Petros Lameras

Coventry University | CU · Serious Games Institute

Higher education has experienced an increase in the design and provision of blended, hybrid and online programmes as a move towards flexible education. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated universities, educators and students’ engagement with digitally mediated learning practices. It underscored the necessity for all university actors to devel...

This chapter investigates the dynamic synergy between pedagogy, social dynamics, and technological developments in Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL), which is enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI). The chapter navigates through educational modifications, learner profiling challenges, social enhancements, and technical considerations, emphasisin...

Emotions play an important role in human-computer interaction, but there is limited research on affective and emotional virtual agent design in the area of teaching simulations for healthcare provision. The purpose of this work is twofold: firstly, to describe the process for designing affective intelligent agents that are engaged in automated comm...

The aim of this research is to create an immersive healthcare education resource using an extended reality (XR) platform. This platform leverages an existing software product, incorporating virtual patients with conversational capabilities driven by artificial intelligence (AI). The initial stage produced an early prototype focused on assessing an...

In a modern society characterised by an exponential proliferation of data, the concept of data literacy has risen as an essential construct for becoming an active citizen. This development has been catalysed by the concerted efforts of scholars, policymakers, and technological visionaries aimed at equipping individuals with the essential skills to...

and datafication within societies over the last years. In this context, the concept of data literacy has also gained in importance, as it is seen as one of the skills that citizens require in order to navigate and participate in society. However, despite the relevance of the concept, it is yet to be discussed as to the ways to promote it at the ins...

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) holds the transformative potential to reshape education, particularly in the domain of content creation. One promising application lies in the development of educational escape rooms (EERs) which are increasingly adopted to foster active, experiential learning, critical thinking, and collaboration. Neverth...

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) holds the transformative potential to reshape education, particularly in the domain of content creation. One promising application lies in the development of educational escape rooms (EERs) which are increasingly adopted to foster active, experiential learning, critical thinking, and collaboration. Neverth...

Feedback is a critical aspect of optimised learning design, but there are few, if any, feedback models that map different types of feedback and how they may assist students to increase performance and enhance their learning experience. This research paper outlines a feedback model as an extension of the four-dimensional framework which includes a c...

The work reported in this paper is informed by PerFECt, a performative framework supporting collaborative learning and creativity that addresses issues related to the effective use of digital technologies to establish and sustain learning communities. Its core principles are reinterpreted to implement unplugged collaborative learning activities to...

Rapid development of AI technologies with breakthroughs in algorithmic machine learning and autonomous decision making have generated unprecedented opportunities for technological innovation. There is consensus from policy report that in the next years AI could revolutionise the way teaching and learning is designed and delivered to students leadin...

Artificial Intelligence in Education is progressing with accelerated pace, and this impacts the role of the teacher in becoming catalyst in designing and orchestrating teaching and learning with the use of AI-based systems. This study proposes a rudimentary competency framework with an associated progression model that aims to help teachers to plan...

This exploratory review attempted to gather evidence from the literature by shedding light on the emerging phenomenon of conceptualising the impact of artificial intelligence in education. The review utilised the PRISMA framework to review the analysis and synthesis process encompassing the search, screening, coding, and data analysis strategy of 1...

This study employed a phenomenographic approach to investigate science teachers’ conceptions of inquiry-based learning through a serious game. Simaula is a prototype game designed and used as a virtual practicum for eliciting understandings on how in-game inquiry was appeared to, or experienced by, the participating teachers. Group interviews with...

The significance of using games for educational purposes is well documented in the literature. It has been argued that serious games can draw more engagement and user attention to topics when compared to conventional web or print media, including concepts around energy education. The Smarter Household project has deployed an energy indoor health mo...

The importance of Game-Based Learning (GBL) for student learning is increasingly recognized as beneficial for engagement, creativity and motivation. While further research is needed to explore the multi-faceted tenets of GBL, vocational education teachers may experience difficulties in finding appropriate and relevant materials as well as applying...

The aim of this chapter is to report on school teachers’ perceptions and approaches to multimodality using a serious game. STEAM is a game designed for helping school teachers to gain awareness of how multimodality may be enacted in the classroom for enhancing the student learning experience. The game embraces the notion of multimodal teaching and...

