Finding of the week #119

Veröffentlicht am 27. Juni 2015 von Sebbi

Language learning with computer games

During my ongoing literature review I often discover interesting facts about things I’ve never thought about. Sometimes I can connect these facts with my own observations: The result is mostly a completely new idea why things are as they are. Maybe these ideas are new to you, too. Therefore I’ll share my new science based knowledge with you!

This week: This time, I think about how a computer game can educate players in a foreign language.

I briefly discussed the idea of using computer games for the purpose of language learning in Finding of the week #118 [1]. In this article, I like to present a computer game that demonstrates an ideal way to teach a foreign language to computer game players.

The computer game Lifeless Planet [2] puts the player into the role of an astronaut who is stranded on an unknown planet. After a long journey through the vastness of space, the astronaut and his other crew members had a crash landing on the planet which they wanted to explore. After the astronaut regained consciousness, he is sitting alone in the capsule and as he leaves the spacecraft, he finds human footprints leading away from it. In contrast to all the observations made by scientists, the planet is not a lively world. Instead, it is a complete desert and the atmosphere has not enough oxygen to keep the astronaut alive without his space suit. A couple of minutes later, the astronaut discovers a leak in his space suit–the fight for survival has begun.

Lifeless Planet

During the story of game, the astronaut encounters a mysterious woman and starts to follow her as she seems to know how to survive on this hostile planet. Although the astronaut tries everything to speak to her, she always runs away and does not allow him to approach her. The chase continues until the astronaut has to traverse a very dangerous area. Just in the moment as he enters the area, the woman stops him from running into his doom and helps the player to move through this area by giving additional advice.

Aside from giving hand signals, she also shouts commands in order to guide the player through the dangerous area. However, these commands are not in the language the player has selected for the game as the woman only speaks Russian. As a result of this, the player starts to learn some basic commands like „Stop“ and „Go“ in Russian while he plays the game.

This special game mechanic of guiding the player using a foreign language presents an ideal way of introducing learners to a new language. The immersive effect of the game gives those commands a special meaning and thus increases the player’s motivation to listen and to understand what the woman shouts. Additionally, the woman uses hand gestures in order to provide a common ground that helps the player to understand her words. Furthermore, the woman repeats the commands and, as a result of this, the player has the chance to memorize these phrases due to repition.

This game mechanic can easily be enhanced and reused in different contexts in order to expand the language proficiency of the learners. Moreover, the amount of spoken words can be increased over time and thus help the learners to understand the grammar of the language. Additionally, the learning effect can also be enhanced by providing subtitles in order to present the spoken and written word at the exact same time.

In the end, computer games could be an ideal environment for the purpose of language training as they can present the language in a vivid and engaging way.

Finding of the week #118

Veröffentlicht am 20. Juni 2015 von Sebbi

Discussing the gamification of learning with professionals

This week: This time, I think about the positive feedback I received from professionals about my field of research.

Last week, I wrote about the experiences I made during a language proficiency test [1]. The test began with some general questions about my work and my hobbies and so I was able to present my work as a Ph.D student and my field of research to the two examiners. In other words, I presented the general concept of the „gamification of learning“–the application of game mechanics in order to increase the learner’s motivation and engagement to practice the learning content. Moreover, the gamification of learning aims at the utilization of game mechanics that demand a certain skill or human ability in order to realize a direct training effect. Surprisingly, one of the two examiners, who is a professional language trainer, asked right away, if I would think that this concept would also work in the field of language learning.

Of course, the gamification of learning could also be used in order to learn and practice a foreign language. For instance, the learners could play an adventure game and while they are progressing through the story, the game will present and demand more and more elements of the language to be learned. This could be even enhanced with the implementation of a voice recognition system in order to allow the learners to actually speak the language.

After I had completed the first part of the test and was waiting for the beginning of the second part, the other examiner approached me and agreed that the whole gamification concept would work very well in his field of work: the training of pilots. Aside from practicing in a simulator, pilots need to learn a lot of additional knowledge in order to achieve a type rating for a certain airplane. A type rating is a certification that enables a pilot to fly a certain aircraft.

During this conversation, he basically described the application of the most used game element for the purpose of increasing the motivation: the reward mechanism of computer games. Pilots could get rewarded when they achieve a certain amount of knowledge about the airplane they are training for. Subsequently, this would result in a higher motivation to continue learning.

