to curricula that favor children’s engagement in MVPA without emphasizing skill acquisition games that foster mental involvement. Physical education classes have come to be little more than aerobic programs modeled on adult and low-organized (e.g., less complex) aerobic activities. Less emphasis is placed on traditional recess time, which can include the type of sedentary play (e.g., talking, “playing house”) that promotes children’s mental involvement (Pellegrini, Horvat, & Huberty, 1998). Indeed, contemporary views of PE are in direct contrast to Wood’s notion of the new physical education. We contend that PE classes in which MVPA is coupled with mental engagement may be the best way to alter the prevalence of childhood obesity and to educate through the physical. Developing fundamental motor skills (learning, practicing, and applying the skills) is an important component of any intervention aiming to promote long-term fitness (Barnett, Van Beurden, Morgan, Brooks, & Beard, 2008). If lifetime fitness is acquired and maintained, the prevalence of overweight and obesity will naturally decrease. Physical education classes that focus solely on MVPA without emphasizing instruction, practice, and application of motor skills (using the skills in games) will not bring about a lifelong physically active person. Indeed, participating in MVPA without the notion of “fun” that is generally associated with skill competence and game play may reduce the motivation to be physically active. Resent research has found that “fun and enjoyment” were major motivators for engaging in physical activity among low-income, culturally diverse adolescents and adults (Bragg, Tucker, Kaye, & Desmond, 2009; Dishman et al., 2005). Thoughtful consideration should be given to how physical education and physical activity programs are conceived and delivered. While we fully agree that school PE classes should be a place for MVPA, the evidence from areas such as neurophysiology, exercise psychology, and public health suggests that it should also be a place where children are challenged to solve problems. Children should be in put in purposely designed situations where they can develop decision-making skills in dynamic game situations. In doing so, physical activities become a lifestyle choice that is maintained across the lifespan and contributes to both healthy development and healthy aging (Hertzog et al., 2009). In short, we propose that children engage in developmentally appropriate, moderately to vigorously physically active games with instructionally appropriate instruction and interaction from a qualified instructor. This will yield the most benefits (e.g., physical, cognitive, and affective) for children.


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Supporting literature from the area of physical education pedagogy will provide a foundation for laying out our view of what a physical education/physical activity program should look like and how this view can satisfy both those who believe such programs should be an “education of the physical” and those who contend they should be an “education through the physical.”

Instructional Prototype Programs that successfully promote children’s MVPA in instructional game environments will depend on three conditions: (a) qualified instructors, (b) selection of appropriate games, (c) monitoring skill development while verifying children’s mental engagement.

Qualified Instructors In Woody Allen’s Academy Award-winning film, Annie Hall, Alvy Singer (played by Allen) is quoted as saying, "I remember the staff at our public school. You know, we had a saying, uh, that those who can't do, teach, and those who can't teach, teach physical education." Unfortunately, Allen’s character appears to summarize the beliefs of many—that anyone can teach physical education. To date, there is no evidence to suggest that people are born to teach or that one can teach others to play because one has played and excelled at a sport or physical activity. A qualified and thoroughly trained teacher is a fundamental requirement for student success in the instructional environment. Given data that suggests children’s decision making during MVPA will promote cognitive benefits, physical education teachers must be both well-versed in game rules and strategies and skilled in how to teach them to children. These instructors need to be qualified, not just certified. Drawing the distinction between qualified and certified is important. A qualified teacher possesses a specialized body of knowledge and skills that allows him or her to meet desired objectives helps students learn. A certified teacher is simply one who is legally licensed to teach. A qualified teacher has requisite content, pedagogical, and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) (Shulman, 1986). Researchers have noted that this particular kind of knowledge acquisition begins to be developed as soon as one enters school (Lortie, 1975), continuing throughout a lifetime, and is formally acquired through the completion of an accredited teacher preparation program. Most but not all states have certification requirements for physical education teachers that assume that those certified have this knowledge and these skills. Some states with such certification mandates, unfortunately, have made it easier to become certified to teach PE by requiring practitioners to merely pass a written test (National Association for Sport and Physical Education & American Heart Association, 2006). Thus, the assurance that all PE teachers are qualified is not necessarily met by application of the label “certified.” For non-school physical activity programs, such as after-school programs (ASP), the criteria for hiring instructors are even less stringent. Many ASPs are viewed as nothing more than “gym and swim” programs (Hellison et al., 2000 p. 31) or a time to complete academic

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work or engage in self-directed recreation. While both of these types of ASP are valuable, they do not guarantee the outcomes that an ASP taught by a specialist who can combine MVPA and game play. Typically, these programs are staffed with a well-meaning instructional corps that fails to offer the content and pedagogy needed for students to obtain maximal benefits.

Selection of Appropriate Games An optimal physical education or activity instructional program for children would require that two criteria be met: First, the games would be required to raise and sustain children’s heart rate. Second, the games should be both fun and mentally engaging. The content of an effective PE/PA game would require students to make frequent problem-solving decisions that are followed by quantitative or qualitative feedback. Children’s mental engagement during physical activity has been shown to motivate later activity. Xiang, Chen, and Bruene (2005) assessed the influence of instructional methods on fourth-grade children’s motivation to keep running. Students from one elementary school were taught running through a stand-alone “Running Club.” The activity for this group was rote lap running that was linked to an extrinsic award system based on lap completion. This class was based on an exercise prescription model that focused the health importance or running. Fourth graders at a second school learned about running by incorporating it into games focused on skill development. Pre- and post-test measures on the children’s one-mile run times, and self-report questionnaires assessing their achievement goals, intention of future participation, and reward expectations were administered at the beginning and end of the school year. While both groups improved their one-mile run times, the major finding was that children’s interest in running was the most important predictor of their future intention to run. The group who learned about running in a game-play environment exhibited a higher intent for future participation in running than those who learned about running in a “running for running’s sake” manner. These results suggest that the way in which physical activities are taught influences children’s performance and motivation. Xiang and her colleagues (2005) speculated that teaching activity for activity’s sake may be detrimental to children’s motivation to be physically active. Specifically, they note, “…young children taught running in order to improve health might come to the conclusion that running lacks a purpose. Children run in their daily lives, and they often run for particular purposes, many of which, naturally, are for playing, fun and enjoyment. Teaching an activity that has high health value, such as running, in an isolated context isolated from direct and tangible purposes that children appreciate could create an incoherent curriculum context (p. 195).”

Woodlee and Schallert’s (2006) review of the body of work regarding the impact of motor activity and inactivity on the brain revealed that “repetitive and relatively unskilled exercise differs, in its effects on brain structure, from skilled motor training (p. 204). More specifically, they point out that a simple task such as jogging would definitely have a positive impact on the brain by increasing the cerebellum’s vascular supply. However, learning a sport with a level of physical activity intensity comparable to jogging would require learning new skills and the application of those skills, rules, strategies, and tactics. The combination of


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MVPA and mental involvement may well increase both angiogenesis and synaptogenesis in the brain. Thus, both instructional content and its delivery are essential for one to accrue maximum benefits from physical education and physical activity programs.

Game Design To illustrate how “skilled exercise” piques children’s attention and increases motivation to remain physically active, we present two prototypical games. One game is predominantly locomotor (Tag) and the other is manipulative in nature (Floor Hockey). These prototypes exemplify how games can be developed to elicit both MVPA and mental involvement. Tag presents children an opportunity to learn valuable cognitive skills that are utilized across virtually every team or invasion sport. On the surface, it appears that running is the main activity; however, a close examination of the game by a qualified teacher with a keen eye for detail and content knowledge reveals that there are subtle mental skills and application of movement concepts (space awareness, effort, & relationships), strategies, and tactics involved. During Tag children are physically active and constantly making decisions. With practice, Tag emerges as a skilled exercise. The manner in which the rules of Tag are presented by a skilled teacher is essential. The game and its rules of play must be designed in consideration of a number of variables: e.g., children’s fitness level, cognitive ability, physical ability, and past experiences. Presented below is an example of how the game of Tag might be presented to maximize children’s health and mental development. After a brief explanation of the game’s essentials, a series of strategic modifications designed to increase the game’s decision-making opportunities and skill development are presented. While the game can be altered in numerous ways, we present three here and discuss ways that each version can be made more inclusive for children with disabilities. Consider the following scenario involving a group of 30 children ages 8-9 in an elementary school gymnasium. Usually the teacher would present the tasks of chasing, fleeing, and dodging by demonstrating, explaining, and questioning. The students then practice dodging or faking moves by themselves before actually playing a game of Tag. The teacher would begin the game phase of Tag by explaining and demonstrating the rudimentary rules of Freeze Tag. Rules for Freeze Tag are minimal and the amount of skill needed to fully participate depends on three variables: (a) the boundaries, (b) the number of “Chasers” (e.g., “It” or “Taggers”) and (c) the number of Fleeers (players avoiding the Chasers). So, let us visualize the first stage of playing this game and then consider modifications to the game that increase the amount of skill development and decision making opportunities (mental involvement) required to play. Given 30 students, and the size of the space (boundaries), it would make sense to designate three “Chasers” who have the job of running (or engaging in any mode of locomotor movement) after the Fleeers. In essence, these three students are a team and their job is to tag all the other Fleeers. If a Fleeer is tagged by a Chaser, he or she must freeze (stop in place) and can only re-enter the game if “unfrozen” by a student who is not a designated Chaser. Ultimately, the objective for the Chasers is to have all the players frozen so that none of the fleeing students can be unfrozen. By selecting three Chasers, the number of Fleeers now becomes 27. Each Chaser needs to pursue nine students each. Played in bouts of

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approximately two minutes at full speed, rarely are the Chasers able to freeze all the Fleeers. This means that very few students remain inactive and, if so, only for negligible periods of time. The decision-making opportunities at this point in the game are numerous for all participants. While each group appears to be a part of a team, there is no indication from the teacher that teamwork is needed and it is implied that all are playing for their own ‘survival’ and benefit. This means that the Chasers are not specifically assigned to chase and tag only nine Fleeers and there is virtually no opportunity to collude with their fellow Chasers regarding territory coverage or which specific fleeing students to hunt most vigorously. Furthermore, since frozen Fleeers can be unfrozen, keeping track of which ones have been tagged becomes too cumbersome and decisions regarding whom to chase and how to chase are being constantly formulated, acted on, and discarded or modified by the Chasers. For the Fleeers, decisions regarding where to place themselves within the boundaries and when it would be least “dangerous” to help another player are constantly being made. To incorporate children with disabilities, Chasers may wear a colored vest or sounding device worn on the belt. Locomotor movements used in Tag can be modified by using a wheelchair or by skipping. As the game begins, the qualified teacher is stationed on the periphery and observes the action and notes which aspects of the game may need to be altered to increase both MVPA and the chasing, fleeing, and dodging. Typically, children with experience in sport and rudimentary problem solving skills will move to spaces where they can see the entire space in front of them (e.g., a corner) and away from Chasers. This could lead to a smaller amount of MVPA for such children. A qualified teacher will notice this and amend the game during the next round and point out to all the players that the strategy used by those particular students was an effective strategy or a good decision. Spotlighting the strategy to the class now signals to the Chasers that more territory coverage is needed and to the Fleeers that they might want to adopt this strategy. To maximize the MVPA for the next round, the teacher can do one of three things: (a) decrease the boundaries, (b) increase the number of Chasers, or (c) both. Boundaries need to stand out and be easily recognizable or even tangible for children with cognitive delays or can be given a “safety zone” where they can be for 10 seconds or stand with another student’s assistance in the safety zone. Prompts can also be used, especially in the early activity phases for children with delayed processing. Visual, verbal, or physical prompts from a classmate can also facilitate correct responses. Eventually, the skills of Freeze Tag are acquired by the children and the difficulty of this game can be increased. Using the same principles seen in Freeze Tag, the qualified teacher might then introduce a game called Partner Tag. In this modification, the fleeing students spread around the field in pairs, with their arms hooked. Again, there are multiple Chasers but there are also five players who are not partnered and who are Fleeers. The Fleeers run from the Chasers and are deemed safe if they can “hook elbows” with one of the pairs scattered on the field. When a Fleeer hooks elbows, the second person in that pair has to leave and becomes a Fleeer. When a tagging occurs, the roles simply reverse. Both of these alterations can be presented to the children as options and be progressively changed as students improve their skill. Concurrently, the speeds of a required movement can be changed as necessary or desired. In Partner Tag, the decision making both increases and changes. In addition to the decisions made in Freeze Tag by the Chasers and Fleeers, Fleeers now have to choose where


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to “hook onto” and the Fleeers who are partnered now have to decide when they can leave the partnership and how to escape from the Chaser, who is now in very close proximity. The Chasers now need to make a strategic decision, as how they chase a Fleeer can determine whether they can easily tag a Fleeer who is leaving a partnership. Added cognitive dissonance occurs via the role reversal that happens once a Chaser tags a Fleeer, because both players now have to quickly switch their mindset and alter their skills and tactics (e.g., changing from chasing to fleeing). A third variation of Tag provides yet more opportunity for decision making while engaging in MVPA. The game of Dribble Tag can be done in two ways. The easiest way the game is played requires that all Fleeers have a ball that can be dribbled by hand. The space can be the entire gymnasium or decreased, based on the teacher’s assessment of the MVPA and skill level of the students. The Fleeers must dribble the entire time and, if tagged by a Chaser, must stop in place and dribble 10 times with the left hand and 10 with their right before being eligible for “unfreezing” by another dribbling Fleeer. Fleeers cannot unfreeze another Fleeer if the 20 dribbles have not been completed. The Chasers can be with or without a ball (depending on teacher’s assessment) and, as with Freeze Tag, the Chasers attempt to have all Fleeers stopped at once. Another alteration to this game is to only allow half the Fleeers to have a ball. The Chasers can only tag those dribbling but a Fleeer can pass the ball to another Fleeer who does not have one to avoid being tagged. Low functioning children can be accommodated by changing speed requirements or using larger easier to hold balls or allowing dribbling with two hands. Beyond requiring both Chasers and Fleeers make decisions needed in the game, the addition of dribbling the ball (and/or passing it) requires players to think about how and where to dribble. The Chasers now will be in a position to decide how to chase a Fleeer and learn that failure to tag a Fleeer might be fine if they are also aware of the Fleeers without the ball and position themselves close to the Fleeers as well. This version of Tag combines two separate skills (chasing, fleeing, & dodging and dribbling) that are often required in more complex games, such as basketball and team handball. Floor Hockey focuses on manipulative skills. As described below, Floor Hockey can be designed to combine MVPA and high mental engagement and the game can be modified for children with disabilities. Floor Hockey is included in virtually all physical education curriculums for grades 4-8. The equipment needed is generally minimal and the physical activity requirement, if done correctly, can be vigorous. The ‘traditional’ version of Floor Hockey is similar to of Ice Hockey in that there are five ‘floor’ players and a goalie for each team. The objective is to put the puck (or a nearly bounceless ball) past the goalie of the other team while preventing the opposing team from doing likewise. The five ‘floor’ players move about the playing area and use passing, moving, marking, and shooting strategies to perform the game. With one ball, 10 ‘floor’ players, and two goalies, the floor players receive the greatest amount of MVPA and mental engagement. The goalies, however, experience minimal MVPA, and with only one ball, only one player at a time is practicing the manipulative skills included in Floor Hockey. Three modifications to the traditional version of Floor Hockey are presented below that increase children’s mental engagement, and the modifications can be adopted to include children with disabilities. Perhaps the easiest alteration to traditional Floor Hockey to increase MVPA and mental engagement is simply to eliminate the position of goalie and make the game 5 v. 5 or 6 v. 6. One could replace the typical goal with a small trash can turned on its side; a goal could be

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awarded if the ball is put into the can. This is called Trash Can Hockey. A further extension of the game to allow for even more MVPA and mental engagement can be achieved by having the teacher could easily decrease the size of the floor and boundaries, and the number of persons on each team. A slightly smaller floor and a 3 v. 3 format would force the players to cover more of the playing area and increase the number of touches one would receive. More touches and more space coverage increase both the MVPA (more running) and the number and quality of strategic decisions to be made (i.e., who to receive the pass, where to run, or defend against [two defenders marking an offensive player] when an opponent is open). Combining a lack of a goalie, with a small trash can as the goal, can increase the complexity of the game because a rule change can now stipulate that a shot cannot be blocked or caught as a goalie is typically allowed to do. This game, fortunately, requires few changes to accommodate low-functioning students. Arranging games with small numbers of players and limited boundaries and gradually moving to more “typical” formats are perfect physical education strategies. Teachers can use prompts such as calling a child’s name (“Bryan!”) to signal that a pass is coming. Teammates can tap their sticks on the floor to signal when to pass or have a secret word (“Hamburger!”) when they want to signal to a child with disabilities when and to whom to pass the ball. The second version of the game, called Four Team Hockey, increases MVPA and mental engagement. It resembles less the typical Floor Hockey than the 3 v. 3 format described above. This version can accommodate more players and considerably more mental engagement is elicited and required from the players. Depending on the space available, a 5 v. 5 format could elicit as much MVPA as the 3 v. 3 format. In this version, the floor area is essentially the same. Instead of two goals (trash cans) and two teams, however, four trash cans and four teams are involved. Instead of placing two goals (trash cans) at each end of the floor as in the standard version of the game, four cans are placed in each corner of the playing space and numbered one through four. Additionally, three balls are used instead of one. Each team wears different colored pinnies (jerseys) and is assigned a number. The objective is for each team to score by putting the ball in the can that corresponds to their team number. For example, team one would try to score in the trash can labled Team One. While it seems that each team would just need to concentrate on scoring in their trash can, the team’s score has to be higher than the other three teams in order to win. Consequently, defending the other three goals is just as important as scoring points. Such strategy requirements increase the importance of floor coverage and team tactics to the players. On the surface it appears that this version is not much different from the requirements of the version described above; the added complexity comes from players who now must be concerned with more than stopping one team. They cannot be focused on only one aspect of the game. With the increase in the number of balls in play, game activity is furious and more touches by players are possible. These tactical changes from the typical Floor Hockey structure greatly increase players’ mental engagement. If the group of children participating is less than 20 individuals necessary to constitute four teams of five players the same game can be played with two teams of 6-7 players. Two goals (diametrically opposed) can be assigned to each team and just one ball can be used. The MVPA and mental engagement are increased because larger floor coverage and strategy dilemmas remain. In this instance a teacher will have little trouble including children with cognitive disorders or who are in wheelchairs by altering the rules (see next paragraph). For example, children with visual impairments would benefit by having a sounding device attached to the trash can into which student is supposed to shoot the ball.


