Increasing Student Motivation to Learn by Making Computer Game Technology More Engaging: Measurable Outcomes That Determine Success.

Abstract

In the 21 st Century, Educators are called to thinking in broader terms about the purpose of technology in engaging learners to work on tasks that are meaningful to them. Through technology, as described in this paper, the researcher has attempted to broaden student engagement level by developing a more engaging online game framework. The research attempted to increase engagement by modifying a less goal oriented maze game into a sporting challenge called Downhill Skier. In creating simulation software for the individual sport of downhill skiing, the Downhill Skier app was developed using the elm programming language. Since Elm is a relatively easy programming language to learn, Elm code can be modified and shaped to ones intended purpose. Using the EGameFlow Survey, an instrument that has been tested for internal and external validity, the research demonstrated that engagement levels were increased, in seven of the eight categories that EGameFlow measures, by changing the nature of the game from a maze walk through into an e-sport challenge.