1. Application of Proper Design Features for Educational Games John McCartney, Dra. Liliane dos Santos Machado Conclusion ReferencesAcknowledgements Introduction Design Evaluation Testing Methods With the amount of technology that has amassed in recent years, it is imperative that proper evalution and proper design of these systems be taken into great consideration. Design techniques derived from the field of Human Computer Interaction were looked at and applied to the theoretical design features and evaluation of future educational systems. More specifically, the evaluation and discussion of designing systems in the area of educational games for children and adults. A game developed by LabTEVE, at Universidade Federal da Paraíba, called TouchBrush, will be used as the primary example for the discussion of evaluation and design. Over the past decade, technology has become an important and integral part of the world that humans live in. It has changed how humans work, how they shop, how they entertain themselves and how they even care for their health (Shaffer 2004). Another area that has started to change with the ever growing technology is the area of education. New and innovative ways to teach students are re- writing the ways in which humans teach and also learn. The students of today do not learn like the generations that came before them. These new learners need diverse methods and interfaces in which to learn information from computers and other technical systems (Michael 2006). The appeal of video games can draw the attention and motivation from students and cause a new shift in the way students effectively learn information. Thus, the category of games developed to support training and education is included in the Serious Games purpose. One of the ways to test these design principles is by using a usability testing method called a cognitive walk through (Wharton et al. 1994). A cognitive walkthrough method is when one or a group or evaluators looks at the user interface in a systematic way. The cognitive walk through takes sets of tasks and evaluates the ease of use as well as the learnability of the system. The design principles that will be discussed here deal with constraints, feedback and affordances of the system. Constraints are related to features that may optimize the usability of the object or the system, more speicifically the learnability, efficiency and safety. There can be different kinds of constraints, some may be logical and some may be physical. Logical constraints use rules and reasoning to guide the user through choices and alternatives within a system. Physical constraints deal specifically with the system itself, an example would be that a mouse cursor couldn’t move outside of the screen (Norman 2004). Feedback is concenred with the actions that the user takes. For every action, there should be some sort of effect from that action that is known to the user (Norman 2002). It will only cause problems if the user makes an action and doesn’t see or hear exactly what action is taking place. It’s best to keep the user from committing as few errors as possible so that they don’t get frustrated with the system. Affordances are essentially the basis for a conceptual model for the object. They are the possible actions that the user can do at the exact moment. If the design of the object can bring about the proper conceptual model within the users mind, it will be much easier for the user to operate the object or system. It is also imperative to keep major actions visible and readily available for the user, and to keep inappropriate actions hidden from the user. Interface design is one of the most important aspects when developing software or other types of systems. A piece of software can do many great things, but if the user cannot use the software to its fullest potential, quite a bit can be lost during the interaction. Through the use of the TouchBrush game, it was possible to illustrate the use of effective design principles; constraints, feedback and affordances. When real world problems occur and 3D environments are applicable to solve them, the design of 3D scenes and the use of interaction devices should reflect the way that humans perceive their natural environment (Bowman et al. 2005). Thus, the difference between a well designed user interface and a poorly design one can mean the difference between a successful product and a failure (Norman 2002). It is always good to keep in mind that proper design principles should be at the forefront of design evaluation. Bowman, D., et al. 3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice. Boston: Pearson Education 2005. Michael, D.; Chen, S. Serious Games. Thomson, 2006. Norman, D. (2002). The design of everyday things. NY, NY: Basic Books Norman, D. (2004). “Affordances and Design.” Essays. Shaffer, D. W., et al. (2004). Video games and the future of learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 87(2), 105-111. Wharton, C., et al. (1994). The cognitive walk through method: A practitioner’s guide. In Neilsen, J., and Mack, R. (Eds), Usability Insepction Methods, John Wiley & Sons, NY, 105-140.