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Transactions on Edutainment IX pp 115–131Cite as

Game Based Early Programming Education: The More You Play, the More You Learn

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((TEDUTAIN,volume 7544))

Abstract

Mini-languages is a branch of Educational Software for learning programming at an introductory level. On the other hand, participation, interaction and storylines make Educational Games motivating to young learners. The study presented here examined various widely known mini-languages with an emphasis on LOGO implementations and followed a combinational route to take advantage of both Game-Based Learning (GBL) and the use of mini-languages in the design of a new LOGO-like environment. PlayLOGO 3D is a video game with defined learning outcomes aiming to support GBL activities especially designed for children aged 6-13 years in the early stages of programming education. The Expert Review Method was used for initial evaluation based on a set of heuristics for usability, game play and educational effectiveness. Although the expert team found a few violations of heuristics criteria, evaluation results are very encouraging and prove that there is enough room to make programming education more fun.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Technology, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, P.O BOX 141, 57400, Sindos, Greece

    Ioannis Paliokas, Chistos Arapidis & Michail Mpimpitsos

Authors
  1. Ioannis Paliokas
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  2. Chistos Arapidis
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  3. Michail Mpimpitsos
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China

    Zhigeng Pan

  2. Keio University Graduate School of Media Design, 4-1-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, 223-8526, Yokohama-city, Kanagawa, Japan

    Adrian David Cheok

  3. University of Education, Weingarten, Germany

    Wolfgang Müller

  4. Coventry University, UK

    Fotis Liarokapis

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Paliokas, I., Arapidis, C., Mpimpitsos, M. (2013). Game Based Early Programming Education: The More You Play, the More You Learn. In: Pan, Z., Cheok, A.D., Müller, W., Liarokapis, F. (eds) Transactions on Edutainment IX. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7544. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-37042-7_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-37042-7_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-37041-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-37042-7

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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