Games on Mobiles via Web or Virtual Reality Technologies: How to Support Learning for Biomedical Laboratory Science Education

Abstract

Simulations, serious games, and virtual reality (SSG) applications represent promising support for achieving practical proficiency, but it is difficult to know how to introduce them into a new environment. This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of introducing new SSGs to a non-computer related educational environment—biomedical laboratory science (BLS) education. By following the choice, construction, and evaluation of a gamified app for practicing phlebotomy (StikkApp), not only the usefulness of the application, but also the general needs and possibilities for supporting SSG applications, are discussed. This paper presents the evaluation of StikkApp through an experimental study examining its use on mobile devices, as a web app and by discussing challenges for a corresponding virtual reality app by BLS students and their teachers. This evaluation focused on questions concerning usage scenarios, technologies, and how the design of the app can be aligned to learning goals necessary for education. By discussing these requirements and possibilities for apps and technology support for using SSG apps for BLS students, this paper contributes to a better understanding of using digital support for sustainable education.

Supporting School Aged Children to Train Their Vision by Using Serious Games

“…Several training software based on Serious Games (SG) offer improvements with increased motivation and high user experiences, especially for younger children [51]. Digitizing and gamifying the training and learning has several advantages: it makes it more motivating to perform exercises [52,53] which focus on learning basic, often boring things, e.g., methods in engineering [54], or allowing repeated training for increasing skills and competencies in handling emergency cases [55][56][57].…”

“…SG is used on several platforms and often incorporates new technologies. Examples are: using mobile technologies to allow learning outside of a classroom [53], ETs to steer and react to eye movements [13,36], hand-tracking to respond to hand gestures [58], or allowing more immersive experiences, e.g., via head-mounted displays [59] or augmented reality [60]. By recording and examining each movement, one can measure the progress in these games, often automatically and immediately.…”

Rethinking Digital Literacy Competencies of Indonesian Nursing Student in IR 4.0: Philosophical Context<em> </em>

“…For novice students, some favored mobile flexibilty while others approved the bigger screen available for the web form version. Positive towards VR if controls are customized, but a bit skeptical regarding lack of portability (27).…”

Technology and Education: A Deterministic and Instrumentalist Philosophical Approach

“…Findings from these investigations had yielded continuous debates in the education industry. Therefore, giving births to two different emerging schools of thought, 1) technologies as a positive channel to achieve educational success [13,14,15]. 2) technologies as distractions and barriers to deep engagement, having a negative influence on students' performance [16,17].…”

“…Further insights into the available earlier studies reveal that educational technologies at any education level were examined as channels supporting traditional education pedagogy [8,13,14,17].…”