Using Interactive Multimedia Narratives in Educating

Egyptian Primary School Children

Submitted September 2012, in partial fulfillment of

the conditions of the award of the degree M.Sc. in IT

Samar ElAmir

School of Computer Science

University of Nottingham

I hereby declare that this dissertation is all my own work, except as indicated in the

text:

Signature ______________________

Date _____/_____/_____

i

ABSTRACT

Decades of political corruption in Egypt have no doubt left a negative impact on the

educational system. Education depended to a large extent on rote learning instead of developing

children’s critical thinking. After the overthrow of the Mubarak regime in February 2011, there

is now an urgent need to build a new politically-healthy country.

This project aims at exploring the possibility of using multimedia in educating young

Egyptian children aged between 6 and 10, especially in political concepts and human rights. It

suggests the use of narrative and interactive multimedia to enhance their experience of learning

and proposes to explore the use of interactive multimedia narratives as a part of school

curriculum.

A project made up of a movie and a small game has been created. It includes a simple

narrative which was tested by IT professionals, teachers and students. Questionnaires were filled

out to evaluate the suitability and effectiveness of the game. It is hoped that this project will

represent a starting point for creating other projects of the same nature that should help teach

Egyptian children, who are the future decision makers, the basics of their rights and how to

defend them.

ii

DEDICATION

To my very good friend Karim Karawia whose presence is still keenly felt.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Paul Tennent for his generosity in

offering me help, support and encouragement throughout the project. It was really fun working

with him, and he made it really easy for me to adapt quickly.

My special thanks go to my parents and sister, specially my mom. Without her help and

support, this dissertation would not have ever been possible.

I would also like to thank my best friend Yomna Karara, who often put up with me when

I was feeling down. She always encouraged me, and never left my side when I needed help. Also

very special thanks to my friend and work colleague Salma ElDardiry, who composed the music

for my project in a very short time. No words can express my gratitude towards Muhammed

Saiid Hafez, who drew the characters’ sketches that later came to life. His encouragement and

support were invaluable.

Special thanks go to all my friends who helped me record the voices of the characters:

Sherif Ahmed, Mohamed Salah, and Rami Alaa.

A great thank you must be given to all the people in Egypt who generously gave their

time to help me test the game: Esraa Gouda, Fatema Samir, Mary Adib, Mai Amr, Mohamed

Rafik, Menna Mahmoud, Mina Ezzat, Mona Fouad, Nermeen Salem, Nourhan Ehab, Passainte

Mohamed, Sherif Mohamed, and Zainab Oraby.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... I

DEDICATION.............................................................................................................................. II

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................................... II

TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... III

LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................... VI

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1

1.1 Problem Description ..................................................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Aims and Objectives ..................................................................................................................................... 2

1.3 Approach ..................................................................................................................................................... 3

CHAPTER TWO BACKGROUND ............................................................................................ 5

2.1 Benefits of using technology in education ..................................................................................................... 5

2.2 The importance of using narrative as a pedagogical tool ............................................................................... 6

2.3 Multimedia learning ..................................................................................................................................... 7

2.4 Interactive Multimedia ................................................................................................................................. 8

CHAPTER THREE DESIGN .................................................................................................... 11

3.1 Basic Concept .............................................................................................................................................. 11

3.2 Storyboard .................................................................................................................................................. 14

CHAPTER FOUR IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT ........................................................ 15

4.1 Designing .................................................................................................................................................... 15

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4.1.1 Designing Characters ..................................................................................................................................... 15

4.1.2 Designing Scenes ............................................................................................................................................ 17

4.2 Recording Voices ......................................................................................................................................... 17

4.3 3D ............................................................................................................................................................... 18

4.3.1 Modeling ........................................................................................................................................................ 18

4.3.2 Texturing ........................................................................................................................................................ 19

4.3.3 Rigging and Lip-Syncing .................................................................................................................................. 20

4.3.4 Animation ...................................................................................................................................................... 21

4.3.5 Rendering ....................................................................................................................................................... 21

4.4 Implementing the Code ............................................................................................................................... 22

CHAPTER FIVE TESTING AND EVALUATION ................................................................ 24

5.1 Questionnaires ............................................................................................................................................ 24

5.1.2 Teachers/Educators ...................................................................................................................................... 29

5.1.3 Students ......................................................................................................................................................... 31

5.2 Evaluation ................................................................................................................................................... 37

CHAPTER SIX DISCUSSION .................................................................................................. 41

CHAPTER SEVEN CONCLUSION......................................................................................... 45

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 46

APPENDEX QUESTIONNAIRES ............................................................................................ 48

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Story outline diagram --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11

Figure 2 The characters' sketches ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 16

Figure 3 3D Models of the characters ------------------------------------------------------------------- 18

Figure 4 3D Models of the characters with textures --------------------------------------------------- 19

Figure 5 Some of the Facial Expressions and Spoken Letters ---------------------------------------- 20

Figure 6 Rigging of the 3D Characters ------------------------------------------------------------------ 21

Figure 7 Snapshot from the puzzle game ---------------------------------------------------------------- 22

