The Latin word ludus (meaning “game”) originated the concept of ludic, which represents a human behavior characteristic that synthesizes social and educational principles, and establishes a vehicle of imaginary expression and action through knowledge and rules appropriations in a pleasant way. Curiously, ludus also refers to a “school” for roman gladiators: they used to be taught to fight and use weapons—daggers, swords, tridents, and so on—in ludi (plural form of ludus), by “teachers” (in fact, gladiators’ trainers and often owners) called lanistae (plural form of lanista). The “game” gladiators were meant to “play” was also called ludus.
Published in Chapter:
Using Games to Teach Design Patterns and Computer Graphics
Pollyana Notargiacomo Mustaro (Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, Brazil), Luciano Silva (Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, Brazil), and Ismar Frango Silveira (Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, Brazil)
Copyright: © 2009
|Pages: 21
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-808-6.ch030
Abstract
This chapter discusses some possibilities of using computer games to effectively reach didactic goals in undergraduate teaching. Nowadays, undergraduate students belong to the Net generation and usually play different kinds of games on consoles, computers, and the Internet. Some elements such as creativity and abstraction could be included in computer science and information technology curriculums through the use of games as educational methodological resources, due the motivational factor they inherently have. This learner-centered approach not only contributes to personalizing the knowledge-building process but also permits the consideration of learning styles to adapt different ludic environments and/or realworld situations according to topics of the course. To demonstrate the possibilities of this educational scenario, two case studies were conducted. One focuses on Design Patterns contents in a computer science course, and the other spotlights computer graphics topics in an information technology course. The results gained in these processes demonstrate the students’ involvement in the proposed activities and the capacity to apply the lessons learned in diverse situations.