It is becoming increasingly prevalent in digital learning research to encompass an array of different meanings, spaces, processes, and teaching strategies for discerning a global perspective on constructing the student learning experience. Multimodality is an emergent phenomenon that may influence how digital learning is designed, especially when e...

STEAM is a serious game developed as a medium for helping teachers to experience multimodality for teaching and learning. A design-based paradigm is adopted to elucidate how in-game design elements coupled with learning may visualize in-game multimodal representations. Multimodality is experienced as a process of creating meaning though connecting...

This research explored the serendipitous learning of mathematics in a group of Further Education students, after mathematics elements were embedded into the lessons. Data was gathered from students studying a Computer Games Design course. The data was gathered using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings indicated that students’ vi...

This paper describes the design and development process of a game-based training approach to entrepreneurship education. The game serves as part of a broader online training course which seeks to facilitate awareness of and engagement with dual-career development amongst amateur and professional athletes. Building on previously reported work around...

This paper presents the early-stage user workshop findings and subsequent design of a game-based learning approach to entrepreneurship. The specific context is to address the dual-career training needs of athletes, as part of a large-scale European online course (MOOC). An interactive card-based activity was used within a small scale focus group, w...

STEAM is a serious game developed as a medium for helping teachers to experience multimodality for teaching and learning. A design-based paradigm is adopted to elucidate how in-game design elements coupled with learning may visualize in-game multimodal representations. Multimodality is experienced as a process of creating meaning though connecting...

Metrics seeking to predict financial risk-taking behaviors typically exhibit limited validity. This is due to the fluid nature of an individual's risk taking, and the influence of the mode and medium, which presents a decision. This paper presents two experiments that investigate how an existing risk elicitation task's predictive capacity may be en...

Nondigital board games are being used to engage players and impact outcomes in health and medicine across diverse populations and contexts. This systematic review and meta-analysis describes and summarizes their impact based on randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials. An electronic search resulted in a review of n = 21 eligible studies. Samp...

The aim of this paper is to report on teachers' experiences of, and approaches to, multimodality in teaching and learning. A small-scale online survey with closed and semi-structured questions has been deployed to school and university teachers (n=68) for eliciting their experiences in multimodal teaching and learning. Thematic analysis has been ad...

The aim of this paper is to report on teachers' experiences of, and approaches to, multimodality in teaching and learning. A small-scale online survey with closed and semi-structured questions has been deployed to school and university teachers (n=68) for eliciting their experiences in multimodal teaching and learning. Thematic analysis has been ad...

This paper investigates the development of a classification of features inherent in the design and development of Location Based Experiences (LBEs) with a special focus on games for teaching and learning. The paper aims to identify and associate learning features, such as feedback, activities, outcomes and assessment with location-driven mechanics,...

Computer games represent a vast economic market, a key driver of technology, and an increasingly powerful medium for a broad range of applications. The latest wave of innovation for computer games is ‘mobile’ and more precisely, ‘location-based’. These outdoor mobile experiences are radically different from traditional computer games or their mobil...

This paper consolidates evidence and material from a range of specialist and disciplinary fields to provide an evidence-based review and synthesis on the design and use of serious games in higher education. Search terms identified 165 papers reporting conceptual and empirical evidence on how learning attributes and game mechanics may be planned, de...

The paper presents a conceptual interpretation of amalgamating inquiry-based learning and the flipped classroom model with gamification / game processes as means to strengthen and improve the way Mathematics learning and teaching content, strategies and approaches are enacted in primary, secondary and tertiary education. By introducing a Personal L...

The importance of using games for supporting behavioural and attitudinal change has been explored in the literature, most recently the games for change movement has promulgated the use of games for supporting altruistic changes that have a positive impact upon the environment. This paper presents a Serious Game designed for University students and...

The European project MAGELLAN designs and develops, among other systems and services, the Magellan Authoring Tool (MAT), which is a games authoring platform that has been specifically created to enable non-programmers to rapidly create and publish multiple forms of location-based experiences, involving several participants who compete or collaborat...

The challenge of delivering personalized learning experiences is amplified by the size of classrooms and of online learning communities. In turn, serious games are increasingly recognized for their potential to improve education, but a typical requirement from instructors is to gain insight into how the students are playing. When we bring games int...