Figure 8 Usability and Navigation rated ---------------------------------------------------------------- 25

Figure 9 Quality of Multimedia Elements rated -------------------------------------------------------- 26

Figure 10 Interface and Fun Element rated ------------------------------------------------------------- 27

Figure 11 Comparison between age, guidance needed, and the engagement with the game ----- 32

vi

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Storyboard ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14

Table 2 Code for the Puzzle Game ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 23

Table 3 Professionals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24

Table 4 Students who tested the game ------------------------------------------------------------------- 31

1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Decades of political corruption in Egypt have no doubt left a negative impact on the

educational system. The educational system in Egypt has been, for several years now,

encouraging students to focus only on examinations. Thus, students were pushed to work

extremely hard all the year round to memorize as much information as possible in order to pass

their examinations, without having developed their critical skills or attained real knowledge of

the content they were studying. Education depended to a large extent on rote learning instead of

developing children’s critical thinking or their ability to think creatively and independently.

1.1 Problem Description

After the overthrow of the Mubarak regime in February 2011, there is now an urgent

need to build a new politically-healthy country. This can be done by educating the new

generation not only in the sciences but also in the basic concepts of politics and human rights.

However, this kind of education should be done in a way which is totally different from rote

learning. Moreover, it should use methods that will appeal to children and stimulate their

imagination.

One important area that needs a great deal of work is human rights. The educational

curriculum will need to lead children to understand their rights as citizens: their right to acquire

knowledge, to move freely, to be treated equally and to express themselves openly. It is widely

acknowledged that open and free discussions of these issues with young students are of great

importance. “Discussion of human rights enables them to realise that their opinion is one among

many to be considered, and to see their attitudes and actions in human rights terms.” (22, p.4)

2

Various human rights abuses are still found in Egypt. As mentioned in Human Rights

Report in 2010, although the Egyptian constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, ethnic

origin, language, religion or creed, "aspects of the law and many traditional practices

discriminated against women and religious minorities." (23) In an article on racism in Egypt,

Marie-Jeanne Berger points out that "Nobody ever talks about racism in Egypt . . . Most

Egyptians don’t think there’s any problem at all". (3) However, racism represents one of the

main problems in Egypt nowadays. It is very often not enforced by law, but is practiced in

society.

Discrimination is not the only issue discussed by the Human Rights Report in 2010, but

also freedom of expression, speech and press. Although all these rights are respected in the

Egyptian constitution, "the government did not effectively enforce these prohibitions." (23) That

is why it is important to raise awareness to children of these rights and to start building their

understanding of such concepts as early as possible. Early childhood is a crucial age to develop

children’s views and understanding. Jerome Bruner points out the importance of “early

childhood as the crucial period for developing the cognitive skills needed for young children

later to benefit from regular schooling.” (5)

1.2 Aims and Objectives

Human rights are in fact “the basis of a just society and world” and we need to help

students develop their understanding and skills in order to make them able to cope with the

challenges of the modern world:

In preparing our students to live and work in the world, we need to help them develop the

skills needed to enable them to cope with the changes they will experience.

Understanding the nature of rights and freedoms and how these impact on others,

learning how to deal with conflicting rights, and understanding the nature of power,

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peace, conflict and groups claiming their rights all empower students to live more

effectively and justly as global citizens. (22, p.4)

A project which tries to deal with this problem and help children, who are the citizens of

the future, discuss the meaning of human rights and how they relate to their lives is therefore

important and badly needed in Egypt.

This research aims at exploring the possibility of using multimedia in educating young

Egyptian students. It suggests the use of narrative and interactive multimedia to enhance their

experience of learning and proposes to explore the use of interactive multimedia narratives.

Some of the concepts related to human rights that the project attempts to cover include:

1) The Right to Knowledge

2) Freedom of Thought

3) Equality and non-discrimination

4) The Right to Move

Loyalty, teamwork, and respect are some of the other values that will also be discussed.

1.3 Approach

The project is designed as a combination of a movie and a small game. It uses a

Graphical User Interface which is designed especially for the purpose. The idea is that students

instead of just watching a movie without any participation on their part, are given the opportunity

to choose how they want the main character to act in certain situations and therefore become full

participants in the action. According to the choice taken, the story takes a different turn. It is

hoped that students will understand the concepts behind the game in an indirect way, and will

also take responsibility for each action they choose.

This project does not only suggest the use of narrative and interactive multimedia to

enhance the experience of learning, but it also proposes to explore the use of multiple-path,

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interactive multimedia narratives. According to the Human Rights Online Teaching Guide,

students are citizens who "have a right to express their opinions and take responsibility for

them." (22, p.4) Thus, a multiple-path narrative allows more freedom than a single-path

narrative, for it offers several routes that may be followed. By providing the students with this

type of narrative, teachers will avoid preaching and will instead give students the chance to

choose and discover the consequences of their choices and take responsibility for them.

The tools used in implementing this project are Autodesk Maya, Adobe Photoshop,

Illustrator, After Effects, and Flash with Actionscript 2.0.

