The mis-categorizing of cognitive states involved in learning within virtual environments has complicated instructional technology research. Further, most educational computer game research does not account for how learning activity is influenced by factors of game content and differences in viewing perspectives. This study is a qualitative exploration into the nature of flow-the state of being absorbed by an activity, and presence-the sense of ''being there'' in a virtual learning environment. This study follows players' experiences within an immersive environment, with the notion of ''immersive'' being the extent to which the computer system delivers a surrounding environment. The data analysis includes videotaped activity, transcripts and interviews of six different games, three of which have explicit learning objectives derived from two different genres. While viewing perspective was previously thought to have significant influence on presence, flow, and learning, these findings suggest that four emergent categories (content, emotion, motivation, engagement) have more influence than perspective.
We discuss the design, creation and implementation of an instructional game for use in a high school poetry class following a commitment to an educational game design principle of alignment. We studied groups of instructional designers and an interactive fiction computer game they built. The game was implemented in a 9th grade English classroom to see if the designed alignments were realized in the classroom. Results from observations and collected design artifacts suggest the alignment theory created extra challenges and rewards for the game designers. They encountered tensions between creating an exciting game-like atmosphere with inventive programming techniques while remaining loyal to the narrative structure and instructional goals. Game-play transcripts and interviews with middle school participants offered additional insights into the successes and failures of intentional efforts to bring about educational game alignment.
Background. Training simulations provide opportunity for users to repeat actions in order to master a task. Once a mistake has been identified, however, difficulties may arise in replicating the exact sequence of previous actions, particularly in complex, open-ended environments.Technology. Alongside the advent of virtual 3D environments for learning, technology can more easily support a focus on the error in ways that were previously arduous.
Market 3D engines have all the capabilities needed for developing full-featured 3D simulation and game environments. However, for those in education and small business, it remains a formidable task to acquire the resources needed to purchase or create a development platform with cutting-edge capabilities. Leveraging existing and open-source software libraries can greatly enhance the main application development, freeing developers to focus more on the application concept itself rather than the needed supporting pieces. This article explores the nuances of successfully mixing core code with these third-party libraries in creating a fully functioning development environment. Many steps with accompanying checks-and-balances are involved in creating a game engine, including making choices of which libraries to use, and integrating the core code with third-party libraries. By offering insights into our open source driven process, we help inform the understanding of how game engines may be generated for other educational and small-budget projects.
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