Girls’ and boys’ viewpoint on educational computer games

Abstract

The focus of the paper is the attitude of boys and girls towards the use of educational computer games or game elements. For the study we design a questionnaire containing 54 variables divided in several subgroups: profile of the respondents; use of end user device; importance of game elements; application of games and game elements in different types of educational situations; preferences as to the type of educational games; usefulness of educational computer games and game elements regarding students’ personal development; efficiency of the use of smart phones for educational activities in game environment. We obtained answers from 294 respondents-students of ages from 11 to 19, 54.4% of them girls. In the study we set main research questions regarding different attitude of girls and boys: RQ1. Is there a difference between the preferences of boys and girls to the game features and elements? RQ2. Is there a difference in gaming devices used by boys and girls? RQ.3. What are the games used by boys and girls and is there a statistically significant difference in the types of games used by boys and girls? RQ4. Is there a statistically significant difference between boys and girls in terms of the benefit of using games and game elements through smartphones in learning activities such as acquiring educational content in the classroom, self-learning, knowledge assessment and self-assessment? To obtain answers of the research questions we apply different types of descriptive and non-parametric statistical analysis. The answers to these questions give directions to developers of educational computer games how to design usability and develop games that will be attractive and useful for girls or boys at different ages.