Conference Papers - Vaal Triangle CampusPapers presented at conferences by staff members from the Vaal Triangle campus of the NWUhttp://hdl.handle.net/10394/109362024-03-28T13:03:00Z2024-03-28T13:03:00ZLocation based games as the bridge between capstone students, junior students and the publicGreeff, Jacob J.Heymann, ReolynNel, AndreCarroll, Johnsonhttp://hdl.handle.net/10394/279132018-06-21T12:38:08Z2018-01-01T00:00:00ZLocation based games as the bridge between capstone students, junior students and the public
Greeff, Jacob J.; Heymann, Reolyn; Nel, Andre; Carroll, Johnson
This paper reviews recent attempts by researchers at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) to increase the level of interaction between students, faculty and industry stakeholders by creating an alternate reality game (ARG) which is run during student presentations of Electrical Engineering capstone project work. The paper introduces the context, followed by a justification from current literature, the approach followed and finally a summary of the outcomes obtained by the project. Inspiration is taken from the work done by McGonigal and the MAGELLAN consortium on creating ARGs within an educational context. The Jen ratio is used as a measure of the social well-being of the space the game is played in and interactions between different players are used as the main gauge of success. Results from the first successful implementation of the game are presented and discussed. It is hoped that this study will inspire other educators in similar situations to consider playful design when interacting with large numbers of people inside and outside of the classroom
2018-01-01T00:00:00ZAligning student and educator capstone project preferences algorithmicallyGreeff, Jacob J.Heymann, ReolynNel, AndreCarroll, Johnsonhttp://hdl.handle.net/10394/279112018-06-21T12:30:51Z2018-01-01T00:00:00ZAligning student and educator capstone project preferences algorithmically
Greeff, Jacob J.; Heymann, Reolyn; Nel, Andre; Carroll, Johnson
This paper reviews recent attempts by researchers at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) to increase the level of student engagement in a final year capstone project by allowing for a greater level of autonomy in project selection and assignment. The paper introduces the context, followed by a justification from current literature, an introduction to the approach and finally a summary of the outcomes obtained by the project. In this study an authentic learning approach was followed which allowed students to propose and tender for capstone projects in a four-year engineering programme, and following a period of tender also give active input into the selection of tenders based on their personal knowledge and experience. From this process, a preference list was obtained from both students and faculty of their opinions of the best way assignments could be allocated followed by applying the Gale-Shapley algorithm to select the optimal assignment of projects to students. It is hoped that this study will inspire other educators in similar situations to consider handing over some measure of control to students during their undergraduate studies in engineering to increase the level of responsibility and thoughtful reflection experienced by students before they enter the profession
2018-01-01T00:00:00ZInteractive serious games as electronic engineering capstone projectsHeymann, ReolynGreeff, Jacob J.http://hdl.handle.net/10394/279102018-06-21T12:15:28Z2018-01-01T00:00:00ZInteractive serious games as electronic engineering capstone projects
Heymann, Reolyn; Greeff, Jacob J.
Capstone projects are projects that engineering students undertake in their final year of study. The capstone project gives the student the opportunity to showcase what she has learned during her studies, and gives the academic study leader the opportunity to test important skills necessary to be an engineer. In this project, interactive, serious games for children are proposed as capstone projects for electrical and electronic engineering final year students. Students created an electronic device that would be attached to a child, record motion and then transmit that data to a computer game where the motion gets transformed into appropriate game interaction. The child thus plays the game by moving around. The aim of the game is to encourage the child to be an active participant and, in some cases, may also be used for therapeutic intervention. In addition to meeting the required exit level outcomes and contributing to the growth of graduate attributes, these students' experiences were enhanced by being exposed to problems outside the realm of engineering, being confronted by ethical and usability issues, being exposed to multi-disciplinary interactions and an opportunity to use their engineering ability in different engineering fields. This paper describes the experiences of the study leaders and students in using a project of this nature in 2017
2018-01-01T00:00:00ZDesigning and developing a narrative driven serious game for teaching information theoryHeymann, ReolynGreeff, Jacob J.http://hdl.handle.net/10394/279082018-06-21T12:08:25Z2018-01-01T00:00:00ZDesigning and developing a narrative driven serious game for teaching information theory
Heymann, Reolyn; Greeff, Jacob J.
A serious game called "Codebreakers" was developed and designed for a fourth year Telecommunications module at the University of Johannesburg. The goal of the game was to assist students to prepare for tests. The game was played for the first time in 2017 and received positive feedback. During a collaborative design session with students, educational specialists, developers and the lecturer, it emerged that students would also gain from a serious game that not only allows them to prepare for tests, but also to explore and understand the content from the start. A linear and narrative driven serious games called "EnigmAI" was designed and developed with this goal in mind. This paper explores the design and development of the new game, based on the experience gained from the previous game and from collaborative design sessions
2018-01-01T00:00:00Z