Game-based learning is quickly becoming a popular trend in Technology-Enhanced Learning. However, the field is very broad with many different initiatives being classified as game-based learning. On the other hand, instructors are demanding effective ways to track the interaction of the students with the games and to assess the learning process. The diversity is a major issue in this regard, requiring instructors to understand each game and to evaluate different kinds of games in different ways. In this work we present a unified mechanism to gather tracking and assessment information from different and varied games. All the information is stored in an online learning environment, where the instructor can consult it. The keystone of the approach is a tracking and assessment API that can be implemented by different games on the client-side and by diverse online learning environments on the server-side. This approach is illustrated with the <e-Adventure> family of educational platforms, which support this interoperable API. Categories and Subject Descriptors

Digital game-based learning is a hot topic of research and development. Since the advent of computer and video games, educators were inherently interested in utilizing the beneficial aspects of computer games for educational purposes. These factors are primarily the intrinsic motivation of games, immersive environments, engaging stories, and an artful balance between challenges and continuously growing abilities. Proponents of computer games delivered a large number of empirical investigations revealing that games may foster the development of abilities and competencies. Besides the advantageous aspects of computer games, a variety of problems were reported by researchers. Due to the high costs of professional game development, many educational games are technologically poor and cannot compete with entertainment games in terms of visual design, possibilities for interactions, or storytelling. Moreover, many current educational games do not incorporate a sound psychological, pedagogical, or didactic background; instead they are focusing on transmission or rehearsal of isolated facts or skills. Finally, such games lack the ability to adapt to individual competencies failing to balance challenge and abilities regarding knowledge or skills. The ELEKTRA project, introduced in this article, aims for addressing these problems relying on an interdisciplinary approach of cognitive science, neuroscience, pedagogy, game design, and game development. The project will develop an adventure game that can keep up with commercial games and that focuses on primarily curriculum-related educational purposes by incorporating a sound psychological and pedagogical framework. Moreover, the project will prove the outcomes of research and development by a comprehensive game demonstrator.

This report discusses some issues concerning serious games, that is, (digital) games used for purposes other than mere entertainment. The starting point is the serious games concept itself, and what the actually means. Further, serious games allow learners to experience situations that are impossible in the real world for reasons of safety, cost, time, etc., but they are also claimed to have positive impacts on the players ’ development of a number of different skills. Subsequently, some possible positive (and negative) impacts of serious games are discussed. Further, some of the markets such games are used in are considered here, including, military games, government games, educational games, corporate games, and healthcare games. This report also identifies some (mainly

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Abstract. Serious games are becoming a powerful tool in education. However, there are still open issues needing further research to generalize the use of videogames and game-like simulations in the educational system. On the one hand, how to take advantage of the videogames ’ inherent adaptation behaviour in order to maximize the effectiveness of the learning experiences is still a world worth to be explored. On the other, there is still a need to develop mechanisms to track and evaluate the performance of the students when they use these learning tools. Finally, it is necessary to elaborate further game-based learning architectures that facilitate the delivery and distribution of the games to the students. In this paper we propose how to deal with all these issues taking also into account other relevant aspects such as development cost and instructor implication. This is exemplified with the HCT game, produced in cooperation with professors of the Complutense University School of Medicine at Madrid. Keywords: Game-based learning; game-like simulation; assessment; adaptation; learning management system. 1

The use of videogames as a part of educational processes is becoming one of the most progressive trends in the field of educational technologies. In our opinion, the integration of videogames and e-Learning environments is a critical aspect in the promotion of this trend, due to the importance of e-Learning in 21 st century educational processes. In this article we identify two aspects that are critical in bringing about that integration: (i) the introduction of authoring methods that will cut development costs and help instructors take an active part in that process, and (ii) the development of models to integrate videogames into e-Learning platforms that will facilitate a two-way exchange of information and dispel the perception of games as mere black boxes. This article provides an example of these aspects with <e-Adventure>, an environment for the authoring of educational graphic adventures and the integration of the resulting games into on-line learning environments.

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Abstract — Mobile learning and educational gaming are two trends that are rapidly having an increasing impact in Technology-Enhanced Learning. However, both approaches present significant technological challenges. Mobile technologies are very diverse and the market pressure pushes the continuous development of new technologies and features. On the other hand, game-based learning needs to deal with enormous development costs and the problem of allowing instructors and experts to actively participate in the game development process. Moreover, there are numerous situations where bringing both approaches together could be very useful, but this combination magnifies the technological barriers previously described. In this work we present <e-Adventure>, an authoring environment for educational adventure games that supports the production of both desktop and mobile games. This framework provides a graphical environment that allows instructors to create their own educational games with a low cost. Then, the games can be exported to multiple formats, including support for diverse types of mobile platforms. This is achieved through a modular semi-automated exportation process, which is based on mobile device profiles. Index Terms—game-based learning, m-Learning, mobile games.

The IEEE Visual Analytics Science and Technology (VAST) Symposium has held a contest each year since its inception in 2006. These events are designed to provide visual analytics researchers and developers with analytic challenges similar to those encountered by professional information analysts. The VAST contest has had an extended life outside of the symposium, however, as materials are being used in universities and other educational settings, either to help teachers of visual analyticsrelated classes or for student projects. We describe how we develop VAST contest datasets that results in products that can be used in different settings and review some specific examples of the adoption of the VAST contest materials in the classroom. The examples are drawn from graduate and undergraduate courses at Virginia Tech and from the Visual Analytics “Summer Camp ” run by the National Visualization and Analytics Center in 2008. We finish with a brief discussion on evaluation metrics for education.

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