Using mobile devices and online tools to promote students’ learning

Abstract

Keeping students’ attention in class and engaging them in learning is not an easy task. In this paper we report the approaches and strategies used in a university course ‘Games and Learning’. An action research study was conducted involving three cycles. During the first one, a flipped learning approach was used to motivate students to read the papers before class. In the classroom, students had to use their mobile devices to answer quizzes, fill a form, and summarize the lesson. During the following cycles, students worked in groups, analyzing digital games. Along the second cycle students analyzed a video game and during the third cycle they analyzed a serious game. We realized that asking them to submit some tasks online before class, helped them to work more and achieve better results. From the first group work to the second one the majority of students improved their critical digital game analysis. The collected data supported the conclusion that students were engaged in learning.