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Here you can get information about the No One Left Behind project.

Project

The No One Left Behind project tackles key challenges in the education sector by using the potential of digital games and game-making.

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The project will unlock inclusive gaming creation and experiences in formal learning situations, underpin meaningful learning and support children to realise their full potential. “No One Left Behind” is an innovation action project co-funded by Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union that has started in January 2015 and will last 30 months.

Contradictory trends are shaping and challenging the way to teach and learn in classes. On one hand the European gaming industry for leisure has been rapidly growing as digital games have been quickly adopted by a new generation of technologically-native youngsters. On the other one Europe is putting high pressure on schools to address the challenge of too many pupils leaving school with no meaningful job skills, and children at risk of exclusion and not reaching their full potential. “No One Left Behind” will tackle these challenges by:

  1. Integrating game mechanics, dynamics and data measurement & modelling transferred from traditional digital games companies into the Pocket Code media-rich programming environment;
  2. Customizing Pocket Code effectiveness and usability in education and to support empowerment; and
  3. Evaluating and stimulating the escalation cross-transference of digital gaming technology to ensure affordability and financial sustainability of new or enhanced monetized services, as well as future free open source Pocket Code educational approaches.

“No One Left Behind” will allow children to use a non-leisure gaming ‘toolkit’ called Pocket Code, to develop inclusive digital games on mobile devices, with the aim of enhancing their abilities across all academic subjects, as well as their computational proficiency, creativity and social skills.

The project will initially be piloted in five schools – and by 600 pupils across up to 12 subjects – in the United Kingdom, Austria and Spain.

PROJECT OUTPUTS

The work performed in the “No One Left Behind” project will deliver tangible solutions, as detailed in the following table:

  • Development of a game-making teaching framework suitable for primary and secondary school grades in Europe, using Pocket Code to empower children in the co-creation of games based on curriculum relevant topics or projects; this includes:
    • Subject relevant content components, including graphics, sounds, design templates and components.
    • Lesson plans applicable to three curriculum areas, among which: science (physics, computer science, maths, biology, geography, chemistry), history, arts (graphic, music, as well as the performing arts), and foreign languages are the ones with the highest potentials.
    • Interactive teachers’ guide to support delivering projects with inclusive game-making design.
    • Social contextual metrics as a result of experimental pilots in different settings with children at risk of exclusion
    • Integration of inclusive design based on worldwide accepted standards, based on GPII
  • A dashboard for teachers with refined and established metrics that evaluate the game-making teaching framework and feedback teachers’ actions. Metrics will be aligned with academic, social, behavioural and inclusion objectives.
  • New Generation and inclusive Pocket Code environment providing value to education and empowerment. Through a successful integration of transferred game mechanics, dynamics, assets, analytic engine and GPII inclusive technology, the main output will be the “New Generation Pocket Code” environment.
  • Increased face-to-face interaction among schools, teachers as mediators and gaming companies from the traditional leisure sector.
  • Current platform for publishing Pocket Code projects will be improved to target course levels and curriculum areas.
  • Small scale experimental pilots in Austria, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Objectives

The “No One Left Behind” project tackled key challenges in the education sector by using the potential of digital games and game-making. The project unlocked inclusive gaming creation and experiences in formal learning situations, underpinned meaningful learning and support children to realise their full potential.

To achieve this overall aim, “No One Left Behind” h the boundaries of digital game playing to form inclusive and participatory game making and design pathways, following these objectives:

  1. Scaling Pocket Code from a technological research-based initiative to the education market
    “No One Left Behind” created a new generation of Pocket Code media-rich programming environments adapted to formal academic primary and early secondary (UK Key Stages 2 and 3) education objectives and pedagogic abilities and capacities. Thus, this objective aimed at integrating the technology transferred by SMEs and inclusive technology (GPII) to the version of Pocket Code, in order to deliver an inclusive and ludic enhanced “New Generation of Pocket Code” with the name “Create@School”
     
  2. Transference of gaming technologies to the New Generation of Pocket Code
    This objective aims at generating game design elements and models for many of the attributes that are considered integral parts of the advantages of using games (e.g., motivation, engagement, agency) as interface design patterns (modules) that could be re-used at different academic levels and curricula areas (academic subjects) to widen the possibilities of matching what Pocket Code can offer to the real expectations of children in terms of desired “game” output.
     
