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While some research suggests South Korea has fallen behind other developed nations with regard to publishing and using serious games in the classroom, Korean interest in video games remains extremely high. Due to a number of cultural, social, and technological factors, esports was primed to become a significant force in Korean culture and received significant support from the Ministry of Culture. The Korean Ministry of Education, meanwhile, is resistant to adopting educational games as a part of its accepted pedagogy. This resistance has created a significant gap between the interest in video games as a learning tool and that of video games as an industry and career path in Korea. While a number of factors play a role in the languishing serious games market, based on evidence analyzed through educational gaming literature it is unlikely educational gaming will be able to significantly advance without the support of the primary governing body controlling educational policy.

The study proposes two new measures, time and location entropy, to depict students' physical spatio-temporal contexts when engaged in an online course. As "anytime, anywhere" access has been touted as one of the most attractive features of online learning, the question remains as to the success of students when engaging in online courses through disparate locations and points-in-time. The procedures describe an analysis of 5293 students' spatio-temporal patterns using metadata relating to place and time of access. Grouping into segments that describe their patterns of engagement, results indicate that the high location-high time "entropy" (i.e. multiple times, multiple locations) was the segment with lowest success when compared with other students. Statistical and modeling results also found that female students tended to learn at fixed or few locations resulting in the highest performance scores on the final exam. The primary implication is that female students tend to be successful because they study in fewer locations, and all students who study at consistent times outperform those with more varied time patterns. Existing brain research supports the findings on gender differences in learning performance and spatio-temporal characteristics.

Leveraging the use of mobile devices for education, such as instructional games, is an area of increasing interest for targeted subpopulations of students including those who are deaf/hard-of-hearing (DHH). This paper outlines the perspectives of Deaf Education teachers and DHH children who participated in the GeePerS*Math project. Interviews and surveys provide data from the primary implementation of the technology in an ecologically valid setting. Findings included similar results from both teachers and students with regard to attitudes and transfer of skills within the game to those in traditional curriculum. Unintended outcomes, such as gaining orienteering skills and peer-tutoring, were also noted. The results helped to inform the designers of educational technology with ways to relate with classroom instructors and children when creating advanced mobile applications.

During the 2018 Professors in Instructional Design (PIDT) Conference, faculty representing over a dozen institutions met to discuss curricular initiatives that were being implemented across programs, and the challenges and benefits of these initiatives. The discussion focused on several areas, including: interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary programs and courses, online programs, and undergraduate initiatives. The outcome of these conversations led faculty to gather information from across these institutions to highlight and share ways that their respective programs have promoted the field through innovative partnerships, projects, and programs within the broader community. It is anticipated that this summary will serve as a catalyst for other programs to propose and share their own innovative program plans and encourage individuals to attend future PIDT conferences.

Virtual communities of practice (VCoP) may provide the afloat community of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) greater opportunities for learning and professional development. The specific learning needs and constraints of this community, including geographic separation and dynamic deployment schedules, appear well aligned with VCoP structure and objectives. However, it is critical that the knowledge-sharing culture of the USCG's afloat community be thoroughly explored to ensure a systemic approach to the development and implementation of performance and learning interventions. Expanding upon the results of a pilot study conducted in 2017, this qualitative case study employed a survey and semistructured interviews to examine the afloat community's potential for successful engagement in a VCoP. Recommendations for enhancing trust and promoting communal development and sustainment are also discussed.

Performance prediction is a leading topic in learning analytics research due to its potential to impact all tiers of education. This study proposes a novel predictive modeling method to address the research gaps in existing performance prediction research. The gaps addressed include: the lack of existing research focus on performance prediction rather than identifying key performance factors; the lack of common predictors identified for both K-12 and higher education environments; and the misplaced focus on absolute engagement levels rather than relative engagement levels. Two datasets, one from higher education and the other from a K-12 online school with 13,368 students in more than 300 courses, were applied using the predictive modeling technique. The results showed the newly suggested approach had higher overall accuracy and sensitivity rates than the traditional approach. In addition, two generalizable predictors were identified from instruction-intensive and discussion-intensive courses.

This article examines Utah residents' views of incentives and disincentives for the use of OpenCourseWare (OCW), and how they fit into the theoretical framework of perceived innovation attributes established by Rogers (1983). Rogers identified five categories of perceived innovation attributes: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. A survey instrument was developed using attributes that emerged from a Delphi technique with input from experts in the OCW field. The survey instrument was sent to 753 random individuals between 18 and 64 years of age throughout Utah. Results indicated that the greatest incentives for OCW use were the following: (a) "no cost for materials", (b) "resources available at any time", (c) "pursuing in depth a topic that interests me", (d) "learning for personal knowledge or enjoyment", and (e) "materials in an OCW are fairly easy to access and find". The greatest disincentives for OCW use were the following: a) "no certificate or degree awarded", (b) "does not cover my topic of interest in the depth I desire", (c) "lack of professional support provided by subject tutors or experts", (d) "lack of guidance provided by support specialists", and (e) "feeling that the material is overwhelming". The authors recommend that institutions work to transition some OCW users into degree-granting paid programs as well as adopt a marketing campaign to increase awareness of OCW. Additionally, OCW websites should make their content available to recommendation engines such as ccLearn iscoverEd, OCW Finder, or OER Recommender and should link to one or more of these sites. (Contains 4 tables.)