The report explicitly focuses on explaining issues surrounding the creation of university-industry relations as well as the tools that may be used to foster such relationships for open innovation. We present the factors that influence collaborations between universities and industry and we elaborate on certain strategies for strengthening the reali...

The efficacy of a learning process is influenced by the quality of teaching, learning support and environment. This requires effort in tracking how students learn. This paper explores the use serious games in order to help understand the learning process, where interaction data during a play-learn session can be captured. The focus is on the use of...

The challenge of delivering personalized learning experiences is often increased by the size of classrooms and online learning communities. Serious Games (SGs) are increasingly recognized for their potential to improve education. However, the issues related to their development and their level of effectiveness can be seriously affected when brought...

This paper discusses the integration of quiz mechanism into digital game-based learning platform addressing environmental and social issues caused by population growth. 50 participants' learning outcomes were compared before and after the session. Semi-structured interview was used to gather participants' viewpoints regarding of issues presented in...

The paper presents a review on, and analysis of, the design, development and evaluation of experiences of learning through the 'Sustainability Serious Game'. The mobile game has been developed as means of helping public authorities to collect information and feedback on how public spaces could be improved based on collective intelligence procedures...

To support the development and implementation of location-based experience (LBE) as a future educational practice, we evaluate a practical approach to training and guidance, which seeks to transfer an understanding of the design and creation methods for LBEs to practitioners from multi-disciplinary backgrounds. A preliminary version of the "LBE Tra...

Although the motivating role of feedback and progress indicators is understood in formal learning, their role in supporting incidental mobile learning is less well understood. In this paper we argue that well-designed feedback and progress indicators (FPIs) offer guidance and structure that may encourage mobile app users to move from fragmented lea...

In an evolving global workplace, it is increasingly important for graduates and school-leavers to possess an understanding of the job market, their relevant skills, and career progression paths. However, both the marketplace and career paths are becoming increasingly dynamic, with employees more frequently moving between sectors and positions than...

Servitization concerns the process of manufacturers shifting from a focus on producing and selling tangible goods to service-based business models. Factors that drive adoption of servitization are financial, strategic (competitive advantage) and marketing. However, uptake is slow and active efforts are being made to transfer knowledge about serviti...

This pilot study explores the use of serendipitous learning of mathematics in a group of Further Education students. Data was gathered from 28 students within a computer games design unit on a computer science course. The data was gathered using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings indicated that even at this early stage that stu...

In an evolving global workplace, it is increasingly important for graduates and school-leavers to possess an understanding of the job market, their relevant skills, and career progression paths. However, both the marketplace and career paths are becoming increasingly dynamic, with employees more frequently moving between sectors and positions than...

Although the motivating role of feedback and progress indicators is understood in formal learning, their role in supporting incidental mobile learning is less well understood. In this paper we argue that well-designed feedback and progress indicators (FPIs) offer guidance and structure that may encourage mobile app users to move from fragmented lea...

There is wide consensus internationally amongst scientific communities that Inquiry-Based Learning can be employed to foster acquisition of clearly defined, 'certain' knowledge such as the conceptual foundations of a scientific discipline. Alternatively, it can be used to engage students with uncertainty, multiple perspectives and contestation thro...

Increased global uptake of entertainment gaming has the potential to lead to high expectations of engagement and interactivity from users of technology-enhanced learning environments. Blended approaches to implementing game-based learning as part of distance or technology-enhanced education have led to demonstrations of the benefits they might brin...

The problem of obesity in the world has grown considerably in recent years. Between 16% and 33% of children and adolescents are obese. Even if obesity is among one of the easiest medical conditions to recognize, it is one of the most difficult to treat. The issue of individuals’ motivation to change is the most significant obstacle in promoting pos...

THE GROWTH is an environmental game aiming to tackle growing population issues and its impact on natural environment. The game also extends to cover social issues and unsustainable resources consumption caused by rapid population growth. Unlike many environmental games, THE GROWTH demonstrates that financial, social and health factors can be improv...

