Title: E-snakes and ladders: a hypermedia educational environment for portable devices

Authors: Petros Lalos, Fotis Lazarinis, Dimitris Kanellopoulos

Addresses: Electronics, Computers, Telecommunications and Control, Department of Physics, University of Athens, Athens, GR 157 84, Greece. ' Department of Applied Informatics, Technological Educational Institute of Mesolonghi, Mesolonghi, GR 30 200, Greece. ' Educational Software Development Laboratory, Department of Mathematics, University of Patras, Patras, GR 26 500, Greece

Abstract: This article presents e-snakes and ladders (e-S&L), a game-based educational environment for portable devices. The e-S&L is based on the classic table game |snakes and ladders| and enriches the table game with various types of activities, such as questions and answers and webquests. It provides a pleasant electronic-learning environment with an easy to use authoring tool for the instructor. The e-S&L is based on communication services and protocols (e.g. e-mail, short message service (SMS), MMS, HTTP and FTP) and on context-aware technologies. It supports learning standards, such as the IMS question and test interoperability (QTI) specification, the IMS Learner Information Package (IMS LIP) specification, e-portfolio, Dublin Core metadata creation and webquest. Furthermore, the article presents a learning scenario which is authored for demonstrating the e-S&L functionality. The findings from this study offer interesting insights into the extent to which computer gaming might be employed as a tool for supporting learning.

Keywords: authoring systems; game based education; handheld devices; learning standards; m-learning; mobile learning; e-learning; electronic learning; email; short message service; SMS; MMS; HTTP; FTP; context awareness; computer gaming; mobile communications.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMLO.2009.024421

International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation, 2009 Vol.3 No.2, pp.107 - 127

Published online: 03 Apr 2009 *

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