This study critically reviews sixteen empirical studies that investigate the various difficulties that primary school students encounter while learning programming through educational games. Specifically, the challenges that students face in understanding basic programming concepts and the game elements that contribute to these difficulties, as…

The objective of this article is to design, develop, and evaluate an Internet of Things (IoT)-based serious gaming platform for children with autism spectrum disorder. The platform aims to improve the children's cognitive skills. To attain this research objective, first, a conceptual framework for developing the gaming platform was proposed. Then,…

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…

Traditional teaching methods often limit interactive learning, negatively impacting students' motivation and learning achievement. Moreover, fostering collaborative awareness and problem-solving skills is crucial for developing the core competencies of future nursing professionals. To address these challenges, this study proposed an escape…

Detection and responding to a player's affect are important for serious games. A method for this purpose was tested within Chem-o-crypt, a game that teaches chemical equation balancing. The game automatically detects boredom, flow, and frustration using the Affdex SDK from Affectiva. The sensed affective state is then used to adapt the game play…

Pattern recognition is an important skill in computational thinking. In this study, an equation puzzle game was developed by combining pattern recognition with algebraic reasoning, and scaffolding was designed to support learners' learning. Sixty participants were enrolled in this study, divided into a control group and an experimental group to…

Mobile learning techniques have brought the potential of scaffolding information in real-world context that allows learners to interact more actively with their learning content. In this study, we present an interactive learning approach that allows learners to interact with their learning content in real-world context. With learning environment…

Game-based learning (GBL) has increasingly been used to promote students' learning engagement. Although prior GBL studies have highlighted the significance of learning engagement as a mediator of students' meaningful learning, the existing accounts failed to capture specific evidence of how exactly students' in-game actions in GBL enhance learning…

While educational games have been increasingly popular in education, insufficient studies have comprehensively reviewed their effectiveness. To complement this missing link, this study explored game-based learning outcomes including academic achievements, problem-solving, and critical thinking abilities, knowledge, learning efficiency, skills,…