CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES TO THE FORMATION OF STUDENTS’ CIVIC COMPETENCE: INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL CONTEXTS

The article is devoted to the analysis of youth civic education, civic engagement, and civic competence in international and national contexts. Over the last decades these themes have acquired importance in research, policy and practice in many parts of the world, including the EU and Ukraine. Citizenship, citizen, civic virtues, civic culture, civic competence are singled out by the authors as the key concepts of the discussed phenomena. Civic competence is defined as a path for a person to be included into a certain political or social community; it is the knowledge and exercising of the rights and duties of this community; it is a civic self-identification and a quality of a personality that necessitates his/her active participation in political or public life and characterizes his/her community involvement; it is a moral value that is based on the sense of patriotism, respect for human rights, sense of duty, responsibility, tolerance, solidarity. The genesis and the formation of the citizenship from the time of Aristotle to the present has passed the way from seeing it as a critical engagement with others; understanding and exercising one’s own rights and freedoms, and towards realizing the necessity of interdependence of the world nations and the world equality. The second part of the article substantiates the importance of youth civic education for both Ukraine and other countries as young people greatly influence the future of their nations. The main structural components of civic education that are presented by the authors include understanding key concepts, fostering respect for law, justice, democracy and common good, encouragement of thought independence. It develops skills of reflection, enquiry and debate. The article also presents the models of civic education for secondary and higher schools and highlights the problems related to the formation of civic education in Ukraine. The emphasis is placed on the use of serious video games as a promising tool for the formation of civic competence actively used in Western Europe. Examples of social projects based on serious video games, web platforms and mobile devices aimed at solving social problems of the society include Nutriciencia project, Ukrainian GameHub project, Hidden in the Part game. Conclusions are made about the need to recognize civic education not only as a subject of the curriculum, but as an integral part of educational policy – central to both educators and the society as a whole, both on the international and national levels.

e-Health Interventions for Tobacco Cessation

E-health interventions for tobacco cessation have evolved and proliferated over the last decade. These treatments for tobacco dependence include internet/website; texting/mHealth; apps and serious video games; social media; Quitlines and telephonic, interactive voice response (IVR); and telehealth/telemedicine/video conferencing counseling formats. This chapter discusses the reach, acceptability, and efficacy for each of these digital cessation treatments. Strengths and limitations of studies and systematic reviews are highlighted, in particular, regarding tobacco dependence treatments involving patients who have already been diagnosed with cancer. Most of the latest e-health interventions that rely on evidence-based guidelines are showing solid acceptability and reach, and at least some short-term effectiveness. It is concluded that many of these interventions may be conceptualized as treatment extenders that may have the most efficacy when combined with more intensive tobacco treatments that allow for complex clinical tailoring of treatment, particularly with patients who present with comorbidities.

“THE SECRET TRAIL OF MOON (TSTM)”: Proof of concept and usability of a virtual reality chess gamified serious video game to treat ADHD. (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects between 4% and 8% of children worldwide. The treatment of choice is multimodal treatment. Unfortunately, multimodal treatment is usually insufficient to fully correct ADHD. Accordingly, the incorporation of new treatments such as serious video games may be a good strategy. Here, we present a Virtual Reality (VR) chess-based serious video game (“The Secret Trail of Moon”, TSTM), which was specifically designed to treat core ADHD symptoms and executive dysfunction. OBJECTIVE This study aims to describe the development, proof of concept and usability of TSTM. METHODS We included information about: 1) a brief market study (n=56) over the potential interest of professionals in using a serious video game such as TSTM, and 2) a proof-of-concept and usability study including 37 children and adolescents who tested the initial versions of TSTM during an ongoing randomized controlled clinical trial testing the effectiveness of TSTM. RESULTS Eighty-six percent and 83% of participants liked and would like to continue playing TSTM, respectively. Thirteen and nine-tenths percent were reported to have either perceived dizziness or VR motion sickness. We found no statistically significant differences after comparing either ADHD combined vs. inattentive subtypes or frequent vs. infrequent video game players. Furthermore, wearing glasses did not affect our results. CONCLUSIONS Serious video games such as TSTM may help educational and medical professionals to either diagnose or treat ADHD. TSTM, a VR chess gamified serious video game was well-tolerated and most participants liked and wanted to continue playing TSTM. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04355065; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04355065