On the one hand, I was more than happy as I spoke with my examiner about this idea as it made me realize how important and useful my work is. On the other hand, this discussion also revealed the fact that the understanding of gamification is mostly linked with the application of these reward mechanisms. They are very simple to implement and thus are already used everywhere. Receiving virtual badges or other virtual goods is often used to raise the engagement of users to use a certain system.

Although it was great to discuss the possible applications of the findings in my field of research, it also made me realize that I still have a lot of work to do in order to demonstrate the power of the gamification of learning as it can realize so much more. There are plenty of game mechanics that demand so many different skills and human abilities. As soon as these demands are identified, the game mechanics can be used in training environments in order to demand the right set of skills that is needed in a certain profession. By doing so, the knowledge gained during the utilization of the virtual training environment can directly be transferred to the real world application as both situations share similar demands.

Nevertheless, it was really refreshing to discuss the own work with professionals who are directly involved in a training process and who independently saw the benefits of my work for their fields of work.

Finding of the week #117

Veröffentlicht am 13. Juni 2015 von Sebbi

Language proficiency test

This week: This time, I think about my experience of passing a language proficiency test.

Language proficiency tests are complex as they are intended to assess a candidate’s linguistic capability. For this purpose, a language proficiency test has to evaluate different linguistic aspects, such as pronounciation, structure, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and interaction.

Recently, I passed such a language proficiency test and was a little bit surprised about its structure as the time allocated for the different aspects seemed relatively short. The test consisted of two main elements: a speaking and a listening and comprehension part.

During the speaking test, I was required to give a short presentation about an unknown topic and to comment on three different statements. Surprisingly, the expected duration of the presentation was only two to two and a half minutes and so relatively short. However, being able to fluently speak for two and a half minutes can already provide a good indication about the candidate’s ability to express himself in a foreign language as this time is long enough to present a lot of information and to assess the candidate’s language prophiciency. Additionally, increasing the time could result in the problem that the candidate runs out of content and thus is no longer able to keep up the flow of the presentation. This part resulted in a test of the pronounciation, structure, vocabulary and fluency as these linguistic aspect are mostly required during a presentation.

After having completed my presentation, I was confronted with three different statements and had to express my own opinion. Furthermore, the examiners asked some follow-up questions in order to simulate a conversation. This part was intented to assess the candidate’s ability to comprehend and to interact.

Finally, I had to complete the listening and comprehension part which consisted of a multiple-choice test about fifteen different audio files. The multiple-choice test provided one question per audio file and was designed to assess the candidate’s ability to comprehend the content of each audio file. The difficulty of this part was enhanced by the fact that the audio files included different English accents.

Although the whole test seemed to be relatively short, it demanded and tested all of the linguistic aspects.

Finding of the week #116

Veröffentlicht am 6. Juni 2015 von Sebbi

Dangerous distractions

This week: This time, I think about the results of my short experiment of explaining a complex task while driving a virtual race car.

A long time ago, I presented a concept of utilizing Assetto Corsa (AC) [1] to demonstrate the danger of using a cellphone while driving [2]. The experiment consists of three stages and allows players to experience the impact of talking while driving. At first, the players must get a feel for the driving experience in AC and learn how to drive the virtual race car. After having practiced driving in AC, the players are required to drive for a certain amount of time on a particular racetrack with the goal to constantly improve their lap times. During this stage, the players are not subjected to any distraction and can fully focus on the task of driving as fast as possible. Finally, after the players have completed the second stage, they are required to drive again for the same amount of time on the exact same racetrack. This time, however, they are required to explain a complex topic and to record their explanations using a microphone while they are operating the virtual race car. In the end, after both stages are completed, the players can compare the lap times between these two sessions and also listen to their explanations in order to experience the impact of talking on their driving performance.

Alfa Romeo Giulietta in Assetto Corsa

Recently, I managed to give this experiment a try and to record the results of it. Naturally, the results are not statistically relevant as I kept this experiment relatively short by driving only two laps per stage. Additionally, I skipped the learning phase as I was already used to drive a race car in AC and, as a result of this, the experiment was reduced to a two-stage experiment. For the purpose of measuring the influence of talking while driving, I drove the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Q.V. on the Magione racetrack. After having completed the outlap, I drove for two consecutive laps without talking and thus I was able to fully focus on driving the car. Subsequently, I completed two additional consecutive laps with the task of explaining a complex topic [3] while driving.

