Rating for Serious Games

A Rating Tool for Sharing Experiences with Serious Games 

M. Hendrix, P. Backlund, B. Vampula, 

International Journal of Game-Based Learning (IJGBL), 

volume 4(4), pp. 1-18, 2014.

DOI: 10.4018/ijgbl.2014100101

Abstract:

The potential of Computer Games for non-entertainment purposes, such as education, is well established. A wide variety of games have been developed for the educational market, covering subjects such as mathematics and languages. However, while a growing industry developing educational games exist, the practical uptake in schools is not as high as one would expect, based on current evidence of their effectiveness. The EduGameLab project investigates causes and solutions to the relatively low level of uptake in European schools. This paper describes a rating tool for sharing experiences about educational games among educators and parents, developed in the EduGameLab project. The ambition is that sharing knowledge about how games can be used in practice will stimulate practical use and acceptance. The development of this tool is based on a metadata schema for formally describing serious games and experiences with these games.

DOI: 10.4018/ijgbl.2014100101

Sample of the paper: http://www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=121791&ptid=91477&t=A%20Rating%20Tool%20for%20Sharing%20Experiences%20with%20Serious%20Games

If you'd like to find out more about Computing at the University of Northampton go to: www.computing.northampton.ac.uk. All views and opinions are the author's and do not necessarily reflected those of any organisation they are associated with

Learning Smart - a community-driven, best learning resource sharing website.

Dr James Xue from Department of Computing and Immersive Technologies, University of Northampton and Ahmed Salim (an MSc Computing student) have developed a community-driven, best learning resource sharing website. 

Originally developed as his Ahmed's dissertation under James supervision, it is now live at  www.learningsmart.co.uk

The following are some of the main features: 

1. Top-five resource list for each subject area is updated at real-time (nearly) automatically based on real users’ reviews (one user can only review a resource once, this stops fake reviews)
2. Learning resources are classified based on levels of difficulty (e.g., beginner, intermediate, advanced) so that learners won’t waste time searching for the right resources or reading inappropriate resources.
3. Any contribution (upload and review of resources, interaction with other learners) will be rewarded some points, top contributors are displayed on the home page. As a result, more good resources are expected.
4. Users can create learning groups and other learners at similar levels can join the groups.
5. Messaging service allows learners to discuss issues on a one-to-one basis.
6. Seamless Facebook integration to reach wider audience. e.g.,Facebook login, cross comments on both sites.
7. Personalised reading lists allow learners to create their own learning portfolio.

James Xue "... this site will benefit our students and other learners in general in many aspects. e.g., it’s a good addition to our “Module Reading List” as they are created and reviewed by the community (instead of the lecturers). It encourages collaborative learning..."

Go have a go yourself go to http://www.learningsmart.co.uk/ 


If you'd like to find out more about Computing at the University of Northampton go to: www.computing.northampton.ac.uk. All views and opinions are the author's and do not necessarily reflected those of any organisation they are associated with