Abstract
In recent years student exposure to computer applications has increased at an unprecedented rate. Yet the use of these promising technologies in education remains in its infancy. The growing practice of ‘gamification’ offers today’s educators the means of conveying their lessons in a more engaging way, by utilising computer game mechanics. However, many of these learning tools have not been empirically evaluated. This research investigated the development of a desktop computer application, to replace an existing learning resource, a video, currently used by over 700 life sciences students a year in one of the top 100 universities of the world. The interactive game presents the same essential information as the video, on key anatomical features of mammalian skulls, and provides student self-testing. Results from a two-treatment, pre- and post-intervention experimental design suggest the new product is better for providing both knowledge acquisition and a positive learning experience. Nevertheless, the results are unlikely to be statistically significant. Insights from the findings are discussed and directions for future research are given.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Amirtha R, Gupta R, Rehan HS et al (2017) Medical education/original article impact of computer assisted learning as teaching modality on learning and understanding of pharmacology among undergraduate medical students. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 61(2):202–207
Anshari M, Almunawar MN, Shahrill M et al (2017) Smartphones usage in the classrooms: learning aid or interference? Educ Inf Technol 22(6):3063–3079
Dichev C, Dicheva D (2017) Gamifying education: what is known, what is believed and what remains uncertain: a critical review. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 14(1):9
Dicheva D, Dichev C, Agre G et al (2015) Gamification in education: a systematic mapping study. J Educ Technol Soc 18(3)
Dostal C, Yamafune K (2018) Photogrammetric texture mapping: a method for increasing the fidelity of 3D models of cultural heritage materials. J Archaeol Sci Rep 18:430–436
Falloon G (2017) Mobile devices and apps as scaffolds to science learning in the primary classroom. J Sci Educ Technol 26(6):613–628
Free Sounds Collection (2016) Correct answer – sound effect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZAr1wDv5tY. Accessed 20 Oct 2018
Furió D, Juan MC, Seguí I et al (2015) Mobile learning vs. traditional classroom lessons: a comparative study. J Comput Assist Learn 31(3):189–201
Galbis-Córdova A, Martí Parreño J, Currás Pérez R (2017) Higher education students’ attitude towards the use of gamification for competencies development
Goshevski D, Veljanoska J, Hatziapostolou T (2017, September) A review of gamification platforms for higher education. In: Proceedings of the 8th Balkan conference in Informatics 28
Heflin H, Shewmaker J, Nguyen J (2017) Impact of mobile technology on student attitudes, engagement, and learning. Comput Educ 107:91–99
Hirsh-Pasek K, Zosh JM, Golinkoff RM et al (2015) Putting education in “educational” apps: lessons from the science of learning. Psychol Sci Public Interest 16(1):3–34
Iosup A, Epema D (2014, March) An experience report on using gamification in technical higher education. In: Proceedings of the 45th ACM technical symposium on computer science education, pp 27–32
Jeno LM, Grytnes JA, Vandvik V (2017) The effect of a mobile-application tool on biology students’ motivation and achievement in species identification: a self-determination theory perspective. Comput Educ 107:1–12
Kim SJ, Shin H, Lee J et al (2017) A smartphone application to educate undergraduate nursing students about providing care for infant airway obstruction. Nurse Educ Today 48:145–152
Lai F, Luo R, Zhang L et al (2015) Does computer-assisted learning improve learning outcomes? Evidence from a randomized experiment in migrant schools in Beijing. Econ Educ Rev 47:34–48
Li K, Keller JM (2018) Use of the ARCS model in education: a literature review. Comput Educ 122:54–62
Limniou M, Burton NA, Whitehead JC (2012) Computer-assisted teaching on science education: a student and teacher perspective. J Educ Res 6(1)
mitaywalle (2014) Bone. https://www.filterforge.com/filters/12295.html. Accessed 20 Oct 2018
Neale H, Nichols S (2001) Theme-based content analysis: a flexible method for virtual environment evaluation. Int J Hum Comput Stud 55(2):167–189
Owens D (2017) Issues with tissues: a tale of gameful learning in an introductory undergraduate biology laboratory course. J Coll Sci Teach 47(1):38–42
Robinson L (2016) The application of games in higher education. J Acad Dev Educ 6:5–6
Sengupta P, Sharma A, Das N (2017) Is there any benefit of integrating computer-assisted learning with conventional teaching format in pharmacology to demonstrate the effects of different drugs on mean arterial blood pressure in an anesthetized dog?: a comparative study. J Nat Sci Biol Medicine 8(2):181
Slish D, Nash M, Premo J (2015, June) Gamification increases scores of underperforming students in cell biology. In: EdMedia: World conference on Educational media and technology. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, pp 870–876
Su CH (2017) The effects of students’ learning anxiety and motivation on the learning achievement in the activity theory based gamified learning environment. EURASIA J Math Sci Technol Educ 13(5):1229–1258
Su CH, Cheng CH (2015) A mobile gamification learning system for improving the learning motivation and achievements. J Comput Assist Learn 31(3):268–286
Subhash S, Cudney EA (2018) Gamified learning in higher education: a systematic review of the literature. Comput Hum Behav 87:192–206
SurveyMonkey (2018) How we find survey participants around the world: audience. https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/find-survey-participants/. Accessed 20 Oct 2018
Thurston TN (2018) Design case: implementing gamification with ARCS to engage digital natives. J Empower Teach Excell 2(1):5
Viljoen CA, Millar RS, Engel ME et al (2017) Is computer-assisted instruction more effective than other educational methods in achieving ECG competence among medical students and residents? Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open 7(12):e018811
Yildirim I (2017) The effects of gamification-based teaching practices on student achievement and students’ attitudes toward lessons. Internet High Educ 33:86–92
YoutubeSoundEffects (2015) Wrong buzzer sound effect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0DGjXE_BQQ. Accessed 20 Oct 2018
Zhang M, Trussell RP, Gallegos B et al (2015) Using math apps for improving student learning: an exploratory study in an inclusive fourth grade classroom. TechTrends 59(2):32–39
Zosh JM, Lytle SR, Golinkoff RM et al (2017) Putting the education back in educational apps: how content and context interact to promote learning. In: Media exposure during infancy and early childhood, pp 259–282
Acknowledgements
Access to skulls was facilitated by David Newham. CT scanning was performed at the Small Animal Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow by Gawain Hammond. Support in modelling and scripting was given by Jordan Trench, Connor Zelinsky and Yannick Bande. Hardware from the School of Simulation & Visualisation, The Glasgow School of Art, was used courtesy of Daniel Livingstone. The publication of this work was initiated by Paul Rea. Lessons, on computer modelling, were given by Mike Marriott and Gillian Moffat, and on scripting by Brian Loranger.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Latham, B., Poyade, M., Finlay, C., Edmond, A., McVey, M. (2019). New Tools in Education: Development and Learning Effectiveness of a Computer Application for Use in a University Biology Curriculum. In: Rea, P. (eds) Biomedical Visualisation . Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1138. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14227-8_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14227-8_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-14226-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-14227-8
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)