  3. Matching game mechanics and dynamics transference to the academic and didactic curricula/syllabus objectives
    This objective aims at providing the matching of gaming technology transferred with academic curricula by creating Pocket Code subject-relevant content modules (material). These “component modules” (e.g. design templates) will support game-design aspects that support the knowledge and academic curricula already taught in schools (e.g. photosynthesis processes, gravity processes, etc.); and support the mechanics (rules) and objectives of a well-articulated theory of academic learning and subsequent pedagogy underlying it.
     
  4. Stimulating inclusion in classrooms
    The project will stimulate inclusion by experimenting with multi-modal interaction and inclusive technology supported through the use of the Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII), by teaching students inclusive technology design from childhood as an engaging and effective methodology to enhance integration in society, and by enabling teachers’ decision-making to take mediation actions to support learning and social empowerment. Teachers will be able to take actions to empower children based on contextual and behavioural data (metrics) information of the students.
     
  5. Set up European multi-site small scale experimental pilots across European Borders to be performed in primary through to secondary levels
    Three small scale experimental pilots will be set in Austria, Spain and UK; each one will comprise at least 3 courses, and each course will integrate Pocket Code in 3 sets of curricula during 2 school years. Also each site will target different social exclusion problems as described in the Pilots section.
     
  6. Evaluate potential monetization paths for the new generation of POCKET CODE
    Different paths of monetization, related with content production and distribution will be evaluated as an alternative for developing the supply of game making platforms products, which in turn could support a ‘social’ market, open-source and user development with effective innovation and affordable supply.

Partners

No One Left Behind is co-ordinated by INMARK Europa and it includes the participation of 7 key partners from the game industry and the education sector coming from 4 European countries: Austria, Germany, Spain and United Kingdom.

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INMARK Europa

Country: Spain

INMARK is a business and marketing consulting company based in Madrid and operating in 7 countries throughout Europe and Latin America. With more than 200 qualified staff members, INMARK delivers consultancy and management services to more than 400 clients, including international bodies, education and governments, large corporations, SMEs and Start-Ups.

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Universidad Politécnica de Madrid – LifeSTech

Country: Spain

The LifeSTtech (Life Supporting Technologies) Department is part of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) one of the largest universities in Europe, which conducts leading technological research in multiple fields. Its activities are devoted to the design, development and evaluation of ICT based services and applications, for the creation and promotion of new ideas, methods and technological solutions throughout the value chain of different organizations.

 

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Gamecity

Country: United Kingdom

Founded in 2006 and based in Nottingham, UK, GameCity is a world-renowned public festival of digital play, an annual videogame prize, and a network of game developers interested in exploring the creative potential of digital games for new audiences. Founded with the support of Nottingham Trent University, GameCity now operates both within the University and as a separate limited company.

 

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Grupo ZED – Pyro Studios

Country: Spain

Pyro Studios is the gaming division of GRUPO ZED, a large corporate group devoted to media entertainment, content production and computer games created in 1996 in Spain. Pyro Studios is one of the most recognized digital games development companies in the world, since its foundation in 1996, Pyro was conceived with the aim of creating and producing the best games and highest quality in the market. Today is one of the leading SME in the sector and has a team of more than 50 top professionals in the creation and marketing of games for different platforms.

 

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Technische Universitaet Graz

Country: Austria

Graz University of Technology pursues top teaching and research in the fields of the engineering sciences and the technical-natural sciences. The quality of the education and training at Graz University of Technology is carried by the strength of its knowledge-oriented and applied research. Numerous competence centers, externally funded laboratories, special research fields, research focuses, and large EU projects are examples of the University’s extremely active and successful research. The Department for Software Technology at Graz University of Technology focuses on research and teaching of computer science students, serving approximately 25% of the more than 12,000 students of the university.