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Adding rules to Trash Can Hockey provides a third adaptation to Floor Hockey that can elicit greater MVPA, skill development, and mental engagement than the traditional version. Similar to the first alteration presented above, teams of three to four players each would play but rules for scoring goals would be changed. For instance, a rule stipulating that each member of the team must have touched the ball at least once before a shot for a goal can be taken (or counted as an actual score) could be implemented. Altering the final objective transfers typical Floor Hockey into a skilled exercise called 21. As with the card and basketball-type games Blackjack and 21, this game requires each team to score the exactly 21 points before the other team. In this version, however, a ball shot into the trash can is worth two points and a shot that hits the side of the trash can is worth one point. The rules could be extended and made to more closely resemble basketball if there is a line from which a shot is taken. A ball neatly and cleanly shot into the trash can after the requisite number of passes would be worth three points. The added challenge in 21 is that this exact score must be achieved; exceeding this score is penalized with a loss of points. Thus, if a team with 20 points takes a shot and mistakenly puts the ball in the goal instead of just hitting the side of the goal, the team “busts” and their score falls back to 11 points. Offensively, this now provides an added consideration regarding which shots to take and from where to take them. This format also provides new defensive considerations. If a one-point shot would end the game, the defense would need to decide how to defend the sides of the trash can and not be concerned with players directly in front. They might even try to force a shot into the can on a deflection so that the opposing team would “bust.” Accommodating the inclusion of children with cognitive or learning disabilities might require labeling the balls with numbers and having the value of a ball in the can be worth a set number of points. Seeing the numbers will help students perform mathematic calculations as they keep score.

Monitoring Skill Development Content alone will not be enough to elicit the desired outcomes of skilled exercise. That is, the pedagogy underlying the game’s strategies reflect carefully constructed objectives and be rich in content. The effective teaching literature (Rink, 2010; Rosenshine & Stevens, 1986) indicates that teacher-student interaction is essential to student learning. While there are numerous approaches to teaching (Metzler, 2005; Mosston & Ashworth, 2002) it appears that the best way to help children obtain the requisite physical activity and interaction is best done so through a Direct Instruction Model (DIM). The DIM (Metzler, 2005) is a theoretically rigorous approach that is perhaps the best way to ensure requisite teacher-student interaction occurs. The DIM requires that (a) the teacher explain and demonstrate the skill and/or task, (b) the students practice the skill or task, and (c) the teacher provide group and individual feedback while extending (making it easier or harder, depending on student skill level) the task. Given the need for clear instruction, accurate demonstration, congruent feedback, and content development in applying the DIM, the need for a qualified physical education teacher to oversee and carry out these tasks cannot be overstated. Only a qualified physical education teacher will be able to properly execute the most important instructional task in the DIM; this is the assessment of the individual student’s skill and game play performance, coupled with the application of congruent feedback about the performance. The qualified physical

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education teacher would best know when and how to extend a given task to ensure its appropriate use for individual students. Using the DIM for learning is hardly a novel idea in the PE literature as the use of models/styles of instruction rooted in general education were first introduced to physical education in 1966 by Muska Mosston (McCullick & Byra, 2002). Throughout the 1980s, a solid body of work devoted to studying the efficacy of different styles emerged. It appears that the Direct Instruction approach to teaching motor skills (sport/games) was most efficacious for development (especially for rote and novel skills). While not the sole manner in which to teach games that elicit the appropriate MVPA, mental engagement, and skill performance, the DIM does provide a framework for teachers to provide exemplary instruction. We posit that along with the properly designed and altered activities, a physical education and/or physical activity program would be best delivered in this manner. In summary, we have offered two prototype games designed and altered to elicit both high levels of physical activity and mental engagement in children. The design of these two games is based on a large body of historical and pedagogical literature in physical education and an emerging exercise psychology literature that focuses on contextual interference and learning. Also provided are game modifications that ensure that the activities are inclusive for all children, regardless of physical and mental ability level.

Conclusion It is only through movement that humans are able to meet and overcome the challenges they encounter everyday across their lifespan. Many movement patterns are genetically linked and are executed without conscious awareness, while other movements are acquired through experience and brought into play when specific environmental conditions are presented. Developmental scientists are interested in understanding how children come to control the execution of movement skills. Results obtained from research conducted in a number of relatively independent areas of study provide converging support for the importance of the structure of the instructional environment. When task demands change unexpectedly, mental engagement is heighten and long-lasting learning is produced. Games and sports provide teachers a vehicle to arrange learning conditions that have the potential to alter the trajectory of children’s mental development. Through attentive arrangement of instructional conditions and judicious use of methods of feedback, teachers can influence and guide the emergence of children’s foundational executive processes. These mental processes have a direct effect on children’s and adolescents’ abilities to overcome daily physical and mental challenges.

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Chapter 5

LEARNING TO GAME AND GAMING TO LEARN: A PROCESS-ORIENTED PEDAGOGY FOR COLLABORATIVE GAME-BASED LEARNING Philip Bonanno University of Malta, Malta.

1. Introduction The pervasive use of games by students and their integration in formal education by a number of pioneer teachers creates a need for a different frame-of-mind to look at the learning processes offered by such innovative technology-enhanced learning experiences. Moving away from models that emphasis learning as a process of content transmission, a different interactions-oriented pedagogy should reconceptualise learning and knowledge building in these contexts. Referring to examples of games with an educational potential, a pedagogy for collaborative game-based learning (CGBL) and knowledge building is proposed based on a dual strategy: Learning FROM designed (off-the-shelf) games and learning BY designing games. This strategy integrates interactions arising from processes related to acquiring, sharing and creating knowledge (Salomon & Perkins 1998; Collis & Moonen 2001) while participating in game-related affinity spaces (Gee 2007, 87) and domain-related ‘communities of practice’ (Wenger 1999) as determined by the game’s theme. Researchers (Clegg 1991; Gredler 1996; Squires 2002; Leemkuil 2006; EgenfeldtNielsen 2006) have been pointing to the key influence of the context when using games for learning particularly at the significance of the instructional context which is considered as a more important predictor of learning than the game itself. Specifically, how the game is contextualized, the kind of cooperative and collaborative learning activities embedded in gameplay, and the quality and nature of debriefing are all critical elements of the gaming experience. Despite these suggestions, the pedagogical potential of games and the social contexts of gaming have not received the due importance in research circles. The educational value of the game-playing experiences comes not from just the game itself, but from the creative coupling of educational media with effective pedagogy to engage students in

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meaningful practices (Squires 2002). Games can offer powerful educational experiences utilising internal and external tools. ‘Task facilitation tools’ provide feedback, enable the monitoring of available facilities and offer guidance through hints and prompts. ‘Task consolidation tools’ include additional assignments, help or advice systems. The other way is to use the group in a gaming context as a pedagogical tool to enhance cooperation and collaboration through debriefing and group discussions (Leemkuil 2006). Developments in other fields of research, mainly the video game industry, pedagogy and cognitive neuroscience emphasise the importance of interpreting human behaviour, such as gaming, from a social perspective. Digital games are evolving beyond the solitary context into a ubiquitous, social and collaborative enterprise (Steinkuehler 2006; Taylor 2006; Prensky 2006; Waters 2007b). Considering the underlying social motives, solitary gaming can hardly be considered as an individual experience but more as a form of extended collaboration within gaming peer groups. At a more sophisticated level ambient games integrate real with virtual environments, creating networks of players socially interacting in space and time. Deriving inspiration from Connectionist (Bereiter, 2002) and Constructionist (Kafai & Resnick, 1996) epistemologies, a process-oriented methodology is here proposed to analyse and manage collaborative game-based learning. This pedagogy is summarised diagrammatically in the interactions-model outlined in the diagram below.

Learning to Game and Gaming to Learn

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The three major sectors of the figure represent the interactions in the domain (content), with the game and with the contiguous and virtual communities. Each of these sectors is subdivided into two smaller sectors. The sector printed in black, normal font represents the experiential component of that dimension. The other sub-sector printed in red, italicised font represents the reflective component, capturing mainly the process of interactions between the external environment and the intra-individual gaming experience. Each small section includes experiential or reflective interactions related to the specific dimension and pedagogical level intersecting at that part of the diagram. Interactions are also organised across three pedagogical levels (represented in figure as three concentric rings) corresponding to the evolution of gaming and domain expertise. While learning for entry novice gamers (inner ring) tends to be more acquisition-oriented, this shifts to a more participatory for more experienced gamers (middle ring). This contrasts with the contributory-oriented learning mode characterising expert gamers (outer ring). Such a process-oriented pedagogical model attempts to capture the complexity existing in collaborative gaming and thus serves as a taxonomic tool for designing technology-enhanced learning and training.

2. Processes Underlying This Approach Collaborative gaming gives rise to various levels of interactional organisation. The underlying processes of skill imitation, negotiation and argumentation generate task-oriented interactions related to competence development along the domain and technology dimensions. On the other hand, the psycho-social processes of impression formation, mentalising, social monitoring and interpersonal communication generate categories of person-oriented interactions. In this way the group also promotes reflection about the interaction between the intra-individual and the external gaming experience so that each member is challenged to accommodate or change his/her attitudes, beliefs, behaviours, understandings and skill level – the elements that constitute one’s idiosyncratic gaming experience. Adopting collaborative gaming as a central pedagogy is a challenging and elaborate task, as it involves a complex system of interacting variables. Instead of trying to identify the parameters for effective collaboration, the methodology used should focus more on trying to understand the role which such variables play in mediating interactions. More specifically one has to explore how the domain of the game (determined by its theme), the surface and deep structure of the game and the contiguous and virtual communities related to the game and individual characteristics (mainly gaming competence) trigger interactions that characterise the gaming experience. Competence in gaming or in the domain of the game (such as history, science, geography, languages, management) can be described along a continuum from beginner to expert level. Interactions of novice gamers are characterised by acquisition learning (learning From others), mostly through imitation of psychomotor, cognitive and social skills during apprenticeship. This addresses the need for competence along the three proposed dimensions. Along the domain dimension learners acquire domain-related declarative, procedural and conditional knowledge in relation to a wide range of topics (or domain model of a game). Typical interactions at this level include learner initiated actions such as imitations of skills

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used to acquire and organize domain knowledge, asking help to understand initial conceptualisations or procedures, and asking for clarifications while consolidating concepts and skills through practice. Viewing a domain from a gaming perspective would definitely trigger a comparative analysis between domain models promoted by didactical approaches and those proposed by a game. At the experiential level this leads to the development of a complementary domain assessment procedure based on new ways of representing and organizing domain knowledge and skills. For examples in history games there is a shift from assessment procedures based on facts to one based more on historical processes. This same shift occurs also when using science-related or managerial themes (Eg. Tycoon games). Through this evolving experience and corresponding metacognitive activity game user develops new ways of interacting with domain employing a personal strategy based on the merge between previous and current game based domain models. The corresponding metacognitive activity involves monitoring and organisational interactions while systemizing knowledge around domain core themes in the process of identifying or formulating a domain model and related skills regime. It also involves developing an awareness of natural propensities in information processing mainly, analytic versus wholistic information processing and visual versus verbal regarding information representation. Natural propensities in information processing are also determined by one’s belief system about subject matter and digital tools embedding or mediating the learning experience. Acquisition along the technology dimension includes developing a working competence based on knowledge and skills related to the use of different tools, in this case understanding surface structure of a game. Typical interactions will include identifying options provided by the game, testing game features and imitating use of such features as part of practicing basic gameplay gestalts. Metacognition involves rationalising personal belief system about games, controlling attitude to gaming and developing affective strategies to manage anxiety. Competence along the community dimension means acquiring interpersonal skills, especially through imitations of group behaviours. This will eventually lead to the identification and adoption of particular roles increasing one’s sense of affiliation. In this regard metacognition implies rationalising and controlling individual propensities related to perception, beliefs and reactions (approach versus withdrawal behaviours) to social interactions in groups counteracting natural inhibiting propensities. Experienced gamers show interactions characterised mainly by participatory learning (learning With others). This level addresses the need for relatedness, affiliation and intimacy with the contiguous gaming group and any domain-related ‘Communities of Practice’ or game-related affinity spaces (Gee 2007). Participation in learning and knowledge building involves mainly negotiation and argumentation. These processes widen the ‘zone of proximal development’ (Vygotsky, 1978) along the domain and technology dimensions that leads to the joint construction of distributed knowledge and skills through task and person-oriented interactions. Thus the group serves as a forum for negotiation and argumentation along all dimensions. Participants assess and refine their knowledge and skills through further imitation, guided practice and negotiation. The group provides apprenticeship in developing advanced gaming gestalts and understanding the deep structure of the game. Along the community dimension negotiation and argumentation manifests themselves in sharing


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impressions about gaming with other participants, sharing domain and gaming biography, negotiating roles, suggesting goals and promoting interpersonal communication. For more experienced gamers metacognition involves monitoring interactions in the process of developing distributed knowledge and skills along the three dimensions. The domain model is further elaborated through discussion and negotiation, while the deep structure of games is further understood through the categorisation of game features and the schematisation of the game model. Along the community dimension, through mentalising (mind reading), group monitoring skills are identified and practiced. Individuating impressions are challenged while the goals and beliefs of other colleagues are evaluated by comparing incoming impressions with past experience and social scripts. Table 1. Categories of interactions in technology-intensive collaborative learning environments. Domain

Technology (game)

Community

Experiential interactions Imitations Asking for help Practicing info acquisition skills Assessment – identifying new ways of representing and organizing domain knowledge and skills Refinement – identifying new ways of interacting with domain Innovation – elaborating personal strategy for interacting with domain

Identifying tool options Testing tool features Imitating use of tool

Imitating group behaviours Identifying roles Sharing gaming biography

Suggesting tool features

Suggesting goals

Mentoring novice users

Negotiating roles

Modelling use of tool

Swapping roles

Controlling affective aspects Categorising game features Schematising game model Evaluating game Modifying game

Controlling for social style Comparing/contrasting goals Analysing others’ expressions Proposing alternative roles Anticipating behaviour

Metacognitive Activity Describing domain model Discussing domain model Elaborating domain model Evaluating domain model Modifying domain model

The highest competence level that can be achieved is the expert level. This is characterised by contributory and mediational forms of learning and knowledge building (Mediating others’ learning, Salomon & Perkins, 1998) that addresses the need for selfactualisation. Domain or gaming experts communicate their highly refined knowledge and skills through discourse based on digital conceptual artefacts. They mediate the learning of less competent learners through mentoring, modelling and evaluation of domain or game

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models and skills. These activities are an expression of their stature in the field and the corresponding leadership role that satisfies their need for self-actualisation and power. Thus highly competent participants show higher levels of interactions involving evaluation and modification of domain and game models, together with those interactions arising from negotiation characterising mentoring and modelling. Along the community dimension contribution by expert gamers implies monitoring and managing group interactions by challenging impressions and beliefs, problematising established behavioural patterns, evaluating group goals and suggesting alternative roles. Metacognition involves developing insight into domain and game models with the necessary skills for using these models as conceptual artefacts. Insight into community functioning is shown by interactions related to nurturing group affinity, anticipating others’ behaviour and proposing alternative relationship models for the group. The table below summarises the major categories of interactions underlying this theoretical framework. These served as a guide to develop a methodology for investigating the role of domain, game and group characteristics in mediating interactions in collaborative gaming. This model was developed on empirical data obtained through a number of investigations carried out with a sample of college students. The complexity of interacting variables in collaborative gaming demanded multiple methods for capturing the different dimensions and levels of interactions generated by task and person-oriented processes. Data about individual gaming patterns (time, gaming device, preferred game genre and titles, motivation for gaming) was gathered through a survey. Theme focussed investigations explored how the dependent variable - the collaborative gaming condition, more specifically the type, frequency and directionality of interactions that occur in group-based gaming, affected three categories of independent variables identified during preliminary investigations and observations. Individual factors include personality dimensions, gender-related neurocognitive propensities, attitude to gaming and gaming competence. Group-based characteristics comprise group roles, friendship level, composition by gaming competence and composition by gender. Game features comprise 'personal appeal' arising from game genre, perceived usefulness, perceived competence facilitation and perceived need satisfaction. Game design features refer to the degree of autonomy (user control) and interactiveness (sharability). Experimental groups were set up using different combinations of these variables. Different combinations of groups and a number of games were used so that the influence of the group and that of the game could be identified separately. Thus different groups playing the same game will reveal the influence of group characteristics on the same gaming context. On the other hand having the same group playing different games gives data about the influence of game characteristics on group interactions. All experimental sessions were recorded on video and subsequently analysed using appropriate observation and computational protocols to identify different categories and frequencies of interactions. A list of observable Task and Person-oriented interactions was developed. The final list of Task-Oriented Interactions (TOIs) included focussed reception, interacting with game, imitating game actions, reference to personal gaming biography, asking (help), giving help, responding, sharing, providing feedback, confirming, suggesting. Person-oriented interactions (POIs) were categorised into those that promote a positive climate (pPOIs) including pleased looks, jubilant expressions, approving gestures and recommending game. Negative POIs (nPOIs) promote a negative climate including neutral looks, expressions of


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disagreement or rejection, disapproving gestures, disengagement, hostile reactions and censuring game. Using both task and person-oriented interactions provides a more holistic description of the gaming/learning experience as it integrates interactions at the cognitive, affective and conative levels. The data was corroborated through informal semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed to identify trends regarding which personal, group and game characteristics affect interactions in collaborative gaming. The picture that emerged from the results was very challenging from a pedagogical perspective having clear indicators that could be utilized to formulate a pedagogical framework for collaborative game-based learning. Since both individual and collective gaming competence were the most influential independent variables, the model proposes interventions both at the experiential and metacognitive levels to promote and manage gamers’ competence for each pedagogical level.

