From gaming to programming: applicability in the classroom of a videogame to learn to program

Abstract

Technological progress has increased the importance of acquiring skills in computational thinking and programming, which is reflected in school curricula. However, in many cases teachers are not experts in the field and there are few validated tools to facilitate their work. We believe that educational videogames are versatile tools for learning complex concepts and can be applied to learn programming. In this article we present Articoding, a serious game to develop computational thinking through programming. Along with the design of the videogame, three evaluations at different stages of its development are described. A total of 469 high school students and 36 university education students participated. These evaluations aimed to study the applicability of the game in the classroom, and its acceptance by students and future teachers. The analytics collected while playing the game and the questionnaires show promising results about its use in the classroom. These data also identify areas for improvement (e.g., the difficulty of some levels). With these results, a new version of Articoding is being developed, including improved learning analytics for its use as a support tool for teaching programming.