Game-based e-learning for urban tourism education through an online scenario game

Abstract This paper introduces an e-Learning for urban tourism education through a scenario-based game of a hypothetical city. This scenario game set a good example to integrate components of e-Learning, gamification and scenario-based platform in tourism geography and planning education. This study evaluated the effectiveness of urban tourism scenario game in terms of knowledge enrichment, attitudinal change and platform usability reported by a sample of voluntary university students (n = 30). The overall effectiveness of the game is found generally positive. Paired-sampled t-test results show that this game platform is successful in improving participants’ fundamental knowledge about new concepts, models and issues in the urban tourism context. The nature of tourism study in social science involves dynamism of perception and views, and thus leading to attitudinal changes of the game players although these changes are only statistically significant in one-fourth of the attitudinal attributes. The usability is the shortcomings of the game since this dimension is difficult to control except some technical elements. From the statistical results, the game does not reach a high expectation of usability except the educational design of the game. Some discussions and suggestions are made to enhance the effectiveness of game-based learning in tourism education through clever integration of modes of learning and other e-Learning elements.

[1]  Sandra Caeiro,et al.  Education for sustainable development through e-learning in higher education: experiences from Portugal , 2015 .

[2]  Rustin Webster,et al.  Declarative knowledge acquisition in immersive virtual learning environments , 2016, Interact. Learn. Environ..

[3]  DavisKatie,et al.  Digital badges in afterschool learning , 2015 .

[4]  F. Borrero,et al.  Gamification techniques in tourism, application test, Casa Mosquera Museum , 2015 .

[5]  Jenny D. Lloyd-Strovas,et al.  Environmental literacy of undergraduate college students: Development of the environmental literacy instrument (ELI) , 2018 .

[6]  Angeline Khoo,et al.  Video games as moral educators? , 2012 .

[7]  Jeremy W. Cratnpton.  Integrating the Web and the Geography Curriculum: The Bosnian Virtual Fieldtrip , 1999 .

[8]  Stephanie M. Reich,et al.  How teachers integrate a math computer game: Professional development use, teaching practices, and student achievement , 2018, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[9]  E. Ayuga-Téllez,et al.  Experts’ Analysis of the Quality and Usability of SILVANET Software for Informing Sustainable Forest Management , 2017 .

[10]  Lorenzo Cantoni,et al.  Teacher perceptions on the use of digital gamified learning in tourism education: The case of South African secondary schools , 2017, Comput. Educ..

[11]  Shaul Kelner,et al.  Beyond the Field Trip , 2009 .

[12]  Chris Dede,et al.  Affordances and Limitations of Immersive Participatory Augmented Reality Simulations for Teaching and Learning , 2009 .

[13]  HewKhe Foon,et al.  Engaging Asian students through game mechanics , 2016 .

[14]  Dimitrios Buhalis,et al.  Serious games and the gamification of tourism , 2017 .

[15]  Ágnes Zsóka,et al.  Greening due to environmental education? Environmental knowledge, attitudes, consumer behavior and everyday pro-environmental activities of Hungarian high school and university students , 2013 .

[16]  SuC-H.,et al.  A mobile gamification learning system for improving the learning motivation and achievements , 2015 .

[17]  D. Ting,et al.  Developing pro-environmental behaviour: ecotourism fieldtrip and experiences , 2017 .

[18]  Bartholomäus Wissmath,et al.  The use of a virtual learning centre in the context of a university lecture: factors influencing satisfaction and performance , 2012, Interact. Learn. Environ..

[19]  Thrasyvoulos Tsiatsos,et al.  Impact of online flexible games on students’ attitude towards mathematics , 2017 .

[20]  Nikolaos M. Avouris,et al.  Effects of mixed-reality on players' behaviour and immersion in a cultural tourism game: A cognitive processing perspective , 2018, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[21]  P. van der Merwe,et al.  Tourism Students’ Knowledge and Tenets Towards Ecotourism , 2015 .

