Analysis of Engineering Students Needs for Gamification

Transcription

1 Analysis of Engineering Students Needs for Gamification based on PLEX Model Kangwon National University, Abstract A gamification means a use of game mechanism for non-game application areas such as education, military, medical service, business process and scientific research. In education environments, a gamification could be used as an effective tool which improves students learning outcomes and a powerful tool for motivation which is better than the non-gamified approaches. Korhonen et al. proposed PLEX model which provides the framework of fun and pleasure factors that gamer could be experienced. To provide engineering students needs for gamified class based on PLEX model is the purpose of this paper. To analyze engineering students needs based on PLEX model, this study used the online survey which consists of questionnaires. Finally, this paper shows that there are preferences on fun and pleasure factors of PLEX model among engineering students. Based on the key findings of this paper, the gamified classes which meet the requirements on fun and pleasure of engineering students could be developed.. Introduction Keywords: Engineering Education, Gamification, PLEX, Needs Analysis Papastergiou shows that the gamified class is more effective in improving students knowledge and more motivational than the non-gaming approach []. By satisfying the students needs on fun and pleasure, the gamified class would motivate the engineering students to be immersed in class. Korhonen et al. proposed a framework of playful user experiences, named PLEX which are derived from a previous work of Costello and Edmonds []. PLEX provides factors of fun and pleasure that a gamer might be expected and experienced during the play []. factors of PLEX can be considered in design processes of a gamified class to decide what kinds of fun and pleasure should be provided more effectively in a gamified class. This paper summarizes the preferences of engineering students on factors of PLEX model on fun and pleasure. The survey is conducted using online survey systems of GoogleDocs. The following parts of this paper are organized in three parts. Firstly, previous works on fun and pleasure factors are summarized shortly. Secondly, the demographic differences on fun and pleasure of engineering students are provided. Finally, the implication of this study and further research issues are summarized in the conclusion section.. Literature review Bree classifies the gamification approaches into the followings: focusing on the technological aspects of computer games; focusing on the behavior evoked by computer games; focusing on the design of computer games. It provides some case studies which show the process and benefits of gamification []. Bunchball shows the interaction matrix of basic human desires and game mechanics including points, levels, challenges, virtual goods, leaderboards, and gifting. It provides the recent cases of gamification such as the frequent flyer programs, Foursquare, and Nike Plus []. McGonigal describes the concept, benefits, key elements and mechanics of game design, and various cases of gamification [6]. Thom et al. provides examples of social games which show behavioral economic biases related to the loss aversion tendency which is one of the key factors of behavioral economics and prospect theory [7]. Furthermore, the other recently published works such as [8, 9, ] are also closely related with gamification. Those works analyze a game model, describe the benefits of gamification, and provide a case study. Hunicke et al. classifies the fun and pleasure factors into 8 categories of sensation, fantasy, narrative, challenge, fellowship, discovery, expression, and submission []. Kubovy provides five Journal on Knowledge and Data Engineering(JKDE) Volume, Number, June doi :.6/jkde.vol.issue.

2 categories of factors including curiosity, sociality, virtuositu, nurture, and suffering []. Caillois provides four categories of factors including competition, chance, vertigo, and simulation []. Korhonen et al. proposes a framework of playful user experiences, named PLEX which are derived from a previous work of Costello and Edmonds []. PLEX model classifies the fun and pleasure factors into factors of captivation, challenge, competition, completion, control, discovery, eroticism, exploration, expression, fantasy, fellowship, nurture, relaxation, sadism, sensation, simulation, subversion, suffering, sympathy, and thrill. Table shows the definition of Korhonen et al. s PLEX factors []. This paper takes table from the original work of Korhonen et al., and provides it without any changes because the definition of factors on fun and pleasure is very important to understand this paper. Category Table. Definition of PLEX factors [] Description Experience of forgetting one s surroundings Experience of having to develop and exercise skills in a challenging situation Experience of victory-oriented competition against oneself, opponent or system Experience of completion, finishing and closure, in relation to an earlier task or tension Experience power, mastery, control or virtuosity Experience of discovering a new solution, place or property Experience of sexual pleasure or arousal Experience of exploring or investigating a world, affordance, puzzle or situation Experience of creating something or expressing oneself in a creative fashion Experience of make-believe involving fantastical narratives, worlds or characters Experience of friendship, fellowship, communality or intimacy Experience of nurturing, grooming or caretaking Experience of unwinding, relaxation or stress relief. Calmness during play Experience of destruction and exerting power over others Meaningful sensory experience Experience of perceiving a representation of everyday life Experience of breaking social roles, rules and norms Experience of frustration, anger, boredom and disappointment typical to playing Experience of sharing emotional feelings Experience of thrill derived from an actual or perceived danger or risk. Students needs on fun and pleasure.. Introduction to the survey The survey consists of questionnaires which consist of one questionnaire on gender and questionnaires on PLEX factors on fun and pleasure. The respondents of this survey are undergraduate students at engineering school of K university in South Korea. There are male students and female students in respondents. The survey has been conducted using online survey systems of GoogleDocs. Table summarizes the group statistics results.

