A Literature Review on the Impact of Digital Games on Improving Students' English Language Writing Skills

The new generation uses digital games in their everyday lives for entertainment and learning. Digital games have a remarkable role in the learning process of the new generation. Many education scholars investigated the effect of using games to enhance learners' English language learning in general and specifically improve writing skills, revealing that games in the classroom can foster writing skills and bring remarkable improvement. This study investigates the impact of digital games on improving students' English Language writing skills depending on a literature review. As many studies focus on the impact of digital games on different English language skills, this conceptual literature review aims to stimulate reflection on the use of digital games in enhancing English language writing skills. This study revealed that digital games increase students' engagement in the learning process, create a less-anxious writing skills environment for students, and motivate and help students get a deeper understanding of the English writing process.

O Uso do Jogo Digital "Hospital Mirim" como Estratégia de Enfrentamento à Procedimento Invasivo / The Use of the Digital Game "Hospital Mirim" as Coping with the Invasive Procedure / El Uso del Juego Digital "Hospital Mirim" como Estrategia de Enfrentamiento del Procedimiento Invasivo

Os procedimentos invasivos que envolvem agulha são capazes de provocar dor e ansiedade nas crianças, em função de implicarem uma expectativa de sofrimento físico e perda de controle da situação. A utilização de atividades lúdicas visa minimizar os efeitos dos processos dolorosos, se constituindo como estratégias de humanização para o contexto hospitalar. Este trabalho investigou os efeitos do serious game "Hospital Mirim" como estratégia de enfrentamento ao procedimento invasivo de coleta de sangue. Participaram 40 crianças com idade entre seis e 10 anos, sendo 20 do grupo controle e 20 do grupo experimental (intervenção), sorteadas aleatoriamente. Os instrumentos incluíram: (a) Entrevista semiestruturada; (b) Jogo digital Hospital Mirim; (c) Escala de dor; (d) Escala de observação de procedimento invasivo. Os resultados permitiram verificar que: (a) o grupo controle na etapa de pós-procedimento invasivo apresentou maior percepção de nível de dor comparado ao grupo experimental; (b) houve diferença significativa nos grupos entre a percepção da dor e os comportamentos apresentados durante o procedimento; (c) não houve diferença entre os grupos em relação aos comportamentos durante o procedimento invasivo. De modo geral, o jogo foi um instrumento facilitador ao enfrentamento da coleta de sangue pelas crianças, diminuindo a percepção da dor. (AU)

Invasive procedures involving a needle are capable of causing pain and anxiety in children, as they imply an expectation of physical suffering and loss of control of the situation. The use of playful activities aims to minimize the effects of painful processes, constituting humanization strategies for the hospital context. This paper investigated the effects of the serious game "Hospital Mirim" as a strategy for coping with the invasive blood collection procedure. Forty children aged between six and 10 years participated, being 20 from the control group and 20 from the experimental group (intervention), randomly drawn. The instruments included: (a) Semi-structured interview, (b) "Hospital Mirim" digital game, (c) Pain scale and (d) Invasive procedure observation scale. The results showed that: (a) the control group in the post-invasive procedure stage presented a higher perception of pain level compared to the experimental group; (b) there was a significant difference in the groups between pain perception and behaviors presented during the procedure; (c) there was no difference between groups regarding behaviors during the invasive procedure. In general, the game was a facilitating instrument to cope with the blood collection in children, reducing the perception of pain. (AU)

