Page 67 - ITU Journal, ICT Discoveries, Volume 3, No. 1, June 2020 Special issue: The future of video and immersive media

ITU Journal: ICT Discoveries, Vol. 3(1), June 2020

Fig.1 - Images of SpaceBuzz rocket ship, outside (left) and inside (right)

The SpaceBuzz program pays no-cost visits to SERIOUS GAMES
schools across the Netherlands, with 373 schools in 3.
the nation already signed up for this free program Past experimental studies have shown a variety of
(78 from areas with a lower socioeconomic status), beneficial effects of games on cognitive functions
totaling over 20,000 children. Hundreds of children ranging from attention, visual imagery, problem
have already participated in the first user test solving, visual processing, response speed,
experiments. With a visit to NASA’s Lyndon B. cognitive flexibility, and — importantly — learning
Johnson Space Center in Houston, as well as a [15, 16, 17, 18].
presence at the International Astronautical
Congress in Washington, the SpaceBuzz rocket ship Various initiatives have been set up to bring
has been experienced by some 60 astronauts and learning games to children. For example, National
some 2,000 international visitors. In the words of Geographic (kids.nationalgeographic.com) and
Iranian-American astronaut Anousheh Ansari: “I World Wildlife Federation (wwf.panda.org) provide
think it should be something that every human online learning games where children can combine
being, young and old, gets to see. Of course children interactivity, exploration, curiosity, and knowledge
will really enjoy it and will take this experience to acquisition.
heart, but I think we should take it to the UN and There are clear benefits to incorporating serious
make all the world leaders do the same thing” [13]. gaming in formal and informal education. The first,
In a recent study with 200 school children we and most important one, is enjoyment [19, 20].
investigated whether we were able to simulate the Despite, or perhaps thanks to, educational games
overview effect in virtual reality, and whether the often being viewed as entertainment more than
virtual reality experience yielded learning gains. education, they provide a more motivating way to
Findings from questionnaires and head gaze acquire skills and knowledge than traditional
demonstrated that children indeed experienced the methods [21, 22, 23]. Especially when motivation in
overview effect, and that this experience predicted STEAM subjects is low, this is a valuable benefit [24].
learning gains. These findings show that a novel After the SpaceBuzz simulation, children (N = 183)
combination of virtual reality, serious gaming, scored high on both happiness (M = 4.37, SD = .75),
intelligent tutoring systems and learning analytics and excitement (M = 3.85, SD = 1.10), and low on
may contribute to an immersive experience that boredom (M = 1.39, SD = .81), on a five-point Likert
yields learning [14]. scale. Results like these indicate how motivation
can be increased through simulations.
In the following sections, we describe immersive
media components currently being integrated as a The second benefit is the possibility to personalize
part of the SpaceBuzz program that all contribute to the content of the educational material. Games can
effective and personalized learning. These be adaptive and thus automatically tailored to
components are serious gaming in combination specific users with different skill levels, combining
with virtual reality, intelligent tutoring systems and educational methods with game mechanics, and
learning analytics. hereby making learning more effective [25, 26].

© International Telecommunication Union, 2020 45