A very important outcome of this investigation concerns the need to address gamers’ competence when setting up groups for CGBL. For Ryan, Rigby and Przybylski (2006) competence is a fundamental need to be addressed in gaming contexts. It manifests itself as the need for challenge and feelings of effectance (White 1959; Deci 1975) that are enhanced by opportunities to acquire new skills or abilities, to be optimally challenged, or to receive positive feedback. Perceived competence is among the most important satisfactions provided by games, as they represent arenas in which a person can feel accomplishment and control (Ryan et al. 2006, 350). This explains the strong correlation obtained in this investigation between gaming competence and attitude to gaming, interactivity and socio-emotional comportment of gamers. The strong influence of competence gaps on interactions in

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collaborative gaming should be considered as a critical factor when organising groups for gaming. The best way to deal with competence heterogeneity is to determined gamers’ competence using a surveying tool that quantifies both the time dedicated to gaming and the repertoire of games used. Through such data participants are organised in groups, preferably made of three members matched by their gaming competence. Collaborative gaming was found to alter group dynamics and promotes a unique set of conditions that contrast with those identified by research about collaborative learning in classroom contexts (de Freitas 2008, 70). While the common belief and practice is to use group heterogeneity as a stimulant for interactions, this condition seems to have a debilitating effect on collaborative gaming when varying group composition by gender, gaming competence and level of friendship. Any of these possibilities or combinations leads to a set of restraining conditions both at the task and socio-emotional level that impede communication, gaming and possibly learning. It is thus important to manage collaborative gaming contexts by interventions aimed both at the task and the socio-emotional levels that actually complement each other. Results describing group dynamics show that this approach demands more elaborated organisational strategies for managing collaborative gaming. The group condition has to be carefully planned, monitored and evaluated using a wider variety of criteria and organisational strategies. Organising groups by level of competence, friendship combinations or gaming strategy demand different management tactics and assessment criteria for each condition. Groups should be categorised into non-gamers, moderate and enthusiastic gamers avoiding the mixed competence condition. Each group will occupy a different level in the community dimension of the proposed pedagogical model. Non-gamers will correspond to the basic, novice acquisition level, moderate gamers correspond to the middle participation level and enthusiastic gamers fit into the highest contribution level. The results also point to the need to differentiate groups according to gender and friendship. The ideal combination would thus be a group of three either males or female participants who have some friendship history. Other combinations would be more challenging and need more monitoring and interventions to build a smooth, efficiently interacting group. Novice gamers will need apprenticeship and should be challenged to adopt different gaming roles such as leader, executor and participant, while avoiding extremes of comportment. Thus for novice gamers sessions in CGBL will be ‘Group-based’, using the group condition as a pedagogical tool to develop competencies through peer support. More competent gamers, who play a range of game titles and who feel confident about using the proposed games will be organised into a group, the ‘Group-enhanced’ condition. They play the game outside class (during breaks or at home) but get organised into CGBL sessions in class to promote the instructional and metacognitive aspect of the gaming experience. The emphasis here is more on developing competence for collaboration in contiguous and virtual communities and on promoting domain learning through the game and supplementary instructional interventions. Expert gamers, who have a totally different set of needs, will operate more within the confines of the world of ideas and conceptual artefacts, emphasising creative aspects of gaming and how to merge it with domain learning and knowledge building. Therefore these students will do most of the gaming outside the group, but will participate in CGBL to share their expertise in advanced gaming strategies, designing game proposals, evaluation of artefacts or collaborative mentoring in contiguous or virtual communities and affinity spaces.


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The gaming experience is thus more ‘Group-shared’ because the group serves as a place for sharing their experience in mediating different forms of thinking about gaming, domain knowledge and skills. They also share how to merge and enrich different aspects of their expertise in gaming, domain specialisation, programming and on-line resources. The group provides them with the opportunity to mediate this multi-dimensional expertise to other less experienced gamers. The interventions around these groups with different needs are organised within three pedagogical levels of the proposed model that will be used to organise the discussion. The concentric circles enclose three areas representing the three pedagogical levels. The inner ring outlines the interventions along the different dimensions targeting the group-based condition, including mainly interactions with the physical and social environment characterised by acquisition learning. The middle ring proposes interventions within the ‘Group-enhanced’ situation, including interactions both with physical environment and the conceptual level emphasising participatory learning. This condition addresses the need for relatedness and affiliation with the contiguous group and with on-line domain and gaming communities. The outer ring includes proposed interventions with the ‘Group-shared’ condition representing the highest level of gaming and domain competence. These interventions promote mainly interactions with ideas and conceptual artefacts characterised by contributory and mediation forms of learning and knowledge building that addresses the need for self-actualisation (Reeve 1997). The next three sections discuss interventions for each of the proposed pedagogical levels. Since a gaming pedagogy may lead to mixed reactions within an educational context ranging from utter resistance and scepticism to conditional compliance, a preliminary section discusses the challenges that need to be addressed in organising the physical and social environment to promote the other levels of the ‘gaming experience.’

3a. Creating a Stimulating Gaming Environment The first pedagogical level of the proposed model focuses on promoting the physical gaming experience and those intra-individual aspects that influence this level of gaming. Teachers may face a challenging situation in developing such environment and initiating students into it. Amongst educational administrators and parents there is a general negative perception about games. At the extreme, games are considered as the antithesis to learning, serving solely as devices for alienating young people, disrupting their academic performance and nurturing aggressive behaviours. For others games have very little educational value and thus little relevance to classroom learning. Thus the first challenging step in a pedagogy that promotes learning through gaming has to address these perceptions and feelings about the negative consequences of gaming. Teachers need to be informed by what researchers and expert practitioners say about these issues in order to provide an objective view and model the process of adoption of this engaging way of learning. Leading researchers and commentators (Papert 1998; Gee 2003; 2007; Prensky 2001, 2006; Selfe & Hawisher 2007; Shaffer 2006; Leemkuil 2006) emphasise the need to promote a ‘gaming culture’ in schools amongst teachers, parents, administrators and policy makers that addresses this resistance and apprehension through positive experiences showing how good games can be used in learning. Research shows that, like all other computer

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applications, games can be beneficial or detrimental, depending on how they are used. While some games offer formidable learning experiences others have a more recreational orientation. One must be selective and clear about the objectives when using games. To develop this positive culture towards games, teachers need to consider a number of measures prior to organising initiatives in CGBL. Teachers and parents must develop their own gaming literacy and proficiency, arriving at comfortable working competence with the use of different game genres. Selfe and Hawisher (2007, 115) argue that ‘Without some kind of experience with games, we cannot always know how they work or what they offer’. Therefore it is important for the teacher to identify good games that satisfy one’s gaming preferences, interests, area of expertise and provide the opportunity to do things and experience situations that are relevant in life. Personal competence and confidence is developed through playing these games and sharing them with students preferably in an informal climate. The most challenging stage in this process comes when one tries to extend the gaming experience within an institutional set up. The negative impressions and concerns of administrators, colleague teachers and parents have to be addressed. Their fears about addiction, violence and negative impact of gaming on personal health and academic performance have to be externalised and discussed as a precondition to building positive attitudes that lead to acceptance. The teacher’s role is crucial in imparting objective information arising from research results and recommendations by experts. Extreme positions about any of the negative effects of games should be challenges pointing to the inconclusive results and open debate that current research sustains. It is also important to raise this discussion to address the ‘intergenerational disjuncture’ (Selfe & Hawisher 2007, 26). The learning and recreational culture of young people is totally different from that of older generations. The learning needs and styles of young people are satisfied through different means. Learning through CGBL resonates more with the way younger people experience life. While these psychosocial issues are being addressed, it would be necessary to organise resources for providing a stimulating physical gaming environment to familiarise users with different games and gaming consoles. The first step to build positive attitudes is to expose users and make them experience different games and gaming consoles. The basic level of the proposed model addresses the need for competence by creating a stimulating environment rich in information about the various aspects of the gaming experience so that novice gamers, participating in ‘class-based’ gaming sessions, get firsthand experience and acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to continue nurturing this gaming experience. While equipping the classroom as much as possible with gaming hardware and software, teachers need to acknowledge and promote students’ experience in this matter. Through surveys and discussions, the teacher should get to know students’ gaming patterns, obtaining information about the type of games and consoles used. More insight into the gaming experience of students can be obtained through participation in gaming events organised to make students share their preferred games and gaming consoles. An ideal situation would be to develop a section (preferably in a media room) with different gaming consoles and have competent student assist other students familiarising themselves with them. It is also very effective to organise research groups around major gaming consoles and dedicated games. LAN parties offer another effective possibility for building awareness and enthusiasm about this field.


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The second step in the strategy is to address a number of restraining factors, mainly underlying gender-related neurocognitive propensities, attitude to gaming, perceived incompetence, apprehension and perceived lack of control. A two-pronged strategy should be adopted to address gender-related neurocognitive and affective propensities. While orchestrating interventions to accommodate these unconscious natural tendencies, stylistic shortcomings should be challenged by proposing complementary measures. In other words, one should acknowledge that males are more attracted to games demanding visuo-spatial and navigational abilities, they tend to take more risks, they are more inclined to adopt command strategies (Rommes 2002) and coalition-based gaming (Pannksepp 1998). At the same time they should be made aware of their avoidance or lack of affinity for games with a linguistic component, or those employing rehearsal strategies and more collegial approaches. Females should be made aware of the need to train their visuospatial skills and use more assertive strategies. The results from this investigation also suggest that attitude to gaming should be addressed considering both gender and gaming competence. Males tend to show a very positive attitude to gaming while females show a less positive or neutral attitude to gaming. Enthusiastic gamers also tend to show a very positive attitude to gaming, moderate gamers show positive attitude while most non-gamers show neutral or negative attitude to gaming. Attitude can be effectively addressed by considering the affective component, perceived control, perceived usefulness and gaming-related behaviours. Identifying the source of negative feelings manifested as fear, hesitation and uneasiness experienced before and during gaming, is the first step to address the affective component. Apprehension arising from perceived incompetence is challenged by providing assurance that difficulties can be mastered and by giving the necessary assistance and encouragement. But this should be complemented with the promotion of positive feelings about games and gaming. Discussion pointing to valid reasons why and how games can be used for learning helps in this rationalisation process which is also enhanced by promoting game-based learning as a stimulating academic activity capable of challenging both process (fluid) and content (crystallised) intelligence (Carroll 1993; Hunt 1999). Examples of good practice should be used to counter act any opinion about gaming as a time wasting activity. Also, since attitudinal change is facilitated through reflection about human models, it is very important to promote gamers, game designers and researchers as smart, creative and intelligent people. One of the toughest challenges faced by teachers in promoting games for learning lies in convincing students and adults about the usefulness of games and their potential in mediating different forms of learning. Perceived usefulness has to be addressed by promoting GameBased Learning (GBL) as an approach that primes learning through the development of positive feelings and moods (Reeve 1997) leading to a state of ‘relaxed alertness’ (Caine 1997) that exploits both conscious and unconscious cognitive and affective processes. In this respect GBL complements instructional approaches that are biased towards cognitive aspects of learning. Females need more reinforcement to overcome their scepticism about learning through games. Discussing direct and indirect learning outcomes such as relaxed-alertness, different insight into domains, development of autonomous learning skills, nurturing of a more positive attitude to learning and to the use of digital tools, may lead to the necessary understanding and eventually to change in attitude.

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During the course of this investigation when negative perceptions were confronted with examples of good practice both sexes came to consider gaming as a more interesting and imaginative way for learning that it is also very efficient and effective. This points to the importance of challenging perceptions and attitudes as an entry step in a gaming pedagogy. It should also encourage teachers to promote both aspects of a gaming pedagogy: learning through designed (off-the-shelf) games and learning by designing games (Kafai & Resnick 1996; Prensky 2006). The fact that both sexes regard games as efficient and effective learning experiences should encourage teachers to include game-based learning in their curriculum and instruction. Besides changes in domain knowledge, the effectiveness and efficiency of this approach should then be assessed through change in attitude and learner engagement that is, assessing if games lead students to undertake more learning tasks to which they dedicate longer time. Another attitudinal component that has to be addressed at the entry level of a gaming pedagogy is perceived control that includes ability to self-teach gaming skills, acquiring a sense of control over gaming hardware and software, and the extent of reliance on others’ help to execute particular tasks. Males feel much more confident in self-teaching anything related to gaming but females lack such confidence. Thus males can be allowed more space to manoeuvre unaided through assigned games. Females overtly expressed their need for guidance and support from a more competent person while playing games. This necessitates interventions from the teacher or other competent colleague to build confidence through developing competence in females. Employing appropriate scaffolding, they are trained how to use hardware for executing different actions and combinations of actions, giving the necessary reassurance through frequent immediate feedback. It also involves grading the gaming experiences starting from less demanding games or game levels and proceeding to more difficult and elaborate tasks. At the same time one has to avoid over-dependence on this support. In collaborative gaming females should be constantly challenged against their tendency to adopt passive, spectator roles. Males should be involved in providing support, giving instructions and modelling gaming actions without patronising game play. Lack of confidence in solving game-related problems demands supporting females in identifying source of difficulty. These can arise from lack of skills in manipulating hardware, undeveloped gaming tactics from limited exposure to games, or inability to link domain knowledge with game model. Individualised support to females can be provided through easily accessible, categorised troubleshooting guides that provide immediate feedback in problem situations. Gaming actions perceived as mistakes causing irreversible consequences should be identified, discussed and rationalised by providing possible ways how to avoid or resolve these problems. Males consider gaming, not as a subsidiary activity proposed by others, but more as part of their daily routine showing more determination to use games for learning and entertainment. Females need more direct induction into the use of games for learning demanding explicit guidance regarding game availability, instructional advantages and relevance to learning. Given their social orientation, gaming should be promoted with adolescent females as a collaborative activity that promotes socialisation and interaction. They should also be sensitised to their vigilant attitude in allocating time for gaming considering the activity as less compatible with the academic demands of college life.


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3b. Good Games for Learning After addressing the different attitudinal components and creating a positive disposition for using games, the next logical step is to promote awareness about game titles by exposing students to a range of games from different genres. Students should develop their own list of game titles from different genres, emphasising educational and instructional aspects. A good mix should be made between titles that appeal to males (involving navigation, use of hand tools, strategy-based, squad-oriented gaming) and those appealing to females (involving puzzles, language/narrative, action, enactments and human relations). Since in an educational context values matter as much as personal interests, promoting games about important global issues such as famines (Food Force) or regional conflicts (Global conflict: Palestine / Latin America) ensures relevance and understanding of complex problems considering different perspectives. This effort in promoting a positive culture for games should be extended to colleague teachers and parents making them aware of the evolving class experience, the resources being used and examples of good practice in using games for learning. Reference should also be made to on-line resources and affinity spaces that promote learning with games (Eg. Mamamedia.com) and to other sources that could be employed to learn by designing simple games (Eg. Scratch.com). The website Mamamedia.com includes sections dedicated to different aspects of gaming for children and for young people. But most important it promotes the gaming experience with parents and teachers in an attempt to address the gaming gap that exists between the younger and older generations. The website from MIT dedicated to Scratch provides examples of good practice both in the design of simple games and more important on thinking about other domains through games, giving ample examples of how different people developed innovative ideas. The exposure of students to a stimulating physical gaming environment, and their knowledge of the teacher’s commitment to promote this experience, creates the best frame-ofmind to proceed to the core of the basic Information level of the proposed model. This involves promoting games as tools for domain learning and integrating the gaming experience with different forms of learning in the particular domain in which the game is embedded. The processes occurring at this level are described well in Kiili’s (2005a & b) experiential model. To overcome challenges based on educational objectives, the player generates solutions in the ideation loop especially through group interactions. The player then tests solutions in the experience loop observing the outcomes of actions. While testing solutions a player’s skill level increases thus achieving more control over the game and the subject matter. To promote learning along the domain dimension, the game must be embedded in an instructional context that emphasises reflection about the different aspects of the domain and the model used by the game to organise the content. The game should be explored and played so that the user becomes familiar with the different concepts and domain knowledge organisation. This gaming experience should be analysed for the type of knowledge, skills and mode of interaction promoted by the game. For example managerial games develop skills for leading an organisation or civilisation, strategic thinking skills for planning lines of action according to the evolving situation, organisational skills for developing a working model that integrates the different components of a system. The game also determines the mode of interaction with the domain according to the roles adopted. In a particular gaming mode the gamer has to think and act in a preset environment to execute a mission. In other gaming modes the gamer is responsible for developing and organising the setting, thus assuming a

