Mobile augmented reality for learning

Zdm, 2010

Computer games seem to have a potential for engaging students in meaningful learning, inside as well as outside of school. With the growing availability of mobile handheld technology (HHT), a number of location-based games for handheld mobile phones with GPS have been designed for educational use. The exploitation of this potential for engaging students into meaningful learning, however, so far remains unexplored. In an explorative design research, we investigated whether a location-based game with HHT provides opportunities for engaging in mathematical activities through the design of a geometry game called MobileMath. Its usability and opportunities for learning were tested in a pilot on three different secondary schools with 60 12–14-year-old students. Data were gathered by means of participatory observation, online storage of game data, an online survey and interviews with students and teachers. The results suggest that students were highly motivated, and enjoyed playing the game. Students indicated they learned to use the GPS, to read a map and to construct quadrilaterals. The study suggests learning opportunities that MobileMath provides and that need further investigation.

2006

Mobile phones are often carried in the pocket making them available for gaming any time. Mobile games typically rely on the joystick for input, but quality of the joystick is very different in the different devices. This paper presents Ancient Runes, a multiplayer mobile game that uses text input as the primary method for interacting with the game and other players. The players are required to type in the spells, such as "Quicksand" in order to cast the spells. We have evaluated the game with twenty players, and the results of our qualitative research suggest the game mechanism is very suitable for mobile gaming, and that the female audience might like this kind of a game.

Gamification is the current buzz word. It refers to "the use of game design elements in non-gaming contexts" . This paper aims at suggesting a new approach to this concept through taking one step back, and looking at "ludification" instead of "gamification". Relying on preexistent literature to infer the differences between gamification and ludification, and trace the characteristics of mobile games that may or may not contribute to the construction of a culture of playfulness and fun, the author wants to understand what is the real range of these two terms. Mobile apps and games should reflect these phenomena and help understand how are they part of contemporary culture and society and what do they tell us about the historical moment we are living in.

In this paper we explore how mobile devices and co-location in mobile contexts contribute social play in game design, addressing the limited understanding of social interactivity in mobile games. Using the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics (MDA) framework, we code four games illustrating effective use of mobile, social, and co-located elements. Subsequently, we analyse and discuss this data to identify generalisability in these games. In our discussion we identify how these findings address game design problems of designing collaborative games. Furthermore, we contribute to theory of designing for social play from the perspectives of co-located mobile contexts in game design by identifying how mobility: (1) affords co-locating with other players in public spaces, (2) supports physical interactions using spatial context and players bodies, extending games beyond their formal system, (3) supports asymmetric design with information and interaction. Finally we contribute the concept of a pocket magic circle, a particular magic circle, to support a focus on game design leveraging these intersecting properties.

This paper provides a rationale for a class of mobile, casual, and educational games, which we call UbiqGames. The study is motivated by the desire to understand how students use educational games in light of additional distractions on their devices, and how game design can make those games appealing, educationally useful, and practical. In particular, we explain the choices made to build an engaging and educational first example of this line of games, namely Weatherlings. Further, we report results from a pilot study with 20 students that suggest that students are engaged by the game and are interested in learning more about academic content topics, specifically weather and climate, after playing the game. Research should continue to determine whether Weatherlings specifically does increase learning in these areas, and more generally to determine whether any learning gains and similar results with regard to engagement can be replicated in other content areas following the general model for game design.

International Journal of Learning and Media, 2011

This report addresses the mobile frontier for civic games, which is fragmented across the applied domains of activism, art and learning. We argue that these three domains can and should speak jointly -an approach we call the civic "tripod." Our site structure is part of its contribution, with a curated database of projects and interviews from the field. Analysis from each leg of the tripod draws on the examples independently, and supports direct linking with practitioner blogs and news articles. The blur between tripod "legs" is as important as each perspective. Going forward, the most useful design principles and analysis may require the ability to analyze across the civic tripod, and publishing modes that are directly shared with practitioners.

Proceedings of the 8th conference on Human-computer interaction with mobile devices and services - MobileHCI '06, 2006

Expert evaluation is a widely used method for evaluating the usability of software products. When evaluating games, traditional usability heuristics lack comprehension and cannot be directly applied. In this paper, we introduce playability heuristics that are specifically designed for evaluating mobile games. Heuristics form a core model that can be used in any mobile game evaluation. The model consists of three modules: Game Usability, Mobility, and Gameplay. The mobile context has some unique characteristics, which require special attention during the evaluation. These characteristics are described in mobility heuristics. Mobile devices also set some of their own requirements for general usability and these issues are described along with game usability heuristics. These heuristics have been developed by using an iterative design process of a mobile game. In addition, we have validated the heuristics and evaluated five mobile games by using them with the expert evaluation method.

This chapter looks at two ways augmented reality, piloted in courses at UW-Madison, that can be used in teaching ethnographic methods and in folklore instruction.

As teachers of art, we prepare our students to be artists in the 21st century while defining, along the way, what that might mean. This work takes place largely within our courses at the Fine Arts Department at the University of Murcia in Spain. Our courses make use of place, mobile technology, and the language of games to engage our students in new artistic modes.