Mobile Learning Game Authoring Tools: Assessment, Synthesis and Proposals

Abstract

Mobile Learning Games (MLGs) show great potential for increasing engagement, creativity and authentic learning. Yet, despite their great potential for education, the use of MLGs by teachers, remains limited. This is partly due to the fact that MLGs are often designed to match a specific learning context, and thus cannot be reusable for other contexts. Therefore, researchers have recently designed various types of MLG authoring tools. However, these authoring tools are not always adapted to non-computer-scientists or non-game-designers. Hence, we propose in this paper to focus on five existing MLG authoring tools, in order to assess their features and usability with the help of five teachers, who are used to organizing educational field trips. In the second part of this paper, we present an approach for designing a MLG authoring tool, based on the lacks identified through the analysis, and tailored to the teachers' different profiles and needs.

Lessons Learned from the Development of a Mobile Learning Game Authoring Tool

“…Indeed, MLGs combine all the ingredients necessary to attract students' attention and engage them in learning activities [1]- [3]: game mechanics such as competition, rewards and exploration, situated learning in real contexts and the physical effort necessary to go to the right place. Several MLG authoring tools have recently been proposed [4], [5]. The conception, development and administration of such authoring tools are arguably challenging and time-consuming tasks for researchers.…”

A Nested Design Approach for Mobile Learning Games

“…1.2.1 Authoring Tool Analysis. In previous work, we show that the use of MLGs in classrooms is currently limited because of the lack of tools to help teachers create their own MLGs [10]. In the same study, we list the existing authoring tools, which can create MLGs, and assess them with the help of teachers, in order to determine their limitations.…”

“…Following to our previous work on MLGs authoring tools [10], we decided to reuse an existing open-source authoring tool: App Inventor 2.…”

“…Indeed, in a study performed in 2014 [18], Rouillard and his colleagues from Université de Lyon observed that App Inventor 2 enabled 116 students to develop 79 MLG prototypes in an average of 10 hours, of which 14 prototypes were considered prevalent to learn relevant information. In our MLGs authoring tools study [10], App Inventor 2 has been ranked as the most powerful authoring tool. Furthermore, as we intend to allow the configuration of low-level mobile components in the expert mode, App Inventor's bloc programming system seemed very advantageous.…”

Design of a Component-Based Mobile Learning Game Authoring Tool

“…In this section, we compare two well established authoring tools for mobile learning applications to Moggle-Designer. A complete state of the art can be found in [11].…”