Early-warning intervention for students at risk of failing their online courses is increasingly important for higher education institutions. Students who show high levels of engagement appear less likely to be at risk of failing, and how engaged a student is in their online experience can be characterized as factors contributing to their social presence. Social presence begins with teacher-student and student-student interaction in online courses. Fortunately, student interaction data can be gleaned from learning management systems, used to model and predict at-risk students at an early stage. This research addresses an existing model for predicting at-risk students to test a previous hypothesis that a holiday effect is a contributor for failure. A new analysis then presents an alternative approach, one that tests the frequency of student interaction rather than amount of interaction as a preferable indicator.

Predicting which students enrolled in graduate online education are at-risk for failure is an arduous yet important task for teachers and administrators alike. This research reports on a statistical analysis technique using both static and dynamic variables to determine which students are at-risk and when an intervention could be most helpful during a semester. Time-series clustering analysis of online teacher education classes revealed that prediction is possible after the 10th week capturing over 78% of at-risk students. Visual analysis of dynamic student activities shares a number of striking commonalities consistent with EKG charting. The potential exists for instructors to recognize simple graphic patterns that identify and formatively address these issues with their students. Next phases of research will apply further validation of both the models attempted and additional predictor variables.

This research examines how science teaching orientations and beliefs about technology-enhanced tools change over time in professional development (PD). The primary data sources for this study came from learning journals of 8 eighth grade science teachers at the beginning and conclusion of a year of PD. Based on the analysis completed, Information Transmission (IT) and Struggling with Standards-Based Reform (SSBR) profiles were found at the beginning of the PD, while SSBR and Standards-Based Reform (SBR) profiles were identified at the conclusion of PD. All profiles exhibited Vision I beliefs about the goals and purposes for science education, while only the SBR profile exhibited Vision II goals and purposes for science teaching. The IT profile demonstrated naïve or unrevealed beliefs about the nature of science, while the SSBR and SBR profiles had more sophisticated beliefs in this area. The IT profile was grounded in more teacher-centered beliefs about science teaching and learning as the other two profiles revealed more student-centered beliefs. While no beliefs about technology-enhanced tools were found for the IT profile, these were found for the other two profiles. Our findings suggest promising implications for (a) Roberts' Vision II as a central support for reform efforts, (b) situating technology-enhanced tools within the beliefs about science teaching and learning dimension of science teaching orientations, and (c) revealing how teacher orientations develop as a result of PD.

Gaming, an integral part of many students' lives outside school, can provide an engaging platform for focusing students on important disciplinary core concepts as an entry into developing students' understanding of these concepts through science practices. This article highlights how S'cape can be used to support student learning aligned with the most recent standards documents. Through combining students' initial engagement in a motivating gaming experience with a two-experiment scaffolded inquiry sequence enhanced with information literacy-targeted homework, this article reveals how support can be offered for asking questions, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, constructing explanations, and engaging in argument from evidence to refine understandings of core concepts. We believe that as science teachers strive to explore important concepts with students through allowing them to actually practice science, games such as S'cape strategically leveraged and sequenced with scaffolded inquiry experiences can support these efforts.

Despite years of primary research on problem-based learning and literature reviews, no systematic effort has been made to analyze the relationship between tutor characteristics and student learning outcomes. In an effort to fill that gap the following meta-analysis coded 223 outcomes from 94 studies with small but positive gains for PBL students (g = 0.24). Specific sub-group analyses indicate randomly controlled designs may be more sensitive to differences that favor PBL students, even while there is no relationship between tutor content expertise and student learning. Perhaps surprisingly, student learning decreases as tutor experience increases. Limitations and future work are discussed within a context of scholarly and practical significance.

The mis-categorizing of cognitive states involved in learning within virtual environments has complicated instructional technology research. Further, most educational computer game research does not account for how learning activity is influenced by factors of game content and differences in viewing perspectives. This study is a qualitative exploration into the nature of flow--the state of being absorbed by an activity, and presence--the sense of "being there" in a virtual learning environment. This study follows players' experiences within an immersive environment, with the notion of "immersive" being the extent to which the computer system delivers a surrounding environment. The data analysis includes videotaped activity, transcripts and interviews of six different games, three of which have explicit learning objectives derived from two different genres. While viewing perspective was previously thought to have significant influence on presence, flow, and learning, these findings suggest that four emergent categories (content, emotion, motivation, engagement) have more influence than perspective.

We discuss the design, creation and implementation of an instructional game for use in a high school poetry class following a commitment to an educational game design principle of "alignment". We studied groups of instructional designers and an interactive fiction computer game they built. The game was implemented in a 9th grade English classroom to see if the designed alignments were realized in the classroom. Results from observations and collected design artifacts suggest the alignment theory created extra challenges and rewards for the game designers. They encountered tensions between creating an exciting game-like atmosphere with inventive programming techniques while remaining loyal to the narrative structure and instructional goals. Game-play transcripts and interviews with middle school participants offered additional insights into the successes and failures of intentional efforts to bring about educational game "alignment".

