Learning immunology in a game: Learning outcomes, the use of player characters, immersion experiences and visual attention distributions

Abstract

This study contributed to the current body of literature on game‐based learning by investigating the way playing an educational game, Humunology, affected learning about the immune system and examining further the association between game immersion and visual attention distribution. A total of 79 undergraduate and graduate students participated, and data were collected both in situ and ex situ. The results showed that the students learned through playing Humunology, and the analyses of the use of player characters indicated that the game design facilitated gameplay behaviours that are consistent with the science content. The use of the eye‐tracking method also revealed that students who were more immersed in playing Humunology paid more attention to areas related to player characters. The interpretations and limitations are discussed further.

Technology External Cause or Individual Internal Cause? Multiple Ways to Improve the Online Learning Effectiveness of Tourism and Hospitality Management Students

“…(4) PP refers to students' tendency to interact spontaneously with online learning platforms (Shim & Shim, 2020). Interesting platforms can improve their learning quality and satisfaction, concentrate their attention and deepen their immersive experience (Cheng et al, 2017;Klock et al, 2019;Teng et al, 2021). When students find the online learning platform interesting, they can recognize the learning playfulness, and also helps their online learning positivity and effectiveness.…”

“…Interesting platforms create a relatively active learning atmosphere, further amplifying the learning environment advantages. It can enhance students' willingness to interact, learn and participate (Teng et al, 2021). SE can alleviate students' fear of difficulties and enhance their PU and PEU (Karabacak et al, 2019).…”

“…Thus, how to improve learning effectiveness has long been valued by scholars. Some researchers have proven that environmental factors play important roles in learning effectiveness, such as playfulness (Gao et al, 2020; Teng et al, 2021), interactions (Blasco-Arcas et al, 2013; Luo et al, 2017). There are also some papers that discuss the effects from the perspective of individual characteristics, including learning motivation (Cheng, 2013), self-efficacy (Karabacak et al, 2019; Wallace & Kernozek, 2017), learning attitude (Prior et al, 2016), and so forth.…”

Employing Eye Tracking to Study Visual Attention to Live Streaming: A Case Study of Facebook Live

“…A study investigating the educational effects of anthropology through a GBL approach was carried out to learn about the association between game immersion and visual attention distribution. The eye tracking technology showed that students who played anthropology in an immersive manner were more focused on the played character [86]. In a study of viewers' visual attention to subtitles in home shopping broadcasts, eye tracking technology was used to obtain objective data on visual attention to home shopping subtitles and to determine the factors that draw the visual attention to subtitles on television home shopping screens.…”

Comparing flow experience of medical students in cognitive, behavioral, and social educational games: A quasi-experimental study

“…Numerous positive outcomes have been linked to welldesigned, robust educational games such as motivation, satisfaction, engagement, joy, captivation, immersion, creativity, and problem-solving (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6). Currently, the relationship between flow experience and the mentioned outcomes is under investigation in educational games in higher education, mostly outside the field of medical education (7)(8)(9).…”