Gender-based Engagement Model for Serious Games

Abstract

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) improve learning quality and increases outcomes while allowing for more natural control of learning systems. It has a significant impact on the economy in many regions. However, there is a lack of female engagement in ICT fields in many countries. Serious Games are effective tools for learning, and it can be used to motivate women to study Computer Science. Gender preference factors affect engagement and motivation to play certain types of digital games, but few studies have designed digital games for females. Furthermore, most games with Computer Science content do not interest young adult females and fail to describe how the social and cultural content of the game explains the game experience of female players. As a solution, an extensive study of related literature on effective Serious Game elements, including motivational elements that influence a player to engage with digital games, effective educational game elements, female preference elements regarding digital games, and elements that impact the motivation of players to engage with the game was conducted. The result is a conceptual model for gender-based engagement in Serious Games. The proposed model will be implemented to increase the engagement of undergraduate females in Computer Science.

iPlus a User-Centered Methodology for Serious Games Design

“…All the above is done to stimulate skills according to the SG purpose. References: [1,10,26,[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36].…”

“…It must allow interest, immersion, and concentration in the player. References: [1,26,[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]40,41,[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50].…”

Addressing the Gender Gap in Computer Programming Through the Design and Development of Serious Games

“…According to a study conducted by Alserri et al [10], who analyzed secondary schools data on the subject, girls who were heavy gamers at 13-14 years old seemed to be more likely to pursue a STEM degree. Therefore he suggested that games could be a way to motivate girls into computer science and STEM degrees in general.…”

“…A study conducted by Carmichael [16] showcased the beneficial outcomes of combining computer science concepts with video games specifically to a young female target-group. When choosing the coding creation software the educators should consider the following series of requirements: the academic year of the students, the familiarity of the instructor(s) with coding projects, the capability of the student in creating a coding project, and the amount of time students will be spending learning the know-how to do it Alserri et al [10] have developed a conceptual model for gender-based engagement through the use of games, consisting of five elements: 1) Learning elements: these are the elements that distinguish entertainment games from educational games;…”