Despite the limitations of the experiment, the results are a good indication for the negative impact of talking on our driving performance. During the first stage, I achieved lap times of 1:35:617 and 1:35:249, respectively. During the second stage, I achieved lap times of 1:37:393 and 1:40:988, respectively. The main reason for these slower lap times was the fact that I frequently missed the exact braking point and thus had difficulties in driving through the turns of the racetrack. Furthermore, my ability to explain a complex topic was negatively influenced as well. While driving through more demanding parts of the racetrack, I occasionally lost track or I had to stop talking in order to recover the car.

The slower lap times and the difficulties in explaining a complex topic are good indications for the negative impact of talking while driving. Moreover, I was only challenged by the task of explaining a topic. Using a cellphone while driving also requires the driver to follow and to understand the conservation and, as a result of this, using a cellphone could have even a higher impact on the driving performance. Furthermore, I was completely alone on the racetrack and had not to monitor the traffic around me.

As a conclusion, doing other things while operating a vehicle is very dangerous as even a short lack of focus can have devastating results.

Finding of the week #115

Veröffentlicht am 30. Mai 2015 von Sebbi

Computer Games and Climate Change

This week: This time, I think about how computer games could be used to raise the global awareness of the climate change.

The International Symposium On Climate Change [1] took place in Rome from Wednesday to Friday and was broadcasted live via the internet. During this event, experts presented and discussed scientific data indicating the change of our climate, potential outcomes and threats of the climate change, as well as methods how this global problem could be addressed and controlled. The latter part, however, is a huge challenge as we do have to act now in order to limit the environmental issues of tomorrow. This is not an easy task as it requires actions and changes in the politics, the economy and our own lifestyle all around the world. Furthermore, it is important to raise the global awareness of the climate change and of possible ways to save our environment.

For instance, the climate change can not only be stopped by reducing the CO2 emissions as other elements do also play a significant role. It might be hard to believe, but the recent demand for meat has a huge impact on the climate change as well. The farms that produce all this meet cause a huge emission of methane which is also increasing the global warming and hence increasing the rate of the climate change.

At this point, I realized that computer games can be an effective tool to raise this global awareness as computer games can present and simulate the course of the climate change in a vivid and immersive way. Players can experiment around with different types of emissions and subsequently experience the effects on the virtual climate. Additionally, video games can be used to present and to discuss alternative ways of living in order to raise even the awareness of modern technology that can help us to sustain our climate. Moreover, computer games can be helpful to put all the predictions into perspective. The probably best outcome we still could achieve if we would take action right now, would be an average global temperature raise of 2°C. But what are the results of a global temperature increase by this amount? Virtual worlds would be a perfect tool to demonstrate the effects of this change. For example, the game could simulate the change of the world due to the raising water level of the oceans.

Anno 2070 [2] is a good example for demonstrating the effects of environmental polution. However, the game does not simulate a global climate change and limits the effects of the polution to small islands in the game world. Additionally, the game is not drastic enough as it is possible to reverse the effects by just exchanging dirty factories with clean ones. On the other side, the game presents and discusses the effects of environmental polution and thus increases the global awareness for global problems.

Now, we need more of these games in order to present and to discuss what is going on and how we could stop or at least reduce the effects of the climate change if we all start to work together in order to sustain our climate.

In the end, it is not only about saving the global climate, it is all about saving ourselves. The Earth does not need us, but we need the Earth in order to survive.

Finding of the week #114

Veröffentlicht am 23. Mai 2015 von Sebbi

Learning a race track

This week: This time, I think about how a player can learn to master a race track in a racing simulater, and, by doing so, also practice to drive on the real race track.

A few weeks ago, I finally started to play Assetto Corsa (AC) [1] again [2]. Assetto Corsa is a very authentic racing simulation due to a very realistic physics and graphics engine [3]. Playing this game creates the immersion of actually driving a race car along a race track as the behavior of the different race cars, that are available in the game, feels really authentic and it is often very demanding to keep a car under control when it is driven at its very limits. This immersive effect is even supported by the realistic graphics engine which presents the race cars and the race tracks with almost photo-realistic details.

Aside from enjoying the immersive effects of AC, it is also very interesting to observe the own improvement while practicing to drive on a certain race track. At first, the player has to figure out how the car reacts when he steps on the break or drives through different types of curves. However, after a short period of time, the player gets used to the behavior of the car and can start to improve the own performance on a certain race track. In order to do so, the player needs to learn and to understand each part of the race track. He has to figure out the braking points and the right speeds for each turn. Finally, the player has to find the right flow in order to connect all the turns so that he can operate the race car at its limits in order to achieve a great lap time.

Apart from getting a feeling for the race track, the player is also motivated by the indication of the own lap times. Every time the player finishes a lap, he gets an immediate feedback about the own performance, hence can follow his own progress.

