Challenges and issues in the development of a Software Engineering simulation game

2013 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)

Pádua

2013

Self Cite

Simulation games are gaining increased interest among academic researchers and practitioners where conventional teaching approaches are not adequate. In the Software Engineering field, simulation games are commonly used for enhancing the learning and understanding of complex themes such as software processes. This complexity is represented by intrinsic software development characteristics such as multiple feedback loops and cause-effect delays. One fundamental aspect for the development of a simulation game is the definition of its simulation model. A simulation model contains some dynamic features and phenomena of the system it represents. It typically involves a set of assumptions concerning the system operation and it is used to translate the underlying system model, with given inputs, producing its behavior pattern. In this work, we describe an approach to create an educational simulation model derived from academic and industrial experiences. We focus on the systematic activities executed during its development. The created model was applied in a Software Process Improvement simulation game, named SPIAL (Software Process Improvement Animated Learning Environment). A set of important issues were identified. Our work can help developers during the creation of simulation games for educational purposes.

“…Students found it quite enjoyable, and they had fun during the game play. They learned new concepts and reinforced concepts taught in Software Engineering course [12], [13].…”

Section: Model Validationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SPIAL is a graphical, interactive, and adaptable simulation game [12], [13], [14] (Figure 1). The game goal is to improve the Software Engineering learning, using simulation.…”

Section: Spialmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An educational simulation model derived from academic and industrial experiences

Peixoto

2013 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)

Pádua

2013

Self Cite

“…Our previous experience has demonstrated that it is important to use simulation games complementary to other educational techniques, which should be accompanied by an adequate amount of direction and guidance given to the students [Peixoto et al 2012, Peixoto et al 2014. In the recent years, an increasing number of Software Engineering educational games can be found in the literature, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Educational Games and Learning Effectiveness

Cascini

Anais Do XXVIII Simpósio Brasileiro De Informática Na Educação (SBIE 2017)

Pádua³

2017

Abstract. Assessments of educational games have to take into account many aspects, including internal and external game mechanisms. This paper analyses the assessment methods incorporated in a specific Software Engineering educational game, named SPIAL. We used four assessment categories that are commonly found in the literature: aim, implementation, integration and primary type. We observed that the main assessment mechanisms incorporated in SPIAL is the score. Other mechanisms were applied mostly for guiding students during the learning process. In addition, the external evaluations did not consider internal actions of the game and were used mostly to certify the acquired skill. Such findings are in line with the mechanisms used in other Software Engineering educational games. This paper also provides insights for researchers in issues related to the definition of educational game assessment mechanisms and implementation in general, an example is the evaluation of the effective learning compared to the evaluation of the player's perception of learning.

FASENG: A framework for development of Software Engineering simulation games

Peixoto

Possa

2012 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings

et al. 2012

Self Cite

Simulation games can help teaching and learning in several areas of Software Engineering. One important research issue is providing support for simulation games development, making the results of their adoption successful in Software Engineering courses. In this work, we identify a set of requirements focusing on some of the Constructivist learning theories. These requirements were used to evaluate Software Engineering simulation games. Based on these requirements, we created FASENG, a framework for development of Software Engineering simulation games. FASENG has three main components: simulation model, simulator, and simulation engine. Since there is a clear structural and conceptual separation among them, they can be reused in other development environments. In order to check the framework flexibility, we developed two distinct Software Engineering simulation games. The two main results of this research are a better understanding of Software Engineering simulation games requirements and the development of FASENG.