LGMD: Optimal Lightweight Metadata Model for Indexing Learning Games

Abstract

Learning Games (LGs) have proven to be effective in a large variety of academic fields and for all levels; from kindergarten to professional training. They are therefore very valuable learning resources that should be shared and reused. However, the lack of catalogues that allow teachers to find existing LGs is a significant obstacle to their use in class. It is difficult for catalogues, or any type of search engine, to index LGs because they are poorly referenced. Yet, many researches have proposed elaborate metadata models for LGs. However, all these models are extensions of LOM, a metadata model that is widely used for referencing learning resources, but that contains more than 60 fields, of which more than half are irrelevant to LGs. The gap between these models and the information that game designers are willing to provide is huge. In this paper, we analyze the LG metadata models proposed in previous research to detect the fields that are specific to LGs and the fields that are irrelevant to LGs. We then propose LGMD (Learning Games Metadata Definition), an optimal lightweight metadata model that only contains the important information for LG indexing. LGMD reduces by two thirds the number of fields compared to the previous models. We confronted this model with the information actually provided by LG editors, by analyzing 736 LG page descriptions found online. This study shows that LGMD covers all the information provided by the LG editors.

JEN-Planet: an Automatically Updating Serious Game Catalogue Designed with and for Teachers

“…As previously stated, this is because they were designed to describe games that are not necessarily educational [20]. The LGMD (Learning Games Metadata Definition) schema is designed specifically for educational SGs [21]. It contains 23 description fields with a focus on the description of pedagogical features (Figure 2).…”

Development of a Database of Educational Games Applicable to Production Engineering

“…Other authors argue that while there are catalogs of educational games available, they often require customization to meet teachers' specific requirements. Some catalogs are overly broad, making it challenging to locate relevant resources [13]. Researchers also report that catalogs on game developers' and distributors' websites must adhere to metadata standards.…”

“…Another author has reinforced this finding through research with 114 teachers in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields [11], highlighting a lack of information on where to find high-quality games as one of the main difficulties of implementing GBL. Other authors argue that teachers struggle to find appropriate materials because there is a lack of catalogs that encompass a wide range of games and filtering options [12]. Most are available since the majority of those catalogs tend to focus on a specific area or are overly generic [13].…”

“…Other authors argue that teachers struggle to find appropriate materials because there is a lack of catalogs that encompass a wide range of games and filtering options [12]. Most are available since the majority of those catalogs tend to focus on a specific area or are overly generic [13].…”

User-Centred Design Method for Digital Catalogue Interfaces

“…In a previous study, we show that it is possible to browse LG web sites and automatically collect 23 items of information, compliant with the Learning Games Metadata Definition (LGMD) [7]. These items include the educational topic for which the LG may be relevant, its game type and the platform requirement to play it.…”