Serious Games Analytics Methodologies for Performance Measurement, Assessment, and Improvement

The book project website and call for chapters are available at http://www.csloh.com/SEGA
This edited book is scheduled to be published by Springer Science+Business Media in 2015. Editors of the book are Dr. Christian Sebastian Loh and Dr. Yanyan Sheng from the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, IL, and Dr. Dirk Ifenthaler from Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. This is the first edited volume in the Advances in Game-Based Learning series to be edited by Scott Warren and Dirk Ifenthaler.

Motivation
There has been much interest in gathering data for analytics in the area of digital games for monetization and e-learning through MOOC to optimize learning and the environment in which it occurs. On the surface, it appears that either game analytics, or game + learning analytics, would be directly applicable to serious games. However, this is yet to be proven because the analytics from one industry may not easily transfer to another. Serious games analytics need to focus upon the performance of play-learners – a new word to mean players who are also learners (or vice versa), and not only in monetization or the optimization of learning environment. It is by observing the actions of play-learners within a serious game environment and understanding their decision-making processes that one can identify appropriate metrics for performance measurement, assessment, and improvement with game-based learning.
At this moment, researchers in Serious Games research and development are concerned about improving the design and utility of serious games to increase their success in training, learning, and instruction. But how could stakeholders ascertain what play-learners have achieved through serious game-play and whether the actions performed have actually improved performances?

Related Work
Researchers from the fields of Human-Computer Interactions, Computer Science, and Education have become interested in tracking and visualizing the play-learners’ actions and behaviors in the virtual gaming environments as a direct evidence of learning through change in behaviors. Innovative works in this area include: collecting data via telemetry, tracing play-learners’ actions and behaviors for analysis, profiling and modeling, visualizing and mining user-generated gameplay data for performance measurement, assessment, and improvement. Related works in the education and training communities include Learning Progress Maps, Action Maps, Information Trails, and the use of expert-novice similarity index as a performance metric for serious games analytics.
Book Project Call for Proposal: Serious Games Analytics http://www.csloh.com/SEGA

Purpose
The purpose of this edited volume is to collect in one place how gameplay data in serious games may be captured and converted into analytics (or, actionable insights) for performance measurement, assessment, and improvement. The editors would like this book to become the ‘go-to’ reference for empirical research methodologies for serious games analytics with methodologies from various fields of expertise, including: computer science, software engineering, learning science, human-computer interactions, educational data mining, statistics, information visualization, learning system design and technology, and others.
This edited volume will include (but not limited to) the following areas:
1. Introduction to Serious Games Analytics
2. Methods for learners’ gameplay data collection
3. Methods for learners’ gameplay data analysis
4. Methods for visualizing learners’ play-paths
5. Methods to convert raw information into actionable insights (i.e., analytics)
6. Possible application of Serious Games Analytics into other ‘virtual environments,’ such as virtual worlds, simulations, augmented reality, etc.

Important Dates
•Feb 1, 2014 – 1st call letter requesting contributions
• Mar 1, 2014 – Detailed information for 1st call authors
• Mar 1, 2014 – 2nd call letter requesting contributions (if needed)
• Apr 1, 2014 – Detailed information for 2nd call authors
• Aug 1, 2014 – Draft chapter due (1st and 2nd call)
• Aug15, 2014 – Draft chapters send to reviewers
• Oct 1, 2014 – Draft chapters returned to authors with editorial comments
• Dec 15, 2014 – Final chapters due

Proposal Submission

Interested scholars should submit a 1-page proposal to Dr. Christian S. Loh by February 15, 2014, including author’s name (co-authors are welcome), institution, tentative title, chapter outline, and five keywords. Early submissions are encouraged. All submissions will undergo a rigorous double-blind peer review by two reviewers who will recommend full submissions from among the proposals.

Questions regarding the special issue should be directed to:
Dr. Christian S. Loh (sgame.analytics@gmail.com) Director, Virtual Environment Lab Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA

Just recently saw this Idaho Bucket List.
We have only lived in Boise for about three years but we are working are way through some of these items.

75. Bike the Hiawatha Trail.
74. Have a picnic at Shoshone Falls on the Snake River near Twin Falls.
73. Swim in Idaho’s deepest lake, Pend Oreille. It’s measured at 1,170 feet and is one of North America’s deepest lakes.
72. Stand directly under the Idaho Capitol dome and snap a photo.
71. Pick fruit at an Emmett orchard.
70. Visit Boise’s Botanical Gardens.

