Gamified Digital Math Lessons for Lower Primary School Students

This paper presents experiences in introducing gamification to digital lessons for students’ mathematics learning in lower primary school. The study was conducted in a second and third grade primary school in Croatia where students (N=59) used tablet computers for a variety of gamified learning activities. Gamification algorithms and extensions were designed and integrated in digital lessons to improve young learners’ motivation and engagement in math learning. This paper presents preliminary experiences in applying gamification in lowerprimary school mathematics learning and further explores how the gamification strategy influenced the level of student learning interest. The results show that gamification allows students to sustain more interest compared to the non-gamified approach to learning with digital resources.

Usage of a mobile social learning platform with virtual badges in a primary school.

This study presents and examines SamEx, a mobile learning system used by 305 students in formal and informal learning in a primary school in Singapore. Students use SamEx in situ to capture media such as pictures, video clips and audio recordings, comment on them, and share them with their peers. In this paper we report on the experiences of students in using the application throughout a one-year period with a focus on self-directedness, quality of contributions, and answers to contextual question prompts. We examine how the usage of tools such as SamEx predicts students’ science examination results, discuss the role of badges as an extrinsic motivational tool, and explore how individual and collaborative learning emerge. Our research shows that the quantity and quality of contributions provided by the students in SamEx predict the end-year assessment score. With respect to specific system features, contextual answers given by the students and the overall likes received by students are also correlated with the end-year assessment score.

// Computers & education. 86 (2015) ; 120-136

Technology trends in mobile computer supported collaborative learning in elementary education from 2009 to 2014

This paper analyses mobile computer supported collaborative learning in elementary education worldwide focusing on technology trends for the period from 2009 to 2014. The results present representation of device types used to support collaborative activities, their distribution per users (1:1 or 1:m) and if students are learning through or around the technology. The major findings show that in the last five years tablet computers and small handheld devices are used nearly with equal frequency as mobile learning devices, mostly in 1:1 distribution simultaneously being an instrument through which collaborative activities are performed.

// Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Mobile Learning 2015.
Madeira, 2015.