Alternate Reality Games as an Informal Learning Tool for Generating STEM Engagement among Underrepresented Youth: a Qualitative Evaluation of the Source

“Helping Nemo!”—Using Augmented Reality and Alternate Reality Games in the Context of Universal Design for Learning

“…In line with the aforementioned, another important finding that aligns with the ARG literature is that our data suggest that collaborative puzzle-solving constitutes an important factor of engagement for students [23,25,77]. The children in our study stressed the fact that they enjoyed working collaboratively to solve the puzzles, as well as to create their own puzzles.…”

“…On the contrary, all the students stated that they would like to play again, to learn more via puzzle-solving, and have more fun. In line with other studies that explored students' engagement through ARG [23], 'Helping Nemo' can be characterised as flexible in the achievement of learning objectives by facilitating the inclusion of playful and interdisciplinary practices. In the same spirit, Jagoda et al [73] (p. 95) argue that 'play is crucial to the process of learning to be flexible, adaptable, and collaborative in ways that can help learners engage in critical practice enabling them to belong to and resist the historical present'.…”

“…it is not the tools, themselves, that are important; Rather, it is the pedagogical approaches and psychological constructs each enables that matter most'. In relation to this, during the last years serious alternate reality games (henceforth ARG) have begun to gain popularity within the educational field [21][22][23]. Serious ARG, as the name suggests, engage players in an alternate, fictional reality.…”

The Status of Women in STEM in Higher Education: A Review of the Literature 2007–2017

“…A variety of causes have contributed to failed recruitment efforts (Wang and Degol 2016), including social factors (Cho et al 2009;Lyon 2013;Thackeray 2016), institutional structures (Bottia et al 2015), poor advising (Lee 2008), and early education classroom environments (Han 2016). However, studies show that developing an identity linked to STEM from a young age (Bieri Buschor et al 2014;McCarthy and Berger 2008), having supportive families (Burge 2013;Lee 2016;Lyon 2013), access to quality advising (Byars-Winston 2014;Bystydzienski, Eisenhart, and Bruning 2015), and exposure to gender-inclusive video games (Bonner 2015;Borghetti 2014;Gilliam et al 2017) can all play a part in the choice to pursue a career in these disciplines before enrolling on college.…”

Using a game‐to‐class pipeline to teach ecology

“…They identified biases in sampling and compared results across procedures and schools. Although there could be issues of technology accessibility, particularly in rural or low-income classrooms (Gilliam et al 2017), game play represents an important technique for diversifying classrooms.…”