- The document discusses integrating educational games and serious games into MOOCs to address issues like high dropout rates and to generate more user data. - It presents different options for integrating games, including using the eAdventure game platform, adding games as custom XBlocks in EdX, or having standalone game clients and servers that communicate with the MOOC platform through APIs. - Better integration of games could provide educational context, customize learning experiences using student profiles, and allow analysis of game interaction data to benefit both the games and MOOC courses.

1. Educational Games in MOOCs
Manuel Freire-Morán,
Iván Martínez-Ortiz,
Pablo Moreno-Ger,
Baltasar Fernández-Manjón(e-ucm.es)

2. • 12 researchers
eLearning
Serious Games
Learning and Game Analytics
• Committed to collaboration
e-UCM
2
Realising an Applied Gaming Eco-System
partners
projects

3. eAdventure game platform
Open source authoring environment for point&click
adventure games and immersive learning simulations
Easy to include
Learning Analytics in
eAdventure games
http://sourceforge.net/projects/e-adventure/

4. http://www.chermug.eu
With MGH-Harvard Universityhttp://first-aid-game.e-ucm.es
With ONT, educ@ONT

5. GLEANER
• GLEANER: Game Learning Analytics for Education Research
Open code framework to capture & analyze game traces
5
Reference model in the EU NoE GALA, http://e-ucm.github.io/gleaner/
ÁngelSerrano-Laguna, Javier Torrente, Pablo Moreno-Ger, Baltasar Fernández-
Manjón (2014): Application of Learning Analytics in Educational Videogames.
EntertainmentComputing 5(4), pp. 313–322 (2014)

6. GLEANER Architecture
what how
(highlyscalable)

7. MOOCs
• Huge scales
• Large dropout rates
• Generate user data
MOOCs & Serious Games
7
Serious Games
• Expensive to develop
• Highly engaging
• Generate & can use
more user data

8. Game Integration in MOOCs
8

9. Game Clients & Servers
9

10. Client: internal vs external
10
A changing landscape
• HTML5, WebGL support in major browsers, Unity web plugin
• Flash, Java Applet adoption down
• Increased platform diversity
• Clients independent of MOOC servers:
server APIs are client-platform neutral (eg.: JSON over HTTP)

11. • To integrate the game into the MOOC
without administrative platform access
• To gather & access (or let others access)
game interaction data: Learning Analytics
• To gamify the game!
Leaderboards,competitions,...
• Evolve the game without touching courses
– Add levels, even user-submitted
– Fix bugs, respond to educator & student feedback
Game server: why do you want it?
11

12. Use your interaction data!
12
actual screenshot from GLEANER analyzingeAdventuregame traces

13. Server: internal vs external
13
Complexity vs. lack of isolation
• Same-server sacrifices isolation
– requires administrative access
– security concerns
• Separate-server
– no admin access required; allows "SGaaS"
– still needs to collaborate with MOOC server-side shim
– may present a scalability bottleneck

14. • LON-CAPA
– surprisingly rich types; ~200k problems online
– very simple analytics (answer + right/wrong)
– JSInput: course author's JS as problem UI
• LTI (v1.2)
– supported in Moodle, Sakai, other LMSs
– specifies packaging, answer types
– poor analytics support
• XBlocks
– LON-CAPA & LTI are actually XBlocks
– XBlock SDK to build and test your own
– Custom XBlock installation requires admin access
– XBlock has full access
Integration options for EdX
14

15. XBlocks!
15
https://github.com/edx/edx-platform/wiki/List-of-XBlocks
https://github.com/OfficeDev/xblock-officemix

16. Adding a very simple SG to EdX
16
LON-CAPA+JSInput
But:
• Client is limited to JS
• Limited server-side grading
• Basic analytics only

17. The case of EyeWire
17
In-browser WebGL client,
EyeWire servers with API
that is queried from EdX

18. • Stand-aloneclients,
Stand-aloneservers
• Client is computationally
intensive
• Built-in EdX support, uses
custom Fold.IT API to
query student scores
The case of fold.it
18

19. • Supportstandardized packaging formats,
providing search-friendly metadata
• Use student profiles (when available)
to customize learning experience
• Provide informationon student actions and
progress to the MOOC platform
• Allow authoring access to the educational
content,in the spirit of OER
Better Games
19
Technical
Educational

20. • Integrate guest SG activity into general course
progression:
– provide activity with student profile
– reflect in-game decisions in updated profile
• Provide educational context for the hosted
SG, both before and after
• Select the SG activities that best advance the
educationalgoals of the course
Better MOOC Courses
20
Technical
Educational

21. • Clear APIs for guest activities.
• Supportseveral integration levels
• Collectand facilitate analysis of data from
guests, allowing, for example, student
leaderboards to be generated
• SupportA/B testing of game variants
Better MOOC Platforms
21
Technical
Educational

22. Thanks!
Questions? Comments?
22

23. www.mokap.es
– prototype and develop self-contained games
on a tablet in minutes
– fully open-source, online
asset libraries too!
Before the next speaker sets up...
23
Google Play & github.com/e-ucm/ead

24. eAdventure + Learning Analytics
Game
Engine
Communication
API
{
type: 'input',
timeStamp: some_timestamp,
device: 'some_device',
action: 'some_action',
target: 'target_id',
data: { key1: value, ...}
}
{
type: 'logic',
timeStamp: some_timestamp,
event: 'some_event',
target: 'some_id',
data: { key1: value, ...}
}
Learning
Analytics
Database
...