Adequate pedagogical approaches for integration of technology in the learning process create new opportunities for improving the quality of teaching and learning experiences, raising students' interest and motivation for the classroom activities at the same time. Game-based learning implemented with different technologies can utilize students' energy and enthusiasm for educational purposes. In order to increase the quality of experience of the learning process, elements of popular games (e.g., mobile games and augmented reality games) should be used in the educational context. This paper proposes methodological guideline that can be used for the integration of games in education. The methodological guideline defines the two steps process of creating educational games starting from students' attitudes and needs, and then incorporates educational outcomes. As a case-study augmented reality educational games platform was designed in order to illustrate the possibilities and benefits of the proposed approach.

This electronic document is a "live" template and already defines the components of your paper [title, text, heads, etc.] The quiz-game Kahoot! is a Norwegian developed quiz game that is used in all countries in the world. At the Inland University of Applied Sciences, Kahoot! has been played in several classes and in different ways. This paper will present research at the elementary level both in Macedonia and in Norway. The research is based on an adapted version of the Education Games Evaluation Framework. The adaption is mainly due to it not being a computer game, but a quiz game.

Learning to code helps children to develop an understanding of how things work. It also contributes to the development of problem‐solving skills. In this paper, we present a methodological framework with four cycles that alternate between cooperative and individual learning approaches in addition to game‐based and project‐based learning. The presented framework is suitable for deployment in primary schools, regardless of the digital competencies and programming skills of the teachers. The framework was evaluated focusing on the approach (collaborative or competitive) that is more suitable for the first cycle in the multi‐cycle scenario for learning to code from a demographic perspective (gender and urbanization), the relevancy of Bloom's taxonomy, and the achieved learning experience. Initial results confirm that this approach encourages the students to use the proposed tools for finding the solution, raising their interest and motivation for learning to code. The teachers who participated in the pilot study were satisfied with the proposed approach, both in terms of achieved learning outcomes and the level of training needed to obtain necessary teaching competencies.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has led to a sudden change in education, closing schools and shifting to online teaching, which has become an enormous challenge for teachers and students. Implementing adequate online pedagogical approaches and integrating different digital tools in the teaching process have become a priority in educational systems. Finding a way to keep students' interest and persistence in learning is an important issue that online education is facing. One possible way to establish engaging and interactive learning environments, using the energy and enthusiasm of students for educational purposes, is the use of game-based learning activities and gamification of different parts of the educational process. Objective This paper presents a use case of migrating an escape room–style educational game to an online environment by using the design thinking methodology. We wanted to show that the design thinking methodology is useful to create engaging and motivating online games that provide educational value. Methods Starting from students’ perspective, we created a simple digital escape room–style game where students got an opportunity to self-assess their knowledge in computer science at their own pace. Students tested this prototype game, and their opinions about the game were collected through an online survey. The test's goal was to evaluate the students' perceptions about the implemented digital escape room–style educational game and gather information about whether it could achieve students' engagement in learning computer science during online teaching. Results In total, 117 students from sixth and seventh grades completed the survey regarding the achieved student engagement. Despite the differences in students’ answers about game complexity and puzzle difficulty, most students liked the activity (mean 4.75, SD 0.67, on a scale from 1 to 5). They enjoyed the game, and they would like to participate in this kind of activity again (mean 4.74, SD 0.68). All (n=117, 100%) students found the digital escape room–style educational game interesting for playing and learning. Conclusions The results confirmed that digital escape room–style games could be used as an educational tool to engage students in the learning process and achieve learning outcomes. Furthermore, the design thinking methodology proved to be a useful tool in the process of adding novel educational value to the digital escape room–style game.

Many countries have included or consider to include computational thinking in their educational curricula. This creates the need for a carefully planned educational approach involving different stakeholders as policymakers, educators and students. These stakeholders are the main carriers of the educational reforms thus their perspectives create various challenges and risks. In this paper, we propose a pedagogical approach of teaching coding through games and gamification of the learning process. The flipped classroom is used in order to address the shortcomings in teacher training and deliver learning outcomes in student-centred, fun and engaging way. Proposed solution includes a spiral curriculum implemented in 4 cycles that alternate cooperative and individual learning approach. The approach was evaluated with more than 199 students from 6 different schools. Evaluation analyses were focused on the achieved learning experience identifying differences between male and female students, as well as students with different level of access to ICT resources. The results confirm the benefits of the proposed solution.