An Analysis for the Identification of Use and Development of Game Design Strategies as Problem Posing Activities for Early Childhood Learners

In this conference paper, George Kalmpourtzis et al. observe that examining and identifying the way that designers approach game design could support the improvement of game design curricula. The paper further explores how kids in the early childhood approach develop and apply game design strategies during participatory game design sessions. During a period of three months, eighteen kindergarten learners participated in game design sessions, creating their own games. The data analysis suggests that those learners applied different game design strategies than the ones they initially started using. The frequency and intensity of the use of those strategies also changed, showing patterns that indicate learners’ development in their use of game design strategies and add empirical evidence to the field of game design education. Additionally, the Game Design Strategies Analysis (GDSA) is presented, which elaborates on the different types of strategies encountered when designing games.

If you use the article, please cite as:

Kalmpourtzis G., Romero M., De Smet C., Veglis A. (2021) An Analysis for the Identification of Use and Development of Game Design Strategies as Problem Posing Activities for Early Childhood Learners. In: Auer M.E., Tsiatsos T. (eds) Internet of Things, Infrastructures and Mobile Applications. IMCL 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1192. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49932-7_6

Assessment of Co-Creativity in the Process of Game Design

In this article (open access), Romero et al. consider game design as a sociocultural and knowledge modelling activity, engaging participants in the design of a scenario and a game universe based on a real or imaginary socio-historical context, where characters can introduce life narratives and interaction that display either known social realities or entirely new ones. In this research, participants of the co-creation activity are Malaysian students who were working in groups to design game-based learning resources for rural school children. After the co-creativity activity, the students were invited to answer the co-creativity scale, an adapted version of the Assessment Scale of Creative Collaboration (ASCC), combining both the co-creativity factors and learners’ experiences on their interests, and difficulties they faced during the co-creativity process. The preliminary results showed a high diversity on the participants’ attitudes towards collaboration, especially related to their preferences towards individual or collaborative work.

If you use the article, please cite as:

Romero, M., Arnab, S., De Smet, C., Mohamad, F.S., Abdelouma, S., Minoi, J-L. et Morini, L. (2019). Assessment of Co-Creativity in the Process of Game Design. The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 17(3), pp. 199-206.

A game-based learning approach to teach mathematics to unaccompanied minors in Paris

In this conference paper, Iro Bartzia and Cindy De Smet discuss their experiences with a game-based learning approach to teach mathematics to unaccompanied minors.

Their conference paper discusses the conception and the realization of a serious game whose first objective is the discovery of different domains of mathematics by problem solving and the development of logical skills. The game was based on the escapED framework (by Sylvester Arnab et al.), and has been specifically designed for unaccompanied migrant children; in the sense that it takes into account cultural, linguistic and technological barriers, and targets (as a secondary objective) to decrease their sense of isolation and exclusion by including different cultural and geographical elements. Furthermore, all physical senses were represented to increase the motivation and implication of the players. This study describes two different iterations of a serious game; the second took place after evaluating the first one.

Please cite as: Bartzia, I.; De Smet, C. (2019). A Game-based learning approach to teach mathematics to unaccompanied minors in Paris. In: ICERI2019 Proceedings, pp. 5146-5155. ISBN: 978-84-09-14755-7

Proceedings of the ANR​# CreaMaker​ workshop: co-creativity, robotics and maker education.

From April 1st till April 3th 2019 an international research seminar entitled “Co-créativité et numérique” has been organized, as part of the ANR-project #CreaMaker, by the research group LINE @ Université Côte d’Azur. The proceedings of this conference have been edited by Laura Cassone, Margarida Romero, Thierry Vieville, Cindy De Smet & Mbemba
Ndiaye.

We cite here Margarida Romero, in charge of the ANR project and head of the LINE research lab: “The ANR #CreaMaker project aims to analyse the development of creativity in the context of team-based maker activities combining tinkering and digital fabrication (Barma, Romero, & Deslandes, 2017; Fleming, 2015).maker activities combining tinkering and digital fabrication (Barma, Romero, & Deslandes, 2017; Fleming, 2015). This first workshop of the ANR #CreaMaker project aims to raise the question on
the concept, activities and assessment of creativity in the context of maker education and its different approaches : computational thinking (Class’Code, AIDE), collective innovation (Invent@UCA), game design (Creative Cultures), problem solving (CreaCube), child-robot interactions and sustainable development activities. Researchers from Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Italy and Spain will reunite with LINE researchers and the MSc SmartEdTech students in order to advance in how we can design, orchestrate and evaluate co-creativity in technology enhanced learning (TEL) contexts, and more specifically, in maker based education.”

Please cite as: Cassone, L., Romero, M., Vieville, T., De Smet, C., & Ndiaye, M. (2019). Proceedings of the ANR​# CreaMaker​ workshop: co-creativity, robotics and maker education.

Conference paper: Quand le TPACK rencontre la créativité. When TPACK meets creativity.

