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The game-based learning has been used very successfully in some areas of formal education. In construction management, there is an increased uptake of games in teaching and learning. Focusing on a bidding game, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate its ability in enhancing students’ learning. The specific objectives are to: examine the effectiveness of the game as a teaching mechanism; explore students’ learning experience, preference and motivation to participate in the game; and identify the relationship between game features and students’ learning experience and overall satisfaction.

This paper adopted a survey research design. A questionnaire survey was conducted in two universities in Australia, involving 100 students in the gameplay.

The results show that the overall student feedback is positive with the vast majority of the students enjoying the learning experience. Students from both institutions have indicated their preference for group-based game sessions. However, the students have divergent opinions about the game incentive and motivation. It is found that there are significant correlations between some of the game features and students’ learning experience and overall satisfaction.

The bidding game clearly has potential for adaptation in construction bidding-related courses. Educators could consider incorporating the significant game features towards improving students’ learning experience and overall satisfaction.

Given there are limited studies that aimed at evaluating educational games, the student feedback in this research should facilitate more critical and reflective process for incorporating similar form of games in teaching construction management and bidding-related courses.

Rudimentary programming is an essential, transferrable, problem solving skill in many higher education (HE) programmes in academic institutions including Software Engineering, Business Information Technology, Computer Games Development, Design and Technology. The purpose of this paper is to address some of the problematic issues associated with teaching programming by the utilisation of a new novel teaching approach called games-based construction learning (GBCL) to attempt to increase motivation, engagement and learning effectiveness. An international and national trend is to introduce coding at earlier education levels resulting in upper primary education (PE) being the focus of this paper to ascertain if GBCL using Scratch to teach programming concepts is more effective at different levels of upper PE.

A large-scale empirical study introducing GBCL to teach programming concepts into 16 classes between levels 4 and 7 in PE utilising 384 children. A detailed implementation framework for GBCL using Scratch in PE was utilised to address all incorporation issues and the games constructed by the children scored utilising a game codification scheme specifically designed to address programming and design as a quantification rubric. The experiment utilised eight 1- h lessons on GBCL using Scratch.

The resulted in 178 games of varying levels of complexity developed. The results indicated that GBCL was an effective mechanism to teach programming concepts using Scratch at all levels of upper PE. Primary seven students scored higher in relation to the design metric of the quantification codification rubric.

Under the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) in Scotland non-traditional teaching approaches are encouraged and development of digital literacy skill is highly advocated. This has resulted in a new approach, novel approach called GBCL where children create their own games utilising an engine such as Scratch is gaining significant attention in terms of being a novel approach. Despite a plethora of similar studies associated with GBCL, it is still not as developed as games-based learning and requires further empirical studies to support the validity of the approach and resolve identified issues.

Computer programming itself can lead to a highly rewarding career in a number of sectors from games development to banking, such as cybersecurity and systems development. In the last decade, in particular due to the ubiquitous nature of technology there is an increasing international and national trend associated with teaching rudimentary programming concepts at a far younger age including secondary education and the upper PE level. Introducing programming at an earlier level is now being considered essential as the path to transfer from novice to expert programmer level in time is considered nearly a decade approximately. The introduction of GBCL interventions may yield positive results in a supplementary learning capacity in accordance with the CfE and increase the educational effectiveness of programming education in later levels of education.

This study presents a large-scale empirical evaluation of GBCL in upper PE utilising a compiled implementation framework for incorporation and a detailed game codification scheme to quantify the games produced highlighting coding constructs and design.

This paper presents a developed BIMxAR application, an integration of building information modeling (BIM) with augmented reality (AR) linked with real-time online database to support the building facility management work. The primary aim of this research was to develop and empirically examine the applicability of a BIM-based AR (BIMxAR) application in building facility management.

The BIMxAR application was developed and experimented with maintenance work of a university laboratory building. The experiment consisted of a comparison of supportive maintenance tasks performed using the traditional approach and the BIMxAR approach by 38 university students. The time taken to complete each task was recorded and analyzed using statistical analyses to compare the performance between the tasks completed using each approach.