Quality Model based on Playability for the Understandability and Usability Components in Serious Video Games

A serious video game is an easy and practical way to get the player to learn about a complex subject, such as performing integrals, applying first aid, or even getting children to learn to read and write in their native language or another language. Therefore, to develop a serious video game, you must have a guide containing the basic or necessary elements of its software components to be considered. This research presents a quality model to evaluate the playability, taking the attributes of usability and understandability at the level of software components. This model can serve as parameters to measure the quality of the software product of the serious video games before and during its development, providing a margin with the primordial elements that a serious video game must have so that the players reach the desired objective of learning while playing. The experimental results show that 88.045% is obtained concerning for to the quality model proposed for the serious video game used in the test case, margin that can vary according to the needs of the implemented video game.

Relationship Between Children’s Enjoyment, User Experience Satisfaction, and Learning in a Serious Video Game for Nutrition Education: Empirical Pilot Study

Background The design and use of serious video games for children have increased in recent years. To maximize the effects of these games, it is essential to understand the children’s experiences through playing. Previous studies identified that enjoyment and user experience satisfaction of the players are principal factors that can influence the success of serious video games and the learning of their players. However, research about the relationship between enjoyment and user experience satisfaction with learning in children 8 to 10 years old is sparse. Objective We examined the relationship of enjoyment and user experience satisfaction with the learning of children aged 8 to 10 years while playing a serious video game for health, FoodRateMaster. This serious video game teaches children about the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy foods and how to identify them in their environment. Methods Children aged 8 to 10 years were recruited from a primary school in Mexico. Participants completed 12 individual gaming sessions with FoodRateMaster in 6 weeks. A food knowledge questionnaire was administered before and after game play to assess the players’ food knowledge. In addition, after the gaming sessions, the children’s enjoyment and user experience satisfaction were evaluated using the EGameFlow questionnaire and the Game User Experience Satisfaction Scale (GUESS) questionnaire. Results We found significant positive associations for children’s (n=60) posttest knowledge with enjoyment (r58=0.36, P=.005) and user experience satisfaction (r58=0.27, P=.04). The children’s posttest knowledge scores were also positively correlated with challenge (r58=0.38, P=.003), knowledge improvement (r58=0.38, P=.003), and goal clarity (r58=0.29, P=.02) EGameFlow subscales and with narrative (r58=0.35, P=.006), creative freedom (r58=0.26, P=.04), and visual esthetics (r58=0.32, P=.01) GUESS subscales. Regression analysis indicated that the EGameFlow (F7,52=2.74, P=.02, R2=0.27) and the GUESS (F8,51=2.20, P=.04, R2=0.26) ratings significantly predicted the children’s posttest knowledge scores. EGameFlow challenge (β=0.40, t52=2.17, P=.04) and knowledge improvement (β=0.29, t52=2.06, P=.04) subscales significantly contributed to predicting children’s learning. None of the GUESS subscales significantly contributed to predicting children’s learning. Conclusions The findings of this study suggest that both enjoyment and user experience satisfaction for children aged 8 to 10 years were positively correlated with their learning and that were significant predictors of it. Challenge, knowledge improvement, narrative, creative freedom, and visual esthetics subscales correlated positively with children’s learning. In addition, challenge and knowledge improvement contributed to predicting their learning. These results are relevant to consider during the design stages of serious games developed for young children’s learning purposes.