3 Table. Group statistics of students needs on PLEX Gender N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean M F M F M...6 F M F..6. M..7.9 F M F M F M F M F M F M F M..6.9 F M F..6.6 M...6 F M F M F M..7.7 F..6.6 M F M F M F Table summarizes the independent sample test results for students needs on PLEX using SPSS software.

4 Table. Independent sample test for students needs on PLEX Levene's Test for Equality of t-test for Equality of Means Variances F Sig. t df Sig. (-tailed) Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed... Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed.6..8 Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed..6. Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed.8..8 Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed

5 .. Analysis results of the survey Regarding table, there are statistical differences between male and female students on PLEX factors of expression, fantasy, and nurture. Female students have much preference on expression, fantasy, and nurture rather than male students. The overall preference on fun and pleasure of engineering students is shown as figure..... M F. Figure. Preference on fun and pleasure of engineering students Figure shows the sorted priorities on fun and pleasure of engineering students. Top five preferences are challenge, exploration, relaxation, completion, and discovery. Engineering students have relatively less preference on competition, eroticism, suffering, sadism, and control in engineering classes. Figure. Sorted priorities on fun and pleasure of engineering students

6 Figure shows the sorted priorities on fun and pleasure of engineering students based on a gender. Top five preferences of male students are challenge, completion, exploration, relaxation, and simulation. Top five preferences of female students are exploration, relaxation, discovery, completion, and fantasy Male students Female students Figure. Sorted priorities on fun and pleasure based on a gender of engineering students. Conclusion To motivate the students and to improve the learning outcomes of engineering students, a gamification would be used in engineering education environments. This paper provides the students needs on fun and pleasure based on PLEX model proposed by Korhonen at al.. factors of PLEX model are captivation, challenge, competition, completion, control, discovery, eroticism, exploration, expression, fantasy, fellowship, nurture, relaxation, sadism, sensation, simulation, subversion, suffering, sympathy, and thrill. The survey, that has been conducted using online survey systems of GoogleDocs, consists of questionnaires which consist of one questionnaire on gender and questionnaires on PLEX factors on fun and pleasure. The implications of this paper are summarized as follows: It shows the overall preferences on fun and pleasure, which are based on factors of PLEX model, of engineering students., exploration, relaxation, completion, and discovery are preferable, and competition, eroticism, suffering, sadism, and control are relatively less preferable in engineering classes. The demographic differences between male and female students reveal that what kinds of fun and pleasure should be provided to develop gender-related classes in engineering school. Female students have much preference on expression, fantasy, and nurture rather than male students Limitation and further research issues are summarized as follows: The academic background which shows why such demographic differences on fun and pleasure factors exist among engineering students should be provided. The detailed methodology which shows how the demographic differences among engineering students on fun and pleasure factors could be applied in the design and development process of the gamified classes. 6

7 . References [] Marina Papastergiou, Digital Game-Based Learning in High School Computer Science Education: Impact on Educational Effectiveness and Student Motivation, Computers & Education, Vol., No., 9. [] Brigid Costello, Ernest Edmonds, A Study in Play, Pleasure and Experience Design, Proceeding of DPPI 7, 7. [] Hannu Korhonen, Markus Montola, Juha Arrasvuori, Understanding Playful User Experience through Digital Games, Proceeding of International Conference on Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces, 9. [] Jeroen Van Bree, The End of the Rainbow : In Search of Crossing Points between Organizations and Games, Proceeding of DiGRA Conference: Think Design Play,. [] Bunchball, Gamification : An Introduction to the Use of Game Dynamics to Influence Behavior,. [6] Jane McGonigal, Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, Penguin,. [7] Jennifer Thom, David R Millen, Joan Dimicco, Rogers Street, Removing Gamification from an Enterprise SNS, Proceeding of CSCW,. [8] Jie Chen, "Game-based Software Errors Detection", Advances in information Sciences and Service Sciences, Vol., No.,. [9] Chen Si-hua, "Game Analysis of Enterprise Knowledge Utilization", Advances in information Sciences and Service Sciences, Vol., No.8,. [] Jiang Zhang-sheng, "Incentive Mechanism of Knowledge Transfer in Technology Alliance Based on Principal-agent Theory", Advances in information Sciences and Service Sciences, Vol., No.9,. [] Robin Hunicke, Marc Leblanc, Robert Zubek, MDA : A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research, Proceedings of the s in Game AI Workshop, Nineteenth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence,. [] Michael Kubovy, On Pleasures of the Mind, in Kahneman, D., Diener, E. & Schwarz, N. (eds): Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology, Russell Sage Foundation, 999. [] Roger Caillois, Man, Play and Games, Free Press,. 7