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deeper level of reflection and interaction with the environment considering a more complex system of cause and effect relationships. The latter gaming option is based on an evolving situation, so the mode of interaction is much more dynamic and engaging. In the on-line game Food Force (http://www.food-force.com/), knowledge and skills are integrated in missions. User gets to know more about the complex problem of famines by directly experiencing the expertise of different professionals involved in the distribution of food aid to a fictitious Sheylanese community while helping them to rebuild their life. This expertise is simulated in different missions that a gamer has to undertake. Mission 1 is ‘Air surveillance’ where gamer has to pilot a helicopter over the crisis zone in Sheylan to locate the hungry. In Mission 2 ‘Energy Packs’, one emulates the expertise of nutritionist creating a balanced diet to feed the local population within the given budget. Mission 3 ‘Air Drop’ and Mission 4 ‘Locate and Dispatch’ contextualise the knowledge and skills involved in bulk buying and transporting food. Mission 5 ‘Food Run’ and Mission 6 ‘Future Farming’ trains users in administrative and managerial skills involved in distributing and production of food. The game and dedicated website provide different modes of interaction with the domain in question. The game provides direct experience of the knowledge and skills related to the specialised missions. The dedicated website provides two other modes of interaction. It provides menu driven option so that user can interact with real life data and events related to contemporary famines. It also provides user the possibility to interact with the domain by reflecting on how one can contribute in different ways and to the various famine situations found around the globe. Another section provides suggestions to teachers how they can interact with the domain and how they can promote this experience in class. To maximise the pedagogical value of a game, the gaming experience should serve both as a ‘springboard’ to further domain elaborations and as a focal point linked to a network of domains, disciplines, ideas, conceptual artefacts and real life situations. The Maltese campaign in Age of Empires III can be used as an ideal point of departure for relevant explorations in archaeology, military engineering, politics and technology. Comparison can be made between real and represented events or artefacts, such as fortifications, military equipment, soldier battle gears, battle strategies and historical figures. The game can be compared to the Great siege of Malta reported so much in detail in renowned history books, documentaries and visual art. An enriching anchoring experience can be created through virtual tours or development of itineraries for an onsite real life tour by linking game to online historical sites or to real time simulations like Google Earth. The game Food Force is an elegant example of a conscriptional device that integrates gaming, instruction and reflection in a harmonious way. To design and develop CGBL experiences around such games an initial analysis should identify instructional elements in the game model and peripheral tools, together with others that promote individual and collective reflection. A game learning profile should be developed for the game to be used in CGBL detailing underlying concepts and the model that organises them, the skills promoted by the game and themes that could be used for reflection. At a more advanced level the profile should include an epistemic frame that integrates all the skills, knowledge, identities, values and epistemology encouraged by the game, how these are organised and developed while gaming. From an organisational perspective this ‘game learning profile’ serves as an instrument for front end analysis of students by comparing what the game offers with students’ level of understanding, so that experience and competence gaps can be identified. Through the tools


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integrated in the game (time-lines, glossaries, encyclopaedias or additional documentation), on-line resources and books, students update their understanding of the game and the organizing domain. But the profile serves also as a gaming analysis tool against which taskoriented interactions observed during gaming can be compared to identify the interactional gap i.e. what the game provides and what the gamers are experiencing and manifesting. This analysis will serve to develop the best pedagogical strategy relevant for the type of interaction exhibited. With less competent gamers, who are still in the phase of developing basic awareness and competences, emphasis will be more on gaming to identify surface structure and basic gaming gestalts. With more competent groups a more appropriate strategy would be to have a gaming session followed by an instructional activity. This may include debriefing and consultation about the approach to be used, whether gaming should precede instructional interventions and reflection or if gaming should alternate with instruction and reflection. One important outcome of the collaborative gaming experience is to bring about attitudinal change regarding the domain. For this purpose instructional intervention at this level attempts to make members aware of the importance of monitoring and controlling their affective and cognitive tendencies in relation to the domain (game theme). Gamers should appreciate how cognitive style influences gameplay determining one’s preferred mode for acquiring and processing information. Gamers should be made aware to control and balance natural tendencies in processing information. Thus in the Real Time Strategy games, where many factors should be monitored and controlled simultaneously, focussing continuously on one factor, such as gathering resources (and maybe just one type of resource) without continuing to explore surrounding terrain, proves to be detrimental at the end. The skill of parallel thinking and multi-tasking must be developed. Through imitation the group should facilitate the acquisition of these skills by providing novice gamers the context for identifying, imitating and practicing basic gameplay gestalts. Gamers should also appreciate how these strategies directly influence the use of tools in acquiring domain-related knowledge. Focussing just on one tool such as glossary without referring to actual historical data or timelines will not develop a comprehensive understanding of historical context of the game. One should also control for beliefs and attitudes about history and how to learn it, adopting an open attitude that gaming may provide a totally different experience. Thus at this stage it is important for one to develop a good conception of the game and identifies useful domain-related tools to promote a positive feeling on gaming. One important aspect of cognitive style is risk taking. Since high performance demands risks, hesitant users should be encouraged to practice informed risk taking and experimentation driven by the principle that experts learn innovative thinking by reflecting on success and failures and the reasons for them. The ultimate pedagogical benefit of a game occurs when gamers become competent in adopting self-directed approaches to explore themes and situations through organised research. History games lead to further research about historical eras, personalities, events and themes. Spore may lead to further investigation into evolutionary mechanisms, the development and criticism of theories of evolution, to an in depth understanding of life forms and their adaptation to the environment. Food Force opens up research and discussion on world famines, food and wealth distribution amongst nations. Need for Speed stimulates users to discuss car physics, elaborating on aerodynamics, braking systems, engine adaptations to maximise power generation and computerisations of all control systems. SIMS promotes

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group discussions around personal value systems, conceptualisations of the ideal family, relationship between career and personal development, challenging cultural models and reflection about possible identities. Games are excellent tools to promote reflection about ‘Prospective Mature identity’. Thematic games like Food Force, SIMS, Full Spectrum Warrior, Global Conflict: Palestine and a range of managerial games that demand the adoption of different roles promote awareness, discussion and experimentation with different identities and contexts where expertise is practiced. In fact the greatest advantage of games lies in embodying experience (Gee 2007; Shaffer 2006) which gives a totally different perspective to the discussion about the type of identity a game encourages together with its evaluation in comparison to other identities found in the game or beyond. Through familiarisation with the stimulating gaming environment together with the support and modelling of more competent colleagues, inexperienced gamers should develop basic game management and game playing skills. These may range from practice in effecting basic game and hardware settings, identifying and using basic gaming tools displayed on the game interface and developing an understanding of the game narrative and underlying domain model. Once gamers develop working competence with the domain model, the group activity can be shifted from acquisition of domain knowledge to participation and contribution in knowledge building by moving to the ‘Classroom-enhanced’ condition. The next two levels in the proposed pedagogical model will elaborate how this basic level of competence serves to extend the gaming experience into a social experience involving affinity spaces and gaming communities. It also explains how to use the gaming experience for the highest form of learning – using the game to create other conceptual artefacts.

4. Managing the Social Experience The first level of the proposed model, discussed in the previous section, emphasises the development of personal competence through interaction within a group. The next level of this model focuses on developing competence at a social level in the process of becoming an efficient participant in the contiguous gaming group and in ‘Communities of Practice’ related both to the particular game being used and to the domain related to the game’s theme. At the task level learning shifts from acquisition to participation, that is learning WITH others through communication and sharing the collaborative gaming experience. Beyond the task level this social process addresses the need for relatedness, affiliation and intimacy (Reeve 1997) manifested as different degrees of interpersonal interaction. Different patterns of participation are evident in the diverse competence-based groups. Groups of less competent gamers in the ‘class-based’ condition tend to engage with the game at a rather superficial level due to their inexperience in interacting with the various levels and aspects of the game. Consequently they should be offered support to get engaged at a deeper level with the game, especially by challenging each participant to adopt and experience different gaming roles in the group. They should be encouraged to take leading roles suggesting what others have to do, or adopt executing roles to control the game according to others’ suggestions. They can also take up supporting roles by providing feedback and suggestions to others acting as leaders or executors. At this point participants should be made aware of how this exercise in experiencing different roles is influenced by their social


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propensities, controlling for personality factors that determine their approach or withdrawal behaviours (Davidson 1995). They should be made aware of extrovert tendencies that make participants communicate more and in a much directed person-to-person mode. On the other hand introverts tend to communicate much less and they do so in an anonymous way, speaking to all, rarely directing their contribution specifically to other participants. Both personality types should be encouraged to use the collaborative gaming situation to develop compensatory strategies to their shortcomings. Extroverts should be encouraged to be more task assertive developing game mastery by relying more on their own experience and on available task resources to answer questions and solve problems, controlling for their tendency to adopt a supporting role. Introverts have to be more personoriented and socially assertive making more effort on developing in-game relationship by communicating in a more personal way with leaders and executors avoiding being anonymous and adopting spectator roles. Teachers or gaming managers (a more competent gamer assigned to oversee the collaborative gaming process focussing on participants’ interaction) need to oversee participation considering group-based gender-related propensities. Male groups should control their task-oriented tendency by focussing more on Person-Oriented Interactions (POIs) avoiding being anonymous in their interpersonal interactions. They should also be more tolerant to others’ opinions and gaming strategies. Female groups should be guided to adopt a more assertive game-oriented approach with different members adopting alternating leading roles. They should be assisted to control their tendency to engage superficially with games and by focussing more on task-oriented interactions (TOIs) to train themselves in adopting a deep and more critical approach. They should also control in-group formations arising from exclusive patterns of interaction by avoiding frequent one-to-one interactions, opening up to more colleagues and habitually addressing the whole group. If the situation dictates the setting up of mixed gender groups, participants should be made aware of possible underlying contrasting cognitive processes, attitudes and tactical approaches to gaming. Once they rationalise gender-related differences in approaching the collaborative gaming context, a gaming strategy that capitalises and integrates both tendencies should be developed. These groups should make more effort to develop an affective socio-emotional climate by providing positive feedback and complimenting each other while controlling their tendency to sub-group with same sex members. Group history and level of friendship are important criteria for setting up and managing groups. Friendly groups should be advised to emphasise TOIs along with the more frequent POIs. It is not recommended to set up groups where newcomers are introduced to other participants who already show an established friendly relationship. This tends to lead to subgrouping that evolves into a negative and restraining climate with severe impact on task and group processes. With non-friendly groups a gaming manager should be delegated to challenge the emotionally inert and disengaging climate and use the game context as an ‘ice breaker’ for promoting interpersonal communication and ultimately a friendly atmosphere within the group. This process can be enhanced by referring to previous relevant gaming experiences and by making participants aware of their approach or withdrawal tendencies that need to be controlled. When communication is established and the group is interacting efficiently then the role of the game changes to a ‘learning object’. This harmonised group activity will stimulate effective interactions that will definitely develop participants’ gaming

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competence. When gaming competence improves to a level that they can be assigned gaming tasks on their own, then the ‘Group-enhanced’ approach should be adopted. The focus now shifts onto the social participatory aspect of gaming, managing the group experience to develop competence for collaborating in contiguous and virtual gaming communities and to promote domain learning through the group processes of negotiation and argumentation (Dillenbourg, Baker, Blaye & O'Malley. 1996). The main role of the teacher or gaming manager at this level is to instigate discussion and encourage personal contribution by having participants share their opinions and experiences about the particular game being used. This investigation into CGBL established a direct link between game type and the socioemotional climate developed during gaming. This implies that group involvement, cohesion and needs satisfaction can be assessed from the type of body language, facial expressions and the level of communication as manifested by the type, frequency and directionality of interactions. Hence the evolution of group structure in the different competence-based groups can be monitored and managed according to the manifested task and person-oriented interactions. Specific interventions should be identified for different groups challenging their strategy, suggesting different goals and possible roles. Since more competent groups tend to sub-group as a result of overt or tacit competence contention, they may require an external gaming manager to stimulate a cooperative attitude and to give support in establishing common goals, enhance communication among sub-groups and ensure frequent rotation of roles. Non-competent gaming groups will need guidance from a gaming manager to ensure group coherence. This is achieved by assigning roles and proposing lines of action while encouraging participants to be more adventurous and pro-active. Capitalising on the positive socio-emotional climate prevalent in such groups, s/he should provide support through detailed task descriptions. The gaming manager should motivate and support participants in adopting leading and guiding roles. These constant interventions are needed to create an efficiently interacting group with an organised structure that controls for the prevalent incoherent approach. If it is not possible to avoid the mixed competence condition, these groups need external help to manage gaps in competence by facilitating apprenticeship between more and less competent members, primarily by modelling this process. The same principle applies for managing evolving collective gaming strategies and friendship combinations. The dynamics of a leader-led group are different from those of collaborative groups with distributed leadership, or exploratory groups with no group structure. Teachers and gaming managers should try to establish a balance in leadership roles. While excess coercion exerted by a leader leads to passivity, lack of leadership or guidance lead to inefficient and superficial interaction. At the socio-emotional level, managing friendship combinations is very important to develop an efficient climate for interactions. Regarding the gaming task, this participatory level extends awareness and skills related to the ‘deep’ structure of the game involving user-to-user interactions mediated by the game. The group provides individual participants the optimal environment to reflect about and practice advanced gaming skills. Their solitary gaming experience away from the group develops queries and difficulties that they bring to the group looking for a solution. They discuss narrative, problem types and gaming skills and observe other advanced gaming gestalts (Lindley 2002). This group-based interaction is extended through built-in tools that provide communication and knowledge sharing facilities that are linked to affinity spaces.


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According to Gee (2007, 87) these are spaces in which people interact, rather than form membership in a community. These on-line portals extending interactions and knowledge sharing amongst gaming affinity groups through chat, fora, FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions about technical and tactical support) and through facilities for exchanging or selling game related artefacts (Gee 2007). Familiarisation with the deep structure (Gredler 1996) of the game and related affinity spaces should promote reflection in the group about the degree of ‘sharability’ offered by a game, perceived competence facilitation (Ryan et al. 2006) and the mutual interaction between real and virtual identities (Shaffer 2006; Gee 2007; Selfe & Hawisher 2007). The group should be trained to assess the type, frequency and directionality of interactions promoted by game and related on-line environments to appreciate the various levels of interplay between participants. These range from sharing simple to complex gameplay gestalts, sharing gameplay geographically as in multi-user games or temporal sharing of roles that are intentionally changed during a gaming session. Group reflection about the degree of interactiveness of a game should address individual perceptions about competence facilitation by a game. Gaming groups offer the best context to address student perceptions about games. Using their gaming experience and information obtained from various sources, gamers develop idiosyncratic perceptions and beliefs about the potential of a game for promoting competences along the three dimensions of the proposed pedagogical model. The group experience helps participants in collaborative gaming to evaluate the degree a game develops domain knowledge and skills, the extent it helps in developing interactional skills for sharing one’s gaming experience with the contiguous group and on-line communities and the extent it improves gaming skills. The investigation established that the history games Empire Earth, Age of Empires and Civilisation were perceived by gamers who were very familiar with them to promote domain-related competences. Need for Speed was perceived to promote gaming skills, while Age of Empires was considered very effective in developing community management competences. Such evaluation should lead to a higher level of pedagogical control. One can determine the competences intended to be developed by a gaming session and select the appropriate game accordingly. An important outcome of this schematisation of the deep structure of games in a collaborative context is intense reflection about one’s identity both in contiguous and on-line communities. The interactional possibilities offered by a game facilitate the adoption of different roles. These range from playing different game characters, adopting different roles in contiguous groups (leader, executor, supporter, spectator) or experimenting with different projective identities (Gee 2007; Steinkuehler 2006) in gamerelated virtual communities. Beyond learning through direct experience with the game, the group process stimulates learning along the domain through the discourse processes of negotiation and argumentation. Participants arrive at a deeper understanding of the underlying domain model and what characterises a domain expert. The game serves as a tool and provides the context to develop deeper understanding of the domain model, practice the skills characterising that domain and apply the domain model to other situations. Age of Empires III and other history games are developed on an evolutionary model starting with a simple colony that develops into an entire civilisation through skilful management of environmental resources and threats. Spore uses the same approach, though with a more scientific orientation to the natural sciences. Starting

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with simple units, primitive organisms are created and managed to establish a colony that can be develop further into a civilisation. Using the game experience and information from affinity spaces, domain model conceptualisations are elaborated by schematising important features into reconstructions of authentic contexts. The process of developing these reconstructions and simulating key processes serve to acquire further insight into the domain making the knowledge and experience more transferable to similar situations. In other words, playing Spore and obtaining information from dedicated websites helps the player to arrive at new perspectives about evolution and to understand better the principles of emergence and natural selection which are then transferred and applied to other situations involving different organisms or natural environments. History games give different insights into the domain when compared to traditional ‘tell-test’ approaches. These more robust conceptualisations are transferred and used in situations where other history-related dilemmas are met. At this stage the objective of instructional intervention should be to assist participants in schematising the main features of the underlying domain model and identify any shortcomings both in narration and contextual representation. For example, the Maltese campaign in Age of Empires II is an oversimplification of the real event. The same campaign in Age of Empires III, though more elaborate, still lacks many salient details and reconstructions. This should be exploited pedagogically serving as a point of instructional intervention involving both evaluative and developmental approaches. The gaming experience should also serve as an initiation into domain expertise, that is, facilitates understanding through role play what it means to be a political leader, an explorer, a biologist or any other major game character. Participants should appreciate what type of questions experts ask, what problems they face, how do they solve them and what methods they use to increase their competence and affiliation in these domains (Wagner 1999; Shaffer 2006; Gee 2007). It is a concrete opportunity to practice domain skills. The major outcome of playing a game is the empowerment experienced by a gamer to reflect ‘in’ and ‘on’ action. The effect from the game is the ability to describe in a more comprehensive way domain organisation, expertise and its representation in the game compared to that in real life. As an extrapolation of ‘reflection-on-action’, the domain model proposed by a game should be compared with other instructional experiences. The history model as proposed by Age of Empires III is fundamentally different from that proposed in classroom situations. It enables the revisiting of historical situations from different perspectives – Ages, Civilisation, Events and Personalities – which definitely increase one’s insight into domain. The teaching approach and the game model about history or biology are actually very complementary putting the user in a better position to understand history or biology through these two contrasting experiences. Through group discourse users should evaluate how much they perceive the game as capable of developing competences in relation to domain. Comparing it to classroom instruction they should assess if after playing the game a better understanding of the game theme is developed, if they are better equipped to acquire, share and mediate domain knowledge and skills. Positive perception about competence facilitation by a game can be achieved if gamer is able to appreciate different modes of interaction with domain knowledge provided by the game and feels more confident in using the various game options to interact with the domain in different ways. Thus at this level it is very important to follow the type of task and person-oriented interactions occurring in a group. The type of discourse and the roles that evolve in a group


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disclose the degree of influence the domain and gaming model had on the group in addressing perceived competence facilitation by a game and the promotion of post play interactions with the domain as an extension of the gaming experience. Improving one’s sense of competence, both at the task and social level, develops more positive attitudes about the collaborative gaming experience that prepares the way for further exploration into the domain and related expertise.