 

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The Nottingham Trent University

Country: United Kingdom

The Nottingham Trent University (NTU) main areas of activity are teaching undergraduate and post graduate students, and research. The project will be carried out by the Interactive Systems Research Group within the School of Science and Technology (SAT), and the School of Education, with expertise in pedagogy and special educational needs. Both provide an exciting multidisciplinary environment for learning, teaching and research, specialising in Computing and Technology, and Education. Our interdisciplinary research is rated by the HEFCE Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) as amongst the very best in the UK, with much of it world leading.

 

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Hochschule Der Medien

Country: Germany

The Hochschule der Medien (eng. “Stuttgart Media University”) is a university of applied sciences with a specific focus on media and their applications. The research group “Responsive Media Experience” focuses on digital media and how they can be adapted to the requirements and preferences of a specific use context. Expertise in this research group comprises the topics IT accessibility, user preference management, mobile design and development, user experience design, artificial intelligence, and gamification approaches.

Collaborators

PROJECTS

 

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Boosting games development for education and training in Europe

RAGE, Realising an Applied Gaming Eco-system, aims to develop, transform and enrich advanced technologies from the leisure games industry into self-contained gaming assets that support game studios at developing applied games easier, faster and more cost-effectively.
Check for further information

 

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3D-games for TUNing and lEarnINg about hearing aids

3D Tune-In brings together relevant stakeholders from traditional gaming industries, academic institutes, a large European hearing aid manufacturer and hearing communities to produce digital games in the field of hearing aid technologies and hearing loss in children and older adults, addressing social inclusion, generating new markets and creating job opportunities. 
Check for further information

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Gamification of prosocial learning for increased youth inclusion and academic achievement

ProsocialLearn is a 36-month (January 2015 – December 2017) project funded by the European Union, will deliver a series of disruptive innovations for the production and distribution of prosocial digital games that engage children, as well as stimulate technology transfer from the games industry to the educational sector.
Check for further information

 

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BEACONING’S concept is to digitally enable play-learn in everyday spaces fostering cross-subject learning, facilitated by personified gamified lesson plan where context-aware educational resources and ad-hoc learning in the surrounding environment can be triggered.
Check for further information
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RRI-ICT Forum is a collaborative project, developed by a partnership committed to curate the RRI-ICT domain in H2020, facilitate community views and agenda, and empower other projects and the European Commission. This partnership includes complementary partners with a longstanding experience in the analysis of the interactions between ICT and societies.

 

Links

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The SAFA Foundation

The “Fundación Escuelas Profesionales de la Sagrada Familia” (SAFA) is a non-profit organisation founded in 1940. The institution integrates a network of 27 schools in Andalucía (Spain) and attends over 20.000 students. SAFA San Luis located at Puerto the Santa Maria, Cadiz and SAFA Úbeda located in Jaén will be participating as pilots of the No One Left Behind project.

 

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Christ the King Catholic Voluntary Academy

Christ the King Catholic Voluntary Academy is a purpose built Catholic Secondary School, opened 1971. The school is a mixed 11-18 Catholic Comprehensive in the North East of Nottingham.  The school’s mission is to provide the best experience in a living faith community and the fundamental aim of the school is to create a Christian, Learning community concerned with the Christian formation and guidance of all of its members.

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Catrobat

Catrobat is an independent non-profit project creating free open source software (FOSS) under AGPL and CC-BY-SA licenses. The growing international Catrobat team is entirely composed of volunteers. The results of many of our subprojects will be made available in the months and years to come, e.g., the ability to control more robots, or to create music in an easy and fun way. Currently we are working hard on extending Pocket Code as the next step with a physics engine that is almost ready and will allow you to program in a very easy and fun way your own Angry Bird or Maze types of games.

 

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Pocket Code

Pocket Code allows you to create, edit, execute, share, and remix Catrobat programs in a visual, “LEGO-style” programming environment and programming language. You can remix programs that others have made and share them with your friends and the world.

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Horizon 2020

Official Website of H2020

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Digital Agenda for Europe

Official Website of the Digital Agenda for Europe.

 

Pilots

Children from 8 to 17 years old will be able to program and design games for their classes in academic subjects such as science, maths, history and languages by effectively developing and adapting the learning material themselves.
The No One Left Behind project has setup 3 small scale experimental pilots in Austria, Spain and the United Kingdom reaching over six-hundred pupils from five different schools, targeting different problems that generate risk of exclusion on children.

