Designing Digital Vertigo Experiences

This research study discusses the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in Early Childhood Education (PAUD) units to improve play and game activities for children as well as innovation in implementing AI-based learning. AI technology has very good prospects and potential in changing teaching and learning activities in educational units with its ability to think and learn like humans, understand human feelings, find solutions in complex decision making, and so on. However, this is sometimes not in line with the application of AI in early childhood education units which are still in their early stages, especially in developing countries like Indonesia. The method used in this research is qualitative research, the data collection technique is from various journal articles about the benefits and impact of AI on early childhood play and play activities. With the support of AI, PAUD units can improve the results of their teaching and learning activities by facilitating more diverse play experiences, increasing operational efficiency, monitoring children's play and play results in real time. Although progress in the application of AI has been seen, there appear to be challenges and shortcomings, including limited AI research in fields outside of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), the lack of AI theories and models in play and gaming activities, and resistance in adopting AI in a child's play activities. It is important for PAUD units to integrate AI more optimally in the process of playing and playing activities for children, as well as providing training to educators, education staff and PAUD students to optimize the education system in the future

FROM ‘IT MAKES ME FEEL FREE’ TO ‘THEY WON'T LET ME PLAY’: THE BODY AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY-RELATED PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF CHILDREN WITH CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE

For about three centuries, free time has been gaining greater recognition, accompanying social and economic changes and proposing plans that are concerned with occupying the moment dedicated to the leisure of children by providing an equal opportunity for education based on playful activities. According to article 5 of Regional Law n.o. 1 of 2018, at present the Free Time Activity Centers (FTAC) cover an intervention based on non-formal learning, with a view to individual and social development. school-age child in a playful environment of freedom and with pedagogical potential. With the purpose of seeking a greater knowledge about leisure and recreational time performed at FTAC, we present this part of a larger study whose objective was to analyze the learning-enhancing activities, behaviors and values relevant to today’s society, in their educational dimensions. and sociocultural.This case study in non-formal learning context, involved children and young people (n = 148) and some professionals, ensuring the ethics of research. In the collection of information we favor the observation of practices and interviews with professionals and the data were analyzed based on the content analysis of the collections made.It was found that the Play and Sports Activities (PSA) carried out in the context of these centers aim at the development - affective, cognitive and motor, with a view to greater learning and creativity (environment of freedom), action on some detected some behaviors, such as about in co-education, socialization and socio-cultural enrichment. On the other hand, Outdoor Activities (OA) enable the release of the child, exploration of nature, greater autonomy, respect, responsibility, help, conflict resolution and greater risk - safety, dirt and inadequate conditions.

Purpose All children have the right to play. Children with disabilities are often excluded from play activities. We aimed to explore caregivers’, older community members’, and key stakeholders’ perceptions and experiences of play as influenced by socio-cultural, institutional, and public policy factors. These insights informed the early stages of intervention development. Materials and methods In-depth semi-structured interviews (n = 23) were conducted with caregivers of children with disabilities aged 2–5 years, older community members, and key stakeholders who had experience working with children with disabilities. Data were thematically analysed, following a socio-ecological approach. Results Four themes emerged: (i) making play doable and affordable, (ii) play away the challenges, (iii) playing together or not, and (iv) play opportunities. The results highlighted how intrapersonal and interpersonal factors and experiences shaped perspectives of play and play-based interventions for children with disabilities. Conclusions Our findings emphasise the importance of a community-informed approach in grounding the early stages of intervention development, which may help to ensure that a future play-based intervention is contextually appropriate.

Playful activities as a teaching tool in the teaching-learning process of higher education students are crucial in contemporary education. This study focuses on the systematization of the theoretical and methodological foundations that support meaningful learning through play. It is a descriptive analysis of recent academic literature, which examines how these activities impact the educational process. The theoretical and bibliographic review included 23 relevant studies, revealing that the implementation of playful activities has a positive effect on student learning and on the school climate. Programs that incorporate games and dynamics in teaching foster not only motivation and commitment, but also social and emotional skills. The integration of innovative strategies, such as teamwork and the use of creative resources, enriches the educational experience and promotes an environment where reflection and collaboration prevail. By providing students with practical tools and playful experiences, teachers contribute to forming more competent and critical individuals, capable of relating to different types of situations and texts. This strengthens their ability to understand and prepares them to actively participate in their environment, promoting meaningful discussions and deeper, longer-lasting learning

Various efforts have been made to enhance vocabulary acquisition and students’ engagement in English classrooms; however, studies that specifically highlight the application of tactile learning integrated with drama activities remain relatively limited. This study seeks to fill that gap. It aims to examine the impacts of tactile learning in drama activities on the English vocabulary acquisition and classroom engagement of eighth-grade students at SMPIT Khairunnas Bengkulu City during the English learning process. It used a case study with quantitative and qualitative approaches. The data were collected by conducting pre-test and post-test, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), Observation, and documentation. There were 87 students as respondents of the research. The result showed that the implementation of tactile learning through drama could improve students’ English vocabulary acquisition. The use of tactile learning approach in drama activities gave positive impacts in improving students’ engagement in English class. The result of the research strengthens opinion that tactile learning in drama activities is an effective and fun learning method to improve students’ English vocabulary acquisition and engagement in English class.

