Evaluating the usefulness of Eye Tracking in Game-based Learning

Abstract

The challenge of educational game design is to develop solutions that please as many players as possible, but are still educationally effective. How learning happens in games is methodologically very challenging to point out and thus it is usually avoided. In this paper we tackle this challenge with eye tracking method. The aim of this research is to study the meaning of cognitive feedback in educational games and evaluate the usefulness of eye tracking method in game based learning research and game design. Based on perceptual data we evaluated the playing behavior of 43 Finnish and Austrian children aged from 7 to 16. Four different games were used as test-beds. The results indicated that players’ perception patterns varied a lot and some players even missed relevant information during playing. The results showed that extraneous elements should be eliminated from the game world in order to avoid incidental processing in crucial moments. Animated content easily grasps player’s attention, which may disturb learning activities. Especially low performers and inattentive players have difficulties in distinguishing important and irrelevant content and tend to stick to salient elements no matter of their importance for a task. However, it is not reasonable to exclude all extraneous elements because it decreases engagement and immersion. Thus, balancing of extraneous and crucial elements is essential. Overall, the results showed that eye tracking can provide important information from game based learning process and game designs. However, we have to be careful when interpreting the perceptual data, because we cannot be sure if the player understands everything that he or she is paying attention to. Thus, eye tracking should be complemented with offline methods like retrospective interview that was successfully used in this research.

Multimodality with Eye tracking and Haptics: A New Horizon for Serious Games?

“…Offline or online analysis of eye movement behaviour is often utilised in order to understand the user's performance in game-based learning (e.g. [24][25][26]). For example, eye movements demonstrate the user's responses to visual changes in the virtual environments as well as behaviours the user undertake during visual search tasks, with this data we are able to extrapolate how users engage in the learning process and game playing.…”

Learning immunology in a game: Learning outcomes, the use of player characters, immersion experiences and visual attention distributions

“…Investigating game‐based learning with eye‐tracking techniques is not new, although most of the research mainly focused on how attention distribution relates to game performance and/or flow experience, but not game immersion. By using eye‐tracking, Kiili, Ketamo, and Kickmeier‐Rust (2014) found that, in general, low performers had difficulties in distinguishing relevant and irrelevant information in educational games, which may disturb learning. They also discovered that the players generally paid more attention to the PC than the NPC and further suggested that designers should prefer to use the PCs as a cognitive feedback channel that requires the players to reflectively process essential learning content.…”

Controlling Image-Stylization Techniques using Eye Tracking

“…In immediate user interaction, human-computerinteraction projects strive to utilize the gaze of the user as the only or one of multiple input components of an interactive system (Kiili et al, 2014). One such example for this mode is the work of Alonso et al in the field of air traffic controllers (Alonso et al, 2013), in which the authors show that even the highly complex use of case of air traffic control can be improved upon with eye tracking technology.…”