Abstract
The acronym STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics has entered the agenda of educational policies. The development of mobile game-based learning has been seen as a new line of research and technological development in the field of educational technology, STEM education and game design. These fields are rather new and intrinsically multidisciplinary, making it even more exciting. There is a growing interest in Mobile Game related research, whether strictly technological or applied in social contexts. In this chapter, we thought a nice way to connect this data and depict the current scenario would be to break the subject into pieces: Game Design; Affection and Play; Mobile Learning; Games for Learning; Science and Mathematics Education; and lastly, summarizing it in the Games for STEM Education section. Our conclusions point to the fact that we are taking the first steps in a digital game development process for teaching mathematics in the school environment and the acceptance of Smartphones as tools that add value to education.
TopBackground
The development of mobile game-based learning has been seen as a new line of research and technological development in the field of educational technology, STEM education and game design.
These fields are rather new and intrinsically multidisciplinary, making it even more exciting. Regarding the use of mobile devices for teaching and conceptual learning, we can highlight the work of John Traxler. He is the Director of the Learning Lab at the University of Wolverhampton and a Founding Director of the International Association for Mobile Learning, among many other academic attributions related to m-learning.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Mobile Learning: Refers to a way of learning across multiple contexts, through social and content interactions, using personal electronic devices. An interdisciplinary scientific area which has grown since the early 2000s.
Games and Learning: Refers to a field of education research that studies what is learned by playing games, and how design principles, data and communities of game play can be used to develop new learning environments. An interdisciplinary scientific area which has grown since the early 2000s.
Game Design: Refers to the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game to facilitate interaction between players (our learners) for either entertainment or educational purposes. This is not a scientific area of research, so the reader will find most of the information in books and on web portals such as GamaSutra. The information can be Design or Technology oriented (it will be easy to distinguish, even for the uninitiated reader).
Stem Education: Refers to the academic disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the acronym is typically used when addressing education policy and curriculum choices in schools to improve science and technology development. A very strong and established scientific area since 1950.
Games and Affection: Refers to the study of measuring affective states while playing. The greatest challenge is to distinguish between states, to design instruments that can capture such states and to create experimental settings in which the player is affected solely by the game. Very tricky an interdisciplinary scientific area. AU80: Reference appears to be out of alphabetical order. Please check