The research falls into seven chapters. The introduction gives a general view of the

political and social situation in pre-Revolution Egypt and its negative effect on the educational

system. It argues that it is essential to find ways to improve students’ skills and understanding

through new and imaginative means. Of special importance is the question of human rights and

how it can be included in school curricula.

Chapter two discusses some of the views related to the use of technology in the

educational process. It also explores the importance of using narrative as a tool to enhance the

learning experience. Moreover, the chapter focuses on interactive multimedia in particular and

argues that its use in education has produced remarkable results.

Chapter three presents the design of the project implemented. It provides an outline of the

plot and the storyboard, as well as the values and principles focused on. Chapter four gives an in-

depth look at how the characters and scenery were modeled, textured, rigged and animated. It

shows pictures of the final models. It also displays the code that was implemented to present the

game interactivity.

The testing and evaluation of this project by professionals, educators and teachers are

fully discussed in chapter five. Chapter six focuses on the results that were achieved from testing

the game, and compares them to the original goals that the project aimed at achieving. Chapter

seven gives the conclusion of the research and discusses the future direction of research in this

area. A list of the references consulted is presented at the end. The appendix includes the

questionnaires filled out by IT professionals and educators.

5

CHAPTER TWO

BACKGROUND

2.1 Benefits of using technology in education

Although there have been many attempts to use technology in education, there were also

claims that technology brought no real benefits to learning. Richard E. Clark for example argues

that the use of technology does not necessarily produce positive results. He states that "any

necessary teaching method can be delivered to students by many media or a variety of mixtures

of media attributes-with similar learning results." (7, p.27)

While some opinions see no real benefit in including technology in the education process,

many educators have seen the benefits of using technology and urged educational authorities to

provide facilities for the use of more technology. Basically, as Bernard Robin states, the idea is

not about including technology in the teaching experience or not. It is more about how this

technology is used in order to bring out new inventive ways teachers can use to convey the

lessons that need to be studied. (20, p.221)

Visual forms, as opposed to verbal forms of presentation, can enhance the understanding

and the learning experience of students. There is "encouraging evidence" to support this view

according to Richard Mayer (17, p.88). As a visual form of representation, multimedia can

become an efficient learning tool capable of enhancing students' ability to learn. "The term

technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) is attracting a great deal of attention in the

field of technology and teacher education as it focuses on the relationship between knowledge

about content, pedagogy, and technology.” (20, p.226)

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2.2 The importance of using narrative as a pedagogical tool

Narrative is a basic and attractive form of communicating and transmitting knowledge. It

creates totally new worlds and invites participants to share and understand various topics by

drawing them inside these worlds. Narrative, as Myrna Diamond rightly points out, is "a means

to examine how people exchange stories, account for their actions, and construct meaning in a

contextualized setting." (11, p.2) It also plays a role in human thinking by providing a way for

people to share their experiences directly with others. (11, p.3)

As narrative has always played a major role in cognition and culture throughout history,

it can also be used in educating children and explaining to them difficult concepts, especially

those related to politics and human rights. Moreover, narrative "can support not only cognition

but also motivation and emotion, which are equally important components of learning." (10,

p.58) Narrative and storytelling are very complex phenomena that we frequently use in our

everyday lives as has been pointed out by C. Conle. “Narrative is not merely a good means

toward a predetermined end; it does not only serve as useful illustration or to provide telling

examples. It is a very complex phenomenon. Because it is pervasive in everyday life, it can

create the bridges between the everyday and the academic world.” (8, p.13)

Narrative learning should not be a substitute for other learning approaches, but should

enhance and support the processes of learning. According to Giuliana Dettori, narrative learning

has the potential of complementing other learning approaches and improving their effectiveness.

(10) In his book Making Stories: Law, Literature, Life, Jerome Bruner discusses the idea that

narrative helps discover and reveal problems, and is not only a way to solve them. He argues that

this experience often arouses and stimulates curiosity and fantasy, which are essential

components of learning. (4)

Narrative has frequently been used in education in the past. But there are indications that

the tendency to use it in learning is in fact growing. "Narrative, in the form of stories and

narrations,” according to Giuliana Dettori, “is increasingly used in education." (10, p.55) Dettori,

however, argues that the main concern should be in designing stories that will convey the

7

pedagogical content and encourage students to undertake further research. The story has to be a

basic component in the pedagogical content, and not only a facade that appeals to students

without really playing a role in the learning process. If these concerns were taken care of,

narrative "could form the basis for the entire curriculum." (9, p.1)

In spite of its importance, however, narrative has received relatively little attention in

multimedia-learning literature according to Myrna Diamond. “One relevant and corresponding

representational format that has received little attention in multimedia-learning literature is

narrative, and it has the potential to foster the kinds of active thinking the new technologies

provide.” (11, p.2) More research is no doubt still needed in this area to explore the full potential

of narrative as a teaching tool.