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Austria

This pilot targets gender exclusion in teenagers. Currently, Women are overwhelmingly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematic related fields during their university studies as well as once they enter their professional lives. To address this gender bias, teenagers attending secondary level schools located at the city of Graz are programing and designing games for courses such as physics, languages and computer science. The Schools participating at this experimental pilot are:

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Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium (BORG) Birkfeld. BORG Birkfeld is an upper form of a high school in rural areas. Around 250 students are enrolled in the school. During their high school years all students have to learn two foreign languages; learning English is obligatory. As a second foreign language they can choose between Italian, French or Latin. Furthermore the school offers an in-depth education in the field of instrumental music, art lessons, or information technology depending on the choice of the students.
           GIBS.jpgGraz International Bilingual School – GIBS, is a bilingual (German-English) senior secondary school for students aged 10-18. At present the school comprises more than 590 students and over 50 teaching staff. The rest of the team is made up of the French-, English- and Spanish-speaking co-teachers and the administrative staff. The language of instruction is English in the form of “flexible monolingualism”.
    AG Graz.jpgAkademishes Gymnasium Graz is a coeducational grammar school of modern languages situated in the heart of Graz (pedestrian zone) providing also Latin (optional Greek) as regular school subjects. On average there are 24 classes, some 550 students and about 60 teachers.
The school’s main aim is to develop our student’s potential to the full and to help them gro into successful, caring and respectful young people.

Spain

This pilot targets students growing at risk of not reaching their full potential as they come from differentiated collectives. Approximately 200 students from primary and secondary level in two schools from SAFA Foundation (Andalucía, Spain) are participating in “No One Left Behind.” These students will be able to design, Code and play Pocket Code games for mathematics, sciences and social studies; having a deep and unique learning experience through game-making based learning, which underpins the students` empowerment and enhancement of meaningful learning.

The SAFA Foundation (in Spanish “Fundación Escuelas Profesionales de la Sagrada Familia”) is a non-profit organisation founded in 1940. The institution integrates a network of 27 schools in Andalucía (Spain) and attends over 20.000 students. The following education centres from the SAFA network will be participating as pilots of the No One Left Behind project:

  • SAFA San Luis. The Education Center SAFA San Luis, historically known as “Colegio San Luis Gonzaga”, is a school, college and vocational institution located in Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz, Spain.
  • SAFA Úbeda. The education centre, founded in 1941 by Rafael Villoslada S.J., is a school and college located in Úbeda, Jaén, Spain.
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United Kingdom

This pilot targets children with special educational needs and disability from primary and secondary schools located in London. Approximately 200 children with special needs will be able to program and design games for courses such as science, physical education and history. The Schools participating at this experimental pilot are part of the Transform Teaching School Alliance in Nottingham.

 

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Christ the King Catholic Voluntary Academy is a purpose built Catholic Secondary School, opened 1971. The school is a mixed 11-18 Catholic Comprehensive in the North East of Nottingham.  The school’s mission is to provide the best experience in a living faith community and the fundamental aim of the school is to create a Christian, Learning community concerned with the Christian formation and guidance of all of its members. The school develops and maintains an environment where discipline and hard work are demanded at all levels, where individuals are cared for and where expectations are high. The curriculum reflects a commitment to provide a broad and balanced curriculum which develops progressively, is appropriate to individual needs and encourages all students to develop their talents.

We expect that these experimental pilots provide further insights and feedback on how to effectively structure and optimize game-making environments for supporting children’s empowerment and meaningful learning.

Create@School

With Create@School we want to bring the world of computing to you by coding games in whatever way you want – you can use our content, or your own characters, backgrounds, sounds, music, images, etc – so you can use your own interests and imagination to design and create materials for your class` projects.

You can create fun and interactive games about your daily life or what you’re doing at school.

Create @school

Now you can create and play your own games, animations and interactive stories in your school subjects such as maths, science, arts and languages. Develop your computing skills through building your own code, work with your friends, and play the games you have all created.

Here you can find templates >>

Success Stories

Spain Success Story: How do wo rescue sharks in the sea?

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UK Success Story: Adventures in Space!

