Enhancing Learning in Digital Systems Courses with Video Games

这个项目正在开发一个电子游戏的原型实现，以确定它的使用是否促进了数字设计入门课程的学习，电子游戏是否影响了学习者对课程和专业的态度，以及这些影响是否因性别和种族而异。这款游戏的原型是一款可以在个人电脑上玩的单人游戏。调查人员使用的是游戏引擎Delta3D，这是美国军方开发的开源软件。游戏中有一辆车被困在远离基站的偏远地区，它的几个子系统出现了故障。玩家必须通过完成一系列与课程的一个或多个学习目标相关的复杂任务来修复子系统。可用性测试和与课程目标相关的学习者结果评估都被用来确定视频游戏需要修改的地方。总结性评估侧重于电子游戏对学生学习和态度的影响，研究学生成绩在性别和种族方面的差异。更广泛的影响包括对电子游戏对促进学生学习有用性的知识库的贡献。

Engineering - Electrical (55)This project is developing a prototype implementation of a video game to determine if its use enhances learning in an introductory digital design course, if the video game affects learners' attitudes about the course and the major, and if these effects differ by gender and ethnicity. The prototype is being developed as a single-player game to be played on a personal computer. The investigators are using a game engine, Delta3D, which is open-source software developed by the US military. The game has a vehicle stranded in a remote location away from its base station, with several of its sub-systems malfunctioning. The player must fix the sub-systems by completing a series of progressively more complex tasks that are linked to one or more learning objectives of the course. Both a usability test and an assessment of learner outcomes relative to the course objectives are being used to identify needed revisions to the video game. The summative evaluation, which focuses on the impact of the video games on student learning and attitudes, is examining differences by gender and ethnicity in student outcomes. The broader impacts include contributions to the knowledge base on the usefulness of electronic games for enhancing student learning.