Abstract:

Serious games are increasingly used as classroom learning resources at all levels of education [1-3]. In this context, this research pursues the aim to develop a serious game (SG) that allows to evaluate the learning of symbology recognition in architectural layouts of second semester students in the Faculty of Architecture at the Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí.

The main issue addressed stems from the importance given to the need of the students to remember the concepts studied in the subject Architectural Drawing which is situated in this second semester. These core concepts we are dealing with, will later be used at higher levels in their degree in subjects such as Architectural Design and 2D Digital Graphics. The latter is the subject where more problems have been identified, because to digitize an architectural layout it is necessary to recognize and remember the symbology used.

A serious game is therefore proposed, the mechanics of which are as follows:
1) The tasks in the game request that the students draw certain architectural elements;
2) The student draws on a sheet in pen and paper format, as requested by the task;
3) The student takes a photo of the drawing with a mobile device and uploads the picture as an answer to the system;
4) Image processing with Machine Learning techniques analyzes the patterns of the drawing, evaluates and compares with a knowledge base to give a criterion of success or failure, if correct, the student moves to the following task.

In order to comply with the functionality stated in point 4, before, regarding the game mechanics, the integration of several Cloud computing technologies is used. Those same technologies are the ones currently revolutionizing the software development industry thanks to its features, services and payment costs per use. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the chosen technology for cloud image processing and analysis through Machine Learning processes with the Rekognition service.

Regarding the game design, it includes the necessary gamification features such as response timing or a ranking based on the points gathered by means of the completion of the different tasks. After the development phase, the game is tried out with a limited number of students and conclusions regarding the students’ interest, motivation and possible long term recall of basic concepts are reached based on the results of the experience.

References:
[1] R.S.Contreras y J.L. Eguia, Gamificación en aulas universitarias. Institut de la Comunicació (InCom-UAB) Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, enero 2016
[2] V. Gaitán. “Gamificación el aprendizaje divertido.” Educativa. Disponible en: https://www.educativa.com/blog-articulos/gamificacion-el-aprendizaje-divertido/ [acceso: 29 de septiembre de 2021]
[3] A. M. Ortiz Colón, J. Jordán y M. AgredaI, “Gamificación en educación: una panorámica sobre el estado de la cuestión”, Educaçao e Pesquisa: Revista da Faculdade de Educação da Universidade de São Paulo, Vol. 44, Nº1, 2018 Disponible en: https://www.scielo.br/j/ep/a/5JC89F5LfbgvtH5DJQQ9HZS/?lang=es [Acceso: 29 de septiembre de 2021]

Keywords:

Serious games, image recognition, cloud computing, machine learning.