Treasure Explorers -- A Game as a Diagnostic Assessment Tool

Technology-Based Assessments for …, 2011

This paper describes the characteristics of games and how they can be applied to the design of innovative assessment tasks for formative and summative purposes. Examples of current educational games and game-like assessment tasks in mathematics, science, and English language learning are used to illustrate some of these concepts. We argue that the inclusion of some aspects from gaming technology may have a positive effect in the development of innovative assessment systems (e.g., by supporting the development of highly engaging assessment tasks). However, integrating game elements as part of assessment tasks is a complex process that needs to take into account not only the engaging or motivational aspects of the activity but also the quality criteria that are needed according to the type of assessment that is being developed. 1992). We argue that to achieve these particular goals, several conditions need to exist: (a) students need to be motivated to learn, (b) students need to be provided with appropriate learning opportunities, and (c) an assessment system that provides educational stakeholders with information needed to keep the education system functioning appropriately should be in place. This assessment system should be

2010

The increasing acceptance of video games as learning tools has promoted new studies on how to include them in the teaching-learning process. An interesting trend is the use of modern webbased Learning Management Systems (LMS) as a delivery platform for games and the integration of the information that can be extracted from the game-play sessions into the already existing tracking and assessment tools of the LMS. However, while LMS are increasingly supporting advanced tracking and assessment features, current LMS and standards are not ready to track the students' activity in highly interactive content such as games. In this paper we present the integration of games created with the educational gaming platform into Learning Activity Management System (LAMS). This integration allows teachers to use the information gathered during a game-play session to conduct the student through different activities of the learning plan or simply to collect more information that can be used for f...

Proceedings of the second ACM international workshop on Multimedia technologies for distance leaning - MTDL '10, 2010

The increasing acceptance of video games as learning tools has promoted new studies on how to include them in the teachinglearning process. An interesting trend is the use of modern webbased Learning Management Systems (LMS) as a delivery platform for games and the integration of the information that can be extracted from the game-play sessions into the already existing tracking and assessment tools of the LMS. However, while LMS are increasingly supporting advanced tracking and assessment features, current LMS and standards are not ready to track the students' activity in highly interactive content such as games. In this paper we present the integration of games created with the <e-Adventure> educational gaming platform into Learning Activity Management System (LAMS). This integration allows teachers to use the information gathered during a game-play session to conduct the student through different activities of the learning plan or simply to collect more information that can be used for further assessment and tracking purposes.

Proceedings of the 2012 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 2012

The evaluation process is key for educator's acceptance of any educational action. The evaluation is challenging in most cases but especially when educational games are used. In educational games if in-game evaluation exist it is usually based on a series of simple goals and whether these goals are achieved (i.e. assessment). But we consider that evaluation can be improved by taking advantage of in-game interaction, such as the user behavior during the game and the type and number of interactions performed by the user while playing. In this paper, we propose an evaluation framework for educational games based on in-game interaction data. We discuss how user interaction data is collected in the most automatic and seamless way possible, how to analyze the data to extract relevant information, and how to present this information in a usable way to educators so they achieve the maximum benefit from the experience. The evaluation framework is implemented as part of the eAdventure educational platform, where it can be used both to improve upon traditional basic assessment methods (i.e. goals, scores & reports) and to provide information to help improve interaction with games (e.g. discovery strategies).

In order to engage the new generation of learners, educational games were integrated in e-learning. Among the games' benefits for the learning process one will note their motivational potential. Since learners have different goals, preferences, skills, knowledge, as well as motivation, one-size-fits-all games cannot satisfy and motivate all learners equally. Moreover, during the game play learners' motivation may easily change, thus motivation assessment is required for enabling motivation-based adaptation. This paper proposes a methodology to assess learner motivation in educational games based on motivation assessment metrics used in the e-learning area. The paper shows how these metrics can be mapped and integrated with an educational game using the game development medium (an authoring tool in this case). The proposed solution can be easily applied to other educational games and can further contribute towards adaptive games that aim to keep players motivated and to support them to achieve the learning outcome.

2012

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2016

Learner assessment in learning games (LG) is an interesting research area for both academia and industry. The play traces resulting from the learner's activity in LGs with large state spaces and a large amount of free interactions, are hard to analyze and to interpret by teachers. In this paper, we present a framework to assist the building of an expert's solving process that is the base of the algorithm that analyzes player's traces and generates pedagogical labels about the learner's behavior.

To reveal what is being learned during the gaming experience, this report proposes an approach for embedding assessments in immersive games, drawing on recent advances in assessment design. Key to this approach are formative assessment to guide instructional experiences and evidence-centered design to systematically analyze the assessment argument (including the claims about the learner and the evidence that supports or fails to support those claims).

It is commonly acknowledged that intrinsically motivated learning makes for better students. Yet, facilitating students to become intrinsically motivated to learn is difficult, if not, impossible to accomplish. As every student has different and personal intrinsic needs, the design of regulations that satisfy intrinsic needs may seem an unfruitful approach to serious game design. Inspired by research to the beta-version of the second language game CheckOut!, we propose a different approach to serious game design, based on identified regulations. Identified regulations are negotiations with personal valued rules. The regulations can be positioned between external regulations (based on punishments and rewards) and intrinsic regulations (based on a personal willingness to act). To develop identified regulations, game designers should create a correspondence between the game regulations and the student’s perceptions about the educational instruction. To accomplish this fit, game designers could not conceal the learning within a game, but explicitly communicate the constructed knowledge to the player. Progressive feedback, the availability of various learning styles in the game, and the embedding of the game in a social environment, might satisfy students’ needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness to significant others. When these needs are satisfied within the context of the educational instructions, students might become motivated to learn during play, and even when the game is over.

Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose and demonstrate an evidence‐based scenario design framework for assessment‐based computer games.Design/methodology/approachThe evidence‐based scenario design framework is presented and demonstrated by using BELLA, a new assessment‐based gaming environment aimed at supporting student learning of vocabulary and math. BELLA integrates assessment and learning into an interactive gaming system that includes written conversations, math activities, oral and written feedback in both English and Spanish, and a visible psychometric model that is used to adaptively select activities as well as feedback levels. This paper also reports on a usability study carried out in a public middle school in New York City.FindingsThe evidence‐based, scenario design framework proves to be instrumental in helping combine game and assessment requirements. BELLA demonstrates how advances in artificial intelligence in education, cognitive science, educational measur...