Abstract
Evaluation technique for Educational Computer Games (ECG) known as PHEG (consist of 5 heuristics and 37 subheuristics) was developed based on the needs to evaluate the usability of Educational Computer Games (Usa-ECG). Heuristic based concept was used in the development of PHEG. The fundamental issue of PHEG is to help evaluators in evaluating ECG in order to detect Usa-ECG through formative evaluation. At the end of the ECG development, it should be able to integrate educational elements, content, multimedia and it is playable to users with pleasant interface. PHEG was developed through the involvement of expert and verified by prominent experts. To further explore the importance of PHEG, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was performed by 15 experts from various fields. Result shows that Interface heuristic (40.8%) is selected to be the most important heuristic in evaluating Usa_ECG. The second important heuristic is educational element (25.44%) followed by Content (14.57%), Playability (11.2%) and Multimedia (8%) heuristic.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Barendregt, W., et al.: Identifying usability and fun problems in a computer game during first use and after some practice. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 64(9), 830–846 (2006)
Dempsey, J.V., et al.: An exploratory study of forty computer games (COE Technical Report No 97-2). Mobile, Al. University of South Alabama (1997)
Ke, F.: Alternative goal structures for computer game-based learning. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning 3(4), 429 (2008)
Malone, T.W.: What makes things fun to learn? Heuristics for designing instructional computer games. In: Proceedings of the 3rd ACM SIGSMALL Symposium and the First SIGPC Symposium on Small Systems. ACM Press (1980)
Taylor, M.J., Pountney, D.C., Baskett, M.: Using animation to support the teaching of computer game development techniques. Computers & Education 50(4), 1258–1268 (2008)
Papastergiou, M.: Digital Game-Based Learning in high school Computer Science education: Impact on educational effectiveness and student motivation. Computers & Education 52(1), 1–12 (2009)
Nielsen, J.: Heuristic evaluation. In: Nielsen, J.a.M., Mac, R.L. (eds.) Usability Inspection Methods. John Wiley & Sons, New York (1994)
Desurvire, H., Caplan, M., Toth, J.A.: Using heuristics to evaluate the playability of games. In: Computer Human Interaction, CHI 2004, Vienna, Austria (2004)
Mohamed, H., Jaafar, A.: Challenges in the evaluation of educational computer games. In: 2010 International Symposium on Information Technology, ITSim (2010)
Saaty, T.: How to make a decision: the analytic hierarchy process. European Journal of Operational Research 48(1), 9–26 (1990)
Nielsen, J., Molich, R.: Heuristics Evaluation of User Interfaces. In: Proceedings of Human Computer Interaction (1994)
Federoff, M.A.: Heuristics And Usability Guidelines For The Creation And Evaluation Of Fun In Video Games. Indiana University (2002)
Clanton, C.: An interpreted demonstration of computer game design. In: CHI 98 Summary: Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI1998. ACM, New York (1998)
Hannu, K., Elina, M.I.K.: Playability heuristics for mobile games. In: Proceedings of the 8th Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services. ACM Press, Helsinki (2006)
Song, S., Lee, J.: Retraction notice to Key factors of heuristic evaluation for game design: Towards massively multi-player online role-playing game. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 20(5), 391 (2007)
Pinelle, D., Wong, N.: Heuristic evaluation for games: usability principles for video game design. In: Proceedings of ACM CHI 2008 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2008)
Quinn, C.: Pragmatic evaluation: lessons from usability. In: 13th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education, Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (1996)
Albion, P.: Heuristic evaluation of educational multimedia: From theory to practice. In: 16th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education, Brisbane (1999)
Benson, L., Elliott, D., Grant, M., Holschuh, D., Kim, B., Kim, H., Lauber, E., Loh, S., Reeves, T.C.: Usability and Instructional Design Heuristics for E-Learning Evaluation. In: World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, Chesapeake, VA (2002)
Ssemugabi, S., Villiers, R.d.: A comparative study of two usability evaluation methods using a web-based e-learning application. In: Proceedings of the 2007 Annual Research Conference of the South African institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists on IT Research in Developing Countries, pp. 132–142. ACM, Port Elizabeth (2007)
Nokelainen, P.: An empirical assessment of pedagogical usability criteria for digital learning material with elementary school students. Educational Technology & Society 9(2), 178–197 (2006)
Shee, D.Y., Wang, Y.-S.: Multi-criteria evaluation of the web-based e-learning system: A methodology based on learner satisfaction and its applications. Computers & Education 50(3), 894–905 (2008)
Saaty, T.: Fundamentals of decision making. RWS Publications, Pittsburgh (1994)
Ahmad, F., Saman, M.Y.M., Mohamad Noor, N.M., Othman, A.: DSS for Tendering Process: Integrating Statistical Single-Criteria Model with MCDM Models. In: IEEE International Symposium on Signal Processing and Information Technology (2007)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Mohamed Omar, H., Jaafar, A. (2011). Usability of Educational Computer Game (Usa_ECG): Applying Analytic Hierarchy Process. In: Zaman, H.B., et al. Visual Informatics: Sustaining Research and Innovations. IVIC 2011. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7067. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-25200-6_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-25200-6_15
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-25199-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-25200-6
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)