„Eau Rouge“ in Assetto Corsa

As a side effect of practicing laps in a realistic racing simulator like AC, the users are driving on a virtual version of the real world race track, and, as a result of this, they potentially learn how to drive on the real race track. For instance, driving on the Spa race track allows the players to experience the famous „Eau Rouge“, and after having driven through the virtual version of this curve, players could be able to drive through this turn in the real world without any issues. At least, if they are used to the car they are driving.

Finding of the week #113

Veröffentlicht am 16. Mai 2015 von Sebbi

Running Flow

This week: This time, I think about how the state of flow is beneficial to achieve great things.

On Thursday evening, I managed to set a new time record for my current running route. In general, this is nothing special as I constantly try to improve my time. This time, however, I was able to observe how I was motivated by a state of flow.

According to Csikszentmihalyi [1], a state of flow can occur when a person is challenged by clear goals and rules, and is provided with enough feedback about the own progress. Morever, flow can also occur when a person fully exhausts the own skills and abilities in order to overcome a challenge. The process of working towards these clear goals or working at the very limits of the own skill level can lead to a very satisfying experience which is described as the state flow.

Therefore, running can be an ideal flow activity as setting own goals and working at the very limits of the own skill level can easily be achieved. Amongst other things, runners can try to reach new distances, to run for a certain distance without stopping or to keep up a certain pace. After having defined the own goals, runners constantly get feedback during their runs as they can compare their current progress with their goal in mind. The runner’s feedback depends on the goal and can be the arrival at a certain point of the route or a very good time for a certain distance.

In my very own case, I was frequently comparing the distance I have covered with the time I needed and constantly felt rewarded by my good pace. After having completed more than two thirds, I realized that I could achieve a very good time for this route and I felt even more energized. However, I have not expected the unexpected: two walkers got lost in this forest and needed help. Dang it! Although this was a setback, I remained in a state of flow and was very satisfied as I realized that my time was still very good. In the end, I achieved a new time record for this running route, but it could have been even better!

[1] Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (2010): Flow : Das Geheimnis des Glücks, 15. edit., Stuttgart.

Finding of the week #112

Veröffentlicht am 9. Mai 2015 von Sebbi

Own experiences can enhance the immersive effect

This week: This time, I think about the way how our own experiences could increase the immersive effect of a computer game.

After a very long break, I finally managed to play Assetto Corsa (AC) [1] again. Of course, I would have liked to play it on a more frequent basis as it is a very realistic and fun racing simulator, but the aspect of being a realistic racing simulator requires more or less a steering wheel in order to fully enjoy the gameplay. In this case, playing AC needs all the time some preparation as I have to set up the steering wheel before I can start playing it. Furthermore, after I have finished driving along virtual race tracks, I need to remove the steering wheel as it would otherwise occupy too much space of my desk. In other words, playing AC is not as easy as playing other games.

Yesterday, I took the time to set up my racing wheel and I finally was able to experience the fun of speeding along a race track, again. This is especially interesting as AC utilizes a very realistic physics engine and graphics engine, hence driving a virtual car in the game feels almost like driving a real car. The only thing that breaks a bit the immersion are the missing forces on the own body. Nevertheless, playing AC results all the time in a very intense immersive experience. However, this time I noticed another interesting component of the immersion of this computer game.

Usually, I used AC to experience a ride on one of the famous Formula One race tracks. This time, however, I decided to explore the hill climb course „Trento – Bondone“ which is based on one of many small mountain roads that can be found in the Alps. The track itself consists of a narrow road that changes between more or less straight parts and serpentine roads featuring several tight hairpin curves.

Assetto Corsa – Trento-Bondone

As I was driving along this track for the very first time, I noticed that the immersive feeling was increased in relation to the immersive effect of driving on a virtual version of a real race track. The reason for this could be the fact that I was driving along such kind of serpentine road during my skiing vacation in the Berchtesgaden Alps. In this case, I was able to connect my real world experience of driving on a serpentine road with the virtual experience of driving along a similar serpentine road.

Connecting our own experiences with the experiences we make during the gameplay potentially adds another dimension to the immersive aspect of computer games as we are able to compare our expectations to the results of our gameplay. It can also explain why driving along the hill climb course had an even stronger immersive effect than driving on one of the race tracks: I never had the chance to drive on a real race track, hence I do not have any experience I can compare to the experiences in the game.

Now, I need to get the chance to drive on one of the real world race tracks that are implemented in AC in order to examine if this will also enhance the immersive effect of driving on this track in AC.