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Úbeda: One Class More! Please!

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Austria: Shooter Game VS Science Concepts

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Success Stories Pictures Gallery

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See all Sucess Stories in detail >>

Download

In this section you can download dissemination materials such as public presentations, logo, brochure, poster, press releases, etc.; and publications related to the project such as public deliverables, papers, articles, etc.

Dissemination Materials

Publications

Dissertation: Development and Evaluation of Concepts and Tools to Reinforce Gender Equality by Engaging Female Teenagers in Coding

Authors: Bernadette Spieler

Abstract: The next generation of jobs will be characterized by an increased demand for people with computational and problem-solving skills. In Europe and especially in Austria, there is a demand for software developer experts as there is a widening skill gap in digital know-how and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), where an increasing number of jobs remain unfilled. As a solution, the governments see a chance in supporting students early on in secondary schools and teaching them "digital skills". However, computer science topics are underrepresented in school curricula, hence teaching time for these topics is limited. From elementary through secondary school, only a few opportunities exist for young students to explore coding and today’s teachers have seldom a training in computer science. Game design activities and Game Development-Based Learning (GDBL) potentially provide engaging, goal-oriented, and creative experiences in classes; in this way, GDBL is used to support the construction and transfer of knowledge in a fun and pedagogic manner. Learning theories, for example Constructionism emphasize the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators in curricula, and games are a promising way to provide both while constructing the game and presenting or sharing it in public or with a community. New technologies and the emerging mobile gaming sector further the case that learning should be promoted everywhere and anytime. What seems to be a promising opportunity for all students to learn (mobile) coding in an entertaining way raises the question of whether such game based concepts also help to fix the gender gap of women in IT related fields.

Paper: Inclusive gaming creation by design in formal learning environments: “girly-girls” user group in No One Left Behind

Authors: María Eugenia Beltrán, Yolanda Ursa,  Anja Petri, Christian Schindler, Wolfgang Slany, Bernadette Spieler, Silvia de los Rios, Maria Fernanda Cabrera-Umpierrez, Maria Teresa Arredondo.

Description: Coupled with the fact that a new generation of youngsters that has never known a world without the internet, social media, and mobile technology is increasing and growing, some alarming statistics related with young people at risk of exclusion and dropping schools remain high. As a reaction, there is an extreme pressure on schools to produce outcomes with an imminent need for social innovation. Hence, the use of Digital Games as part of the formal academic curricula comes as a natural response. Under this context, the European Commission co-funded project “No One Left Behind” aims at unlocking inclusive gaming creation and experiences in formal learning, underpinning meaningful learning and supporting children to realise their full potential.

Paper: Game Development-Based Learning Experience: Gender Differences in Game Design

Authors: Bernadette Spieler, Wolfgang Slany

Abstract: Learning theories emphasize the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators in curricula, and games are a promising way to provide both while constructing the game and presenting or sharing it in public or with a community. New technologies and the emerging mobile gaming sector further the case that learning should be promoted everywhere and anytimeWhat seems to be a promising opportunity for all pupils to learn coding in an entertaining way raises the question of whether such game based concepts also help to fix the gender gap of women in IT related fields. Gender differences are already present in secondary schools. These are the years where first career choices but also low levels of participation in technical subjects occur. To address this gender bias, a goal of the European project No One Left Behind (NOLB) was to integrate Pocket Code, an app developed by Catrobat, a free open source non-profit project at the University of Technology in Graz/Austria, into different school subjects, thus making coding more accessible and attractive to female pupils. During the period of this project (2015-2017), teachers were supported to guide their pupils in the learning processes by constructing ideas and realizing them through game design. Furthermore, teachers were trained to teach good game design and game production by sticking to an agile game design approach (research, design, development, testing, sharing), and the Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics framework, as well as other techniques, like the use of storyboards, and “ceremonies”. This is especially important for girls; according to the literature, they are less likely to play games. For this paper an analysis of submitted programs according to their game design has been performed. In detail, the evaluation considered formal game elements, gaming structures, and used graphics, as well as Pocket Code specific aspects. The program’s analysis showed commonly used design patterns by genders and suggests preferred game design characteristics of female teenagers. This analysis helps to build a more creative and inclusive Game Development-Based Learning (GDBL) environment that provides room for self-expression and inspires by building on intrinsic and extrinsic motivators by constructing personal experiences.

