Digital game-based learning (DGBL) is becoming a prominent innovative approach used in higher education to gamify the learning experience. Research studies using DGBL as a framework for game design has shown promising results in increasing student engagement, motivation, interaction, satisfaction, and most of all, learning outcomes among…

Object-based learning includes the active incorporation of historic artifacts into educational environments, which may yield meaningful learning experiences. However, gaining access to artifacts and coordinating object-based curricula with museum staff pose immense challenges to educators. Furthermore, digital representations of historic artifacts…

This study aims to propose and evaluate a model for work engagement in Special Educational Needs (SEN) teachers in Greece, in order to get insights into the effect of parameters such as job satisfaction, burnout and other personal characteristics. The sample consisted of 503 female and 161 male teachers of both primary and secondary education,…

Many empirical studies have shown that educational games and recent technologies impact education and increase learning effectiveness, students' motivation and engagement. The overall aim of this study is to evaluate the usability of Imikode, a virtual reality (VR) game that was developed to introduce the concepts of object-oriented programming to…

Since teaching robotics in schools is still new for teachers, studies on how to integrate computational thinking concepts in robotics courses are still rare. In this direction, teacher training sessions for teaching robotics should be visited. Accordingly, in this exploratory case study, a professional development program for teachers was…

New game technologies seem to permeate every area of daily life. Therefore, it is not surprising that, in addition to the incorporation of entertaining gaming features into otherwise dull or tedious activities, the positive influence of user experience and user engagement has also been on the rise in recent years. It is all part of gamification.…

This study used New Institutional Theory to explore how entrepreneurial activities in support units contribute to digital transformation in higher education in Norway. We describe how entrepreneurs initiated and operationalized support for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), micro-credentials and fully online courses in pockets of innovation…

Studies of educational games often treat them as "black boxes" (Black and Wiliam in Phi Delta Kappan 80: 139-48, 1998; Buckley et al. in Int J LearnTechnol 5:166-190, 2010; Buckley et al. in J Sci Educ Technol 13: 23-41, 2010) and measure their effectiveness by exposing a treatment group of students to the game and comparing their…

The purpose of this study was to examine the pre-service teachers' computational thinking (CT) skills and self-efficacy (SE) towards teaching CT, who attended a course in which educational games were developed in a block-based programming environment and lesson plans were prepared accordingly. The research was conducted with thirty seven…

Three-Dimensional Virtual Worlds (3DVW) have significant promise for the development of teaching and learning environments. Educational communities have become interested in such virtual platforms, and this technology has widely benefited educational settings. This study aims to identify the factors that drive the acceptance of 3DVWs as means for…

This emerging technology report introduces the "WearableLearning" (WL) platform as a tool to exercise computational thinking and STEM learning for 5-12th grade students through mobile technology-augmented active game play and game creation. Freely available at "WearableLearning.org," it allows students and teachers to play,…

Primary school students have trouble understanding concepts related to fractions. On the other hand, technology constantly provides interesting tools that stimulate students' interest and foster learning. Among these, tangible user interfaces allow users to interact with digital applications through the manipulation of everyday objects. Given that…

This contribution investigates higher education students' perceptions about mobile learning (m-learning) applications, as well as the effects of social influences and of appropriate facilitating conditions, on their intentions to continue using them. A structured survey questionnaire integrated valid measures from the Technology Acceptance Model…

The onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic affected higher education in a myriad of ways. One of the most notable effects however was the rapid and sudden transition of nearly all courses at most institutions to an online environment. And while there are a growing number of courses offered online already, this transition to nearly 100% remote…

This study examines the effects of plugged and unplugged programming tools used in algorithm teaching at the K-12 level on student computational thinking skills and to determine whether gender is a factor in this process. The study group was designed with a control group pre-test--post-test; quasi-experimental model, that consisted of 109 students…