Modeling a Virtual World for the Educational Game Calangos
Ecology plays a central role in biology and deserves special attention in scientific education. Nonetheless, the teaching and learning of ecology face a number of difficulties. In order to tackle these difficulties, electronic games have recently been used to mediate ecology learning. This paper pre...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2014-01-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Computer Games Technology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/382396 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832562780448751616 |
|---|---|
| author | Angelo C. Loula Leandro N. de Castro Antônio L. Apolinário Pedro L. B. da Rocha Maria da Conceição L. Carneiro Vanessa Perpétua G. S. Reis Ricardo F. Machado Claudia Sepulveda Charbel N. El-Hani |
| author_facet | Angelo C. Loula Leandro N. de Castro Antônio L. Apolinário Pedro L. B. da Rocha Maria da Conceição L. Carneiro Vanessa Perpétua G. S. Reis Ricardo F. Machado Claudia Sepulveda Charbel N. El-Hani |
| author_sort | Angelo C. Loula |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ecology plays a central role in biology and deserves special attention in scientific education. Nonetheless, the teaching and learning of ecology face a number of difficulties. In order to tackle these difficulties, electronic games have recently been used to mediate ecology learning. This paper presents an electronic game that fulfills these gaps in order to make the students’ work with ecological concepts more concrete, active, and systematic. The paper presents the computational model of the ecological system included in the game, based on a real ecological case, a sand dune ecosystem located in the semiarid Caatinga biome, namely, the sand dunes of the middle São Francisco River, in the state of Bahia, Brazil. It includes various ecological relationships between endemic lizards and the physical environment, preys, predators, cospecifics, and plants. The engine of the game simulates the physical conditions of the ecosystem (dune topography and climate conditions with their circadian and circannual cycles), its biota (plant species and animal species), and ecological relationships (predator-prey encounters, cospecific relationships). We also present results from one classroom study of a teaching sequence structured around Calangos, which showed positive outcomes regarding high school students’ understanding of thermal regulation in ectothermic animals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fa08e26576fd4f4284f52293a6efabe4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-7047 1687-7055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Computer Games Technology |
| spelling | doaj-art-fa08e26576fd4f4284f52293a6efabe42025-02-03T01:21:56ZengWileyInternational Journal of Computer Games Technology1687-70471687-70552014-01-01201410.1155/2014/382396382396Modeling a Virtual World for the Educational Game CalangosAngelo C. Loula0Leandro N. de Castro1Antônio L. Apolinário2Pedro L. B. da Rocha3Maria da Conceição L. Carneiro4Vanessa Perpétua G. S. Reis5Ricardo F. Machado6Claudia Sepulveda7Charbel N. El-Hani8Intelligent and Cognitive Systems Lab, State University of Feira de Santana, 44036-900 Feira de Santana, BA, BrazilNatural Computing Laboratory, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, 01302-090 São Paulo, SP, BrazilComputer Science Department, Federal University of Bahia, 40170-290 Salvador, BA, BrazilLaboratory of Terrestrial Vertebrates, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Bahia, 40170-290 Salvador, BA, BrazilInstitute of Education Gastão Guimarães, 44026010 Feira de Santana, BA, BrazilInstitute of Education Gastão Guimarães, 44026010 Feira de Santana, BA, BrazilGraduate Studies Program in History, Philosophy and Science Teaching, Federal University of Bahia and State University of Feira de Santana, 44036-900 Feira de Santana, BA, BrazilDepartment of Education, State University of Feira de Santana, 44036-900 Feira de Santana, BA, BrazilInstitute of Biology, Federal University of Bahia, 40170-290 Salvador, BA, BrazilEcology plays a central role in biology and deserves special attention in scientific education. Nonetheless, the teaching and learning of ecology face a number of difficulties. In order to tackle these difficulties, electronic games have recently been used to mediate ecology learning. This paper presents an electronic game that fulfills these gaps in order to make the students’ work with ecological concepts more concrete, active, and systematic. The paper presents the computational model of the ecological system included in the game, based on a real ecological case, a sand dune ecosystem located in the semiarid Caatinga biome, namely, the sand dunes of the middle São Francisco River, in the state of Bahia, Brazil. It includes various ecological relationships between endemic lizards and the physical environment, preys, predators, cospecifics, and plants. The engine of the game simulates the physical conditions of the ecosystem (dune topography and climate conditions with their circadian and circannual cycles), its biota (plant species and animal species), and ecological relationships (predator-prey encounters, cospecific relationships). We also present results from one classroom study of a teaching sequence structured around Calangos, which showed positive outcomes regarding high school students’ understanding of thermal regulation in ectothermic animals.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/382396 |
| spellingShingle | Angelo C. Loula Leandro N. de Castro Antônio L. Apolinário Pedro L. B. da Rocha Maria da Conceição L. Carneiro Vanessa Perpétua G. S. Reis Ricardo F. Machado Claudia Sepulveda Charbel N. El-Hani Modeling a Virtual World for the Educational Game Calangos International Journal of Computer Games Technology |
| title | Modeling a Virtual World for the Educational Game Calangos |
| title_full | Modeling a Virtual World for the Educational Game Calangos |
| title_fullStr | Modeling a Virtual World for the Educational Game Calangos |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modeling a Virtual World for the Educational Game Calangos |
| title_short | Modeling a Virtual World for the Educational Game Calangos |
| title_sort | modeling a virtual world for the educational game calangos |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/382396 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT angelocloula modelingavirtualworldfortheeducationalgamecalangos AT leandrondecastro modelingavirtualworldfortheeducationalgamecalangos AT antoniolapolinario modelingavirtualworldfortheeducationalgamecalangos AT pedrolbdarocha modelingavirtualworldfortheeducationalgamecalangos AT mariadaconceicaolcarneiro modelingavirtualworldfortheeducationalgamecalangos AT vanessaperpetuagsreis modelingavirtualworldfortheeducationalgamecalangos AT ricardofmachado modelingavirtualworldfortheeducationalgamecalangos AT claudiasepulveda modelingavirtualworldfortheeducationalgamecalangos AT charbelnelhani modelingavirtualworldfortheeducationalgamecalangos |