Paper: Female Teenagers and Coding: Create Gender Sensitive and Creative Learning Environments

Authors: Bernadette Spieler, Wolfgang Slany

Abstract: The number of women in technical fields is far below the average number of males, especially in developed countries. Gender differences in STEM are already present in secondary schools in students aged between 12 to 15 years. It is during this intermediate female adolescence that girls begin to make critical career choices, which therefore makes this a key age to reinforce them and reduce the gender disparities in ICT. Acquiring computational thinking (CT) skills, particularly coding, is important for building a positive economic, developmental, and innovative future. To address the gender bias in schools, one of the goals of the European H2020 project No One Left Behind (NOLB) included integrating Pocket Code, a free open source app developed by the non-profit project Catrobat, into different school lessons. Through game design, Pocket Code allows teenage girls to incorporate diversity and inclusiveness, as well as the ability to reflect their cultural identity, their likes, and their ways of interacting and thinking. To evaluate the impact of the use of the app in these courses, we captured the results on engaging girls in design and coding activities. For this paper, the authors present the data of surveys via a qualitative content analysis during the second cycle of the project. The results let the researchers conclude that the organization and the setting of the coding courses (for example, guidance and supporting material, freedom of choice) had much more influence on female students’ engagement than the coding aspects or the app itself. In contrast, male students more frequently mentioned missing features in the app, and stated that they liked the coding. With a focus on female teenagers, the results allow us to conclude that a suitable classroom setting is significantly more important for them than the coding tool itself.

Paper: Reinforcing Gender Equality by Analysing Female Teenager's Performances in Coding Activities: A Lesson Learned

Authors: Bernadette Spieler

Abstract: The number of women in technical fields is far below the average number of males, especially in developed countries and across academic levels. Gender differences in STEM are already present in students aged 12 to 15 years. To address this gender bias at an early stage, a goal of the European project No One Left Behind included integrating the app Pocket Code, into different school lessons, thus making the study of STEM more accessible and attractive to young females. Data was collected over a period of two years through, e.g., submitted programs. The programs have been analysed to gauge the level of achievement of the learning goal defined by the teachers beforehand. With a focus on female teenagers, significant dependencies between whether or not the learning goal had been achieved could be seen based on the different ages of the students, the group constellation, and which teaching approach was used.

Paper: Evaluation of Game Templates to support Programming Activities in Schools

Authors: Bernadette Spieler, Christian Schindler, Wolfgang Slany, Olena Mashkina, Maria Eugenia Beltran, Helen Boulton, David Brown

Abstract: Game creation challenges in schools potentially provide engaging, goal-oriented, and interactive experiences in classes; thereby supporting the transfer of knowledge for learning in a fun and pedagogic manner. A key element of the ongoing European project No One Left Behind (NOLB) is to integrate a game-making teaching framework (GMTF) into the educational app Pocket Code. Pocket Code allows learners to create programs in a visual Lego®-style way to facilitate learning how to code at secondary high schools. The concept of the NOLB GMTF is based on principles of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) model. Its focus lies on three pillars of learning: the whathow, and why. Thereby, the NOLB GMTF is a common set of concepts, practices, pedagogy, and methods. This framework provides a coherent approach to learning and teaching by integrating leisure oriented gaming methods into multi-discipline curricula. One output of this framework is the integration of game-based methods via game templates that refer to didactical scenarios that include a refined set of genres, assets, rules, challenges, and strategies. These templates allows: 1) teachers to start with a well-structured program, and 2) pupils to add content and adjust the code to integrate their own ideas. During the project game genres such as adventure, action, and quiz, as well as rewards or victory point mechanisms, have been embedded into different subjects, e.g., science, mathematics, and arts. The insights gained during the class hours were used to generate 13 game templates, which are integrated in Create@School (a new version of the Pocket Code app which targets schools). To test the efficiency of these templates, user experience (UX) tests were conducted during classes to compare games created by pupils who use templates and those who started to create a game from scratch. Preliminary results showed that these templates allow learners to focus on subject-relevant problem solving activities rather than on understanding the functionality of the app. This directly leads to more time to express their creativity in different levels and more time for extra tasks.

