Exploring Vittoriosa : an old city of the Maltese Islands, through a board game with the integration of augmented reality, in a primary school context

Abstract

My dissertation proposes an educational, exploratory board game, targeting 9-11 year old students. This board game promotes gamified learning for students to learn historical information, while incorporating elements of immersive reality, namely Augmented Reality. It simulates the Social Studies fieldwork carried out in Year 5 classes. It enables learners to acquire facts and knowledge about the historical buildings in Vittoriosa by immersing in the play world and engaging with the game components. My board game could be used in schools as a means to virtually carry out the fieldwork at Vittoriosa within a class setting. Dewey’s learning theories underpinned the rationale of my board game, which taps into children’s curiosity for exploration and interest in play to engage in the board game scenario and learn historical knowledge. My board game is also influenced by Vygotsky’s learning theory of creating a socially constructed learning scenario which offers learners opportunities to communicate and collaborate as they engage in play. Additionally, my board game is also influenced by Piaget’s constructivist theory since it advocates knowledge construction through active exploration of the board game scenario. By incorporating digital elements, this board game bridges the gap between the students’ online and offline worlds. Moreover, AR affordances counteract the limitations students face when lacking the opportunity to visit the actual site. Additionally, through the inclusion of Augmented Reality, Year 5 students are given the opportunity to virtually explore a fortification using a mobile device.