To give students a tangible model of an ecosystem and have them experience what could happen if a component of that ecosystem were removed; the authors developed a hands-on, inquiry-based activity that visually demonstrates the concept of a delicately balanced ecosystem through a modification of the popular game Jenga. This activity can be…

Engaging students to learn through play is not a new idea, and, based on how many animals learn that way, the connection is probably instinctual. For some educators, however, this concept is a radical notion that threatens to topple the wall that they have carefully constructed to separate work and play. Just as some media specialists, teachers,…

During at least one afternoon each month, Wilmette (Illinois) Public Library (WPL) hosts a local group of computer programmers, designers, and artists, who meet to discuss digital projects and resources, technical challenges, and successful design or programming strategies. WPL's Game Design Club, now in its third year, owes its existence to a…

A warm-up exercise for the purpose of fostering creativity, imagination and interest is suggested for use in the introductory Management of Information Systems course. Specifically, a series of word scrambles are proposed the solution of which comprises a surprise answer based on a concept in the information systems course textbook. In the first…

These proceedings contain the papers of the International Conference e-Learning 2018, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society, 17-19 July, 2018. This conference is part of the Multi Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems 2018, 17-20 July, which had a total of 617 submissions.…

Mathematics is an area of study that particularly lacks student enthusiasm. Nevertheless, with the help of educational games, any phobias concerning mathematics can be considerably decreased and mathematics can become more appealing. In this study, an educational game addressing mathematics was designed, developed and evaluated by a sample of 33…

Creativity is a talent that undergirds invention and innovation, making it an important skill in today's society. Although students are often told to "be creative," they many times do not know how and have little practice in this skill. This document presents an analysis of 33 creative products made by adult participants at a state conference for…

Breakthrough, a global human rights organization, produced "America 2049," an alternate-reality game set in a dystopian future in which the United States is on the verge of breaking apart because of an inability to tolerate diversity and promote human rights. During the 12-week game launch, players uncovered artifacts related to the…

Web 2.0 technology is expanding rapidly from social and gaming uses into the educational applications. Specifically, the multi-user virtual environment (MUVE), such as SecondLife, allows educators to fill the gap of first-hand experience by creating simulated realistic evolving problems/games. In a pilot study, a team of educators at the…

The author's personal journey regarding simulation and gaming started about 25 years ago when he happened to realize how powerful computerized simulation could be for organizational change. The metaphors created by computerized simulation enabled him to transform a stagnant university into a high-performance organization. Through extensive…

The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of narrative design in a game-based learning environment. Specifically, this investigation focuses the narrative design in an adventure-styled, game-based learning environment for fostering argumentation writing by looking at how the game narrative impacted player/learner (1) intrinsic…

This paper presents the findings of a study on the current knowledge and attitudes of pre-service teachers on the use of scenario-based multi-user virtual environments in science education. The 28 participants involved in the study were introduced to "Virtual Singapura," a multi-user virtual environment, and completed an open-ended questionnaire.…

Widespread adoption of the Internet during the past two decades has produced the first generation of digital natives. Ninety-five children (M[subscript age] = 10.4 years) completed a questionnaire that measured three clusters of variables: 1) Internet use at home and school, 2) peer, school, and home self-esteem, 3) and cognitive abilities…

Instructors are often reluctant to alter their current pedagogies in favor of engaged learning alternatives. In this article the author describes the development and implementation of an engaged learning, simulation-based pedagogy designed to increase student and instructor engagement. Student learning was examined across simulation and…

Math Snacks animations and support materials were developed for use on the web and mobile technologies to teach ratio, proportion, scale factor, and number line concepts using a multi-modal approach. Included in Math Snacks are: Animations which promote the visualization of a concept image; written lessons which provide cognitive complexity for…