Paper: App Creation in Schools for different Curricula Subjects – Lessons Learned

Authors: Bernadette Spieler, Christian Schindler, Wolfgang Slany, Olena Mashkina

Abstract: The next generation of jobs will be characterized by an increased demand for people with computational and problem solving skills. In Austria, computer science topics are underrepresented in school curricula hence teaching time for these topics is limited.

From primary  through secondary school, only a few opportunities exist for young students to explore programming. Furthermore, today’s teachers are rarely trained in computer science, which impairs their potential to motivate students in these courses. Within the “No One Left Behind” (NOLB) project, teachers were supported to guide and assist their students in their learning processes by constructing ideas through game making. Thus, students created games that referred to different subject areas by using the programming tool Pocket Code, an app developed at Graz University of Technology (TU-Graz). This tool helps students to take control of their own education, becoming more engaged, interested, and empowered as a result. To ensure an optimal integration of the app in diverse subjects the different backgrounds (technical and non-technical) of teachers must be considered as well. First, teachers were supported to use Pocket Code in the different subjects in school within the feasibility study of the project. Observed challenges and difficulties using the app have been gathered. Second, we conducted interviews with teachers and students to underpin our onsite observations. As a result, it was possible to validate Pocket Codes’ potential to be used in a diverse range of subjects. Third, we focused especially on those teachers who were not technically trained to provide them with a framework for Pocket Code units, e.g., with the help of structured lesson plans and predefined templates.

Paper: Pocket Code: A mobile App for Game Jams To Facilitate Classroom Learning through Game Creation

Authors: Bernadette Spieler, Anja Petri, Christian Schindler, Wolfgang Slany, Maria Beltran, Helen Boulton, Eugenieo Gaeta, Jonathan Smith

Abstract: Game jams are a way to create games under fast-paced conditions and certain constraints . The increase in game jam events all over the world, their engaging and creative nature, with the aim of sharing results among players can be seen in the high participation rate of such events (2013: 16,705 participants from 319 jam sites in 63 countries produced 3248 games) This promising concept can be easily transferred to a classroom setting. Academic game jams are a kind of project work that fosters collaboration and at the same time results in understanding learning content from different subjects.This paper argues that Pocket Code, a mobile app enabling one to program games within minutes, is easy to learn even for novices, and is applicable to different academic subjects. It seems to be a perfect tool for game jams. Children nowadays grow up with mobile devices, and feel comfortable using them. .  Further, a mobile app greatly facilitates research since relevant data can automatically recorded when uploading the games to the Pocket Code’s code sharing web-platform (subsequently referred to as web-share). This paper presents the general setting of a game jam, explains the practice of using Pocket Code in the school context, shows the aims of the project, and highlights the first experiments in performing Pocket Code Game Jams.

Paper: The Role of Game Jams in developing Informal Learning of Computational Thinking: a cross-European Case Study

Authors: Helen Boulton, Bernadette Spieler, Anja Petri, Christian Schindler, Wolfgang Slany, Maria Beltran

Abstract: This paper will present a cross-European experience of game jams as part of a Horizon 2020 funded project: No-one Left Behind (NOLB). The NOLB project was created to unlock inclusive gaming creation and experiences in formal learning situations from primary to secondary level, particularly for children at risk of social exclusion. The project has engendered the concept of game jams, events organised with the aim of designing and creating small games in a short time-frame around a central theme. Game jams can support engagement with informal learning beyond schools across a range of disciplines, resulting in an exciting experience associated with strong, positive emotions which can significantly support learning goals. This paper will disseminate experience of two cross-European game jams; the first a pilot and the second having over 95 submissions from countries across Europe, America, Canada, Egypt, the Philippians and India. Data collected through these games jams supports that coding, designing, reflection, analysing, creating, debugging, persevering and application, as well as developing computational thinking concepts such as decomposition, using patterns, abstraction and evaluation. The notion of Ggame Jjams provides a paradigm for creating both formal and informal learning experiences such as directed learning experience, problem-solving, hands-on projects, working collaboratively, and creative invention, within a learner-centred learning environment where children are creators of their own knowledge and learning material. This paper explores the use of a mobile app, Pocket Code, in schools across Europe in two game jams during the academic year 2015-16 with children aged 11-18. Pocket Code provides an environment which supports learners in easily creating apps directly on their smart-phones and tablets through a visual Lego®-style programming language where users can put code bricks together to form scripts. We draw on a range of data to support how game jams can be used as a design research method to observe the creation of knowledge in fast-paced, collaborative environments across a range of disciplines. Our data evidences that learners can be more motivated through game jams and that learners who are less likely to create games are nevertheless more engaged in a game jam setting. We will also present the frameworks for 3 games from different disciplines: Chemistry, Languages, and Mathematics.