2.3 Multimedia learning

As an appealing and interesting method to teach, multimedia will enhance students’

learning experience as well as their comprehension of the subject. "Multimedia instructional

environments,” as Richard Mayer points out, “are widely recognized to hold great potential for

improving the way that people learn." (17, p.87) According to Bernard Robin it is not technology

that we need to focus on. It is how this technology is used to bring out the best of teachers and

students in order to achieve a higher standard of learning. (20, p.221) Using games in education

has in fact changed “the way that educators viewed instruction to meet the needs of the Net

generation.” (1, p.230)

If multimedia is used in combination with traditional teaching methods, it “can help spark

interest in individuals that may otherwise seem bored or uninterested in the course content.

Multimedia when used properly can be a powerful tool which takes learning to the next level.

Many are unaware of the how multimedia can be used to help to enhance the learning

environment.” (24, p.1)

8

There have been many attempts to define the meaning and importance of multimedia

learning. “Multimedia learning,” according to Cheryl Johnson, "refers to learning from words

and pictures. Words can be presented as text or speech, and pictures can be presented as a static

graphic, such as an illustration or photograph, or as a dynamic picture, such as an animation or

video." (15, pp.1-2) Abhey Bakshi makes the same argument. “Multimedia is the combination of

two or more continuous media. These media need to be played during some well-defined time

interval with some user interaction. Multimedia uses computer graphics, animation, hypertext,

digital video and sound to provide a superior learning environment by stimulating all of the

senses. (2, p.8)

Mayer argues that the general agreement among researchers concerning animation is that

it "may or may not promote learning depending on how it is used." (17, p.88) He discusses the

main principles that will answer the question: "How animation will affect learning?" The first

principle is that students learn from animation better than narration alone. The second principle

discusses that when text is shown next to the animation it affects the student more than if the text

was far away from the action happening on the screen. Another principle points out that

presenting animation and narration at the same time is far more effective than if each of them

were presented separately. The last principle discusses the fact that narration when put in a

conversational form is more effective than if it is formal. In this way, students can easily identify

with the characters in the story.

2.4 Interactive Multimedia

Although verbal materials have been the way used to deliver knowledge for the past

years, visual materials are becoming a more interesting field to explore for enhancing the

learning experience of students. This interest has increased especially "with the wide availability

of computers and the Internet in recent times." (15, pp.1-2)

Multimedia, other than being a visual material appealing to students, has another

important element in it, which is interactivity. Abhay Bakshi argues that multimedia "can

9

provide a superior knowledge attainment and retention" (2, p.8) when designed in a way that will

takes into consideration educational objectives as well as students’ abilities and age.

The importance of interactive learning has been recognized by many researchers in the

field including Karen S. Ivers and Ann E. Barron (14) and Plowman et al (19). According to D.

Laurillard, "if our academic knowledge remains abstract and formal without any meaningful

interpretation, then it is useless". He argues that students should be able to use this knowledge in

the world we live in, or else it does not fulfill "the primary value of academic knowledge." (16,

p.229)

Giuliana Dettori further explains that the interaction, whether between the student and the

multimedia, or between the student and others, "can result in significant behavioral changes."

(see Lewin 1951 in 9, p.7) Some researchers have even advocated the importance of students

creating their own digital stories. "Students who participate in the full digital storytelling

experience may also benefit from learning to critique their own work, as well as the work of

others, facilitating social learning and emotional intelligence." (20, p.224)

According to the famous psychologist Jean Piaget, human beings are not passive agents

but actively construct their own reality through their mental activities. (18) To stay as a spectator

is therefore radically different from taking part in the action. "Participation is also a totally

different experience from spectating" (9, p.9) because it gives students the chance to choose the

path the story will follow, and makes them take full responsibilities of their actions. In other

words, it provides a means to the students to "explore the outcome of their actions." (21, p.18) It

is similar in some ways to the books that were famous in the 1980s which asked readers to turn

to a specific page according to a choice that the reader will make. (9)

The interactivity included in learning-multimedia applications should go further than just

"pointing and clicking". It should engage the students more in "carrying out tasks, which allow

them to apply the new knowledge being presented." (6, p.161) Designing interactive educational

multimedia has been the main concern for some researchers. Yvonne Rogers, for example, points

out that the focus should be on designing effective interactivity so that the educational

multimedia can achieve its pedagogical value. (21, p.4) Another researcher, Sandra Cairncorss,

10

argues that the key to designing this kind of multimedia is by creating activities "which

cognitively engage the learner", and which will lead learners to think about the materials given to

them and even do further research in this field. (6, p.161) Moreover, some multimedia

applications are designed in a non-linear story form. Each user of these applications will

experience a different story-line than the other users depending on each person's choice. This

kind of non-linearity offered "allows a user greater navigational control and freedom." (6, p.159)

However this type of application addresses "a number of complex questions balancing the user’s

freedom and the system’s intended aims." (10, p.62)

Many recent studies suggest that using multimedia in a learning context actually has a

greater effect than traditional instructional methods. For example, Abhay Bakshi states that

"recent studies by the Department of Defense on the effectiveness of interactive multimedia

indicate a reduction in average learning time of 31% and an increase in achievement by

38%..."(2, p.8) Because of the many advantages of multimedia, it is expected that it will become

more widely used in future educational systems and will play an important role.