5. Facilitating Contribution and Knowledge Building The third level of the proposed pedagogical model focuses on how participants in the ‘Group-shared’ condition use the collaborative gaming context to develop and refine their mediational and contributory skills. This ‘wisdom’ level is concerned with the ability to use knowledge for motivating and helping less competent others understand and develop gaming and domain-related competences. As a consequence of their expertise, new knowledge is generated either as an extension of existing conceptual artefacts or in the creation of new ones. This level combines the technology-intensive expertise of participating students with innovative scenarios for educational practice. Designing games and developing domainrelated game-based learning are practical instances of Berieter’s (2002) claim for innovative approach in formal education. He recommends a complementary dimension in future education based on the creative use of digital technologies in knowledge building and inquiry-based learning. Learning is considered as understanding leading to further understanding which is achieved through the use of conceptual artefacts that lead to the generation of further artefacts. Through these mediational and generative activities expert gamers satisfy the higher order needs for relatedness, affiliation and self-actualisation in contiguous and virtual communities. Their task and person-oriented interactions are an expression of leading and guiding roles. Their insight into gaming and domain models puts them in a position to anticipate game-related behaviours, quickly evaluate them and propose relevant guiding or corrective measures. On an individual level they may challenge negative impressions and beliefs, model game play, provide tips as guidance, support and encourage members lacking in confidence and challenging them to take more active roles. On a collective level their role is to nurture group affinity by addressing both task-related processes and the socio-emotional climate of the group. Through their analysis of the group gaming goals and the prevalent interaction patterns, they will be able to guide group strategy, challenge inefficient approaches and suggest alternative group structure through change of roles. One of the most important metacognitive activities along the community dimension concerns how the contiguous group or virtual community promotes reflection about a participant’s evolving identity. Collaborative gaming stimulates reflection about a mature gaming identity that motivates a participant to identify a strategy for upgrading various competences to bridge the gap between current and a more evolved identity (Leont’ev 1978; Vygotsky 1978). Experienced gamers should mediate this process by continually challenging less competent participants to adopt more active group roles thus shifting from a spectator or participant status to a more leading and contributing one, both in the contiguous group and also in on-line communities and affinity spaces.

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The group process should be used to promote reflection and awareness in expert gamers about the relationship between their evolving identity and self-actualisation by comparing their role and relationship in different groups. Their role may fluctuate between that of a participant, leader or contributor depending on the level of competence of a particular group. For example, while in less competent groups they may adopt a leading or managing role satisfying their need for self-actualisation, yet with more experienced gamers their role may change from a managerial to a participatory one that satisfies more their need for relatedness and affiliation. Thus at this level of expertise collaborative gaming should serve as a pedagogical tool to facilitate experimentation with different identities as part of the process for achieving mature ones. One common problem in highly competent groups concerns conflict of identities leading to excessive competitive comportment manifested as diverging and contrasting reactions that may easily lead to polarisation of behaviours. There is a tendency for a group to split into members practicing solitary play while others detach or form non-communicating sub-groups. A subtle competitive spirit may exert strong influence on interactions in such groups with the consequence of restraining sharing of expertise. External support would be needed to develop a more collaborative comportment and an attitude of sensitivity to the contribution and opinion of others. Normally this involves active resistance and non-cooperative tendencies such as the inclination to start interacting in sub-groups or consciously detaching from group with the intention of denigrating the performance of other participants. Group members should be encouraged to contribute in developing a positive socio-emotional atmosphere by providing positive feedback and complimenting other’s suggestions and achievements. They should also be enticed to take the role of a group manager in turns to promote interaction and communication amongst all group members and as a way to integrate those who tend to disengage from the group. The group experience developed by a particular game provides competent participants the opportunity to elaborate the gaming experience through suggestions how to improve both the game and the domain models, by modifying existing or designing new ones. There is mutual influence between the game and domain models, such that modification in one would definitely lead to changes and elaboration in the other. But this is not an impossible feat for enthusiastic gamers equipped with insight into a range of game genres and considering that many may be very acquainted or specialised in one or more genres. Many game companies actually encourage and promote these user-generated games by providing various game design tools together with on-line promotion and support facilities. When enthusiastic gamers were placed in a constructionist context, asking them how a game they played inspired them to design a new one, a number of features were identified as useful to enhance the gaming experience. These features introduce new processes in the gaming experience or elaborate existing ones. To have a game interacting in space and time with the external environment, a version of the game should be developed for a portable gaming device, equipped with wireless networking facilities capable of accessing context sensitive interactive systems. To enhance interpersonal communication an instant messaging tool bar was proposed to be included. To promote learning by designing games a game editor for creating ‘Mods’ (modified versions of the game) was proposed to be integrated in the game. This creative process could be enhanced also through a ‘Simulation mode’ option that uses the game environment as a tool and context for integrating individual creations. The priming effect of the game used on


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this generative activity varied as a function of the underlying gaming and domain models. The games Empire Earth, Age of Empires and SIMS triggered more elaborations of existing models and tend to develop game conceptualisations that were perceived more attractive. They provided a more interesting gaming and learning experience by giving users more control over the game and the peripheral activity. The models underlying Civilisation and Need for Speed inspired less generative activity. Enthusiastic gamers bring this personal generative experience to the group and using the game as a conscriptional device or conversational focus, they enter into a process of cooperative development through which game conceptualizations are refined. In the group they plan, share and evaluate elaborations of the game narrative, underlying knowledge structure and gameplay. There is also the possibility of developing new game conceptualizations inspired by the collaborative gaming experience and subsequent collective reflection-on-action. This leads to an iterative process of solitary and collaborative design and development. The game serves as an inscriptional device in solitary design moments and as a conscriptional device when the personal constructions are analyzed and criticized by the group (McGinn & Roth 1999). Designing and developing games is a complex process demanding familiarisation and working competence with a number of tools. At the planning stage when developing the game content, flowchart tools are indispensable conscriptional devices. Tools for interactive story writing (woven stories), like LOOM (Nuutinen 2006), serve the same function for developing the narrative of a game. Various commercially available storyboarding tools can be used when developing and refining prototype game characters and environments. Once the different components of a game have been designed, different levels of game development can take place. Some games have a built-in game editor for executing modifications. If one intends to build a simple game from scratch, Flash-based tools (like Swish) can be used. The game design tool ‘Scratch’ (Fildes 2007) provides a straightforward, ‘click-and drag’ method to develop simple animations and games. Microsoft XNA Game Studio Express is a game design tool kit available to MS Xbox users. Linked to this, Microsoft offers on-line game hosting and marketing facilities. An important trend today is casual gaming (Waters 2008) involving games that people can play and complete in minutes rather than hours. The ultimate game design experience for expert gamers is offered by commercially available professional design tools. Designing a game is definitely a team-based project demanding a distributed management strategy to integrate the varying expertise of participants. Beyond the task level of interactions, skills have to be developed to manage group processes. The evolving game becomes a collective physical and conceptual artefact serving as a ‘boundary object’ that coordinates work across groups, time, and space. At this level the game serves as a conceptual artefact that provokes different forms of thinking in participants with diverse interests or roles. While the role of the graphical designer would be to evaluate design aspect, the software developer focuses on the programming aspect and the person responsible with the domain model has to interact with both of these to remain faithful with domain exigencies. Thus, besides allowing for multiple and divergent interpretations and meanings, this newly produced artefact serves to engage widely differing discursive and material practices (McGinn & Roth 1999). From a metacognitive perspective, recognizing the significance of the game’s role as an inscriptional, conscriptional and boundary artefact in the different stages of the design process

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reveals the underlying levels and dimensions of interactions. This enables teachers or group managers to identify and promote the most appropriate skills for the different design situations. When the game serves as an ‘Inscriptional’ artefact or ‘objects to think with’ for creative expression according to personal expertise, individual problem solving, monitoring and evaluation skills are demanded. At the level of conscriptions, communication and collaborative working skills are needed. When the evolving artefact serves as a boundary object, then the emphasis shifts on organizational and management skills that demands a complementary shift to social metacognition (Jost, Kruglanski & Nelson 1998). For these advanced gamers, the group experience together with their interaction in online ‘affinity spaces’ serves to develop further insight into the epistemic model (Shaffer 2006) of the game. They develop elaborate conceptualizations of domain expertise based on a more detailed description of knowledge, behaviours and skills as embodied by domain experts (Gee 2003). In developing such epistemic model, expert gamers have to be guided to perform structural, functional and process analysis of the related domain (Sherry & Trigg 1996). Structural analysis determines the components or elements of a domain mainly, core themes, key concepts, mode of generating and disseminating knowledge. Functional analysis determines how the elements of the domain are related to each other. Process analysis shows typical expert behaviour as determined by the epistemic frames of that particular domain. The organizing principles for practices include methods for justification and explanation, forms of knowledge representation, strategies for identifying questions, gathering information and evaluating results, together with a description of the behavioural patterns of those engaged in such forms of thinking and ways of acting. Scientists, politicians, historians, engineers and other fields of expertise have distinct epistemic frames (Shaffer 2006). Developing expertise thus implies developing expertise of some particular kind, from a particular perspective, relative to the ways of knowing of a particular community of practice (Gee 2007). Food Force models the expertise of a typical UN aid worker, Spore models the epistemic frames of a biologist, while Full Spectrum Warrior simulates the combat behaviour and thinking of a modern expert soldier. The domain model of many games provides islands of expertise in specific fields. Playing a game will familiarize users with the epistemic frame that represents the tight linkage between practices and ways of knowing in a domain. The role of expert gamers is to understand this model and the underlying epistemic frame and transform these into conceptual artefacts that can be modified, extended, applied and even re-designed. This will equip them with the necessary insight that enables one to use the game and peripheral artefacts for mentoring others into these epistemic frames and mediate domain knowledge and skills. Through this mediation they facilitate the process for other less competent users or colleagues to incorporate epistemic frames into their identities (or portfolio of potential identities). This mediational mechanism involving rich experiences in ‘technology-supported simulations of real-world practices’ may help students deal more effectively with situations in the real world and in authentic experiences linked to school subjects. At the metacognitive level along the domain dimension, through discussion in the groupshared condition, highly competent gamers have to monitor and control for a number of aspects in the evolving gaming experience. First they must control for discrepancies between the domain model used in the game and the epistemic frames of real life expertise. Their insight into the game model enables them to evaluate it in relation to official domain standard practice. For example history games are compared with the standard practice of historians or


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explorers and with documented historical facts. Further comparison can be made with the models of other history games. They should also evaluate and facilitate the interaction of less competent gamers with the domain model by monitoring task and person-oriented interactions manifested during gameplay, together with negotiation and argumentation in collaborative gaming contexts. Their role in other groups would be to mediate the domain knowledge and skills to less competent member thus facilitating their understanding of the domain model. This is done through guiding negotiation and argumentation of inquisitive members. Under this expert supervision, games are categorised according to design features and according to the types and levels of interaction they provide with the domain. If an expert gamer ascertains that further experience to develop a more comprehensive insight into a particular domain is needed, they may propose game titles according to the identified interactions or competences to be developed. One’s expertise may also be considered for proposing games to promote intended domain-related attitudes. Conversely expert gamers may preclude the use of games that may have a negative effect on domain conceptualisations such as those with simplistic domain representations or those that provide limited ways of interacting with domain. Other games may be inappropriate to be used in group situations due to their lack in maintaining group cohesion, in promoting intended interactions or desired socio-emotional climates. Collective reflection with their highly competent colleagues should explore the difference in interactions mediated by a game’s domain model and that underlying other instructional experiences. This means comparing how a game mediates interactions with the domain compared to the interactions developed during a typical history or biology lesson. Expert gamers should evaluate how each situation mediates the epistemic frames and what are thestrengthens and the shortcomings of each. This should also lead to reflection about commonalities and discrepancies in the proposed mature identities by each situation.

6. Conclusion The above discussion and the underlying model show the complexity of collaborative game-based learning (CGBL). Managing this activity requires the consideration of various levels and dimensions of the gaming experience. It is not simply an individual process of passing from acquisition to participatory interactions with the game. It involves collective experiences with the physical and social environments, together with experiences in the world of conceptual artefacts that trigger reflection about the intra-individual and collective gaming experience. This model should be used to assess CGBL for a range of learning outcomes. It can be used to evaluate the evolving group experience in terms of changing roles and contributions both at the task and also at the group management level. One can monitor and assess the changing domain and gaming competence and the intra-individual controls to enhance these. This model also provides a template how the collaborative gaming experience stimulates acquisition, modifications and elaborations of domain-related knowledge structures and skills, together with criteria to identify domain regulatory learning. This elaborate model for the collaborative gaming experience proposes a number of design features that need to be integrated in games with an educational orientation to be used in groups.

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This process-oriented pedagogy proved to be versatile in designing and evaluating not only CGBL scenarios but also a range of other technology-intensive collaborative learning environments. It has been used to evaluate web-based learning communities (Bonanno 2005) and for designing technology-enhanced training for adult educators (PAVE project, 2009). The Programme in Educational Technology, Design and Innovation, an initial teacher training course of the Faculty of Education, University of Malta, was developed using this framework. Though the model still needs some elaboration and refinement it provides educational designers and practitioners with a different approach to conceptualise technology-enhanced learning. Keywords: Game-based learning, collaborative game-based learning, process-oriented pedagogical models, technology-enhanced collaborative learning, connectionist pedagogy.

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[13] Gee, J. P. (2007). Good Video Games and Good Learning. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. [14] Gredler, M. E. (1996). Educational Games and Simulations: A Technology in search of a (Research) Paradigm. In Jonassen, D. H. (Ed.), Handbook of Research for Educational Communication and Technology. (521-540) New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan [15] Hunt, E. (1999). Intelligence and Human Resources: Past, Present, and Future. In Ackerman, P. L., Kyllonen, P. C. & Roberts, R. D. (Eds.), Learning and Individual Differences: Process, Trait, and Content Determinants. American Psychological Association. Washington, DC. [16] Jost, J. T., Kruglanski, A. W. & Nelson, T. O. (1998). Social Metacognition: An Expansionist Review. Personality and Social Psychology Review 2 (2), 137-154. [17] Kafai, Y. & Resnick, M. (1996). Constructionism in Practice: Designing, Thinking, and Learning in a Digital World. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. [18] Kiili, K. (2005a). On Educational Game Design: Building Blocks of Flow Experience. Published doctoral thesis. University of Tampere. Publication 571. [19] Kiili, K. (2005b). Digital game-based learning: Towards an experiential gaming model. Internet and Higher Education 8, 13–24 [20] Leemkuil, H. (2006). Is it all in the game? Learner Support in an Educational Knowledge Management Simulation Game. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Twente. [21] Leont’ev, A. N. (1978). Activity, consciousness, and personality. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. [22] Lindley, C. A. (2002). The gameplay Gestalt, narrative and interactive storytelling. In Proceedings of computer games and digital cultures conference, Finland: Tampere, 6-8 June. [23] McGinn, M. K. & Roth W. M. (1999). ‘Preparing students for competent scientific practice: implications of recent research in science and technology studies’, Educational Researcher 28 (3), 14–24. [24] Nuutinen, J. (2006). Designing a computer-supported collaborative mindtool: Woven Stories. Unpublished licentiate thesis, University of Joensuu, Finland. [25] Pannksepp, J. (1998). Affective Neuroscience: The foundations of human and animal emotions. New York: Oxford University Press. [26] Papert, S. (1998). Does Easy Do It? Children Games, and Learning. Game Developer, September 88. On-line document available at: http://www.papert.org/articles/ Doeseasydoit.html (Last accessed: 11/05/08). [27] PAVE (Promoting Audio-Visual Education) Project 2009.http://projects.um.edu.mt/ pave [28] Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Game-Based Learning. New York: McGraw-Hill. [29] Prensky, M. (2006). Don’t Bother Me Mom – I’m Learning: How Computer and Video Games Are Preparing your Kids For Twenty-first Century Success – and How You Can Help! St. Paul, Minnesota: Paragon House. [30] Reeve, J. (1997). Understanding Motivation and Emotion. Orlando Florida: HarcourtBrace College. [31] Rommes, E. (2002). Gender Scripts and the Internet. Twente University Press, Enschede.

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Chapter 6

INTELLIGENT EDUCATIONAL GAMES: A CONSTRAINT-BASED APPROACH Brent Martin* University of Canterbury, Christchurch New Zealand

Abstract Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) have made the break from the lab to the classroom, with evidence of significant learning gains over traditional classroom education. At the same time computer games have become ubiquitous and have been shown to have motivating effects when used in an educational setting. Merging these two technologies promises to deliver a new generation of educational software that maximizes learning. To this end we present Greenmind, an authoring tool for developing intelligent educational games. Greenmind separates game development from ITS delivery, allowing specialist game developers or teachers to create their own game front-ends for ITS, and making it possible for a game interface to be added to existing tutoring systems. We describe the architecture of Greenmind and the WETAS intelligent tutoring shell that drives the intelligent educational component, and demonstrate Greenmind’s capabilities using two games developed with it: “Turtle’s Rare Ingredient Hunt” and a sorting tutor. Both of these games were developed by University students without a background in ITS, demonstrating that Greenmind could be a suitable tool for non-specialist developers of educational content.

