Evaluation activities in Italy
The validation activities carried out in Italy involved two external groups of users constituted of 10 higher education students that are enrolled at the Università degli Studi “Guglielmo Marconi” (USGM) as well as 10 professionals and vocational workers enrolled into lifelong activities. The 20 in total participants were engaged remotely in the evaluation activities. This is due to the fact that the Università degli Studi “Guglielmo Marconi” (USGM) is an Open University and operates mainly online.
The evaluation activities started in June. That time the siLang serious game was 60% complete involving the 1st Chapter of the siLang serious game. The feedback provided by USGM was particularly useful as the plan of the implementation team was to launch the final version of the game by the end of summer. The feedback that would be generated could directly inform updates and improvements towards the complete version of the game.
Users’ feedback was particularly useful at that stage as it informed the final release of the siLang serious game. In general the reaction of the users was very positive; the participants in the study commented positively on the real-life links provided by the scenario of the game. The siLang serious game was considered easy to use; the participants stated that the game has a clear educational orientation but remains amusing as well. In terms of learning impact, the participants highlighted that the siLang serious game offers opportunities for practicing listening comprehension and writing skills as well as providing authentic examples of communication in different cultural contexts.
The students recognised the integration of the situated learning methodology in game through the cultural aspects that have been embodied in the game scenario. The users suggested the enhancement of the dialogue with more cultural elements and the integration of more ‘braches’ in the dialogue. Their suggestion was taken into account; the final version of the game integrates updated dialogues based on an enriched scenario. Students’ suggestions for an ‘extended game-plot’ that in-cludes more professional settings and job roles is beyond the scope of the current project but it can definitely inform future extensions of the current game.
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