STUDENT'S PARTICIPATION IN THE DESIGN PROCESS: A STUDY ON USER EXPERIENCE OF AN EDUCATIONAL GAME-LIKE APPLICATION

Gamification is increasingly used in the education context due to its engaging and motivating features that could enhance the learning/teaching process. While there is rich and growing work on game-like applications across fields, there is little multidisciplinary dialogue between pupils, researchers and game designers about how to design them for more effective mobile educational games. To be able to make the learning experiences more engaging, different methodologies have been used to provide designers with input from their target. Although it is broadly accepted that end users should be consulted when designing information and communication technologies (ICT), when the participants are children, the extent and type of consulting is more controversial. Although some considerations are necessary regarding the conclusions drawn from children's enthusiastic play behaviours and reactions, they are the tomorrow's power-users of everything, from the Internet to communications technologies. This paper explores the concept of participatory design in the process of designing a mobile gamified learning application about recycling and its effects on the ocean. This approach aims to understand how the inclusion of pupils from the beginning of the design process could influence the directions of the prototype. The consideration of pupils' game-based learning experiences intends to ensure that the prototype design will adapt to the interests, knowledge and styles of the learners who will use it and, therefore, promote a more engaging and effective learning experience. Based on Druin's framework of children's roles (as a user, as a tester, and as an informant), pupils (end users) participated since the early stages in the design process, providing different types of inputs. The sample of this study consists of 36 children in Portugal and the UK (PT=20, UK=16) within the age group 12-14 years (digital natives). Pupils were able to bring and discuss ideas related to game elements (e.g. badges and leader boards), game mechanics (e.g. challenging, progression), graphic image (e.g. illustrations, iconography) and interaction (e.g. animal behaviour). The results suggest that when children are brought into the design process, they can produce new ideas and highlight system interactions in the way they interpret the context.