Paper: Game Design with Pocket Code: Providing a Constructionist Environment for Girls in the School Context

Authors: Anja Petri, Christian Schindler, Wolfgang Slany, Bernadette Spieler, Jonathan Smith

Abstract: The widespread use of mobile phones is changing how learning takes place in many disciplines and contexts. As a scenario in a constructionist learning environment, students are given powerful tools to create games using their own ideas. In the “No One Left Behind” (NOLB) project we will study through experimental cycles whether the use of mobile game design has an impact on learning, understanding, and retention of knowledge for students at risk of social exclusion. We will use the mobile learning app Pocket Code with partner schools in three countries: Austria, Spain, and the UK. This paper focuses on the Austrian pilot, which is exploring gender inclusion in game creation within an educational environment. We first study differences in game creation between girls and boys. This study that started in September 2015, will help teachers to integrate Pocket Code effectively into their courses. For future studies an enhanced school version of Pocket Code will be designed using the results and insights gathered at schools with pupils and teachers.

Paper: Pocket Game Jams: a Constructionist  Approach at Schools

Authors: Anja Petri, Christian Schindler, Wolfgang Slany, Bernadette Spieler, Jonathan Smith

Abstract: The  constructionist  approach is more  interested in constructing  personal experience  than about acquiring information.  It states that  learning is most effective when building  knowledge through  active engagement. Experiential  and discovery  learning by challenges  inspire creativity, and projects allow independent thinking and new ways of learning information. This paper describes how the “No  One Left  Behind” (NOLB)  project plans to  integrate this approach into school curricula using two concepts. The first  one is  to enable  students to create their own games with  Pocket  Code by  using its  easy-to-learn  visual programming  language. The  second concept is  to foster collaboration and teamwork through hands-on sessions by conducting Game Jams using Pocket Code, so called Pocket Game Jams. We present insights into such a Pocket Game Jam and give an outlook on how we will  use this concept.

Paper: Evaluation of the Create@School Game-Based Learning–Teaching Approach

Authors: Eugenio Gaeta, Maria Eugenia Beltran-Jaunsaras, Gloria Cea, Bernadette Spieler, Andrew Burton, Rebeca Isabel Garcia-Betances, David J. Brown, Helen Boulton, Maria Teresa Arredondo

Abstract: The constructivist approach is interested in creating knowledge through active engagement and encourages students to build their knowledge from their experiences in the world. Learning through digital game making is a constructivist approach that allows students to learn by developing their own games, enhancing problem-solving skills and fostering creativity. In this context two tools, Create@School App and the Project Management Dashboard (PMD), were developed to enable students from different countries to be able to adapt their learning material by programming and designing games for their academic subjects, therefore integrating the game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics into the academic curriculum.

This paper focuses on presenting the validation context as well as the evaluation of these tools. The Hassenzahl model and AttrakDiff survey were used for measuring users’ experience and satisfaction, and for understanding emotional responses, thus providing information that enables testing of the acceptability and usability of the developed apps. After two years of usage of code-making apps (i.e., Create@School and its pre-design version Pocket Code), the pupils processed knowledge from their academic subjects spontaneously as game-based embedded knowledge. The students demonstrated creativity, a practical approach, and enthusiasm regarding making games focused on academic content that led them to learning, using mobile devices, sensors, images, and contextual information. This approach was widely accepted by students and teachers as part of their everyday class routines.

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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 645215