De Smet Cindy, Romero Margarida, Heiser Laurent.
Laboratoire d’Innovation et Numérique pour l’Education, ESPE Académie de Nice, Université Nice Sophia Antipolis.

Au sein du labo LINE, nous avons développé un dispositif visant à analyser le TPACK et les perceptions et les attitudes vers la créativité auprès d’un groupe d’élèves professeurs de l’ESPE de Nice. Les résultats préliminaires ont été présentés dans le cadre du colloque SFERE Provence 2018 à Marseille.

Within our research group, we conducted a cohort study of pre-service teachers at the teacher department of Nice University to research the students’ TPACK knowledge base in relation to their perceptions and attitudes towards creativity. Preliminary results were presented at the SFERE Provence 2018 conference in Marseille.

Conference abstract (ENG) + Résumé de conférence (FR)

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I just started my second year as a professor @ ESPE Académie de Nice (teacher department) of Université Nice Sophia Antipolis. Unfortunately, on a personal level, last year wasn’t really “a grand cru”. I was hit on my head by a falling pineapple (no joke), leaving me K.O. for a couple of months.

This year will be better. Our research lab, le laboratoire d’innovation et numérique pour l’Education (#fabLINE), is getting up to speed. Several publications are in the pipeline; research seminars take place, leading to fruitful interactions between staff, invited experts and students.

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Differential impact of learning path based versus conventional instruction in science education

This article ‘Differential impact of learning path based versus conventional instruction in science education‘, analyzes the differential impact of the instructional formats on learning outcomes, considering variations in group setting and group composition. Given the focus on science learning, gender was also considered. Multilevel analysis was applied, and the results show empirical evidence for superior performance for both boys and girls in the learning path condition as compared with that in the conventional condition. In addition, when girls collaborate, they perform best within same-sex groups, whereas boys achieve better results in mixed-gender groups. The implications of the findings are important for tackling the gender gap in science learning. The findings can lead to guidelines for teachers who want to implement learning paths within an optimal learning environment design.

If you use the article, please cite as:

De Smet, C., De Wever, B., Schellens, T., & Valcke, M. (2016). Differential impact of learning path based versus conventional instruction in science education. Computers & Education, 99, 53-67.

A Qualitative Study on Learning and Teaching With Learning Paths in a Learning Management System

This article, ‘A Qualitative Study on Learning and Teaching With Learning Paths in a Learning Management System‘, presents the findings of a qualitative study (carried out between 2011 and 2013) about the adoption and implementation of learning paths within a Learning Management System (LMS). Sixteen secondary school biology teachers of the GO! Network in Flanders (an urbanized region in Belgium) were involved in the study and questioned via semi-structured interviews. Two research questions are addressed: (1) what are the perceived conditions at school and at teacher level affecting the use of learning paths? (2) how are these conditions related to the expected outcomes? Research results show teachers are satisfied with learning paths as an educational tool, but reflect mixed feelings as to the impact on student learning outcomes. Clear barriers are identified at the school and teacher level, thwarting the implementation of learning paths in secondary education. The availability of a reliable and accessible ICT infrastructure, the quality of technical and pedagogical support, teacher professional development and the mastery of teacher Information and Communication Technology competencies, among others, were found to be essential.

If you use the article, please cite as:

De Smet, C., Valcke, M., Schellens, T., De Wever, B., & Vanderlinde, R. (2016). A Qualitative Study on Learning and Teaching With Learning Paths in a Learning Management System. Journal of Social Science Education, 15(1), 27-37.

Rethinking learning paths: test our ideas against the traditional LMS

I’m working a on project where we want to offer our students online learning paths which are adapted to their needs and thus take into account the very diverse student inflow we encounter. In order to construct an answer on this challenge, I will write a few blog posts.

Note: Please consider also reading the previous post where I tackled the conceptual framework of learning paths (if you want the complete story).

Can we use the learning path tool in our current LMS, if we want to benefit from the new learning path design you described in the previous post?

chamillo

Continue reading “Rethinking learning paths: test our ideas against the traditional LMS”

Rethinking learning paths: conceptual design

I’m working a on project where we want to offer our students online learning paths which are adapted to their needs and thus take into account the very diverse student inflow we encounter. Although I wrote this text with the previous objective in mind, it can be applied to other learning situations as well.

How ‘traditional learning paths’ work:

LP2

After a teacher creates and/or collects learning objects, he can start to bundle or sequence learning objects into learning paths. Most LMS (Learning Management Systems) only allow sequential learning paths, resulting in rather static designs and non-dynamic user-experiences. For example: if the teacher wants to leave room for discussion, a link to a separate tool can be added (e.g. a forum). Learners clicking on this  link will leave the learning path tool, and start/continue a discussion in a separate (discussion) tool. Such a work around doesn’t work on mobile and is not user-friendly, but hey, LMS are pre-year 2000 technology after all. Continue reading “Rethinking learning paths: conceptual design”