Game Design as a Learning Tool for the Course of Computer Networks

Abstract

Continuous advances in technology are causing a generation gap between students and teachers to increase. There are constant breaks in communication, misunderstandings and social conflicts arising during the conduct of a course. Today students have grown up using devices like computers, mobile phones, and video consoles for almost any activity; from studies and work to entertainment or communication. Motivating them with traditional teaching methods such as lectures and written materials is proving to be more difficult daily. In order to increase the motivation of students, better understanding of the subject matter as well as improving collaboration, new form of teaching was required. That is why digital games are being considered to have a promising role in education process. We conducted a study among university students with the purpose of acquiring empirical evidence to support the claim that game design can be used as an effective form of learning. Our method consisted out of monitoring results of participants in course of Computer networks. Experimental group of participants experienced a game design as a new learning tool for teaching, while control group used network programming. Additionally, we invested an effort to measure the effects of different learning approaches with the respect of individual differences in cognitive styles. Initial results provide a good argument for use of game design as a student learning tool. In addition, we reported some influence of cognitive style on effectiveness of using game design.