3I-Approach for IT Educational Games Development.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	3I-Approach for IT Educational Games Development.
Authors:	Shabalina, Olga¹ O.A.Shabalina@gmail.com, Vorobkalov, Pavel¹ pavor84@gmail.com, Kataev, Alexander¹ Garfield.kot@mail.ru, Tarasenko, Alexey¹ volgatav@mail.ru
Source:	Proceedings of the European Conference on Games Based Learning. 2009, p339-344. 6p. 4 Diagrams, 2 Charts.
Subject Terms:	Computer software development, Educational games, *Video games, Video game development, Software engineering, C++
Abstract:	The problem of training highly skilled software engineers is currently under discussion. Analysis revealed that educational game development for software engineers is a very promising and perspective research area, but there is still a huge demand for educational games for software engineers. We suggest a 3Iapproach for IT educational games development. It is based on three I's: course material must be Introduced through a game world; learners must see Interpretation of solutions in a game context; learning results must Influence game results. We use this approach for IT educational games, though it could also be used in the other areas. In our approach the learning process is represented in a game in the form of a spiral. We elaborated a game-related course description for use in learning games and techniques for the integration of learning components into a game. We applied our approach in the development of educational games for learning programming languages, because it is a fundamental subject for software developers. We developed a game called 'Graviman' for learning Object-oriented design and the C++ programming language. We use two techniques for checking programming code: verification (checking source code using corresponding rules) and running (executing source code and checking the result). The verification method is based on regular expressions. A specialized library has been developed for matching program code. For visualization of a runnable solution the code of the solution is compiled and then executed. A player can see the result of his coding directly through game character behavior. Game architecture is based on common game engine architecture, but it is extended for use in educational games. It consists of two high-level subsystems: a game engine and a learning engine. The game engine is based on the graphical engine Ogre3D and enlarged with game logic and an advanced user interface (for advanced text display and editing). We consider that using this approach allows the creation of attractive learning games that can be used at universities and schools and also for individual learning. Using such games can help students to gain and improve knowledge and skills in computer science, and can also raise the motivation to study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	The problem of training highly skilled software engineers is currently under discussion. Analysis revealed that educational game development for software engineers is a very promising and perspective research area, but there is still a huge demand for educational games for software engineers. We suggest a 3Iapproach for IT educational games development. It is based on three I's: course material must be Introduced through a game world; learners must see Interpretation of solutions in a game context; learning results must Influence game results. We use this approach for IT educational games, though it could also be used in the other areas. In our approach the learning process is represented in a game in the form of a spiral. We elaborated a game-related course description for use in learning games and techniques for the integration of learning components into a game. We applied our approach in the development of educational games for learning programming languages, because it is a fundamental subject for software developers. We developed a game called 'Graviman' for learning Object-oriented design and the C++ programming language. We use two techniques for checking programming code: verification (checking source code using corresponding rules) and running (executing source code and checking the result). The verification method is based on regular expressions. A specialized library has been developed for matching program code. For visualization of a runnable solution the code of the solution is compiled and then executed. A player can see the result of his coding directly through game character behavior. Game architecture is based on common game engine architecture, but it is extended for use in educational games. It consists of two high-level subsystems: a game engine and a learning engine. The game engine is based on the graphical engine Ogre3D and enlarged with game logic and an advanced user interface (for advanced text display and editing). We consider that using this approach allows the creation of attractive learning games that can be used at universities and schools and also for individual learning. Using such games can help students to gain and improve knowledge and skills in computer science, and can also raise the motivation to study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	20490992