Outdoor play in nature-rich spaces has been associated with healthy development among young children. The diverse play opportunities afforded to children by natural playspaces can scaffold health benefits, appreciation of nature, and pro-environmental behaviors into adulthood. Environmental features and conditions of outdoor playspaces significantly influence the diversity and quality of play opportunities. Understanding how the physical environment can support high-quality play experiences can inform the design of stimulating, health-promoting playscapes for children. An observational behavior mapping framework was utilized to examine the environmental features of The Backyard, a large natural playscape, associated with play activities among young children. The Tool for Observing Play Outdoors was used to capture outdoor play types OPT), along with associated behavioral and environmental data, during seven days of field observation. While the playspace supported most OPTs, Physical and Exploratory play were most prevalent. Associations with activity intensity and risk play are also presented. Loose parts, particularly natural loose parts, were highly involved in most OPTs, but especially associated with Exploratory play. Ground topography showed some association with several OPTs and warrants further investigation. The environmental features of The Backyard supported an abundant and diverse range of outdoor play activities for young children and families.

The Toy Brick as a Communicative Device for Amplifying Children’s Voices in Research

Middle school teachers working with a teaching artist adapt new practices to engage students in drama and literacy activities.

Background of the study: This study examines cognitive development in early childhood within the context of play-based learning at Al-Hidayah Kindergarten. Grounded in constructivist perspectives, the research emphasizes that cognitive development in early childhood is shaped not merely by stimulus–response mechanisms, but by children’s active engagement and individual learning processes. Accordingly, learning processes are considered more critical than final outcomes, given the variability in children’s cognitive developmental trajectories. Aims and scope of paper: The study aims to explore how structured play activities—specifically puzzle-solving and block-stacking—support cognitive learning processes, including problem-solving and creativity, in a preschool setting. It also investigates the implementation of group-based learning models and identifies challenges encountered in fostering cognitive development through play. Methods: A qualitative research design was employed, with data collected through classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with teachers. The analysis focused on children’s interactions during play activities and how these interactions reflected their cognitive development. Results: The findings indicate that play-based learning significantly supports the development of children’s cognitive abilities, particularly in problem-solving and creative thinking. Nevertheless, several challenges were identified, including children’s tendency to lose interest quickly and the emergence of egocentric behaviors, such as limited willingness to share and cooperate with peers. Contribution: This study contributes to the global discourse on early childhood education by providing empirical insights into how play-based learning and responsive pedagogical strategies support cognitive development in preschool settings. It extends existing literature by illustrating the interplay between cognitively enriching play activities and children’s behavioral responses within everyday classroom contexts. By identifying both enabling factors and behavioral challenges inherent in play-based learning environments, this study offers transferable pedagogical implications for early childhood educators seeking to enhance the effectiveness of instructional practices across diverse educational contexts.

Including others in a playful activity fundamentally changes the concept of play into social play. This thesis focuses on social play in digital gaming. Previous studies have revealed the crucial part of social interaction in play, as the intrinsic need to belong seems to be the core motivation for engaging in such activities. Besides interacting with the game and focusing on the game content, gamers are confronted with emotions, behaviours, opinions and performances of others that can easily be perceived when playing side by side (co-located co-play). However, the widespread penetration of the Internet also allows for social play without the restriction of co-players having to be in the same room (mediated co-play). In online co-play settings a smaller amount of social information can be exchanged compared to co-located co-play. These settings therefore differ in the way gamers can interact with each other, which has an influence on how digital gaming is experienced. Focus groups, contextual inquiries, and four experimental studies were employed to uncover which aspects of social play in digital gaming make mediated and co-located co-play feel different. The first study was conducted to explore the motivations of gamers to physically meet others to play digital games, compared to meeting them online. Based on interpersonal communications, focus groups and contextual inquiries, findings revealed that the appeal of co-located above online co-play results from the sociable, warm, sensitive, personal and intimate interactions that are possible when playing side-byside. Furthermore, co-located co-play offers the possibility to experience social fun before and after game play, which often is not afforded in online co-play. The first lab experiment was conducted to empirically demonstrate to what extent player experience is influenced by the way co-players are present; e.g. as a virtual (human controlled), mediated or co-located co-player. Results on self-reports indicated that playing sidebyside significantly adds to the enjoyment and involvement in games compared to playing against a virtual (i.e. computer controlled) or distant co-player. These results could be explained by introducing the concept of social presence, which is defined as the feeling of being together with another individual. Results demonstrated that social presence mediated the enjoyment in social play. In the second and third lab experiment the possibilities for verbal and non-verbal interaction were manipulated between coplayers in co-located co-play. One experiment investigated this for competitive play; a the other for collaborative play. Self-reports showed that interactions through auditory cues positively influenced player experience. Interestingly, the presence of visual cues of one’s co-player had no significant influence on play. Observation data of players confirmed that audio cues (e.g., talking, laughing) were far more often used than visual cues (e.g., eye contact, making gestures); visual cues were only used before and after play. Furthermore, we demonstrated that social presence – due to interaction by audio cues – mediates the enjoyment in social play. A final lab experiment was conducted to investigate the importance of the connection between players through the game for our results in the previous chapters. In this experiment players were colocated, but not always played together and/or were not always able to see each other’s scores. Results showed that a subjective shared experience increases the strength of the social connection between players, and positively affects feelings of social presence, enjoyment and involvement. Similar to the previous findings, social presence mediated the increase in feelings of enjoyment and involvement. In sum, our set of studies offered empirical support for when, why and how social interaction influences players’ experience in co-play settings. Furthermore, the results indicate the importance of social presence as a mediating factor of enjoyment and involvement in social play. This provides new theoretical insights for communication experiences in other media, and social presence in general. Furthermore, findings may be useful to game designers who may want to enhance players’ experiences in during digital play.