Introduction Intelligent Tutoring Systems increasingly show promise as a technology that will expand the horizons of education from those able to attend a bricks-and-mortar institution to anyone with an Internet connection. Acting as an enhancement to traditional distance learning offerings, they promise to augment laboratories and tutorials by allowing students to practice the skills they are learning from home. In recent years tutors such as the Geometry and Algebra tutors [1] and the Addison-Wesley database place suite of SQL-Tutor, ER-Tutor and NORMIT [2] have made it out of the lab and into the classroom. Authoring has become a * E-mail address: [email protected]

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strong focus for research in recent years, as labs strive both to develop systems faster themselves and to make it possible for teachers to create their own systems. Whilst ITS authoring tools such as CTAT [3], WETAS [4] and ASPIRE [5] considerably reduce the effort required to build new ITS, they all suffer from the same problem of being “black box” systems. In particular, the style of user interface (and therefore what the student will experience) tends to be fixed. For example, for CTAT tools the author is given considerable freedom over the appearance of the interface by being able to include various interface widgets and multimedia objects. However, the overall interaction style is still restricted to what the CTAT GUI builder supports. WETAS and ASPIRE are both extensible by allowing the author to develop applets that provide the user interface, but this amounts to further development; the tools do not provide any help. A recent addition is the concept of domain schema [6], which seeks to bridge the gap between general authoring tools and specific domain and/or task requirements by adding an intermediate layer; authors then select the domain schema that has the appropriate interface and reasoning style and use it to develop their new tutor. This approach allows for diversity in the ITS that can be developed, whilst automatically providing more of the system (e.g. the interface) than traditional general authoring systems. For example, the VIPER medical imaging tutor presents educational material for seven domains spanning five domain schema. This approach dramatically reduces the effort required to develop new tutors that use existing schema, but creating new schema remains a formidable task. Another emerging trend in education is the use of games as an alternative teaching medium. At The University of Canterbury courses are now being offered on the development of educational games, and topics such as Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are being taught using games, because this is a metaphor that practically all students are familiar with and can relate to. The ITS community has also become interested, with several educational game systems recently appearing, including Tactical Iraqi [7], Language Builder [4], ExpertCop [8] and My-Pet-Our-Pet [9]. Such systems typically report gains attributed to the game environment, and thus provide a strong motivation for building games into our ITS. Most recently, “Conspiracy Code” has been developed at the Florida Virtual University [10]. This system embeds traditional computer-aided learning into a game played out in a virtual world. Students must play the game in order to pick up units of knowledge required to complete assessment items. Assessment is also embedded in the game environment, consisting of mini-games, multiple choice questions, essays, discussions etc. These items are woven into the storyline. Conspiracy Code was developed using underlying cognitive theories of learning by Caine and Caine [11] and is based on many of the same fundamental motivators as intelligent tutoring, such as learning through experience, self reflection and pacing learning to keep the student in a state of “relaxed alertness” [10]. Given the successes reported by educational games thus far, we are interested in whether adding a game front-end increases the effectiveness of ITS in general. Unfortunately educational games are not easy to build. In particular, it is not readily apparent how a game interface could be easily built for an existing ITS to measure the difference in student learning. To overcome this we developed Greenmind, an educational game authoring system that allows ITS developers to add educational game interfaces to existing ITS developed using the WETAS ITS authoring shell. Greenmind separates ITS and game development, maximising the potential for re-use of both components, and facilitating side-by-side comparisons of multiple interfaces for the same tutor.

Intelligent Educational Games: A Constraint-Based Approach

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We first introduce intelligent tutoring and, in particular, constraint-based modelling. We then briefly discuss the potential for merging ITS and games, before describing the WETAS intelligent tutoring authoring shell. We then describe Language Builder, a simple puzzlebased game built using WETAS that illustrates the benefits of ITS games and provides motivation for exploring them further. The Greemind authoring tool for intelligent games is then introduced, and we describe both the workings of Greenmind and two sample games that illustrate its features in action. Finally we conclude and discuss further research directions.

Constraint-Based Intelligent Tutoring Systems In the early 1970s Intelligent Tutoring Systems began to evolve out of computer-aided instruction (CAI). In simple CAI the interface is static with respect to each user. Information is presented in a lecture (or “storyboard”) fashion, grouped into topics to form some sort of curriculum. The student navigates their way through the curriculum according to their needs, however each student is presented with exactly the same information and choices. They may also be asked questions either on request or automatically, to test their understanding so far. Feedback on their answers is usually restricted to an indication of whether their answer was right or wrong, and what the correct answer was. If any further feedback is required, such as comments on individual incorrect answers, it must be handcrafted for each question. Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) have evolved from these early attempts. They are an example of adaptive educational systems. Adaptivity is an important extension of CAI. Instead of presenting static information, adaptive systems use domain knowledge to actively decide what to show the student next. Techniques such as active hypermedia [12, 13] combine and format content for presentation, depending on what the student has so far seen and understood. Intelligent coaches [14] tailor the interface of online “coaches” so that the help they provide is useful without being extraneous. Practice-based systems select problem tasks based on the students’ current understanding. Some systems combine aspects of all three approaches. A key attribute of ITS is that the adaptive aspects of the system are separated from the course content. In other words, delivery of the course material is supported by features that facilitate adaptivity, such as a domain and student model, teaching strategy, etc. The benefits of ITS over standard CAI are a result of their adaptivity, which in turn is derived from their deep modelling. ITSs contain two main models: a domain model and a student model. The domain model represents the subject being taught in such a way that the system can use it for reasoning. There are many possible representations, including semantic networks, production rules and constraints. What representation is adopted depends partly on how it will be used. The domain model supports other functions such as information selection and representation, problem selection, and feedback generation. Whereas the domain model is common to all users of the system, the student model varies between students, or groups of them, and is therefore a representation of their “beliefs”. This may take many forms, including general measures such as level of competence, rate of acquisition, attentiveness and motivation. Commonly, it includes detailed information such as which parts of the curriculum the student has visited, what problems they have solved and not solved, and, ideally, which concepts they have grasped or failed to grasp. The student model provides the ITS with adaptability. Given the system’s current state plus the information from

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the student model, decisions will be made about how next to proceed. Because the student model is included, behaviour will be unique to that student. The student model is usually related in some sense to the domain model. One common approach is to use an overlay: the student model is a kind of “window” to the domain model, providing a unique view of the underlying domain concepts coloured by the student’s beliefs. As a simple example, it may specify that each individual knowledge unit has been learned or not learned. When talking about the student model, it is therefore not usually possible to separate it from the domain model, or, conversely, the representation of the domain model usually characterises much of the student model. CBM is a method that arose from experiments in learning from performance errors [15]. Ohlsson proposes that we often make mistakes when performing a task, even when we have been taught the correct way to do it. He asserts that this is because the declarative knowledge we have learned has not been internalised in our procedural knowledge, and so the number of decisions we must make while performing the procedure is sufficiently large that we make mistakes. By practicing the task however, and catching ourselves (or being caught by a mentor) making mistakes, we modify our procedure to incorporate the appropriate rule that we have violated. Over time we internalise all of the declarative knowledge about the task, and so the number of mistakes we make is reduced. Some domain model methods such as model-tracing [16] check whether or not the student is performing correctly by comparing the student’s procedure directly with one or more “correct” ones. In CBM, we are not interested in what the student has done, but in what state they are currently in. As long as the student never reaches a state that is known to be wrong, they are free to perform whatever actions they please. The domain model is therefore a collection of state descriptions of the form: “If is true, then <satisfaction condition> had better also be true, otherwise something has gone wrong.”

The relevance condition of each constraint checks whether the student’s solution is in a pedagogically significant state. If so, the satisfaction condition is checked. If it succeeds, no action is taken; otherwise the student has made a mistake and appropriate feedback is given. Syntactic constraints check that the solution is syntactically correct. Conversely, semantic constraints check whether the student’s solution has solved the problem, usually by comparing it to an “ideal” solution supplied by the teacher. The constraints implicitly encode semantics by testing for all of the different possible encodings of the semantic concept they are attempting to test. The student is thus permitted to use a different problem-solving strategy to the author, or even to mix strategies, provided no fundamental domain concepts are violated. This makes constraint-based tutors very flexible, and allows them to test very abstract concepts. Ohlsson does not impose any restrictions upon how constraints are encoded and/or implemented. We have used a pattern-matching representation designed for this purpose [17]. For example, Figure 1 illustrates constraint 254 from the SQL domain. The relevance condition checks whether the student’s solution contains a nested query in the WHERE clause. If that is the case, the satisfaction condition checks whether the subquery is preceded by an allowed predicate (IN, ALL, ANY or EXISTS), or a relational operator (checked by the


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^rel-p macro, discussed later). This constraint is an example of a syntactic constraint: it checks one particular aspect of the syntax for specifying nested queries. (254 ; feedback message "A subquery must be preceded with a comparison operator, IN, ANY, ALL, or EXISTS predicates." ; relevance condition (match SS WHERE (?*w1 "(" SELECT ?*w2)) ; satisfaction condition (or-p (match SS WHERE (?* (("IN" "ALL" "ANY" "EXISTS") ?pred) "(" "SELECT" ?*)) (match SS WHERE (?* (^rel-p ?pred) "(" "SELECT" ?*)) (match SS WHERE (?*w1 (^rel-p ?pred) "(" "SELECT" ?*w2))) ; related clause "WHERE")

Figure 1. A constraint from SQL-Tutor.

Constraint-based tutors have been proven to be effective in many studies. For example, SQL-Tutor, a system for teaching the SQL query language, reported an improvement of over 1 standard deviation in student performance after only two hours of interaction with the system [18]. SQL-Tutor and two others have been successfully commercialised via Addison Wesley’s “database place” web portal [2].

Its and Games Mixing games and ITS is not new. The Tactical Language and Culture Training System (TLCTS) [19], perhaps the most successful example, illustrates how effective this combination can be. TLCTS is used to build 3D role-playing games for teaching language and cultural nuances. For example, Tactical Iraqi, the most mature system, teaches US military personnel to speak Arabic and to interact appropriately with Iraqi civilians. The system has two parts: a skill builder, where students practice their skills and complete exercises in a manner similar to a traditional ITS, and Mission Game, where the student completes a mission in an artificial world. This latter part is implemented as a high-quality role-playing game: students hone their skills while communicating with other actors in order to achieve their goal and complete the mission. TLCTS makes heavy use of artificial intelligence. In addition to the expected ITS components (answer evaluation, skill tracking, exercise building/selection) it also includes natural language generation and parsing, simulated dialogs and speech recognition. It is unique in combining all these technologies. One consequence is that the non-ITS component is a complex system in its own right, particularly the speech recognition component. Overall TLCTS is built on the Unreal engine [20]. The TLCTS system is general in that it can be applied to a large number of natural languages. Its developers are further enhancing the system to make it easier to add new languages, by generalizing parts of the system such as lesson structure, such that the source

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and target language can be varied for a given item of instruction. Other parts of the authoring process are also being automated. Intelligent Tutoring Systems share the same overall goals as educational games: to engage learners in a learning environment that is as effective as possible. However, their focus is very different. Educational games (compared to other educational software) focus on motivation, by making the educational experience as entertaining and engaging as possible. Intelligent tutors, on the other hand, focus on efficiency of the educational process, by tailoring the learning session to the individual student. However, these two approaches can achieve the same end. It is clear that a more motivated student will remain engaged for longer, and thus learn more effectively (or at least stay using the system for longer). The reverse is also true: a learning environment that is maximally attuned to the user will be more engaging, by keeping the student in their “zone of proximal development” [21]. Intelligent tutoring systems boost learning by providing two main innovations: rich feedback via a domain model, and adaptivity via a student model. The latter, in addition to being useful for tailoring learning, arguably can also have a positive effect on game play. Ignoring educational goals, ITS adaptivity could also be used in games in general in the following ways: •

•

•

•

By adapting the game’s overall difficulty to suit the player. An ITS could achieve this by monitoring the student’s overall progress and adapting the game scenario globally to suit the player’s ability, e.g. by making all characters in the game more empathetic with player errors; reducing the aggressiveness of other characters; altering the number of hazards/obstacles in the game if it appears the player is not coping. In contrast, Tactical Iraqi has static difficulty, which can result in some students finding the game intimidating if a series of errors leads to the other characters in the game becoming too hostile. By adapting individual game interactions. Whereas an ITS models what the student “knows” by tracing and analysing past performance, in a game it could similarly analyse what aspects of game play cause the player difficulty, and make such interactions easier, or avoid them altogether if they are a serious problem for the player. By providing adaptive help and/or intervention. Intelligent tutors attempt to maximise learning “flow” by interjecting with help when it appears the student needs it, based on analysis of their past performance. ITS help can therefore be more intrusive than would normally be acceptable because they can judge when the student is genuinely stuck, rather than simply pausing for other reasons. This feature might also be desirable in games; game flow might be maximised by providing timely interventions that keep the game moving at an appropriate pace. By enabling deeper user behaviour analysis. Because an ITS contains a rich domain model it can analyse complex user tasks for correctness. In the same way a game might analyse what the player is trying to do and compare it to the set of goals that must be achieved to complete a task. By adding intelligent tutoring’s more extensive modelling the game could make greater sense of the player’s actions and plan to react accordingly.


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When the goal is educational games the overlap becomes even more obvious: by tailoring the game to keep the student in their zone of proximal development it also, as a side-effect, tailors the game at a fine-grained level such that the student is always challenged, but not overwhelmed, by the game play. We would therefore expect an ITS game to be more enjoyable than one that either bores or frustrates the player. If we then add intelligent tutoring’s rich feedback the motivation for combining ITS and games becomes very compelling. The TLCTS system, and Tactical Iraqi in particular, illustrate what can be achieved when ITS and gaming are merged with a specific domain or set of related domains in mind. Despite this success however, little work has been carried out with regard to authoring ITS games in general. TLCTS shows how, by focusing on the needs of the end system, heavyweight technology can be employed that maximizes the learning experience for that particular system (or set of systems). This is one scenario for ITS game-building, requiring a large investment in terms of development time and effort. However, what if either the ITS or the game already exists, and the authors want to either add a game interface to their ITS or vice versa? In an ideal world we could offer both game and traditional interfaces to the same ITS, so that the student may choose between them and move from one to the other whenever they wish; data such as their student model would be shared between the two. This requires the game and ITS to be completely independent. We now describe technology we have developed for this purpose: WETAS, an ITS server that supports web-based remote procedure calls (and can thus serve as an “ITS backend” to a game), and Greenmind, a simple development environment for building games that interact with WETAS.

Wetas: An Intelligent Tutoring Shell Before we can add ITS to games we need an ITS engine. WETAS is a web-enabled tutoring engine that provides all of the domain-independent functions for text-based ITS. It is implemented as a web server, written in Allegro Common Lisp, and using the AllegroServe Web server [22]. WETAS supports learning of multiple subjects at the same time; there is no limit to the number of domains it may accommodate. Students interact through a standard web browser such as Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer. WETAS provides as much of the implementation as possible in a generic fashion. In particular, it provides the following functions: problem selection, answer evaluation, student modelling, feedback, and the user interface. The author need only provide the domain-dependent components, namely the structure of the domain (e.g. any curriculum subsets), the domain model (in the form of constraints), the problem/solution set, scaffolding information (if any), and possibly an input parser if any specific pre-processing of the input is required. WETAS provides both the infrastructure (e.g. student interface) and the “intelligent” parts of the ITS, namely the pedagogical module and the domain model interpreter. The former makes decisions based on the student model regarding what problem to present to the student next and what feedback they should be given. The latter evaluates the student’s answers by comparing them to the domain model, and uses this information to update the student model. Constraints are written in a custom pattern-matching language that is intended to be simple to author. The system reasons about the constraints in three ways: it may evaluate the student solution against constraints to decide what is wrong and give feedback, it may use the constraints to correct

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errors in the student’s input (and thus show them how to proceed), and it may use constraints to generate new problems to present to the student [17, 23]. WETAS was originally developed to serve up web-based ITS to a browser, where the interface (i.e. HTML code) is generated automatically by the system for text-based tutors. It has since been extended to include a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) interface that allows developers to build their own clients and serve up the ITS content in any way they see fit. With this interface the type of tutor is also more general than just text: provided the client can submit a solution in a text format the actual student interface is not restricted. For example, we have developed plugin tutor interfaces for the Eclipse IDE framework [[24]] that teach Java and UML. In both cases the solution is submitted to WETAS as XML. For Java, this XML contains the raw student code plus metadata describing class and filenames. For UML the student draws a diagram using a standard UML drawing plugin, Amateras [25]; the diagram is then converted to XML and transmitted to WETAS. The RPC interface is described in the next section. WETAS has been used to develop tutors in many domains, including English spelling, German adjectives, SQL, Entity-Relationship Modelling and UML. The RPC interface has been used to develop several tutors using independent client interfaces, including Java plugins for BlueJ [26] and Borland Together and the Eclipse plugins already discussed. We have also used it as the ITS engine for Greenmind. To demonstrate the flexibility of WETAS we have re-implemented SQL-Tutor [27], and developed a new ITS for teaching English Language skills (LBITS, described later). Although these domains share the property of being textbased, they have very different problem/solution structures. WETAS’ architecture borrows heavily from SQLT-WEB, the web-based SQL-Tutor system [28], with two main differences. First, a new constraint representation is utilised, along with a new constraint evaluator. This significantly reduces the amount of domaindependent code in the solution evaluation part of the system, and cleanly separates the constraints from the evaluator. Second, WETAS is heavily data driven. The overall architecture is depicted in Figure 2. We now describe the scope of WETAS with regard to the four main functions of an ITS: the student interface, domain model, pedagogical module and student model. Student interface. WETAS completely automates the student interface for text-based tutors. The layout is fixed, consisting of four panels: problem selection, problem/solution presentation, scaffolding and feedback. Further, all but the scaffolding panel are driven automatically from the data. Domain model. In WETAS authoring of the domain model is supported insofar as a language is provided for constructing the domain including macros for sub-rules. This language simplifies the creation of the domain model by removing the need to learn a complex programming language. WETAS also provides a generic domain modeller, in the form of the constraint evaluator. Pedagogical module. Instructional planning in WETAS is fixed. All domains supported by WETAS are of the “learning by doing” kind. WETAS chooses the next problem to solve by evaluating the structural and conceptual difficulty [29] of each candidate problem, and choosing the one that best fits the student’s current knowledge state and level of ability. The problems themselves may be hand-written, or generated from the domain model using the algorithm described in [23].