Interactive narratives executed through the use of interactive multimedia may be an

effective way to engage students with the pedagogical-curriculum they are asked to learn. With

interactive multimedia, students are given the chance to be directly involved in the material they

are supposed to learn, which will give them more space to be motivated to make further research

on the topic they are learning. Students who participate fully in this interactive experience "may

also benefit from learning to critique their own work, as well as the work of others." (20, p.224)

11

CHAPTER THREE

DESIGN

3.1 Basic Concept

The game is based on a narrative written in the form of a fantasy fairy tale. It involves a

little girl who has been imprisoned against her will by an evil force represented by Om El

Ghoula (The Egyptian version of the wicked witch). The story traces the girl's attempt to be free

from the tower by going on a little adventure and searching for missing pearls.

The project is designed for Egyptian children between the ages of 6 and 10. It is in Arabic

with English subtitles added. The main concept behind the design of this project is to make it

life-like in the sense that there are no stops, pauses or return buttons. The game just continues,

and the student is asked to make decisions along the way. There are no correct or false choices,

but the story progresses according to the choice made by the learner.

Figure 1 Story outline diagram

12

The characters and scenery of the project are designed to be modeled and animated in the

three dimensional (3D) software Autodesk Maya. The choice was made to use 3D, and not 2D,

in order to allow more flexibility in moving the cameras and characters. Actionscript 2.0 was

selected as the language used for making the game interactive because of the simplicity of its

implementation. Flash files exported (.exe, .swf) are widely available on different system

platforms and do not require sophisticated computers.

The narrative chosen is simple and involves very few characters: Rabab, the main

character, Rana, Aly, Karim and Om El Ghoula (wicked witch) as well as a little bird. Each

scene in the game serves specific objectives and discusses certain values.

The game starts with a little girl (Rabab) sitting alone in a tower. She has been trapped

inside by Om El Ghoula. A bird flies into the tower and talks to Rabab. It gives her a necklace

with some missing pearls. It tells her if she manages to find the missing pearls she will become

free.

Rabab then starts on a mission of searching for the missing pearls. Before she proceeds,

she has to solve a puzzle made up of the word “knowledge.”

The pearls represent the tasks she has to finish before she can become free from the spell

cast on her by Om El Ghoula. The act of finding the pearls gives children playing the game a

sense of excitement and adventure. The game cannot be continued until the puzzle has been

solved. The puzzle consists of pieces making up the word “knowledge”, which is intended to

demonstrate that knowledge is the key to everything in life. It indicates the importance of

knowledge and education as a basic human right.

Once Rabab solves the puzzle, the wall of the tower breaks open and she finds herself in

another imaginary world, where she meets Rana, Karim and Aly. Aly is visually marked as

different because of his dark skin colour, which makes sets him apart from the others. The

reaction of Rana and Karim shows a kind of prejudice against him. They keep interrupting him

and dismissing his ideas. It is the task of the teacher/educator to discuss with the children playing

the game the inappropriateness of this behavior while talking about the values of equality and the

importance of non-discrimination.

13

The characters tell Rabab that they need to cross the river to watch a star from the

mountain on the other side of the river. Rana suggests collecting wood and building a boat.

Karim suggests collecting rocks to use as stepping stones to cross the river. Aly suggests

stretching himself across the river as a bridge leading them quickly to the other side.

Students (represented by Rabab) are asked to select one of these three solutions. Two of

the choices are fairly realistic (the boat and rocks), while the third (Aly stretching across the

river) is rather imaginative and non-realistic. This scene is meant to raise issues of equality,

freedom of thought and respect for others’ opinions.

Once they manage to cross the river, Om El Ghoula suddenly appears in front of all four

characters. She is angry because they crossed the river without her permission, and because

Rabab was out of the tower. As a punishment she wants them to hand in Rabab to her to

imprison her again in the tower. If the student chooses to give Rabab away, all the characters will

be imprisoned. Om El Ghoula will tell them that the person who gives away someone else’s right

will eventually give up his own rights as well. She leaves and the scene fades out.

Two options are available. The first: Rabab is selected. The witch will then trick the

other characters and take them away one by one. The second: They refuse to give in Rabab. They

will all unite and fight the witch. They win, and the witch is thrown into the river. The scene then

returns to the tower, with Rabab wearing the necklace with the pearls she succeeded in finding.

The doors of the tower become open as a result, indicating that she is ready to go face the world

after having learned about her rights. It is up to her whether to protect these rights or not.

The scene is meant to indicate that no one can take away one’s rights. If we give up other

people’s right, we will in fact be giving up our own rights.

Each student is supposed to play the game individually. Teachers responsible for running

this game for students are asked to discuss each student’s response with them. Feedbacks from

those teachers on how the students reacted were recorded to evaluate the effectiveness of the

game.

14

3.2 Storyboard

The storyboard has a simple outline that is represented by the following table:

Table 1 Storyboard

15

CHAPTER FOUR

IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT

4.1 Designing

4.1.1 Designing Characters

The characters were first drawn as sketches on paper. In designing characters, the main

concern was to make them look appealing to little children. They were made to wear particularly

colorful clothes. After this process was completed, the 3D models were created based on the 2D

blueprints.