This study was aimed at finding out thestudents’ perceptions about the implementation of brain-writing in teaching writing recount text.In order to support the data analysis, the writers used the theory from Sadker and Ellen (2007, p. 6)about the steps in implementing brain writing technique in teaching recount text. Furthermore, in conducting this study the writers used qualitative research in which case study was employed to collect the data from participants in this research that was English teacher who taught recount text through brain-writing technique. Moreover, interview was the instrument used by the writers in collecting the data, then the data analyzed qualitatively. Based on the research findingsthe writersconcluded that the teacher did some steps in implementing brain-writing including. Overall, the steps in implementing brain-writing was relevant with the theory from Sadker, Ellen (2007, p. 6).The second conclusion was about student’s perception in implementing brain-writing technique in teaching writing recount text, the writers concluded that the students viewed the teaching-learning process of recount text through brain-writing technique was enjoy activities that not only improve students’ motivation and students’ achievement.Moreover, the writers suggests that the further researcher to investigate students’ difficulties on the use brain-writing technique in teaching writing

Summer day camps (SDC) represent one of the largest settings, outside the academic school year, where children can engage in safe, enjoyable physical activity (PA). Yet, little is known about this setting and how active children are while attending. System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth was used to categorize PA of boys/girls as Sedentary/Walking/Vigorous across multiple days (8 AM to 6 PM) in 4 large-scale community-based SDCs. Contextual characteristics of type of activity, activity management, equipment, and in/outdoors were collected simultaneously. Mixed-model regression analyses examined associations between PA categories and contextual characteristics. A total of 4649 scans of 2462 children were made across 27 days in the SDCs. Physical activity opportunities represented 38% of the daily schedule. Overall, 74%-79%, 13%-16%, and 7%-9% of children were observed Sedentary, Walking, or Vigorous during the SDC, and this changed to 62%-67%, 18%-19%, and 15%-18% observed Sedentary, Walking, or Vigorous during PA opportunities. Water-based PA, equipment, and free-play were related to increased PA. Children waiting-in-line for turns, staff instructing, and organized PA were related to increased sedentary. These findings provide evidence of modifiable characteristics of SDCs associated with PA. Improving staff skills related to facilitating active environments is a viable avenue to increase PA accumulated within SDCs.

Non-Player Characters (NPCs) are critical to the interactive and dynamic character of modern video games. They inhabit game worlds, engage with players, and play a large role in storytelling and gameplay mechanics. Yet, conventional rule-based NPCs tend to fall short of realism, flexibility, and scalability needed to keep pace with changing player expectations and sophisticated game worlds. This paper discusses the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) engineering techniques with game development to create intelligent, adaptive NPCs. Through modular AI architectures, reinforcement learning, behaviour cloning, and effective deployment strategies, this research presents a complete framework for developing intelligent NPCs that provide increased interactivity and engagement. It also discusses the application of memory repositories to preserve NPC contextual awareness across extended interactions. Comparative analysis and case studies are employed to illustrate enhancements in gameplay dynamics and player experience.

The article examines the digital game Fall Guys, initially developed by an independent studio and later acquired by Epic Games, which introduced monetization strategies like microtransactions and seasonal bundles. The study analyses how this acquisition and commercial tactics affected the creative process, game mechanics, and player experience. It includes a qualitative comparison of the game’s design before and after the acquisition, alongside an exploration of player reactions on social media and gaming forums. The content was artificially removed and restored multiple times, which had an impact on game’s community. The research draws on concepts from mass culture production, such as standardization and commercialization, to assess the impact on player behaviour, customer loyalty, and brand perception. By focusing on monetization strategies, the article provides a case study on how corporate acquisition influences independent game development, creativity, and the loyalty of gaming communities. This article examines originality vs. genericity in independent and mass production.