Evaluation of games for teaching computer science

Abstract

Well-designed educational games (both online and offline) can be a valuable way to engage students with a topic. However, games can also be a time-consuming distraction, so it is useful to be able to identify which are suitable. This paper provides guidelines for evaluating games, and applies them to identify promising games. We begin by defining what is meant by a game, ruling out simple animations or quizzes, and focusing on a more playful approach to education. Based on this definition, we have identified games that are available for teaching topics in computer science, and classified them. We have developed criteria for evaluating games based on existing research on educational games, combined with educational theory and considering them in the context of CS. The criteria developed cover the topics taught, how easy it is to install and run, how engaging the game is, and how much time students might invest to use the game. We find that although there are a number of worthwhile games in the field of CS and most are free, the coverage of topics is very patchy, with most focused on programming concepts and binary numbers.

Learning computer science by watching video games

“…We designed an introductory CS course called Introduction to computer science through video games 1 . This course has a total of 15 lessons, each 90 min long.…”

“…They are also utilized as learning tools to enhance people's interest in some learning activity, including the CS field. Approaches in which video games are used for education include educational games [1,2] and game development practice [3].…”

Starting from scratch

“…Consequently, we now have a wide choice of tools and approaches, but no "best ones" have currently emerged. More research such as [5] should therefore be performed. Our own experiment described in Section 2.3 also provides a contribution.…”

Jogos Digitais no Ensino de Conceitos de Programação para Crianças

“…Além disso, existem estratégias de ensino que incorporam jogos digitais ao longo do processo de ensino e aprendizagem de programação [Karadeniz, Samur e Ozden 2014]. Observando-se o mercado de jogos digitais, nota-se uma quantidade crescente de aplicativos voltados ao ensino de programação para crianças [Falcão, Gomes e Albuquerque 2015;Gibson e Bell 2013]. Comumente, estes jogos envolvem sequenciamento de instruções, repetição, condicionais, funções, parâmetros e depuração, englobando quase todos os tópicos de programação propostos por currículos como o CSTA/ACM e Computing at School para esta faixa etária [Gibson e Bell 2013, Gomes e Alencar 2015.…”

“…Observando-se o mercado de jogos digitais, nota-se uma quantidade crescente de aplicativos voltados ao ensino de programação para crianças [Falcão, Gomes e Albuquerque 2015;Gibson e Bell 2013]. Comumente, estes jogos envolvem sequenciamento de instruções, repetição, condicionais, funções, parâmetros e depuração, englobando quase todos os tópicos de programação propostos por currículos como o CSTA/ACM e Computing at School para esta faixa etária [Gibson e Bell 2013, Gomes e Alencar 2015. No entanto, foram encontrados poucos relatos de iniciativas utilizando jogos digitais voltadas ao ensino fundamental e a educação infantil no cenário nacional.…”