Game-Based Introductory Learning: Teaching Digital Skills to Older Citizens

This paper gives a brief description of an exploratory study in which older citizens were introduced to interactive technology by playing games on touch-screens, playing in pairs with the assistance of a mentor. We focus on two principle aspects, the peer-to-peer interaction during these sessions, and the role of the mentor in progressing the sessions. In the case of peer-to-peer interaction we looked for ways in which players supported each other during interaction to assess the role of peer interaction in this context. In the case of mentoring, contrasting approaches taken in the sessions were analysed for their relative efficacy, both in managing instrumental learning, and in fostering confidence and positivity in participants. We found that peer interaction was broadly a positive influence within sessions. Mentors primarily have a strategic role in providing encouragement and support for the flow of exploratory interaction, rather than providing proactive tutoring.

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Contributors

Mark Springett

Suzette Keith

Gill Whitney

Conference

Publication date: July 2018

Publication date (Print): July 2018

Pages: 1-4

Affiliations

[0001]Middlesex University London NW4 4BT

Article

DOI: 10.14236/ewic/HCI2018.226

SO-VID: 42e9d5e9-92ed-48a2-85a1-25884132da86

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Conference name: Proceedings of the 32nd International BCS Human Computer Interaction Conference

Conference acronym: HCI

Conference number: 32

Conference location: Belfast, UK

Conference date: 4 - 6 July 2018

Conference sponsor: Electronic Workshops in Computing (eWiC)

Conference theme: Human Computer Interaction Conference

History

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1477-9358 BCS Learning & Development

Self URI (article page): https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14236/ewic/HCI2018.226

Self URI (journal page): https://ewic.bcs.org/

REFERENCES

A. Bandura 1977 Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change Psychological Review 84 191 215
Y. BarnardM. D. BradleyF. HodgsonA. D. Lloyd 2013 Learning to use new technologies by older adults: Perceived difficulties, experimentation behaviour and usability Computers in Human Behavior 29 4 1715 1724
V. BraunV. Clarke 2006 Using thematic analysis in psychology Qualitative Research in Psychology 3 2 77 101 Taylor and Francis
M. Csikszentmihalyi 2014 Applications of Flow in Human Development and Education: The Collected Works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Dordrecht Springer 2014
A. DickinsonJ. ArnottS. Prior 2007 Methods for human– computer interaction research with older people, Behaviour & Information Technology 26 4 343 352
R. J.K. JacobA. GirouardL. Hirshfield 2008 Reality-based interaction: a framework for post-WIMP interfaces In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Florence, Italy April 5-10, 2008 201 210 ACM, New York, NY, USA
D. WoodJ. BrunerG. Ross 1976 The Role of Tutoring in Problem Solving J Child Psychol Psyc 17 89 100

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[1] A. Bandura 1977 Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change Psychological Review 84 191 215

[2] Y. BarnardM. D. BradleyF. HodgsonA. D. Lloyd 2013 Learning to use new technologies by older adults: Perceived difficulties, experimentation behaviour and usability Computers in Human Behavior 29 4 1715 1724

[3] V. BraunV. Clarke 2006 Using thematic analysis in psychology Qualitative Research in Psychology 3 2 77 101 Taylor and Francis

[4] M. Csikszentmihalyi 2014 Applications of Flow in Human Development and Education: The Collected Works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Dordrecht Springer 2014

[5] A. DickinsonJ. ArnottS. Prior 2007 Methods for human– computer interaction research with older people, Behaviour & Information Technology 26 4 343 352

[6] R. J.K. JacobA. GirouardL. Hirshfield 2008 Reality-based interaction: a framework for post-WIMP interfaces In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Florence, Italy April 5-10, 2008 201 210 ACM, New York, NY, USA

[7] D. WoodJ. BrunerG. Ross 1976 The Role of Tutoring in Problem Solving J Child Psychol Psyc 17 89 100

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