The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) wave and advancement in technical infrastructures and in learning technology opens for new ways of teaching in the classroom. The teachers' laptops connected to a video projector, access to wireless network and the students smartphones, tablets or laptops can be utilized to enhance the interaction between the teacher and students, as well as boost the students motivation, engagement and learning. The introduction of new learning technology in the classroom normally results in immediate enthusiasm and excitement both from the teacher and the students. However, the immediate positive effects might fade when the new learning technology has become familiar to the teacher and the students. This paper shows the results from investigating the wear off effect of using the game-based student response system Kahoot! in classroom teaching. More specifically, it compares the results from students using Kahoot! for the first time in a single motivational lecture vs. using Kahoot! in every lecture in a class for five months. The quasi-experiment focuses on how the students' perception changes in relation to user-friendliness, engagement, motivation, classroom dynamics, concentration, and perceived learning. The results show a slight reduction in the students motivation and engagement, but the only statistically significant wear out effect found was related to classroom dynamics. At large, the game-based student response system managed to boost students engagement, motivation and learning after using it repeatedly for five months. The core factor found to keep the students attention after heavy repeated usage was found to be the competitive nature of Kahoot!.

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ObjectivesExergames can replace sedentary time spent on computer gaming with physical activity. Previous research has found exergaming to elicit light-to-moderate exercise intensity. Our primary aim was to examine the exercise intensity of a newly developed biking exergame.MethodsEight males (23.9±0.6 years) played the exergame (PLAY) and walked (WALK) on three separate occasions, with the condition counterbalanced and in random sequence within each day. They were asked to PLAY and WALK for a minimum of 15 min and then continue for as long as they wanted. We measured heart rate (HR), activity duration, caloric expenditure and subject-rated exertion and enjoyment (based on 0–10 Visual Analogue Scale, VAS). We used an average of each outcome variable across the 3 days in the analysis.ResultsThe average intensity during PLAY (73%±10% of HRmax) was significantly higher than that during WALK (57%±7% of HRmax, p=0.01). Participants spent 12.5±5.3 min at 80%–89% of HRmax and 5.5±4.6 min at ≥90% of HRmax during PLAY, whereas intensity during WALK was ≤72% of HRmax. The duration of PLAY was 44.3±0.7 min and of WALK 17.0±0.7 min (p=0.01). The relative energy expenditure during PLAY was 7.6±0.7 kcal/min and during WALK 6.2±0.3 kcal/min (p<0.01). The enjoyment of PLAY (VAS 8.7±0.1) was higher than that of WALK (VAS 3.9±1.8, p=0.01).ConclusionsExergaming can be an innovative way of enjoyable high-intensity training.

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This study aims at reviewing the published scientific literature on the topics of a game development-based learning (GDBL) method using game development frameworks (GDFs) with the perspective of (a) summarizing a guideline for using GDBL in a curriculum, (b) identifying relevant features of GDFs, and (c) presenting a synthesis of impact factors with empirical evidence on the educational effectiveness of the GDBL method. After systematically going through the available literature on the topic, 34 relevant articles were selected for the final study. We analyzed the articles from three perspectives: (1) pedagogical context and teaching process, (2) selection of GDFs, and (3) evaluation of the GDBL method. The findings from the 34 articles suggest that GDFs have many potential benefits as an aid to teach computer science, software engineering, art design, and other fields and that such GDFs combined with the motivation from games can improve the students’ knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors in contrast to the traditional classroom teaching. Furthermore, based on the results of the literature review, we extract a guideline of how to apply the GDBL method in education. The empirical evidence of current findings gives a positive overall picture and can provide a useful reference to educators, practitioners, and researchers in the area of game-based learning.

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