Level up! Upgrading game-based learning

Suggesting a teacher might start the lesson by telling students to launch Pokémon-Go on their tablets might sound crazy, but this could be the new way to engage a generation of technophiles. Dr Vanessa Camilleri writes about the potential impact of gaming in the classroom. 

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Growing up in the digital age

With the rise of digital technology and its impact on early childhood development, young children and parents alike are stepping into unchartered territory. Hans-Joachim Sonntag talks to Prof. Charles L. Mifsud and Rositsa Petrova about their latest study in collaboration with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.

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Do you think this is a game?

Picture an item of furniture. Was it a table, a chair, or a wardrobe? Our ideas of furniture are not oriented around what it does, or even its essential nature, but rather around all the common examples we see around us and the cognitive web of interrelations that builds in our head.

This fictional furniture is just an analogy. Supervised by Prof. Gordon Calleja, I investigated how language affects our preconceptions of what games are and what they should do. Our ideas about games are not related to their potential or their openness but to constructions in our mind.

John Harrington

My research was mostly within the philosophy of language. I explored how our ideas of what a thing is are not grounded in what it does or is, but around a cognitive image, created by what we often see and label it as.

My research was mostly theoretical. It showed how other game researchers might have been misguided or had counter-intuitive results. Their research tried to define what games are and did not realise that this went against how we used the word ‘games’, i.e. as a container for all the things we collectively consider game-like.

That said, I also had the opportunity to test-drive this work in a game I am currently developing with Dr Stefano Gualeni, which analyses what the word soup means.

Apart from answering the long-standing question of what a game actually is, this research also shows how games would benefit from being more inclusive and experimental. By creating these types of games, we can attract people whose cognitive model of a game is different from the norm. Similarly, by designing games that are more open, we can stretch the web of interconnections in people’s minds, potentially showing how games are more akin to life than we realise.

Are you ready to play?

This research was carried out as part of the Masters in Digital Games, carried out by the Institute of Digital Games at the University of Malta.

 

Sylo

Function, form, safety, and environment. SYLO is a family of hybrid cycle rickshaws that fulfils all four design pillars to deliver good performance and a smooth ride.
SYLO is designed for short distances, catering to commuters and delivery services. What sets it apart from its counterparts is its mixed-propulsion technology, using both photovoltaic panels and pedal power. Adding to its ‘green’ points is the fact that recyclable plastics have been used for the body. This helped from an engineering perspective because it kept the vehicle light, allowing it to serve its function despite the difficult terrain it must operate in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What sets it apart from its counterparts is its mixed-propulsion technology, using both photovoltaic panels and pedal power.

Form was an especially important factor in the design process. As the aim was to use this vehicle both within the historical context of the capital city, Valleta, and in cosmopolitan spaces such as Paceville and Bugibba, it was essential for the vehicle to complement its built environment, be it classical or contemporary. Towards this end, bold lines were used, making the vehicle look distinct without looking alien.

 

SYLO was the product of 10 mechanical engineering students supervised by academics from the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering, University of Malta as part
of a third-year engineering design project.

How Blockchain technology could revolutionise Malta (and the world)

Bitcoin took the world by storm. Hailed as the future for e-commerce, the cryptocurrency blew the gates of opportunity wide open for all those in search of an alternative banking solution. People could mine for their own bitcoins. They could keep all their information private and secure. Small businesses could do away with credit card fees. Making all this possible was blockchain technology.

At its core, blockchain technology is a massive “distributed database” that allows for safe storage and management of transactions via a digital ledger that records all information chronologically and publicly. It does away with the centralised system of control, replacing banks, governments, and companies by a state of decentralised consensus, where the network holding the transactions checks in with itself, adjusts accordingly, and stores its data on a network shared by several users.

While blockchain is closely associated with bitcoin, the two are very separate. FT Technology Reporter Sally Davies explains; ‘[Blockchain] is to Bitcoin, what the Internet is to email. A big electronic system, on top of which you can build applications. Currency is just one.’ So how can Malta benefit from blockchain technology?

From full transparency and public accessibility during elections, to the ability to vote from anywhere in the world, blockchain could save Maltese expats and travellers indiscriminate amounts of time and money. Beyond politics, blockchain would see international transfers taking minutes not days and reducing associated charges to a pittance. Hacking too would pose less of a threat since hackers would need to alter a whole chain of transactions to change one. There are many more applications to list but this just goes to show the great potential available. However, for ‘the Blockchain revolution’ to happen, we shall need to overcome technological, governance, organisational, and societal barriers. All this will take time to achieve but progress is already being made by heavy-weights paving the way for others to follow.

The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) recently brought together thirty big banks, tech giants, and organisations, among them Microsoft, Intel and J.P. Morgan Chase, with the aim of building business-ready versions of Blockchain technology. Once these efforts bear fruit, we will have ready platforms and a fertile environment in which new start-ups, existing tech companies, and individual programmers can venture out and build even more applications.

The Internet took time to build and disseminate. This time, the host of technologies needed are already there. The shift should be faster as new Blockchain-based structures emerge.

Jean Paul Galea, CEO at Websuccess Malta – Web Design, E Commerce & Digital Marketing

Catamarans go solar

Despite their many drawbacks, fossil fuels maintain a toxic hold as the world’s primary energy source. To release ourselves, we need innovative approaches to sourcing and managing energy. At the University of Malta, researchers have designed a solar-powered catamaran that uses smart-charging and battery management to efficiently utilise renewable energy. The project aims to serve as inspiration to usher in a future of environmentally friendly vehicles. Words by Diane Cassar.

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