The design and evaluation of an AR-based serious game to teach programming

• Published in: Computers & graphics Vol. 103; pp. 1 - 18
• Main Authors: Sharma, Vandit, Bhagat, Kaushal Kumar, Huang, Huai-Hsuan, Chen, Nian-Shing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2022; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Augmented Reality; Computational thinking; Computer & video games; Design analysis; Educational software; Feedback design; Games; Gamification; Learning; Learning Analytics; Players; Programming; Skills; Students; System usability; Undergraduate study; Usability; Computational thinking; Feedback design; Learning Analytics; Gamification; Augmented Reality; System usability
• ISSN: 0097-8493; 1873-7684
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cag.2022.01.002

The ubiquity of smartphone and tablet devices, combined with the increasing availability of serious games, has enabled students to learn various abstract concepts in an appealing and convenient manner. While several researchers have explored the use of Augmented Reality (AR) in serious games, many of these games have not been critically explained or evaluated. To that end, we employed game-based learning methodologies and Game Learning Analytics (GLA) to systematize the design and evaluation of an AR-based serious game to teach programming. We evaluated our game for usability and effectiveness by conducting a user study on twenty-seven undergraduate students. The evaluation primarily consisted of a learning test conducted twice – before and after playing the game – along with a usability questionnaire that players completed after playing the game. Our results showed that players made significant progress after playing the game. The game helped players improve their basic programming skills, especially for the group having lower prior programming skills. The results highlighted various ways in which GLA can be used to benefit different stakeholders in the game. Based on players’ qualitative responses, we also identified several areas of improvement, most prominently the trade-off between ease of use and game complexity. We provide suggestions and discuss implications for future work. •Design and evaluation procedures for an Augmented Reality-based serious game to teach programming are presented.•An empirical study with twenty-seven undergraduate students is conducted.•Students with lesser prior programming skills show significant improvement after playing the game.•A Game Learning Analytics framework is incorporated in the game for various stakeholder benefits.•Suggestions and implications for future work are presented.