Relationship Between Children’s Enjoyment, User Experience Satisfaction, and Learning in a Serious Video Game for Nutrition Education: Empirical Pilot Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The design and use of serious video games for children have increased in recent years. To maximize the effects of these games, it is essential to understand the children’s experiences through playing. Previous studies identified that enjoyment and user experience satisfaction of the players are principal factors that can influence the success of serious video games and the learning of their players. However, research about the relationship between enjoyment and user experience satisfaction with learning in children 8 to 10 years old is sparse. OBJECTIVE We examined the relationship of enjoyment and user experience satisfaction with the learning of children aged 8 to 10 years while playing a serious video game for health, FoodRateMaster. This serious video game teaches children about the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy foods and how to identify them in their environment. METHODS Children aged 8 to 10 years were recruited from a primary school in Mexico. Participants completed 12 individual gaming sessions with FoodRateMaster in 6 weeks. A food knowledge questionnaire was administered before and after game play to assess the players’ food knowledge. In addition, after the gaming sessions, the children’s enjoyment and user experience satisfaction were evaluated using the EGameFlow questionnaire and the Game User Experience Satisfaction Scale (GUESS) questionnaire. RESULTS We found significant positive associations for children’s (n=60) posttest knowledge with enjoyment (r₅₈=0.36, <i>P</i>=.005) and user experience satisfaction (r₅₈=0.27, <i>P</i>=.04). The children’s posttest knowledge scores were also positively correlated with challenge (r₅₈=0.38, <i>P</i>=.003), knowledge improvement (r₅₈=0.38, <i>P</i>=.003), and goal clarity (r₅₈=0.29, <i>P</i>=.02) EGameFlow subscales and with narrative (r₅₈=0.35, <i>P</i>=.006), creative freedom (r₅₈=0.26, <i>P</i>=.04), and visual esthetics (r₅₈=0.32, <i>P</i>=.01) GUESS subscales. Regression analysis indicated that the EGameFlow (F_7,52=2.74, <i>P</i>=.02, R²=0.27) and the GUESS (F_8,51=2.20, <i>P</i>=.04, R²=0.26) ratings significantly predicted the children’s posttest knowledge scores. EGameFlow challenge (β=0.40, <i>t</i>₅₂=2.17, <i>P</i>=.04) and knowledge improvement (β=0.29, <i>t</i>₅₂=2.06, <i>P</i>=.04) subscales significantly contributed to predicting children’s learning. None of the GUESS subscales significantly contributed to predicting children’s learning. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study suggest that both enjoyment and user experience satisfaction for children aged 8 to 10 years were positively correlated with their learning and that were significant predictors of it. Challenge, knowledge improvement, narrative, creative freedom, and visual esthetics subscales correlated positively with children’s learning. In addition, challenge and knowledge improvement contributed to predicting their learning. These results are relevant to consider during the design stages of serious games developed for young children’s learning purposes.

A novel ACT-based video game to support mental health through embedded learning: A mixed-methods feasibility study protocol

Introduction: In recent years, serious video games have been utilised to promote emotional regulation in individuals with mental health issues. Though these therapeutic strategies are innovative, they are limited in the scope of treatment, often focusing on specific cognitive skills, to help remediate a specific mental health disorder. Objective: Here, a protocol is proposed, which assesses the feasibility of a novel ACT-based video game for young adults. Methods and analysis: The MRC framework will be utilised for developing a complex intervention, to design and test the feasibility of an ACT-based video game intervention using a mixed-methods approach involving qualitative and quantitative data. The primary outcomes will include feasibility testing of recruitment processes and the acceptability of the intervention through qualitative interviews, attendance, and rates of attrition. Secondary outcomes will involve a series of quantitative questionnaires to obtain effect sizes for power analysis, allowing for the ideal sample size for a full randomized controlled trial to be determined. Ethics and Dissemination: This study has received approval from the College of Human and Health Sciences at Swansea University in the United Kingdom. Dissemination activities will involve publications in peer reviewed journals, presentations at local and national conferences, and promotion through social media.