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Student model. Like most other authoring systems [30], WETAS uses an overlay student model: each constraint includes a count of the number of times it has been relevant and how many times it has been violated, plus a trace of the behaviour of this constraint over the life of the model. The last four “hits” are used to decide whether the state of the constraint is currently “not learned” or “learned”, with two successes in a row indicating that the constraint is learned. Web browser

Student

Web server (Allegroserve)

Student Logs

Session Manager

Pedagogical Module

Student Modeller

Student Models

Constraints

Problems

Domains

Domain Loader

Domain Info Base

Domainspecific files

Subsetspecific files

Figure 2. WETAS architecture.

This information is used to calculate the conceptual difficulty of each problem, by increasing the difficulty by a constant amount for every relevant constraint that is not learned. Similarly, we increase the conceptual difficulty by another constant for every constraint

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relevant to this problem that has never previously been relevant. These constants are currently set to 5 and 10 respectively, i.e. a constraint that has been seen but not learned adds five times the difficulty to the problem as one that has been mastered, while a constraint that has never been seen adds ten times the difficulty. These constants were obtained empirically by using the system and observing which problems were selected. In practise WETAS is not overly sensitive to these values. The difficulty each constraint adds to the problem is determined automatically by tallying up the number of terms in the constraint’s match patterns, giving a measure of the effort required to complete the minimum parts of the solution necessary to satisfy this constraint. When building ITS authoring systems there is inevitability a trade-off made between flexibility (or generality) and depth [30]. The WETAS system supports deep tutoring by providing a robust constraint evaluator, student modelling functions and problem selection. It provides flexibility by supporting any domain where the solution can be represented as text. In the case of non-text problems/solutions the ideal solution is most naturally represented in some structured representation such as XML. The main trade-off is that WETAS does not currently provide flexibility of the student model and teaching strategy. However, the advantage of this is that the author is freed from such considerations. In the future we may modify the system to allow such components (or parts of them) to be provided by the author as “plug-ins”, which is the case for scaffolding information now. To author an ITS the author need only provide the domain-dependent components, namely the structure of the domain (e.g. any curriculum subsets), the domain model (in the form of constraints), the problem/solution set, the scaffolding information (if any) and, possibly, an input parser, if any specific pre-processing of the input is necessary. Each of these is now described.

The Domain Structure All of the domain information in WETAS forms a hierarchy of directories and files, where the top-level structure is the domain record. There is a domain record for each domain that the system supports. This record tells the system the name of the domain, the directory where files relating to that domain may be found, where to find the scaffolding information for this domain, the name given to problem subsets, and the parser (if needed) for parsing the student’s input prior to evaluation. Exercises in each domain may be partitioned into subsets. For example, in SQL-Tutor the student may choose to answer questions that require queries to be written pertaining to one of several relational databases. Some information required by the system (including the problem set) is subset-specific, so each domain record includes a list of subset records containing this information. Also, the domain model may vary for each subset, so this is also stored at the subset level. Finally, each subset has its own list of problems. Figure 3 depicts the structure of the data input.


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WETAS directory

Domains file

<domain 1> directory

Constraints

Taxonomy (macros)

Subset 1 Taxonomy

Subset files

Subset n files

Subset 1 files

Subset 1 Constraints

<domain n> directory

Subset 1 Problems

Subset 1 Statistics

Figure 3. WETAS input files.

The Domain Model The domain model is implemented as a modular set of constraints. Each domain may record constraints at two levels: those that are common to all subsets are stored at the domain level, while subset-specific constraints may also be provided. This allows the constraint set to vary between subsets if needed without duplicating the common ones. For example, in the Language Builder domain of spelling puzzles, the puzzle “Rhyming Pairs” requires the answer to be two words that rhyme, as well as having the correct meaning. A constraint specific to this subset tests for rhyming pairs of words, while the words themselves and their meanings are stored at the domain level. Similarly the puzzle “BL-words” requires each answer to start with the letters “BL”; again a constraint is added at the subset level that checks the first two letters of each word in the solution. Many constraints require enumerations of the allowed values of a term in a match pattern. For example, a constraint in SQL that tests a table name is valid for the current database requires a list of all valid table names for that database. Further, some general concepts, such as “arithmetic symbol”, are also encoded by enumerating the list of valid values. Thus each domain requires a taxonomy that describes the atoms of the domain. However, some elements of the taxonomy are also subset dependent, such as “valid table” just described. The

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taxonomy is therefore also recorded both at the domain level (for domain-wide atoms such as “arithmetic symbol”) and at the subset level. The taxonomy is recorded as a set of macros, using the same representation as the constraints.

Problem Representation As stated earlier, CBM critiques the student’s attempt by comparing it to an ideal solution. Each problem is therefore represented by the text of the problem plus the ideal solution. In WETAS problems and their solutions may be structured. In SQL-Tutor each problem consists of a text message describing the database query that must be written, while the solution consists of each of the six possible clauses of an SQL query (SELECT, FROM, WHERE, GROUP-BY, HAVING and ORDER-BY). In the Language Builder domain each problem consists of a set of clues, where the student must provide an answer for each clue (for example, for the subset of pluralisation, they must type the plural version of each clue word). WETAS caters for different problem/solution structures by allowing a problem to have any number of clauses. Each clause nominally consists of the clause name, a text string that represents an ideal solution for that clause, an (optional) additional clue for that clause and the default input for that clause. However, the solution part of the clause may itself be a list of sub clauses again containing the sub clause name, ideal solution, a clue and the default field value. This structuring may occur to any depth. In the Language Builder domain for example, nesting occurs to one level.

Scaffolding and Parsing Before a solution is fed to the constraint evaluator, it may require parsing to convert the text input into a list of words (or terms) that the pattern matcher can use. A default parser is provided, which splits text into words using white space and non-alphanumeric symbols as boundaries. However, some domains may have other parsing requirements. Each domain record contains a field that identifies the parser, which may be NULL (no parsing required), DEFAULT or the name of a LISP function that accepts the text input and returns the parsed result in a list. Similarly, domains may optionally provide scaffolding information. WETAS allows the author to specify either static HTML pages or dynamic functions. WETAS has been implemented in prototype form was initially used to build two tutors to explore its capabilities and evaluate its effectiveness in reducing the ITS building effort. It has since been used to develop many tutors in a variety of domains, from UML to linked lists to German adjectives. Because WETAS is data driven, authoring a new ITS consists entirely of creating the data files needed to instruct it how to operate. The steps involved are: 1. Create the domain record; a) Decide upon the domain to be taught, and give it a name; b) Create the domain record (in domains.cl), including the definitions for any subsets; c) Create a directory that will hold all the files for this domain, as a subdirectory of the WETAS main directory.


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2. Create the problem set; a) Decide how the problem will be presented, i.e. how it will be broken up. For SQL-Tutor, the exercises are split into the six clauses of a SELECT statement; for Language Builder, they are represented by repeated clues; b) Create the file <subset-name>.probans for each subset, containing the problem definitions for that subset. 3. Create the domain knowledge base; a) Create the semantic and syntactic constraints that are valid for the entire domain, and the top level taxonomy (files constraints-semantic.cl, constraints-syntax.cl, and taxonomy.cl); b) Create any subset-specific constraints and taxonomies, if necessary (constraintssemantic-<subset-name>.cl, constraints-syntax-<subset-name.cl>, taxonomy<subset-name>.cl). 4. Create optional components; a) Create a parser, if necessary; b) Create the scaffolding web page and/or functions, if necessary. 5. Create the login page for this domain; 6. Run the newly created ITS. a) Run “load-domains” to load the new domain; b) Restart the WETAS web server.

The Wetas RPC Interface We have shown how WETAS can be used to build ITS, including simple puzzle-based games. However, WETAS can also be used as an “ITS backend” for other applications, which makes it possible to separate the game from the ITS functionality. This is achieved using a remote procedure call (RPC) interface. Each WETAS function is exposed as a URL. Table 1 lists the main functions. (Note that all responses also contain a status and error message field). The client opens a connection to the URL and sends the request parameters as XML, and similarly receives the result as an XML fragment. For example, Figure 4 illustrates how a “check user” request might be sent from a Java client, showing how the input parameters domain and username are encoded into an XML request. Table 1. RPC interface for the main WETAS functions Function RPCloginUser

Description Log the user in

RPClogoutUser RPCsetSubset

Log the user out Set the subset the user will work on next

Request parameters Domain, username, knowledge level Domain, username Domain, username, subset, knowledge level

Response parameters User state (“new” or “exists”) (none) (none)

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Function Description RPCgetProblemUse As above, but also r return the current state for this user RPCsetProblem Set which problem the student will work on next

RPCcheckSolution

Submit a student solution to check for correctness

RPCsaveSolution

Save the current solution without submitting for checking

Request parameters Domain, username, subset, problem number Domain, username, selection type (user provided, next, system or current), problem number (for user provided) Domain, username, feedback type, solution

Domain, username, solution

Response parameters As above plus state (“NEW”, “ATTEMPTED” or “COMPLETED”) Problem number and text

Error count, new feedback type, generic text feedback, text error messages and optional encoded data, optional encoded response (none)

Student solutions are similarly passed to the server encoded as XML. For example, a solution in SQL-Tutor consists of six clauses: “SELECT”, “FROM” WHERE” “GROUPBY”, “HAVING” and “ORDER BY”. A solution might therefore be encoded as: <SOLUTION> <SELECT>* customer <WHERE>name=“Jane Doe” customer_number

The WETAS RPC interface exposes all of the low level functions of the ITS shell via URLS (e.g. /RPCcheckSolution to submit the student’s attempt). The client is able to perform the following functions: login, logout, get a list of subdomains for a given domain, set the current subdomain, get the list of problems for the current subdomain, set the current problem in several ways (next problem in sequence, system’s selection, set problem n), get problem information, get the student model status for a given problem, save the current solution, evaluate the solution, get help, set/get the student’s skill level, and set/get an arbitrary set of user parameters (used to save domain-specific state information for a user). In a typical situation the client program will start by capturing the student’s username and password via a login interface, which will then be transmitted to WETAS to log into the desired domain. Next the client will select the subset the student will work on, and request a problem. Control now passes to the client software until such time as the student’s attempt is to be submitted. The client program can now present the question and problem-solving environment however


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it wishes. Even the timing of feedback is under the client’s control: although solutions are normally submitted to WETAS by the student when they are finished or need help, there is no reason why WETAS’ domain model cannot be developed in such a way that partial submissions can be submitted after each step, provided the client somehow signals (e.g. via an additional field in the solution) that this is the case so that errors about non-completeness are suppressed. The WETAS RPC interface described was used to provide ITS support for Greenmind.

public int checkUser(String domain, String username, String password) throws CheckUserException { WETASConnector url = new WETASConnector(serverURL); String result = ""; try{ // Connect the server URL url = new URL(baseURL + "RPCcheckUser"); urlConnection = url.openConnection(); urlConnection.setDoOutput(true); urlConnection.setDoInput(true); urlConnection.setUseCaches (false); urlConnection.setDefaultUseCaches (false); urlConnection.setRequestProperty("Content-Type", "text/plain"); out = new PrintWriter( urlConnection.getOutputStream() );

// send the request out.print("<request>"); out.print(" <domain>" + domain + ""); out.print(" <username>" + username + ""); out.print(""); out.flush(); out.close(); // Get the input buffer and read it BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(urlConnection.getInputStream())); String result = ""; String inputLine = ""; while ((inputLine = in.readLine()) != null) { result += inputLine; } in.close(); // Parse the result return parser.parseToCheckUser(result); } catch(Exception e) { throw new CheckUserException(e.getMessage()); } }

Figure 4. Example of using the WETAS RPC interface.

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Language Builder: A Simple Its Game In its standard form WETAS can support rudimentary games, although the scope of the user interface is limited and the game and ITS are closely coupled. Language Builder is an existing paper-based teaching aid that has been converted to a computer system. It teaches basic English language skills to elementary and intermediate school students by presenting them with a series of “puzzles” such as crosswords, synonyms, rhyming words and plurals. For a subset of these puzzles the general form is that of a set of clues where the student must perform some action on each clue to obtain the result, e.g. provide a word starting with “bl” that matches the meaning of the clue or provide the plural of the clue word.

Figure 5. WETAS running the Language Builder (LBITS) domain.

We created an ITS from Language Builder (LBITS) by adding a domain model so that feedback could be expanded from a simple right/wrong answer to more detailed information about what is wrong, such as that the meaning of their answer didn’t match the meaning of the clue or they have got the letters “i” and “e” reversed. Figure 5 shows LBITS in action. No special parser was required for this domain, nor was any scaffolding information needed. Since the problems were already provided in paper form, the authoring task was limited to encoding the problems in a suitable form and writing the constraints that form the domain model. For the latter we used a standard school spelling reference book by Clutterbuck [31]. Most of the constraints came directly from this resource book. For example, Clutterbuck groups words by letter groupings, such as those containing “able”. For each group we wrote a constraint that tests that if the ideal solution contains this pattern of letters, so does the student’s answer. Other constraints checked for commonly


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confused homonyms, such as “lose” and “loose”. We then added a few general constraints, such as one for each letter of the alphabet, to check the student had not missed any letters. A problem consists of a list of clues, each requiring a word to be filled in. To achieve this, we took advantage of the ability to nest structures, as described previously. For example, the problem specification for the exercise being solved in Figure 5 is: (1 ; IS - (# answer clue ( ("CLUES" ("1" "road" ("2" "adventure" ("3" "rest" ("4" "stone" ("5" "nest"

default-input) "long street" "exciting journey" "stop for a while" "small rock" "home for a bird"

"ro") "") "") "") "")

In this puzzle the user must enter a word that has the same meaning as the clue, where the first two letters of each answer is the same as the last two letters of the previous word. There is only one clause (“CLUES”), but this clause, instead of having a single text answer (as is the case for SQL), consists of a set of clues, each with their model answer and the default value for the solution. The WETAS interface presents this structure as a table of clues with one entry field per clue for the answer. Other puzzles we have so far implemented are: 1. Scrambled Words. The student is presented with a set of letters and a clue. They must use the clue to build a word from the letters; 2. Last two letters. For each clue, think of a word that has the same meaning, where the first two letters of the word are the same as the LAST two of the answer to the previous clue; 3. Plurals. Produce the plural of each clue word, e.g. “oxen” for “ox; 4. Rhyming word pairs. Given a clue phrase, produce a pair of rhyming words that have the same meaning, e.g. for “beautiful energy”, an answer is “flower power”. The original (hardcopy) Language builder consists of other puzzles that are more graphical in nature; these cannot be implemented directly in WETAS but are ideal candidates for implementing in Greenmind. For the evaluation we authored problems for the first two types of puzzle: “Scrambled words”, and “last two letters”. For “scrambled words” candidate clue entries were created by calculating the structural difficulty of each word in a vocabulary of over a thousand words, using the algorithm described in [23]. The words were then sorted by difficulty and grouped into sets of around five, each of which forms a single problem, giving a total of 200 problems. A clue was then written for each word. For “last two letters” we used generated sets of (up to six) words that met the “last two letters” rule plus an additional rule that no words be repeated. This yielded 22 problems. LBITS makes use of the hierarchical nature of constraints but not that of the taxonomy, since the “world” from which answers may be drawn is the same for all puzzles, i.e. an English vocabulary suitable for the target audience. Examples of subset-dependant constraints are: in “Rhyming word pairs” each pair must rhyme; in “scrambled words” each word must use the letters provided; in “last two letters” each word must begin with the last two letters of

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the previous answer. The system consists of between 20 and 200 problems per puzzle and a total of 315 constraints. We tested LBITS in an elementary school classroom of nine children aged 11 and 12 from Akaroa Area School to evaluate whether or not it was an effective learning tool. This trial was formative only: we were interested in what the students attitude was towards the system and whether or not their performance indicated that learning took place during the trial. To test the system subjectively we requested that each student fill out a questionnaire at the conclusion of a one-hour evaluation session. At the end of the evaluation we plotted the constraint error rates for the group. Table 2 summarises the evaluation session. “Attempts” is the total number of attempts made to solve a problem during the 50-minute session. “Problems completed” is the number of problems the student answered correctly irrespective of whether or not they required help. “Attempts/problem” is the number of attempts for each solved problem. “Final score” lists the difficulty rating for each student at the end of the session. The last row lists the averages of these figures, with standard deviations in parentheses. The nine students solved an average of just over seven problems each, (SD=4.2), taking an average of 3.2 attempts per problem. Two students (4 and 6) performed much worse than the others, while students 1 and 3 seemed to find the problems the easiest. This corroborates with observations during the session. Table 2. Summary data for the LBITS evaluation Log

Attempts

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Average

32 60 19 1 26 3 37 44 35 28.6 (17.8)

Problems completed 11 12 6 1 6 0 7 12 9 7.1 (4.2)

Attempts/ Problem 2.6 4.7 2 1 3.7 N/A 4.4 3.6 3.3 3.2 (1. 2)

Final score 860 860 920 600 620 440 680 920 680 731 (158)

Table 3. LBITS survey results Which Puzzle Scrambled: 9 Last two: 2

Difficulty Too easy: 2 About right: 8 Too hard: 2

Ease of use Easy: 9 Okay: 0 Hard: 0

Enjoyable? Fun: 8 OK: 1 No: 0

Learned? A lot: 7 A little: 2 None: 0

The students were very positive towards the LBITS tutor. Table 3 summarises their responses to the survey. Note that some columns do not add up to nine because some participants ticked more than one box. The first column shows which problems the students attempted (“scrambled words” or “last two letters”). The second column indicates how difficult they found the problems (one student ticked all three boxes, while another ticked both “too easy” and “two hard”, to indicate that some problems were too simple and others too difficult). Columns three and four indicate how easy they found the interface to use and


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whether they thought using the system was fun. The last column indicates how much they thought they learned. These results indicate that on the whole the students enjoyed using the system, felt that the difficulty of the problems was about right and that they had learned a substantial amount. All of them found the interface easy to use. Note that it is not possible to determine the relationship between performance (Table 2) and subjective evaluation (Table 3) because there was no way to identify which participant was which.