The results indicated that the group using the BIMxAR application approach completed the tasks correctly in a significantly shorter time compared to that using the traditional approach. The findings supported the applicability of the developed BIMxAR application and the improvement of the building facility management tasks when using the proposed approach.

This paper presents a methodological approach in developing a mobile application that integrates BIM with AR for facility management work, leveraging real-time information exchange through a cloud-based platform. The paper also provides empirical evidence that demonstrates how the integration between BIM and AR could be achieved and implemented to help facilitate building maintenance tasks.

The ability for learners to interact online via their avatars in a 3-D simulation space means that virtual worlds afford a host of educational opportunities not offered by other learning technology platforms, but their use also raises several pertinent issues that warrant consideration. This chapter reviews the educational use of virtual worlds from a design perspective. Virtual-world definitions are explored, along with their key educational characteristics. Different virtual-world environments are briefly contrasted, including Second Life, Active Worlds, Open Sim, and Minecraft. A wide variety of virtual-world uses in schools and universities are examined so as to understand their versatility. Key educational benefits of virtual worlds are distilled from the literature, such as the ability to facilitate 3-D simulations, role-plays, construction tasks, and immersive learning. Emergent issues surrounding the use of virtual worlds are also analyzed, including cognitive load, safety, and representational fidelity. One higher education and one school level vignette are provided in order to offer more detailed insight into the use of virtual worlds in practice. Recommendations for learning design and implementation are presented, based on the thematic analysis of contemporary virtual-worlds research.

This chapter aims to advance in the analysis of the learner engagement and performance in the use of computer-based games, also known as Serious Games (SG). The chapter describes the learner engagement in relation to the use of SG in individual and collaborative learning activities. The SG learning experience considers the learner engagement in the individual activities observed through their real use of the game and their perceptions of the usefulness of the game and the time-on-task spent. The collaborative use of SG considers additional mechanisms of engagement related to the intragroup relationships – relationships within the same members of the group – and intergroup relationships – relationships between the different groups – such is the degree of interdependence and the degree of competition in the game. The state of the art in the learner engagement in the use of individual and collaborative SG is based in a literature review, and completed by the study case of the individual and the collaborative use of the eFinance Game or eFG (MetaVals) in ESADE Business & Law School. We analyse the current challenges and transfer the knowledge created through the eFG case for the practitioners aiming to promote learners’ engagement through the use of individual and collaborative SG.

Students find courses in research methods delivered by lectures, both difficult and boring. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical research on another teaching and learning method, jigsaw method, to three groups of postgraduate students over three academic years.

The fifth topic of the course, qualitative research methods, was selected for implementation of the jigsaw class. The students completed a feedback questionnaire after classes to express their opinions and comments on the new method. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to test these data.

The students believed that the jigsaw method is an innovative teaching and learning activity and were generally satisfied with the process and the execution. They stated that participation was a valuable experience which enabled them to share knowledge with other classmates and gain a better understanding of the subject. Further improvements were also proposed by the students.

First, the analysis of the implementation of the jigsaw methods is based on student perceptions rather than objective measures of learning gains. Second, the classes for full-time postgraduate students are relatively small. Data were collected, therefore, over three academic years to provide enough valid responses for analysis.

The research may be regarded as pioneering in relation to jigsaw classes for teaching and learning research methods in postgraduate course. The findings provide confidence to architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) academics to incorporate jigsaw methods in their courses. The results of this study provide useful information for AEC lecturers assisting them to design their classes using jigsaw methods.

The construction site operates under a hazardous environment that requires a high level of understanding in building systems to minimise accidents. However, the current building education generally adopts paper-based learning approaches that lack hands-on experiences. Furthermore, to achieve Industrial Revolution 4.0 in line with any unforeseen pandemic, the most optimum solution is to transition from physical to technological-based building education. This paper aims to address the problems by proposing a game-based virtual reality (GBVR) for building utility inspection training.

