This document summarizes a masters thesis that explores using mobile applications and external Bluetooth devices for educational games. The thesis outlines research on digital game-based learning and how it can be effective using innovative technologies. It then describes a prototype called the 1x1 Trainer Flic mobile application that was created and evaluated with a third grade class. The application uses an algorithm to select math questions tailored to each student's level of competence and provides feedback to guide their learning. An evaluation of the students found the application was generally effective at improving their math skills.

1. A Mobile Application for School
Children controlled by External
Bluetooth Devices
Valdrin Maloku
Supervisor: Priv.-Doz. Dipl.-Ing.Dr.techn. Martin Ebner
June, 2018
MASTERS THESIS DEFENSE

2. Outline
● Introduction
● Digital Game-Based Learning
● Mobile-Based Learning
● Innovative Technologies for Education and Learning
● Prototype – 1x1 Trainer Flic
● Evaluation and Results

3. Introduction
● Learning dimensions of computer games
● Main research questions:
 How can seamless learning be effective using innovative devices for
learning mathematics?
 What can be concluded from the evaluation of the learning activity
in a third school class?

4. Digital Game-Based Learning
● Why use games for learning:
 Why game design and adoption is needed as vehicles for learning "serious"
content and subject matter?
 Our learners have changed radically (different minds from their parents)
 These learners need to be motivated in new ways (motivation & engagement)

5. Digital Game-Based Learning
● How learners have changed:
 New students of today → Digital Natives
 Not born in the digital world but have adapted it → Digital Immigrants

6. Digital Game-Based Learning
 Ten ways digital natives are different:
 Twitch speed vs. Conventional Speed
 Parallel processing vs. Linear Processing
 Random Access vs. Linear Thinking
 Graphics First vs. Text First
 Connected vs. Stand-Alone
 Active vs. Passive
 Payoff vs. Patience
 Fantasy vs. Reality
 Play vs. Work
 Technology as Friend vs. Technology as Foe

7. Digital Game-Based Learning
● Why it works:
 Engaging process → main reason children play
 Motivating elements → fun, play, rules, goals, interactivity, adaptivity,
conflict/competition/challenge/opposition, characters and story, ...
 Engaging power of computer games vs. Set of interactive learning processes → learning
package
 Content vs. Player → well-matched

8. Digital Game-Based Learning
● Effectiveness:
 How effective is digital game-based learning?
 The measure of effectiveness (“true learning”) → behaviour change
 Digital game-based learning method vs. Other methods → head to head comparison
 Practice → key success of mastering the game

9. Digital Game-Based Learning
● Designing Games as Learning Tools:
 Why it is hard?
 Fun of a real game & Educational content → not an easy task
 Designer:
 Entertainment game
 Educational game

10. Digital Game-Based Learning
● Known Risks of digital game-based learning:
 Long time standing in front of video games
 Players try more to win than to learn
 Employees do not focus on collaboration
 Aggressive Content & Graphic violence
 Affection on behaviour, thoughts, problem-solving styles and social skills of
children
 Affection on player's emotional state → hostility and anxiety
 Monetary issues
 Pupils spend their school money
 Pupils steal money from their parents

11. Mobile-Based Learning
● Mobile devices:
 Laptops, tablets, e-book readers, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), …
 Promotes cooperative learning, exploratory learning and game-based learning

12. Mobile-Based Learning
● How mobile technologies are changing the way children learn :
 New technology → take pictures, record sounds, tag artistic creations, share data in
social networks, ...
 Physical experience ↔ Abstract knowledge
 Important applications:
 Lecture room evaluating system → Figure 1
 Lecture room collaborative system using SMS (Short Message Service) → Figure 2
Figure 1 Figure 2

13. Mobile-Based Learning
● Mobile learning activities:
 Physical exercise games → Figure 1
 Conceptual phenomena
 Advantages: motor abilities, pattern recognition, rhythm coordination
 Field trips and visits → Figure 2
 Investigation skills → visiting museums, forest, cavern, etc (historical data,
envrionmental data, social data)
 Predictions, generate hypothesis, analyze their data
Figure 1 Figure 2

14. Mobile-Based Learning
● Mobile learning activities:
 Content creation → Figure 1
 Story composing and filmmaking
Figure 1
● Challenges:
 Small screens, limited storage capacities, battery life, wireless bandwidth, connection to
a network

15. Innovative Technologies for Education and Learning
● Instant Messaging (IM):
 Interactive and real-time synchronous communication
 Examples: Kik Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger,
WeChat, Viber, …
 Collaborative coordination and problem-solving
 Advantages → accessibility and acknowledgment by students, social presence,
synchronous communications, encourages teamwork, reduces formality in
communications
 Disadvantages → distracted attention, time waster, time consuming for educators

16. Innovative Technologies for Education and Learning
● Blogs (Weblogs):
 Documentation of learning, Critical reflection, Self-investigation
 Different forms:
 The personal journal/diary
 Knowledge-based logs
 Filter blogs
 Benefits of Weblogs → use learning approaches and conceptions of:
 Guided discovery
 Directive learning
 Receptive learning
 Advantages → reflection and critical thinking are encouraged, social presence,
development of learning community, active learning
 Disadvantages → controlled primarily by blog author, editing/modifications not open as
in wiki

17. Prototype – 1x1 Trainer Flic
● Overview
● Main Concept
● Focus
● Flic Button → Figure 1
● Platform → Android
Figure 1

18. Prototype – 1x1 Trainer Flic
● Gameplay and Game elements
 Play mode → Offline mode
Main Menu Game Activity Level Results Statistics

19. Prototype – 1x1 Trainer Flic
● Gameplay and Game elements
 Trainer mode → Online mode
Main Menu Login Activity Levels Jokers Settings

20. Prototype – 1x1 Trainer Flic
● Algorithm
 Difficulty of the exercise
 Degree of competence → Figure 1
 Pretest → Figure 2
Figure 1
Figure 2

21. Prototype – 1x1 Trainer Flic
● Algorithm
 Classification of answers
 0 → wrong answer
 1 → the user knew the right answer once
 2 → the user gave two correct answers in sequence (well-known)
 Selection of questions
 Three categories from which the questions are generated:
 Extended and Actual Learning Area (questions written with 0)
 Actual Learning Area (questions written with 1)
 Actual Learning Area (questions written with 2)
 A random number out of 0 and 1 is chosen to decide which category is initiated. There are three
conditions:
 Condition 1 – if the random number x <= 0,05 a well-known question (2) is selected
 Condition 2 – if the random number is 0,05 > x >= 0,15 a known question (1) is selected
 Condition 3 – if the random number is x > 0,15 an unknown question not in extended and actual learning
area is selected

22. Prototype – 1x1 Trainer Flic
● Evaluation
 Evaluation arrangement
 Game presentation
 Game activity
 Evaluation
● Evaluation results
 Statement 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 → Figure 1
 Effectiveness → Figure 2
Figure 1
Figure 2

23. Thank You!