Finding of the week #111

Veröffentlicht am 2. Mai 2015 von Sebbi

First time experiences

This week: This time, I think about the importance of first time experiences.

The first time of doing something can be a very exciting experience. For example, riding down a steep slope, driving a special car or just visiting a new location for the first time causes in most of the cases a special first time experience. The excitement of these first time experiences comes mostly from the fact that we are experiencing something unknown and we are not really sure about how things will evolve. Of course, driving a special car for the second time can be still very exciting, but at this point, the driver has already gained some experience about the behavior of the car and can rely on this knowledge.

An even better example might be the landing of an airplane on a short runway. Although the length of the runway provides more than enough space for a safe landing, it might look really unusal for the pilot who lands on it for the first time. He knows that it is no a problem at all to land on the runway, but he has never done it before and thus experiences something unknown. If the same pilot does the landing on the same runway for the second time, it might still look really short, but at this point, the pilot can rely on the knowledge he has gained during the first landing.

These special first time experiences do also occur during the gameplay of a computer game. Computer games evolve around certain challenges and tackling these challenges for the very first time can be a very intense moment. For instance, surviving the first night ever in Minecraft [1] can be a very scary and intense feeling. The first day passes relatively quickly and the player has only a limited amount of time to prepare for the first night as evil creatures are spawning in the darkness. A new Minecraft player has no idea how to deal with this situation, hence the first night is a unique experience. After having survived the first night, the player has gained some knowledge on how to deal with this situation. This will not decrease the danger of a night in Minecraft, but it will allow the player to act differently as he no longer deals with an unknown situation.

Minecraft

These special first time experiences do not only result in great memories but provide a special meaning for certain activities. The experience of driving a special car will provide a special meaning to the general activity of driving. This is also true for computer games, as the computer game that has caused the special first time experience will always cause a special feeling once the user starts to play it again.

Kerbal Space Program (KSP) [2] is one of those games that causes all the time a special feeling once I start playing it. Every time I start this game, I have to think back to my humble beginnings and the first landing on the „Mun“. Although it is no longer that adventurous to land a spacecraft on a celestial body, playing this game still brings back the great memories of discovering spaceflight.

Successful landing on Minmus

In the end, these great first time experiences are causing a passion for our favorite activities as we do like to gain more of these first time experiences.

Finding of the week #110

Veröffentlicht am 25. April 2015 von Sebbi

The Internet

This week: This time, I think about the internet and how important it has become for my life.

A fast access to the internet can be seen as one of the standards these days. I would go even that far and compare it with the standards of being supplied with electricity and fresh water. However, I am experiencing an internet outage for more than a week now (my Internet Service Provider apparently is not really fast in fixing such a problem) and this becomes really problematic as my work requires an access to the internet. Without the internet, I am not able to communicate, to do research, nor to exchange data with others. Especially being not able to receive and to send emails is really problematic as there are several upcoming projects that require some preparations.

Of course, having a constant access to the internet has also some downsides. For instance, I do receive a lot of messages throughout the whole day. On the one hand, this is really important as I rely on this communication. On the other hand, receiving a new message can, depending on the importance of this message, distract me from my current work. However, I am quite skilled in setting my own priorities which helps me to stay focused and to be productive. Moreover, if I really need a break from the 24/7 availability, I just can leave my desk for some hours and spend some time outdoors in order to relax a bit.

Apart from the whole „working on the internet“ aspect, the internet is my main source for information and news. Naturally, I can get some of these information also via other means (e.g. watching TV), but most of my interests are not covered by these other media services. Furthermore, these other media services follow a fixed schedule, whereas I am used to the „information on demand“ service of the internet.

Finally, the internet outage also changed my workflow. Usually, I am multitasking all the time in order to complete several tasks as efficiently as possible. This could be as simple as keeping uploads and downloads running while I am researching some facts on the internet for a project I am currently working on. In most of the cases, my workflow aims at using the maximum performance of my internet connection. Furthermore, I am used to just search for a fact or a solution on the internet when I am getting stuck at some point. Obviously, this approach does not work without the internet. Now, I try to focus on one task and, as soon as I encounter a problem, I have to add it to a to-do list in order to check all the issue at once in one of the rare moments when I visit someone who can provide me with an internet access.

In general, the internet outage made me realize how important the internet has become for my life. Sure, I can live without the internet and it is really relaxing to step away from it for a certain amount of time. However, my current life is dependent on a constant access to the internet and this becomes really obvious in times of an internet outage.

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