Following are the main features of each character:

Rabab: The main character of the story. She is the character the students playing the

game will identify with and through whom they will move around the game. A girl was

chosen as the main protagonist of the story in order to highlight the central role of women

in Egyptian society as well as to counteract the stereotype of the male hero fairly

common in school textbooks.

Rana: One of the children Rabab meets in the magical world. She is the most stubborn of

all of them. She is self-righteous and does not like to listen to others’ opinions. She also

has racist attitudes and looks down on those who are different, which is clear from her

attitude towards Aly.

Aly: One of the children Rabab meets in the magical world. He has a darker skin than the

others, and is often the target of their scorn. He is intelligent and kind, and ready to help

his friends under any circumstances.

16

Karim: One of the children Rabab meets in the magical world. He really doesn't engage

much with the others. He is designed as a chubby, easy-going child who is easily led by

others.

Om El Ghoula: The evil protagonist of the narrative. She imprisons people and takes

away their rights. She is designed to have a fat, irregular belly. Her hair is weird-looking

and scary, and is meant to resemble a snake.

Bird: The symbol of hope that comes to Rabab in order to give her a chance to learn

about her rights and to be liberated from the tower. Its colour is green representing hope.

Narrator: His voice is friendly and appealing. He speaks Egyptian Arabic, and is

humorous and amusing.

Figure 2 The characters' sketches

17

4.1.2 Designing Scenes

The Tower:

Rabab is at first imprisoned in this tower. At the end of the game, the door of the tower is open

giving her the chance to get out of it. The pearls Rabab will collect represent the rights she needs

to understand in order to have a full life.

The Scenery:

Since the story is a fantasy fairy tale, it takes place in an imaginary forest.

4.2 Recording Voices

The voices of the characters were recorded by Arabic speakers who use the Egyptian dialect. The

game also has English subtitles.

18

4.3 3D

4.3.1 Modeling

After the process of drawing the character sketches, and after recording the voices for

each character, the process of 3D modeling started. The models were all created in Autodesk

Maya. Figure 3 shows the final 3d modeling of the characters.

Figure 3 3D Models of the characters

19

4.3.2 Texturing

The process of texturing followed that of modeling. Aly's skin colour was made darker

than the rest of the characters to indicate that he was different from the others. It has to be

visually apparent to the child that Aly looks different. The other character who had a strange skin

colour was Om El Ghoula. Dark purple was chosen to indicate the extreme difference between

her and the other children.

Mainly appealing and bright colours were used for the costumes of all the characters. For

Karim's T-shirt, a picture of a beach ball was chosen to show his friendly side. Figure 4 shows

the characters with the final texturing.

Figure 4 3D Models of the characters with textures

20

4.3.3 Rigging and Lip-Syncing

The rigging process came next. It is the process whereby a skeleton is built for the

character allowing the figure to move in a fairly realistic way. Several copies of the character's

mesh were taken, and each copy represented a spoken letter. Those copies were then morphed

together in order to animate the speech of the character. Figure 5 shows some of the facial

expressions and spoken letters. The process of binding each skeleton to the character's mesh

began. Figure 6 shows part of the rigging process of the characters.

Figure 5 Some of the Facial Expressions and Spoken Letters

21

Figure 6 Rigging of the 3D Characters

4.3.4 Animation

The fun process then started. This is the process where all the characters come to life.

Animation in this project of course included the animation of the characters, and the cameras

creating the scenes.

4.3.5 Rendering

Through the rendering process all the modeled characters, along with the textures, lights

and animation turn into a format that can be recognized and read by other applications. For the

22

purpose of this project, the rendered materials were all made ready for importation into another

application in order to implement the interactive parts.

4.4 Implementing the Code

All the rendered materials were then imported to Adobe Flash. The language used to

implement the interactivity of the game is ActionScript 2.0. The puzzle game, for example, was

implemented using the "drag and drop" method. Table 2 is an example of the code of one of the

puzzle pieces:

Figure 7 Snapshot from the puzzle game

When the movie clip (containing a piece of the puzzle) loads, it saves its original x and y

positions in two different variables. A variable named "clickFlag", which is private to each

movie clip of those pieces, is also set to "true". When the user presses on the movie clip and

keeps the press on without releasing, the piece will be dragged with the mouse cursor. Once the

mouse is released, one of two things will happen. If the piece is released its correct place in the

puzzle, the x and y positions inherit the correct place's positions and scales. The flag variable

also turns into "false", so that if the user presses on it again, it will not interact. Moreover, a

23

variable named "counter", which is identified on the root layer (and can therefore be seen by all

movie clips), increments with 1. After the counter variable reaches the complete number of the

puzzle pieces, the game will continue. However, if the piece is released in any place other than

its correct position, it will go back to its original place that was saved from the beginning of the

game.

onClipEvent(load){

flag=true

posx=this._x

makany=this._y

clickFlag=true;

}

on (press){

if(flag==true){

this.startDrag()

}

}

on(release){

stopDrag()

if(this.hitTest(_root.correct_ans2)){

this.enabled=false;

this._x=_root.correct_ans2._x

this._y=_root.correct_ans2._y

this._xscale=_root.correct_ans2._xscale;

this._yscale=_root.correct_ans2._yscale;

flag=false

if(clickFlag==true){

clickFlag=false;

_root.counter++

}

}

else {

this._x=posx

this._y=makany

}

}

Table 2 Code for the Puzzle Game

The other interactive activities in the game all require no more than clicking. The

storyline continues according to the choices made by the user.