0.5 0.45 0.4 Error rate

0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 1

2

3

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6

7

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9

10

Problems

Figure 6. Error rate for raw constraint data.

0.4 0.35

Error rate

0.3 y = 0.3349x -0.9598 R2 = 0.8331

0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 1

2

3

4

5

Problems

Figure 7. Error rate for revised constraint set.

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We plotted the probability of failing a given constraint as a function of the number of problems attempted for which this constraint is relevant. If the constraints represent concepts the students are learning, we would expect their aggregated error performance with respect to the number of times they have been exposed to each constraint to form a “power law of practice” [32]. Figure 6 shows the result obtained, which suggest that no learning took place. However, a number of the constraints arguably do not represent concepts of the domain. One constraint checks that the student has filled in an answer, yet their failure to do so is most likely because they do not know the answer, rather than because they did not realise that one was necessary. It therefore does not represent a knowledge unit that the student is trying to learn. Similarly, 26 constraints tested that each letter of the alphabet is present if it is required. Again, these constraints will be violated if the student fails to fill in the answer, yet this is probably because they failed to recognise the required word as a whole, rather than because they failed to notice that this particular letter is required. In other words, the situations in which a student failed to fill in a particular letter are probably not pedagogically equivalent, which is a fundamental requirement of constraints. This is particularly true for “scrambled words” because students are given the letters as part of the clue. In contrast, if a student fails to recognise the required word from the letters provided, it is possibly because they are weak on words of that form, which are represented by the constraints that test for common letter patterns, such as “ough”. We tested this hypothesis by removing the offending constraints and plotting the error curve again. Figure 7 shows the result. We now see the familiar “power curve”, with a good degree of fit (R2 = 0.83). This suggests that the students learned the domain with respect to these constraints during the session. Note that the power curve degrades as the number of attempts increases, because of the decrease in data volume. The graph in Figure 7 is cut off at the point where the power curve fit is maximal. Our experience with Language Builder was very encouraging. Students appeared highly motivated, and the ITS seemed to foster collaboration: students regularly asked each other for help, even though this was not particularly the intent of the system. They also discussed the hints with each other. At the conclusion of the study the teacher commented that he had never seen kids so enthusiastic about English. As well as verifying the efficacy of the WETAS system, it also increased our motivation to explore ITS and games as a means of teaching.

Building Intelligent Games with Greenmind In this section we describe Greenmind, an authoring tool for ITS games built using Greenfoot [33]. Greenfoot was intended as an education resource for teaching Java programming, but it is also an excellent platform for simple 2D game development. Greenfoot makes it very efficient to create new games. The base system contains all of the control and GUI functionality, as well as two extendable abstract classes, World and Actor. The former is used to set up the environment (via its constructor) while the latter is an abstract “character” that will take part in the game. Authors create games by specialising each of these classes. In the case of the World class a single specialisation is typically created, whose constructor will set up the world (e.g. specify the background image to use and the playing area size) and populate it with actors and other objects. The specialised World class may also contain other functions global to the game as a whole. The author then creates a specialisation of the Actor class for each different type of actor that will take part in the game.


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Note that actors do not necessarily need to be “characters” in the game – an actor is any object that may “act” (i.e. do something) during the game’s progress. For an example, in a space shooting game the spacecraft’s bullets might also be actors if appropriate, as might obstacles in the game area such as asteroids or black holes. Central to the Actor class is the act() method, which is invoked each time Greenfoot runs the game’s “main loop”. Actors do not necessarily need to specify the act() method; it is quite common to have actors who only execute code when requested by some other actor; this approach is used in the games described in the following sections. Greenfoot can be easily extended, either by providing further specialized abstract classes based on World and Actor, or by adding additional libraries of classes. Being developed on BlueJ [26], it is also well supported and there exists a large community of users. These attributes made it an ideal system for building an ITS game authoring tool. We therefore selected Greenfoot as the base for developing Greenmind. There are many different styles of educational game that we might wish to develop. One particular scenario is second language learning by immersion. The following describes this scenario and how an ITS-enabled game might deliver it: •

•

•

•

•

•

•

The game is a role-playing game for another language; French, for example. The game is partially immersive, in that all interaction is in French, but the player may also request a translation of what the other actor said if necessary. Feedback will also be in the student’s native language. The game has an overall goal, but this is not itself necessarily educational. For example, the goal might be to take a train trip to Paris. In order to do so the player must successfully negotiate with other players to obtain resources (money, a map, tickets) and travel through the game to catch the train. Other actors provide resources, which they will not necessarily give up straight away. They may, for example, request information from the player, or ask for resources the player has already collected. Each actor has a personality or role that determines what kind of questions they will ask. However, they will query the ITS to get the actual question, to ensure it is of appropriate difficulty. They will give the ITS hints about what kind of question they require in the form of required keywords. They will then present the question to the student. Note that even if the request to the ITS is very specific, such as “give me a question about the number of train tickets”, there is still scope for the ITS to vary this question according to the student’s ability (e.g. “do you want a return or one-way ticket?” versus “what kind of ticket do you want?” or even just “one-way?”). The student might not understand the question, in which case they will ask for a translation. The requesting actor will query the ITS to determine whether or not the student should be able to understand the question. Based on the ITS’ response the actor may either provide the translation or deny this request. The actor may also provide additional scaffolding, such as help with related vocabulary. The student then answers the question, and the actor sends their response to the ITS for diagnosis. The ITS returns feedback on the result (which can be presented to the user) and other information for the actor to process. The actor decides how to act on the ITS’ response. If the student answered the question correctly the actor will provide assistance necessary for further game play

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•

(e.g. giving the player the tickets). If the answer was incorrect, the actor will decide on an appropriate action based on the student model. For example, if the student should have known the answer the actor may refuse to help them any further. Conversely, if the answer involved concepts the student had not previously encountered, the actor may give them the chance to try again. The game might also alter the overall goal to match the student’s needs. For example, a more advanced player on arriving at the train might be sent back to the ticket master to exchange the tickets for different ones (e.g. if the original trip has been cancelled) whereas a novice player might be given a map for free by a passing tourist.

The above requires the ITS to divulge information about the student model, as well as performing the usual tasks of task selection and diagnosis. In other words, the student model must in some way be scrutable by the game. In the scenario described the ITS acts as a servant to the game, with game play and educational content sharply separated. For the ITS, this means making information available (feedback, model state) without regard for presentation. It also must be more controllable (e.g. the client must be able to exercise some control over problem selection) because the game world is only partially observable to the ITS, via the requests made to it. On the other hand, the game needs to be designed in a flexible manner, because it can never be sure how the ITS will behave. For example, it cannot predict what exercise the ITS will pick at any point in time. Again this is caused by partial observability of the ITS’ state, but it is also exacerbated by the fact that the ITS may continue to evolve after it is put into production; for example, the ITS author may add more exercises. Greenmind works with Greenfoot by extending its class library to allow the efficient creation of ITS games. Authors develop their game scenario as they normally would in Greenfoot but with some notable differences. First, instead of extending Greenfoot’s World and Actor classes, the author works with new classes that are “ITS-aware”. They also implement additional methods that provide the educational content by interfacing to the WETAS authoring shell. Finally, once one or more scenarios have been created they can be bundled into a Greenmind game and exported as a standalone Java application. Central to a Greenmind scenario is the Tutor class, which is an extension of Greenfoot’s Actor. This class contains low-level methods for interacting with the ITS backend. These methods expose a tutoring API that hides the details of the actual ITS; this API includes functions such as get problem, get feedback, set the subdomain, load/save the current solution and get help. The game developer extends this class to create the individual characters in the game, and uses the API methods to add ITS content by calling them as part of the act() method for the Tutor class or other methods that act() calls. Greenmind adds intelligent tutoring functions to the Greenfoot platform to create educational games as follows: • • •

Players are logged into an account on the WETAS server, where a history/model of their past performance is kept Greenmind can query WETAS for educational tasks to present to the user Player interactions with Greenmind can be submitted to WETAS for diagnosis, returning feedback and other information about their progress.


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The typical situation is as follows: when the player’s actor encounters another actor the latter will provide an educational experience by retrieving a problem from the ITS that matches the student’s knowledge and ability, and which, optionally, is further suited to the current situation. The encountered actor then presents the problem to the player (student), who is required to submit an answer. The encountered actor then submits the solution on the player’s behalf and receives feedback, which is presented back to the student. Both the student’s actor and the encountered one may also perform other acts, including instigating changes in other actors or the game environment in general. Each actor has individual control over the ITS interaction, and may tailor this interaction in several ways. First, each actor can control what questions it can ask in two ways: it can restrict questions to those containing a certain keyword (or keywords). For example, if the domain is French and the actor is a chef, she might ask questions (requiring translation from English) about food, while another actor (a taxi driver) might ask about places in Paris. This allows the educational experience to be tightly coupled to the game context if desired, and thus increases the student’s motivation for solving the problems presented to them. Second, each actor can request questions from a different subdomain, allowing, for example, certain actors to ask hard questions (from an advanced subdomain) and others to ask easier questions, allowing the player to have some choice over problem difficulty (by seeking out “easy” actors). Note that subdomains do not even need to necessarily be related: an author can potentially develop an ITS that spans several subjects, with each subdomain representing an individual subject. In this way a game can teach several (logical) domains at once, with different actors tutoring different domains, or the game as a whole changing the domain subject in some logical way, such as giving the student a break from the main subject by tutoring some other related subject after a fixed amount of interaction. For example, a domain that teaches physics might also contain characters who tutor the student in calculus or algebra; students can seek these actors out if they are having trouble completing a physics question because of difficulties with the math. The same actor might even switch domains if it becomes apparent that the student lacks the background required to continue. When teaching a second language, for example, an actor might determine that the student has insufficient knowledge of basic grammar (as indicated by repeatedly failing one or more constraints regarding, say, word order); the actor might therefore switch domains to English grammar until the student demonstrates sufficient competence in this domain. Actors also have control over the structure of interactions, including what happens when the user gets an answer right or wrong. In the latter case WETAS returns a severity (from 0 to 1) as well as feedback about errors. The severity is computed based on the likelihood the student would have made that error; the less likely (i.e. the more certain the system is that the student knew the underlying concepts) the higher the severity. The actor can use this to moderate their response. For example, if the error severity is low, the encountered actor might immediately give the player another chance. For the moderate case it might become unresponsive for some period or refuse any further interaction, while for severe errors (i.e. in situations where the student should have known the answer) it might penalize the player by subtracting points or harming their actor in some way. This feature is intended to be used to moderate both educational and game “flow”: if a student is performing well in the game it suggests they are finding the material easy (or easy to learn). The game creator therefore has the ability to tailor either the educational content (to focus on learning speed) or the game response (to maintain an appropriate game flow) or both. The latter arguably would contribute

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to motivation by keeping the game suitably challenging for the student, whereas moderating just the educational content might be insufficient to keep the student sufficiently engaged. Because the games are written using the Greenfoot development tool, the game developer is also free to extend or tailor Greenmind itself, by modifying Greenmind’s classes or developing new ones. For example, Greenmind provides a standard interface for retrieving data from the student via a free text field in a dialog box. However, developers can create alternate classes that interact in other ways, such as presenting radio buttons for multiplechoice questions or invoking a speech recognition function. This feature allows game creators to include sophisticated assessment items in the game if required, similar to Code Conspiracy’s embedded quizzes, essays etc. As stated previously Greenmind hides interaction with the WETAS server by encapsulating it in methods of the Tutor class, which are inherited by the actors in the game. A summary of these methods is given in Table 4. Table 4. Tutor interface Method Constructor GetProblem(problemNumber) GetProblem()

Description Sets up the connection with the WETAS server Retrieves the requested problem from WETAS Retrieves the problem considered by WETAS to be the most suitable for this student GetFeedback(feedbackType, solution) Submits the student’s request to WETAS and retrieves the response WriteObject Serializes an object of this type (for saving the game to disk) ReadObject Reloads this object from a serialized representation (for reloading a game from disk).

An example of the API in action is given in the next section. Greenmind includes a Wizard for packaging the final game. The author first specifies the Game title, author and a general description. They then add as many Greenfoot scenarios as they wish, i.e. a single intelligent “game” may be made up of many scenarios. In this way a single tutoring system can present multiple interfaces in a single application, or the game can consist of multiple levels of increasing difficulty, for example. Disparate scenarios can also be packaged into one Greenmind game, creating a whole suite of related resources. Each scenario is given a name and description. Additionally, any required libraries can be added, allowing external code to be incorporated. Greenmind then creates a directory containing all of the required files. We now describe two ITS games implemented in Greenmind to demonstrate its capabilities.

Turtle’s Rare Ingredient Hunt “Turtle’s rare ingredient hunt” (“Turtle” for short) is a simple role-playing game that was developed by a team of third year University students at the University of Canterbury New Zealand, to illustrate the capabilities of Greenmind. Figure 8 shows a screenshot of the game


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in action. The plot of the game is simple: turtle is required to collect rare ingredients for a special dinner his mother wants to cook. To obtain these ingredients he must move around the playing area and interact with the other players, who will quiz him on various subjects before offering their help.

Figure 8. Screenshot of “Turtle’s Rare Ingredient Hunt”.

The game authors were conversant with Greenmind, having implemented the software as part of a Software Engineering project, but they knew very little about intelligent tutoring systems. In order to develop the ITS side of the game they provided us with a list of problems (and their solutions); we then developed the ITS in WETAS. The questions were from a variety of subjects, including arithmetic, English and Java programming. We built a single ITS whose domain model contained constraints for all of these domains, and divided it into one subdomain per subject, allowing the game authors to select the subject by using the appropriate subdomain. For example, Tux (the penguin) asks questions about Java; the wombat (who is a non-English native speaker) asks questions about English. Because the ITS component is logically separated from the rest of the system, game developers are free to develop the game in any way they please. For example, we originally envisaged the games would be role-playing, involving just independent conversations between the player and other actors, since this is the simplest model for delivering the ITS

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content. In “Turtle” however the interaction is somewhat more subtle: when the student gets an answer correct, some actors will rearrange the game world in some way. For example, when the student has answered the wombat’s questions correctly he removes a piece of wall, enabling the player to reach the silhouette man’s house. Similarly, in visiting the silhouette man the player delivers him a message, which now makes the silhouette woman more cooperative. “Turtle” is a very simple game that was developed by ITS non-experts. As well as illustrating a typical Greenmind game, it is also engaging to play. It was developed largely independently of the ITS that it serves; the game developers provided the questions but this was not a necessity. It would be a trivial exercise to modify “Turtle” to ask questions about a different domain simply by changing the domain and subdomain names referenced by the actors. Thus it is a reusable resource that could be adapted to be the front-end for a tutor in any domain where the problems are solved by providing a single textual answer. For example, the Language Builder ITS, which teaches spelling and vocabulary via word puzzles, could be easily ported to “Turtle”. This aspect illustrates how the separation of the game from the ITS allows re-use of both of these components. Figure 9 illustrates a typical implementation of an ITS-aware actor in Greenmind. For this game all interaction with WETAS is performed by the other characters in the game: when the player’s character is close to another actor they can attempt to communicate with it by pressing a key. The player’s actor then calls the respond() method in the encountered actor’s class. The code in Figure 9 is taken from the Wombat class. The respond() method determines how the wombat will respond to being spoken to. First, it checks whether or not the wombat has already been spoken to successfully (i.e. the student has answered all the wombat’s questions, who in turn has removed a piece of wall to enable the Turtle to get to the silhouette man’s house). If not, it displays an appropriate dialog (messages one through five, loaded by the wombat’s constructor). It then calls askQuestion() to initiate a problem-solving dialog. Otherwise, it displays an appropriate message indicating it has already done its job. The askQuestion() method performs the main interaction with WETAS. Here it loops through questions 21 through 28, asking the student to answer each in turn. The call to getProblem(i) retrieves the ith problem from WETAS. Note that the developer has chosen to select particular questions by number; alternatively they could ask WETAS to get the next most appropriate question for this student, supplying keywords for filtering if required. The call to io.getBoolean() then retrieves the response from the student. The Tutor method getFeedback() is then called to submit the solution to WETAS and retrieve the response; the parameter value “HINT” indicates the type of feedback to be returned. In this example the wombat simply responds with a static message when the student has got the answer wrong; it could also take any other action the developer wishes, such as displaying the feedback returned by WETAS, deducting points or becoming agitated or unresponsive. There is no other ITS-dependent code in the Wombat class; the rest is conventional Greenfoot development. The other actors in the game all have similar code to the wombat. The total game-specific code written is less than 2000 lines of Java. There are 24 game-specific classes: the world, 14 inanimate objects (averaging 40 lines of code each) and nine actors with code ranging from 60 to 200 lines each. Despite being a fairly sophisticated and engaging game, Turtle is a very small software application. On the WETAS side Turtle only has rudimentary intelligent tutors supporting it; there are four subdomains (English, Java, Java QA, and algebra) containing a


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total of 44 problems. The domain model was just a skeleton designed to demonstrate that the game was working; in practice we would normally expect an ITS to contain several hundred problems and hundreds, if not thousands, of constraints in the domain model. Creation of the ITS is therefore a much larger (and arguably more complex) task than creating the game, supporting the decision to separate the game interface from the ITS so that existing tutoring systems might be re-used through a game interface. // Invokes a response from this actor. Called by the player public void respond() { if(!hasGreenWallGone()) { printMessages("Wombat", 0, 5); askQuestions(); } else { printMessages("Wombat", 10, 10); } } // Asks the player questions and acts on the response public void askQuestions() { try { for(int i = 21; i

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