This paper reviews three classic theorists' writing on games, learning, and development. Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bruner all wrote about games and play as important to thinking and learning. This review attempts to synthesize their perspectives as a means to revisit underused theoretical perspectives on the role of games in education. The views of Piaget and Vygotsky are applied with respect to the role of games and play in learning and development to the design of a popular commercial game. Bruner's perspective offers the embodiment of games into a larger and controversial curriculum intended to teach young people about human culture. Each of the perspectives is reviewed and considered in light of new gaming technologies and their potential for educational change.

As 3D digital game-based learning (3D-DGBL) for the teaching of literature and history gradually gains acceptance, important questions will need to be asked regarding its method of design, development, and deployment. This article offers a synthesis of contemporary pedagogical, instructional design, new media, and literary-historical theories to articulate design guidelines for these types of game environments. From the synthesis emerges a discussion of critical components for the design of space, the virtual objects within it, and the needs of player-as-learner in synthetic worlds. Guidelines include preserving the otherness of the game world, supporting knowledge and social networks of learners in virtual spaces, and the importance of point of view with respect to situated contexts. This effort seeks to open a broader, multidisciplinary discussion on the design and use of 3D-DGBL in humanities curricula. (Contains 6 figures and 1 table.)

The essay reports on a mixed-methods study using an interactive fiction (IF) game to teach German vocabulary, reading, and culture to university students. The study measured knowledge retention and transfer, and evaluated the attitudes of students toward the game. The results tentatively indicate that contextualized, immersive role play may have helped students to learn. Nevertheless, most students were apprehensive about the game as a learning platform given the departure from traditional instruction. New research findings related to the software design and development process, and student involvement in this process, are also discussed. (Contains 3 tables and 3 figures.)

The overwhelming success of the commercial game market has brought increased attention to emerging work in educational game design. Much of the existing work in educational games has a strong similarity to the field of Problem-Based Learning (PBL), which has a rich history of conceptual literature as well as empirical investigations. Despite apparent similarities between the two fields, there has been no formal effort to explore the connections between them. This article examines the basic tenets of PBL with an eye toward making prescriptive recommendations for the design and use of problem-based educational games. Examples within existing educational games are discussed in the context of PBL features and outcomes. (Contains 1 table, 6 figures and 7 notes.)

The use, reuse, and remixing of commercial games has influenced the field of educational gaming. Part of this influence is felt though a number of popular game engines whose code has been released for the creation of games by other groups. This paper follows one group's progress of using the open-source and highly successful commercial game engine Quake III. The authors modified Quake III using a number of techniques and resources to develop the educational game Voices of Spoon River (VOSR) 3D with the goal of teaching a work of classic poetry. The authors present the results of the design and development efforts through a discussion of the game play, and highlight specific changes Quake III has undergone. The authors present how they linked their instructional design model within the game activity. Finally, the authors offer insights on the difficulties, triumphs and suggestions on "what to watch out for" when undertaking such a project. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure and 1 footnote

There exists an increasingly attractive lure of using virtual reality applications for teaching in all areas of education, but perhaps the largest detriment to its use is the intimidating nature of VR technology for non-technical instructors. What are the challenges to using VR technology for the design and development of VR-based instructional activities, and what are the recommended approaches? This paper addresses the issues regarding identifying the appropriate techniques for integrating VR into traditional instructional design, and the considerations for development for non-technical educators. Recommendations are grounded within our own project involving virtual anesthesia. The discussion considers budgetary limitations, funding, and other factors. (Contains 4 tables and 6 figures.)

As an emerging field of research, learning analytics (LA) offers practitioners and researchers information about educational data that is helpful for supporting decisions in management of teaching and learning. While often combined with educational data mining (EDM), crucial distinctions exist for LA that mandate a separate review. This study aims to conduct a systematic meta-review of LA for mining key information that could assist in describing new and helpful directions to this field of inquiry. Within 901 LA articles analyzed, eight reviews were identified and synthesised to identify and determine consistencies and gaps. Results show that LA is at the stage of early majority and has attracted great research efforts from other fields. The majority of LA publications were focused on proposing LA concepts or frameworks and conducting proof-of-concept analysis rather than conducting actual data analysis. Collecting small datasets for LA research is predominant, especially in K-12 field. Finally, four major LA research topics, including prediction of performance, decision support for teachers and learners, detection of behavioural patterns & learner modelling and dropout prediction, were identified and discussed deeply. The future research of LA is also outlined for purpose of better understanding and optimising learning as well as learning contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to analyze teachers' and other education professionals' needs and knowledge when dealing with bullying situations. Data collection was carried out in two different sessions of a bullying prevention one-day symposium at a four-year state university. The participants were 53 educational professionals from several elementary and middle schools. Qualitative analysis of session artifacts revealed that participants had a basic understanding of bullying; however, they doubt its definition and how to identify when it occurs. Participants in the case study were interested in being change agents when it comes to addressing bullying problems. However, they lacked self-confidence and access to appropriate resources to overcome their fears and diminished self-efficacy for proper intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]