24

CHAPTER FIVE

TESTING AND EVALUATION

5.1 Questionnaires

Questionnaires were given to three categories to test and evaluate the project. These

categories are: IT professionals, educators/teachers and students (completed by

educators/teachers). Copies of these questionnaires are found in the Appendix.

5.1.1 IT Professionals

Eight IT professionals of various specializations were asked to evaluate this project and

fill in a questionnaire (see Appendix). Table 3 lists the specialization of each of the eight people

who tested the game. They were asked to evaluate the usability and navigation of the game. They

were also asked to rank the usage of the multimedia elements, along with its quality. Included in

the questionnaire were other questions such as whether the interface is appealing enough, or

whether the game is suitable for the ages intended.

Field of Specialization

Professional [1] Graphic designer and kids' illustrator

Professional [2] Information Technology and Graphic Designer

Professional [3] Graphic Designer

Professional [4] Motion Graphics Artist

Professional [5] Architecture

Professional [6] Motion Graphic Artist

Professional [7] Web Designer

Professional [8] 3D Computer Graphics

Table 3 Professionals

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The following graph illustrates professionals’ assessment of the usability and navigation of the

game. 1 represents a negative assessment and 8 represents a positive assessment.

Figure 8 Usability and Navigation rated

(1 represents a negative assessment, 8 represents a positive assessment)

Five of the professionals gave the usability and navigation of the game a rating between 7

and 8. However, the other three gave the same categories a much lower rating, which was 4. It is

noticeable that the ones who gave high ratings to the usability gave also high ratings to the

navigations, and vice versa.

Figure 9 illustrates professionals’ assessment of the quality of multimedia elements. In

rating the quality of the multimedia elements used in this project, different feedbacks were

received. Professionals [4], [7] and [8], for instance, gave the three elements tested the same

rating, which is between 4 and 5. Professional [1] saw that the quality used in sound was better

than animation and sound. On the other hand, professionals [5] and [6] had a totally different

opinion. They rated both text and sound much higher than the animation element. However,

animation was given a higher rate by professionals [2] and [3].

26

Figure 9 Quality of Multimedia Elements rated

(1 represents a negative assessment, 8 represents a positive assessment)

Figure 10 illustrates professionals’ assessment of the interface and fun element of the game. It is

clear that most of them agreed that the interface was quite appealing to children and that the fun

element was fairly high.

27

Figure 10 Interface and Fun Element rated

(1 represents a negative assessment, 8 represents a positive assessment)

The IT professionals were also asked at the end of the questionnaire to give further

comments and suggestions regarding the game. Although professional [2] commented that the

drawing and modelling were quite appealing to children, others, like professional [4], suggested

that the overall visuals should be brightened up a little. Professional [1] also pointed out that the

characters needed to wear more colourful clothes. Moreover, the text that appears in the game as

instructions was found to be rather gloomy because of its black and gray colours. Professional

[7] suggested that those instructions should be more colourful and appealing to children.

Children can be attracted not only by colours, but also by using graphics for interactive

elements. Professional [7] suggested that elements like the mouse cursor could be in the form of

a magic wand that spreads magic dust when the mouse is moved, or a pointing finger that bends

when clicking on a button. Moreover, she suggested that the text messaging should include some

indicative icons, such as a funny question mark beside a question, or maybe a cartoonish light

bulb next to a remark or an instruction. By doing that, the child might easily comprehend the

instructions prior to reading.

28

The puzzle part of the game also generated a great deal of discussion among several

professionals. Professional [7] for example saw that the colours used for the pieces and the

background of the puzzle were confusing. Children would barely tell the difference because of

the same colour tone used. Professional [2] saw the importance of the existence of a small photo

of the complete puzzle on one side of the screen. She argued that the children would not have the

time to comprehend the meaning of the puzzle when they finished putting all the pieces in the

correct places. However, if a small picture of the puzzle was visible to them all the time while

completing the puzzle, they would understand the meaning of the puzzle much better.

Professional [7] further suggested that there should be visual and/or auditory indications

when a wrong or correct move of the game was made, such as an error sound when a move is

wrong. Sound effects like "Horray!" can also be used as an indicator of making a correct move.

That will give some sense of achievement and success to the child.

Apart from the puzzle game, some professionals saw that there should be more sound

effects used in the entire game. Professional [2] gave an example to that effect by suggesting that

the sound of birds at the beginning of the game when the narrator says "a land, full of birds"

should be made more audible. She also suggested that the choice of the voice of the main

protagonist was not really successful, for she thought it needed to be more childish than it is.