69. Pick huckleberries.
68. See Boise State’s blue turf in person.

67. Catch an Idaho trout.

66. Visit Avery’s historic railroad depot.

65. Take the gondola to the top of Silver Mountain in Kellogg.
64. Eat fried cheese at Meridian’s Hungry Onion Drive-In (or get a burger like Clint Eastwood did in the movie ‘Bronco Billy’).
63. Float through Hell’s Canyon on the Snake River, the deepest river canyon in the United States.
62. Visit the hometown of television inventor Philo T. Farnsworth at the Jefferson County Historical Museum in Rigby.
61. Cross-country ski, snowshoe or snowmobile at the top of 4th of July Pass on the historic Mullan Trail.
60. Eat breakfast at Ketchum’s ‘The Kneadery.’
59. Go spelunking at Craters of the Moon.
58. Cut your own Christmas tree from an Idaho forest.
57. Get a milkshake at Moon’s Kitchen Cafe in Boise.
56. Pan for gold.
55. Learn the words to the Idaho state song.
54. Drive Idaho’s scenic Highway 12 from Lewiston to the Montana border.
53. Sip a soda at one of Idaho’s oldest soda fountains, the Corner Drug in Driggs.
52. Take the carriage-drawn Fright Night Ghost tour of Twin Falls.
51. Bike or walk the entire length of Boise’s Greenbelt.
50. Hit a golf ball at Idaho’s famous floating hole at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.
49. Sample local foods at Boise’s Farmer’s Market.
48. Watch proceedings at the Idaho Legislature.
47. Stroll through the University of Idaho’s New England-inspired landscape.
46. Hike to Heaven’s Gate on the Nez Perce National Forest. At 8,400 feet, you can see four states; Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana.
45. Watch a container ship dock at the Port of Lewiston.
44. Visit the Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot, Idaho.
43. Attend the Trailing of the Sheep Festival in Ketchum, Idaho.
42. Go to a drive-in movie at the Spud Drive In on Highway 33 near Driggs.
41. Get a slice of pie from Trudy’s Kitchen in Idaho City.
40. Visit Sacagawea’s birthplace and tour the Sacajawea Interpretive Center in Salmon, Idaho.
39. Hike in to Goldbug Hot Springs south of Salmon.
38. Attend the National Oldtime Fiddlers Contest and Festival in Weiser.
37. Stretch your legs and take in the mountain air atop Lolo Pass on the Idaho/Montana border.
36. Eat a Rocky Mountain Oyster.
35. Visit Idaho’s historic McConnell Mansion, the 1880s governor’s mansion in Moscow.
34. Ride a rollercoaster at Silverwood Theme Park.
33. Get an underground mine tour at one of North Idaho’s historic mines.
32. Watch the sunset at Cataldo’s Mission of the Sacred Heart, Idaho’s oldest building.
31. Float the Boise River beyond the usual stretch of Barber Park to Ann Morrison Park.
30. Eat Idaho-style finger steaks. While you’re at it, make sure you dip your Idaho french fries in some fry sauce.
29. Ride the Thunder Mountain Line, an historic train ride along the Payette River.
28. Tour some of Idaho’s ghost towns; Silver City, Custer, Bonanza, Chesterfield, Rock Creek Station.
27. Take a ride on Rexburg’s historic wooden carousel, first built in 1926.
26. See the hourly geyser eruption at Soda Springs.
25. Get a designated driver and do the ‘Bovill Run,’ a storied tour of dive bars between Moscow and Bovill, Idaho popularized by beer-thirsty college students.
24. Visit the Oasis Bordello Museum, a Wallace brothel that was in business for a century and closed its doors in 1988.
23. Get a Chorizo sandwich and Croquetas at one of downtown Boise’s Basque restaurants.
22. Put on your moon boots and visit Preston, Idaho, the filming location for ‘Napoleon Dynamite.’
21. Tour the Shoshone Ice Caves.
20. Witness (or do) a basejump from the 486 foot Perrine Bridge on the Snake River.
19. Visit the Bear River Massacre site in remembrance of the 250 American Indians who were killed there.
18. Hike in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.
17. Snap a picture with the two-story wooden owl at the Owl Club in Salmon.
16. Take a drive along the St. Joe Scenic River Byway.
15. Stay at Ernest Hemingway’s Suite 206 at the Sun Valley Lodge.
14. Go whitewater rafting on the Salmon River.
13. Photograph the Sawtooth Mountains near Ketchum.
12. Take a drive down the Thousand Springs Scenic Byway (Old Highway 30) and visit the alligators at Miracle Hot Springs.
11. Grab a ‘no frills’ burger from Hudson’s Hamburgers in Coeur d’Alene. It’s been in business for more than a century!
10. Attend the McCall Winter Carnival.
9. Enjoy a performance under the stars at the Idaho Shakespeare festival.
8. Slide down the Bruneau Sand Dunes or stay the night and watch the stars come out at the Bruneau Dunes Observatory.
7. Fly-fish on the Henry’s Fork near Island Park, Idaho.
6. Follow the Oregon Trail for a few miles. In parts of southern Idaho, you can still find original ruts from the wagons.
5. Get a square ice cream cone at the Rainey Creek Country Store in Swan Valley.
4. Skinny dip in one of Idaho’s remote mountain lakes.
3. Hike to the top of Moscow Mountain. At nearly 5,000 feet you’ll see views of the Clearwater and Snake River Canyons, the Palouse Prairie and Seven Devil Mountains.
2. Canoe on Redfish Lake.
1. Spend the night in a forest fire lookout.

Originally posted at http://knowledgeone.ca/blog/post/Infographic-Why-aren%E2%80%99t-your-students-participating-on-the-Discussion-Board.aspx?goback=%2Egde_102144_member_5829266422752120832#%21