MiniColon; Teaching Kids Computational Thinking Using an Interactive Serious Game

Ayman, Reham; Sharaf, Nada; Ahmed, Ghada; Abdennadher, Slim

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02762-9_9

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Finally, based on teachers' perceptions, students are expected to easily understand the basic concepts of CT (60% agree, 40% strongly agree) by playing BlocklyScript which is the primary aim of this game. Similar favorable results were indicated in a research for the effectiveness of MiniColon for cultivating CT and programming skills to children (Ayman et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…"MiniColon" is an EG that aims at teaching young children the preliminary concepts of programming (sequential blocks, conditional blocks and iterative blocks) by controlling an avatar with a Kinetic Sensor device (Ayman et al, 2018). Similar to "Minerva" the game was evaluated by 8 young students who played the game and 7 students who approached the basic programming concepts through a traditional education method.…”

Section: Game-based Learning Pedagogymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

BlocklyScript: Design and Pilot Evaluation of an RPG Platform Game for Cultivating Computational Thinking Skills to Young Students

Karakasis¹,

Xinogalos²

2020

Informatics in Education

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Game-based Learning Pedagogymentioning

confidence: 99%

BlocklyScript: Design and Pilot Evaluation of an RPG Platform Game for Cultivating Computational Thinking Skills to Young Students

Karakasis¹,

Xinogalos²

2020

Informatics in Education

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“…In contrast to block-based and visual programming environments (or design-based learning environments), these educational games have the capacity to support more purposeful learning due to different game elements (e.g., Land, 2000). For instance, Eagle and Barnes (2009), Esper et al (2014), and Ayman et al (2018) developed Wu's Castle, CodeSpell, and MiniColon for teaching early programming and supporting knowledge of CT, respectively. While a number of studies have reported these games as having a positive impact on learners' programming skills and CT, they are not fully aligned with CT.…”

Section: Educational Games Targeting Computational Thinkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are several educational games that aim to foster students' CT, such as CodeSpell (Esper et al, 2014) and MiniColon (Ayman et al, 2018); however, they mostly focus on helping students gain theoretical concepts, such as sequence and conditional logic, as well as enhancing their learning motivation, while the provision of prompts to enhance students' CT skills (e.g., pattern generalization and debugging) are generally ignored (Hooshyar et al, 2019a;Kazimoglu et al, 2011Kazimoglu et al, , 2012Zhang & Nouri, 2019;Zhao & Shute, 2019). One possible reason is that it is usually easier to promote and directly assess CT concepts than CT skills (Lye & Koh, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

From Gaming to Computational Thinking: An Adaptive Educational Computer Game-Based Learning Approach

Hooshyar

Pedaste

Yang

et al. 2020

Journal of Educational Computing Research

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Educational games have been increasingly used to improve students’ computational thinking. However, most existing games have focused on the theoretical knowledge of computational thinking, ignoring the development of computational thinking skills. Moreover, there is a lack of integration of adaptivity into educational computer games for computational thinking, which is crucial to addressing individual needs in developing computational thinking skills. In this study, we present an adaptive educational computer game, called AutoThinking, for developing students’ computational thinking skills in addition to their conceptual knowledge. To evaluate the effects of the game, we conducted an experimental study with 79 elementary school students in Estonia, where the experimental group learned with AutoThinking, while the control group used a traditional technology-enhanced learning approach. Our findings show that learning with the adaptive educational computer game significantly improved students’ computational thinking related to both conceptual knowledge and skills. Moreover, students using the adaptive educational computer game showed a significantly higher level of interest, satisfaction, flow state, and technology acceptance in learning computational thinking. Implications of the findings are also discussed.

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“…A programming learning environment, especially block-based programming, has been reported to be an appropriate approach for cultivating CT (Grover & Pea, 2013). Some studies have explored games based on programming learning environments for teaching CT (e.g., Wu’s Castle (Eagle & Barnes, 2009), CodeCombat (Saines et al, 2013), and MiniColon (Ayman et al, 2018)). People can effectively solve various problems and cultivate CT through game-based learning (GBL) (Kazimoglu et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Game-Based Learning for Students’ Computational Thinking: A Meta-Analysis

Zhang

Zhu

et al. 2023

Journal of Educational Computing Research

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Computational thinking (CT) education has drawn increasing attention from educators and researchers. This study conducted a meta-analysis of 27 empirical studies to examine the effectiveness of game-based learning (GBL) for fostering students’ CT. The effects of various factors on the learning process for acquiring CT were also examined. The results showed that (a) conducting GBL can foster students’ CT, and the overall effect was at the upper-middle level (Hedges’ g = .600, 95% CI [.465, .735], p < .001). (b) Furthermore, conducting GBL can improve students’ CT concepts (Hedges’ g = .916, 95% CI [.410, 1.423], p < .001), CT skills (Hedges’ g = .494, 95% CI [.389, .600], p < .001), and CT perspectives (Hedges’ g = .927, 95% CI [.039, 1.816], p < .05). (c) Additionally, game mode, teaching context, and participant characteristics have positive effects on CT. Based on the findings, it is suggested that using more unplugged games and video games, designing collaborative game activities, and tailoring approaches according to gender difference and programming experience can effectively promote CT. The results have significance for fostering students’ CT in GBL; it is further suggested that instruction processes be rationally designed.

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MiniColon; Teaching Kids Computational Thinking Using an Interactive Serious Game

Cited by 20 publications

References 12 publications

BlocklyScript: Design and Pilot Evaluation of an RPG Platform Game for Cultivating Computational Thinking Skills to Young Students

BlocklyScript: Design and Pilot Evaluation of an RPG Platform Game for Cultivating Computational Thinking Skills to Young Students

From Gaming to Computational Thinking: An Adaptive Educational Computer Game-Based Learning Approach

Game-Based Learning for Students’ Computational Thinking: A Meta-Analysis

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