We did it!! A co-authored paper has been accepted. Our research on the development and evaluation of a game for library utilization learning at our university has been accepted!! And in the Journal of Academic Librarianship, no less!! I am truly delighted. Dr. Kaneko, thank you for all your hard work.

Kaneko, K., Saito, Y., Nohara, Y., Kudo, E.,Yamada, M.(to be appeared) Does physical activity enhance learning performance?: Learning Effectiveness of Game-based Experiential Learning for University Library Instruction, The Journal of Academic Librarianship (SSCI Impact factor 1.287) (accepted 2018.06.15)

This is truly a research achievement born from collaboration with the library. Three librarians designed the game, Dr. Kaneko handled development and evaluation, and I provided the foundational theory, the design policy based on that theory, the experimental design for the game’s evaluation, and the assessment. I am so happy that we achieved such wonderful results. I still remember many things about the process. Ms. Saito and Ms. Kudo said they wanted to create a game, so I was invited to the library to have various discussions. Both of them were so passionate about creating the game that when I asked questions like, “Game development is tough, you know,” or “Why do you think that type of game is good?”, they countered with their enthusiasm… (sweat). I was defeated by their passion (laughs). From there, the design process began, we organized the theoretical perspectives, and we brought Dr. Kaneko on board for development.

Games for library utilization have been appearing more frequently over the last two or three years. There are many interesting games out there. However, I feel that being able to cite them as academic papers is very important for using them as references and developing them into further research. This study focuses on a game that incorporates embodiment (such as physical movement) and evaluates it in relation to that. We conducted a comparative experiment with PowerPoint-based materials and showed that the game involving embodiment resulted in a significant difference in the number of tasks completed and speed in a delayed test conducted one month after the practice session. On the other hand, for tasks that did not require embodiment, the PowerPoint materials were faster.

I hope this will be a useful reference for those who want to develop or research such library utilization games. If you are interested, please contact Ms. Nohara, Ms. Saito, and Ms. Kudo from the library for design inquiries, Dr. Kaneko for development and learning evaluation based on logs, and me for questions regarding the theoretical backbone and competency assessment.

Reference: Development and Evaluation of a Game-based Learning System for Library Utilization Learning 2015-2016
http://mark-lab.net/?page_id=12

Thank you for your continued support.