Game and gamification elements are increasingly seeing use as part of interface designs for applications seeking to engage and retain users whilst transferring information. This paper presents an evaluation of a game-based approach seeking to improve the road safety behaviour amongst children aged 9-15 within the UK, made available outside of a cla...

As digital games continue to be explored as solutions to educational and behavioural challenges, the need for evaluation methodologies which support both the unique nature of the format and the need for comparison with other approaches continues to increase. In this workshop paper, a range of challenges are described related specifically to the cas...

A significant challenge for science teachers' training is to understand how to enact teaching strategies that would encourage students to perceive learning as a memorable experience instantiated through an activity; and thereby getting involved in a process of meaning-making. This paper describes SimAULA, a serious game that aims to integrate inqui...

Timely and appropriate feedback and indicators of progress can motivate learners. Mobile learning poses a challenge to established instructional strategies with respect to delivering feedback and monitoring learner progress, particularly in informal and incidental learning occurring outside of formal structured learning environments. We argue that...

Understanding the relationship between immediate decisions and long-term career prospects is a vital skill in a job market which is becoming increasingly globalised, competitive and dynamic. The application of digital technologies and multimedia to career-guidance offers the potential to go beyond the confines of the classroom and provide a depth o...

The Open Innovation Exchange Program (OpEx) is an online market place for Business Community Engagement, which encourages collaboration on innovative products and services. Individual participants are able to set their dissemination level keeping their Intellectual Property safe, while still enabling collaborations between Coventry University acade...

Since the emergence of e-Learning-Learning systems, researchers have explored methods to increase their efficacy, and support a wider range of pedagogical approaches. Similarly, the concept of using Game Based Learning, taken commonly to refer to the use of digital games for education, has also been the subject of a substantial volume of research i...

Immigrants entering the European Community face a range of challenges in adapting to and understanding the culture of their host nation. Failure to address these challenges can lead to isolation and difficulties integrating into the society of the host country, leading to fragmented communities and a range of social issues. As part of a comprehensi...

Game-based approaches to learning are increasingly recognized for their potential to stimulate intrinsic motivation amongst learners. While a range of examples of effective serious games exist, creating high-fidelity content with which to populate games is resource-intensive task. To reduce this resource requirement, research is increasingly explor...

Immigration imposes a range of challenges with the risk of social exclusion. As part of a comprehensive suite of services for immigrants, the MASELTOV game seeks to provide both practical tools and innovative learning services via mobile devices, providing a readily usable resource for recent immigrants. We introduce advanced results, such as the g...

This paper reports findings from a phenomenographic investigation into blended university teaching using virtual learning environments (VLEs). Interviews with 25 Computer Science teachers in Greek universities illuminated a spectrum of teachers’ conceptions and approaches from ‘teacher-focused and content-oriented’, through ‘student-focused and co...

This chapter focuses on discussing the use of social software from a social constructivist perspective. In particular, the chapter explains how social constructivist pedagogies such as collaborative learning and communities of practice may be supported by the adoption of social software tools. It begins by briefly discussing the social constructivi...

This chapter focuses on discussing the use of social software from a social constructivist perspective. In particular, the chapter explains how social constructivist pedagogies such as collaborative learning and communities of practice may be supported by the adoption of social software tools. It begins by briefly discussing the social constructivi...

This chapter focuses on discussing the use of social software from a social constructivist perspective. In particular, the chapter explains how social constructivist pedagogies such as collaborative learning and communities of practice may be supported by the adoption of social software tools. It begins by briefly discussing the social constructivi...

This paper reports a sub-set of findings from a phenomenographic investigation into Greek university teachers' conceptions of, and approaches to, teaching and learning using virtual learning environments (VLEs). Analysis of open-ended interviews with a small group of computer science teachers revealed three qualitatively different conceptions of te...

Within the context of a European project exploring the development of programming skills in secondary education by means of modern educational programming languages, this paper proposes certain pedagogical methods, approaches and frameworks for enhancing the development of programming skills, and thereby increasing the number of students studying c...

This paper examines whether embedding the use of an 'Educational Programming Language' (EPL) in a viable learning process can be effectively applied to the study of computer science in schools. Utilising technology to enhance learning and motivate children remains at the forefront of financial and strategic planning as the tiers of the education co...