The Perception of Gaming in Higher Education: Gaming Habits of University of Ulster Staff

Author

Beggs, Richard ; Neill, Philip O. ; Virapen, Karen ; Alexander, Sylvia

Author_Institution

Access & Distrib. Learning, Univ. of Ulster, Newtownabbey

fYear

2009

fDate

23-24 March 2009

Firstpage

174

Lastpage

177

Abstract

Much excitement has been generated by the idea of harnessing levels of deep engagement offered by serious games in higher education (HE). However, little is known about academicspsila real views on the use of educational games in HE, yet academics are key to serious game implementation. An in-depth survey of academic staff within the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland was carried out to discover their views of digital gaming, their gaming habits and the possible advantages or barriers to its use in HE. The survey was emailed to 1140 academic members of staff and 480 academic-related staff across four campuses. 190 staff members from six different faculties and central departments completed the survey. Respondents included professors, senior lecturers, lecturers, associate lecturers and academic-related staff.

Keywords

computer aided instruction; computer games; further education; e-learning; educational game; higher education; serious game; Application software; Business; Education; Educational technology; Electronic learning; Europe; Games; Helium; Medical simulation; Physics; Academic Perceptions; Barriers in Gaming; Education; Interactivity; Learning; Motivation; Serious Games; Student Engagement; Video Games;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Games and Virtual Worlds for Serious Applications, 2009. VS-GAMES '09. Conference in

Conference_Location

Coventry

Print_ISBN

978-0-7695-3588-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/VS-GAMES.2009.10

Filename

5116569