Integrating Augmented Reality, Gamification, and Serious Games in Computer Science Education
This study aims to evaluate the impact of using augmented reality, gamification, and serious games in computer science education. The study presents the development process of an educational mobile application, describes an experiment that was conducted and involved 117 higher education students, an...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/6/618 |
| _version_ | 1797595170631319552 |
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| author | Georgios Lampropoulos Euclid Keramopoulos Konstantinos Diamantaras Georgios Evangelidis |
| author_facet | Georgios Lampropoulos Euclid Keramopoulos Konstantinos Diamantaras Georgios Evangelidis |
| author_sort | Georgios Lampropoulos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study aims to evaluate the impact of using augmented reality, gamification, and serious games in computer science education. The study presents the development process of an educational mobile application, describes an experiment that was conducted and involved 117 higher education students, and analyzes the results of a 49-item paper-based questionnaire. In total, 8 research questions were explored. The results of the study revealed that several educational benefits can be yielded when integrating such applications in teaching and learning activities and actively involving students in the design and development process. In particular, the application was assessed as an effective learning tool that could enrich and improve the educational process and create interactive, inclusive, and student-centered learning environments. Its use led mostly to positive effects and experiences while maintaining the negative ones to a minimum and most students expressed positive emotions. Students were able to learn in a more enjoyable and interesting manner, and their motivation, engagement, self-efficacy, and immersion were greatly increased. Students’ innate need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness was satisfactorily met and both their intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivations were triggered. They felt a sense of belonging and cultivated their social skills. The potential of the application to improve students’ knowledge acquisition and academic achievements was also observed. The application also enabled students to improve their computational thinking and critical thinking skills. Therefore, the potential of combining augmented reality, gamification, and serious games to enhance students’ cognitive and social–emotional development was highlighted. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:32:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7ab885370998441d8c243265e9919caa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:32:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-7ab885370998441d8c243265e9919caa2023-11-18T10:06:49ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022023-06-0113661810.3390/educsci13060618Integrating Augmented Reality, Gamification, and Serious Games in Computer Science EducationGeorgios Lampropoulos0Euclid Keramopoulos1Konstantinos Diamantaras2Georgios Evangelidis3Department of Information and Electronic Engineering, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Information and Electronic Engineering, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Information and Electronic Engineering, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Applied Informatics, University of Macedonia, 54636 Thessaloniki, GreeceThis study aims to evaluate the impact of using augmented reality, gamification, and serious games in computer science education. The study presents the development process of an educational mobile application, describes an experiment that was conducted and involved 117 higher education students, and analyzes the results of a 49-item paper-based questionnaire. In total, 8 research questions were explored. The results of the study revealed that several educational benefits can be yielded when integrating such applications in teaching and learning activities and actively involving students in the design and development process. In particular, the application was assessed as an effective learning tool that could enrich and improve the educational process and create interactive, inclusive, and student-centered learning environments. Its use led mostly to positive effects and experiences while maintaining the negative ones to a minimum and most students expressed positive emotions. Students were able to learn in a more enjoyable and interesting manner, and their motivation, engagement, self-efficacy, and immersion were greatly increased. Students’ innate need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness was satisfactorily met and both their intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivations were triggered. They felt a sense of belonging and cultivated their social skills. The potential of the application to improve students’ knowledge acquisition and academic achievements was also observed. The application also enabled students to improve their computational thinking and critical thinking skills. Therefore, the potential of combining augmented reality, gamification, and serious games to enhance students’ cognitive and social–emotional development was highlighted.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/6/618augmented realitygamificationserious gamescomputer scienceeducationdigital game-based learning |
| spellingShingle | Georgios Lampropoulos Euclid Keramopoulos Konstantinos Diamantaras Georgios Evangelidis Integrating Augmented Reality, Gamification, and Serious Games in Computer Science Education Education Sciences augmented reality gamification serious games computer science education digital game-based learning |
| title | Integrating Augmented Reality, Gamification, and Serious Games in Computer Science Education |
| title_full | Integrating Augmented Reality, Gamification, and Serious Games in Computer Science Education |
| title_fullStr | Integrating Augmented Reality, Gamification, and Serious Games in Computer Science Education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Integrating Augmented Reality, Gamification, and Serious Games in Computer Science Education |
| title_short | Integrating Augmented Reality, Gamification, and Serious Games in Computer Science Education |
| title_sort | integrating augmented reality gamification and serious games in computer science education |
| topic | augmented reality gamification serious games computer science education digital game-based learning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/6/618 |
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