[22]  Kerry Shephard.  Higher education for sustainability: seeking affective learning outcomes , 2008 .

[23]  Jason Nolan,et al.  Beyond gamification: reconceptualizing game-based learning in early childhood environments , 2014 .

[24]  C. Deale.  Hospitality and Tourism Education in the International Classroom: A Case Study , 2015 .

[25]  Wen-Jye Shyr,et al.  Designing a technology-enhanced flipped learning system to facilitate students' self-regulation and performance , 2018, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[26]  G. Jennings,et al.  Transformation for sustainability: The role of complexity in tourism students' understanding of sustainable tourism , 2017 .

[27]  A. Kollmuss,et al.  Mind the Gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? , 2002 .

[28]  Soyoung Boo,et al.  An examination of green intention: the effect of environmental knowledge and educational experiences on meeting planners’ implementation of green meeting practices , 2013 .

[29]  H. Hungerford,et al.  Selected Predictors of Responsible Environmental Behavior: An Analysis , 1986 .

[30]  Joel Epstein,et al.  The Impact of a Science Education Game on Students’ Learning and Perception of Inhalants as Body Pollutants , 2011, Journal of science education and technology.

[31]  Wendy M. Pryor,et al.  A model for the use of blended learning in large group teaching sessions , 2017, BMC Medical Education.

[32]  Jonathan D. Coleman.  Engaging undergraduate students in a co-curricular digital badging platform , 2017, Education and Information Technologies.

[33]  Jonathon Howard,et al.  Using a Virtual National Park to Teach Workplace Skills in Conservation Management , 2011 .

[34]  Atsusi Hirumi,et al.  The effects of modern mathematics computer games on mathematics achievement and class motivation , 2010, Comput. Educ..

[35]  C. Mobley,et al.  Exploring Additional Determinants of Environmentally Responsible Behavior: The Influence of Environmental Literature and Environmental Attitudes , 2010 .

[36]  J. Dittmer.  Immersive virtual worlds in university-level human geography courses , 2010 .

[37]  Sedigheh Moghavvemi,et al.  Incremental impact of time on students' use of E-learning via Facebook , 2018, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[38]  Joseph Leydon,et al.  The Challenges and Rewards of Introducing Field Trips Into a Large Introductory Geography Class , 2013 .

[39]  Julian Sefton-Green,et al.  Informal Learning: Substance or style? , 2003 .

[40]  Christian Schott,et al.  Virtual Fieldtrips and Climate Change Education for Tourism Students , 2017 .

[41]  Noelene Callaghan,et al.  Investigating the role of Minecraft in educational learning environments , 2016 .

[42]  Matthew Molineux,et al.  Flipped classroom experiences: student preferences and flip strategy in a higher education context , 2017 .

[43]  Leilani Arthurs,et al.  An integrative review of in-class activities that enable active learning in college science classroom settings , 2017 .

[44]  C.-H. Cheng,et al.  A mobile gamification learning system for improving the learning motivation and achievements , 2015, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[45]  M. Rhodes,et al.  Flipped Classrooms: a Review of Key Ideas and Recommendations for Practice , 2016, Educational Psychology Review.

[46]  M. Vicente-Molina,et al.  Environmental knowledge and other variables affecting pro-environmental behaviour: comparison of university students from emerging and advanced countries , 2013 .

[47]  Khe Foon Hew,et al.  Engaging Asian students through game mechanics: Findings from two experiment studies , 2016, Comput. Educ..

[48]  Nadzeya Kalbaska,et al.  E-learning in tourism and hospitality: a map. , 2009 .

[49]  H. Qiu,et al.  Experiential Learning: Being a Real-Event Planner , 2015 .

[50]  Katie Davis,et al.  Digital badges in afterschool learning: Documenting the perspectives and experiences of students and educators , 2015, Comput. Educ..

[51]  Edmund Goh,et al.  Environmental knowledge and behavioural outcomes of tourism students in Australia: towards testing a range of mediation and moderated mediation effects , 2016 .