The feasibility of the GBVR for building the utility inspection training approach is validated on a sample of undergraduate engineering students through user experience (survey) and performance-based comparisons against traditional paper-based training method.

The results show that the developed GBVR training has higher system usability in terms of visual output and knowledge retention than paper-based training due to visualisation technologies. The GBVR training method has also higher user-friendliness because of the higher motivational and engagement factors through the adoption of virtual reality and game-based learning.

GBVR training required a longer training duration and achieved a lower performance score (effectiveness) but can be improved by transitioning into hands-on tasks. This study has the potentials to be extended to vocational training platforms for competency development in the construction workforce by using cutting-edge extended reality technologies.

This paper portrays the benefits of integrating virtual reality technology in building education to overcome the low practicality and engagement of paper-based training.

This paper aims to explore the value students place on the sustainable strategies game (SSG) which seeks to improve student engagement in business sustainability through enhanced game-based learning. This game provides an alternative collaborative learning environment to the traditional instructivist approach to enrich Education for Sustainability (EfS) learning experiences and enhance student engagement.

Students’ reflections on their game-based learning experiences and suggestions for game development were collected through a short qualitative survey. Results are explored through three frameworks, namely, the multifaceted student value model, the dimensions of engagement framework and the UK higher education authority (HEA) framework for engagement through partnership.

Research findings suggest the SSG provides game-based learning within EfS that delivers “edutainment” within an active, collaborative and experiential learning environment that the students value. It is also able to challenge thinking and emotionally engage students with the fundamentals of business sustainability. Reflection-on-action and the students’ role as co-researchers in game development allow students to become active participants in their learning as well as knowledge producers and evaluators. These outcomes deliver the UK HEA’s core facets of student engagement through partnership.

This practice-focused study presents the self-reported results of a one-time, small study which does not offer generalised, independently validated responses. However, the findings may be of interest to educators considering the adoption of game-based learning and those seeking new learning cultures for EfS.

Game-based learning and teaching approaches can achieve a learner-centred active, collaborative learning environment that enhances student engagement with business sustainability.

Experiences gained from this study should assist others in the implementation of game-based learning to engage students in business sustainability.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a blended mobile game-based learning service called CoboChild Mobile Exploration Service (hereinafter CoboChild) to support children’s learning in an environment blending virtual game worlds and a museum’s physical space. The contextual model of learning (CML) was applied to consider the related influential factors affecting museum learning and to promote children’s continuous learning and revisit motivations.

CoboChild provides a thematic game-based learning environment to facilitate children’s interactions with exhibits and other visitors. A practical system has been implemented in the National Museum of Natural Science (NMNS), Taiwan. A questionnaire was used to examine whether CoboChild can effectively fulfill the CML and to evaluate the impacts on museum learning.

CoboChild effectively fulfilled the CML to facilitate children’s interactive experiences and re-visit motivations in the blended mobile game-based learning environment. Most children described the system as providing fruitful playfulness while improving their interpretations of exhibitions and learning experiences.

CoboChild considers the related contextual influences on the effective support of children’s learning in a museum, and builds a child-centered museum learning environment with highly integrated blended learning resources for children. CoboChild has been successfully operating in the NMNS since 2011.

This study developed a blended mobile game-based learning service to effectively support children’s learning in museum contexts. The related issues are shown to improve the design of blended museum learning services. This innovative approach can be applied to the design of other child-centered services for engaging children’s interactive experiences in museums.

This paper aims to provide a framework for understanding and differentiating among different forms of game-based teaching and learning (GBTL).

The framework is based on an analysis of existing literature and descriptions of GBTL in varied higher education settings, combined with case examples of the author’s personal experience as instructors of GBTL courses.

Four frames or categories of GBTL approaches were identified: the action frame, the structuring frame, the bridging frame and the design frame. Each frame represents a spectrum of related yet varied strategies and assumptions.

This framework is a first attempt at providing an analytic tool for making sense of the varied instantiations of GBTL in higher education. It can be useful as a heuristic tool for researchers as well as a generative model for designing future GBTL practices.