Los procedimientos invasivos que implican una aguja son capaces de causar dolor y ansiedad en los niños, ya que conllevan una expectativa de sufrimiento físico y pérdida de control de la situación. El uso de actividades lúdicas tiene como objetivo minimizar los efectos de los procesos dolorosos, constituyendo estrategias de humanización para el contexto hospitalario. Este artículo investigó los efectos del juego serio "Hospital Mirim" como una estrategia para hacer frente al procedimiento invasivo de extracción de sangre. Participaron cuarenta niños de entre 6 y 10 años, 20 del grupo control y 20 del grupo experimental (intervención), seleccionados al azar. Los instrumentos incluyeron: (a) Entrevista semiestructurada, (b) Juego digital del Hospital Mirim, (c) Escala de dolor y (d) Escala de observación de procedimientos invasivos. Los resultados mostraron que: (a) el grupo de control en la etapa de procedimiento posinvasivo presentó una mayor percepción del nivel de dolor en comparación con el grupo experimental; (b) hubo una diferencia significativa en los grupos entre la percepción del dolor y los comportamientos presentados durante el procedimiento; (c) no hubo diferencia entre los grupos con respecto a los comportamientos durante el procedimiento invasivo. En general, el juego fue un instrumento facilitador para hacer frente a la extracción de sangre por parte de los niños, reduciendo la percepción del dolor. (AU)

Validation of a Scale to evaluate Pathological Digital Game Dependence

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Digital game or video game disorders have been recently (June 2018) included in ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases) by the World Health Organization (WHO). The disorder can occur with or without an internet connection. OBJECTIVE: Validation of a scale to evaluate the dependence of pathological digital game (PDGD). METHOD: Validation of the PDGD was performed in 5 phases: (1) initial scale construction with 20 questions, (2) expert assessment, (3) application to 200 volunteers, (4) statistical analysis and production of results using statistical programs, (5) elaboration of the final validated scale. RESULTS: We used the R statistical program Version 3.4.2 and the "dplyr" package to present the descriptive statistics, the hypotheses tests of differences of means and the factorial analysis. The last step was to calculate Cronbach's alpha, in order to measure the internal consistency of the questionnaire. The value found was 0.955, which is very good. CONCLUSIONS: This research allowed us to construct a final version of the PDGD suitable for the clinical contexts and usable in research on the dependence of digital games. This scale may contribute to future studies, conscious use of technologies, reduction of physical and emotional damage and improvement of the quality of life.

Aprendizaje Basado en Juegos Digitales en Niños con TDAH: un Estudio de Caso en la Enseñanza de Estadística para Estudiantes de Cuarto Grado en Colombia / Digital Game Based Learning in Children With Adhd: a Case Study in Statisctics Teaching for Fourth Grade Students in Colombia

La situación actual de innovación tecnológica en educación introduce una nueva visión del juego digital, resaltando su valor pedagógico. Considerando este panorama proponemos el aprendizaje basado en juegos digitales, más específicamente de tipo multi-jugador masivos en línea, como un escenario propicio para lograr que los niños con TDAH (Trastorno por Déficit de Atención y/o Hiperactividad) mejoren su aprendizaje y fortalezcan significativamente sus habilidades sociales, así como la autorregulación de sus emociones. Para ello llevamos a cabo un estudio de caso en el Colegio Santa Bertilla Boscardin de la ciudad de Medellín, Colombia, con estudiantes del grado cuarto de primaria en la asignatura de estadística, los cuales se dividieron en 17 niños como grupo experimental y 40 como control. Los resultados obtenidos mediante una prueba estandarizada demostraron, con una significancia estadística (valor p< 0.005), no solo los estudiantes con TDAH lograron igualar el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes de control, sino que incluso fueron ligeramente superiores.

The current situation of technological innovation in education introduces a new insight into digital games, highlighting their pedagogical value. Considering this panorama, we propose digital game based learning, more specifically with massive multiplayer online games, as a favorable setting to enhance performance by children with ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) in order to improve their learning and strengthen their social skills, as well as provide for self-regulation of emotions. To this end, we carried out a case study in the Santa BertillaBoscardín primary school from Medellin city in Colombia, with fourth grade students in the subject of statistics, of whom 17 children were the experimental group and 40 were the control group. The results obtained using a standard test showed there was statistical significance (p-value < 0.005); not only did ADHD students manage to reach the same level of academic performance as control students, but theyalsoachieved slightly higher scores.