Design and implementation of a platform for the development and management of learning experiences in location-based mobile games

Abstract

Recent international surveys present that educational games can be used to promote critical thinking and enhance problem solving skills even in the early school ages. On the other hand, it is a common belief that due to the rapidly changing technology, education should be adapted in order to follow the changes and the new needs of students. To this end, any tool supporting the creation of educational learning experiences, through the use of modern devices and technologies, is considered invaluable both for educators and young learners. In this thesis we discuss the design and implementation of a platform for the development and management of learning experiences in location-based games. More specifically, we present an authoring tool (desktop application) supporting the creation and management of mobile location-based games, as well as scenario editing, user interface customization and organization of gaming activities. Furthermore, we present the player application (mobile application) that we have developed, supporting the play of games which have been created using the authoring tool. The player application is compatible with most state-of-the-art mobile devices and platforms, while both tools have been designed with flexibility and extensibility in mind. To this end, they can be used in various domains including education, museum exploration, city sightseeing, as well as in everyday gaming activities for having fun. Our applications are compatible with well known modern educational tools and repositories through the direct use of the Tin Can API. Finally, is worth mentioning that they have been evaluated for their usability by professionals and naive users.