Understanding player activity in a game-based virtual learning environment
DISSERTATION
David Matthew Boyer, Michigan State University, United States
Michigan State University . Awarded
Abstract
This study examines player activity in a game-based virtual learning environment as a means toward evaluating instructional and game design. By determining the goals embedded in project development and the availability and structure of in-game activities, the first part of this research highlights opportunities for players to engage with learning content in the environment. In the following section, server data provides the requisite information for creating a portrait of player actions in the online space. From this assessment of intentional designs compared to player activity, the study provides findings that focus on player behaviors and structural realities. Players tended to avoid opportunities to interact with learning content. They showed few examples of sustained, immersed participation in the game-based environment. The structure of the activities was such that requisite information was inconsistently available for players to complete interactions and further their knowledge of new learning content. Understanding player activity is an essential piece of the formative evaluation of ongoing project development with implications for the creation of similar game-based virtual learning environments in particular and design research in general.
Citation
Boyer, D.M. Understanding player activity in a game-based virtual learning environment. Ph.D. thesis, Michigan State University. Retrieved February 27, 2021 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/122918/.

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Keywords
Cited By
View References & Citations Map-
Connecting Game and Instructional Design Through Development
Matthew Boyer, Clemson University, United States; Mete Akcaoğlu, Georgia Southern University, United States; Silvia Pernsteiner, Knowledge One, Canada
EdMedia + Innovate Learning 2015 (Jun 22, 2015) pp. 1641–1650
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