The techniques used to create this game were also commented on. Professional [4] saw

that the first part before the puzzle appeared (when the book was opening) was a bit slow. She

suggested that it should be made a little faster in order not to lose the audience. Professional [7]

proposed that the existence of buttons for pausing, replaying, and exiting the game would be

very useful. For making the game more challenging and interesting, professional [1] saw that the

existence of more than just one puzzle would be more appealing.

The story (plot) of the game received some criticism from the IT professionals as well.

Professional [7] pointed out that although the narrator said "the bird whispered to Rabab," Rabab

was the one who spoke and not the bird right after that. This was seen as a very confusing part.

Professional [1] did not like the fact that Rana always interrupted Aly. She argued that this kind

29

of behaviour might be understood as acceptable by the children. The game should make it crystal

clear that this was an unacceptable type of behaviour.

Several professionals saw that the options given for crossing the river were not very well-

chosen. Aly's idea was by far the most unrealistic. They argued that the students would be less

likely to choose this idea for they would consider it absurd. Professional [5] suggested a solution

for this problem. If Aly's idea was to stretch over the broken parts of a wooden bridge, for

instance, to let his fellow friends pass, that would have been more reasonable and realistic.

Professional [1] saw that the events of the story did not hang together. The reason behind why

the characters wanted to cross the river should have been more tightly linked to the plot of the

story than just wanting to watch a star, which they eventually did not even see because of Om El

Ghoula's interruption. Professional [1] saw that this inconsistency might confuse the child.

The age scope given as the appropriate age to play this game was also discussed. Both

Professionals [1] and [7] mentioned that children up to the age of 7 at least are not very good

readers. Thus, this might create a problem with all the written instructions given in the game.

They, therefore, suggested that the instructions should be read aloud, or drawn with graphical

representations. Despite all that was mentioned above, high ratings were given by most of the

other professionals about the suitability of the game to the ages between 6 and 10.

5.1.2 Teachers/Educators

Three educators were asked to run the game and record their evaluation prior to testing it

on children. They were asked specifically to evaluate the navigation of the game, and the

element of fun and enjoyment in it. The clarity of the issues related to the specific human rights

discussed within the game was also evaluated: the right to knowledge, the freedom of movement,

non-discrimination and the respect of others' rights. Also evaluated was the extent to which the

activities of the game succeeded in capturing the attention of children.

30

Two educators rated the easiness of the navigation of the game fairly low. They argued

that they believed that students would not be able to navigate through the game alone without

any external help. However, the third educator found the navigation to be fairly easy and could

be played by students without any help from others. The fun element was rated really high by all

three educators. One of them suggested that children would really enjoy the sense of exploration

afforded by the game.

The overall ratings of the human rights discussed within the game were fairly high. Two

of the three educators saw that the right to knowledge was quite clear within the context of the

game. The right to freedom of movement was seen to be crystal clear by the three educators.

However, the clarity of the idea of equal, non-discriminatory treatment was rated fairly low by

most of the educators. On the other hand, the idea of respecting others' rights was given the

highest rating by all three educators. They argued that this was the clearest human right

discussed within the game.

The activities within the game were rated very highly by the three educators. In response

to the question whether the game could be a self-directed learning tool or not, two of them

agreed while the third believed that some extra guidance was really needed.

The educators were also asked at the end of the questionnaire to give further comments

and suggestions regarding the game. One of them pointed out that the three choices given for

crossing the river were rather hastily uttered and were not completely clear. He feared that

children might not be able to fully concentrate and comprehend, and would therefore not be able

to choose properly. Another educator stressed the point that the ending of the game was rather

boring. When the child finishes the game, he should expect something interesting to happen.

However, the ending of the game might discourage students from playing further games of same

type.

31

5.1.3 Students

Educators were asked to run the game to children, each one alone and record their

feedback later. They were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the application after testing on

young children. Six students of different ages between 6 and 10 were asked to play the game.

Table 4 gives a list of students who tested the game including their gender and age.

Gender Age

Student [1] M 10

Student [2] M 10

Student [3] M 7

Student [4] F 9

Student [5] F 8

Student [6] M 6

Table 4 Students who tested the game

The following graph illustrates a comparison between students’ ages, the guidance they needed,

and the rating of their engagement with the game.

32

Figure 11 Comparison between age, guidance needed, and the engagement with

the game

(1 represents a negative assessment, 8 represents a positive assessment)

From the questionnaires filled out by the educators according to the performance of the

children, it was clear that there was a connection between the age of the student and the guidance

needed, for younger students were the ones who needed more guidance. However, all the ratings

of children’s engagement with the game were high. Moreover, a question in the questionnaire

asked the educator to assess the student’s degree of involvement in the activity based on his

previous knowledge of the child's attitude during other activities. All six answers affirmed that

the students tested showed more eagerness than normal in the game.

Student [1]:

Student [1] is an energetic 10-year old boy. He sat with a lot of concentration and seemed

to fidget for no more than a few seconds only. He responded in the following manner:

1. He had no trouble sitting through the entire game.

2. He had no trouble starting the game when it said “start”.

33

3. He had no trouble solving the puzzle, which he later described as interesting, without any

interference or guidance. He finished it fairly quickly.

4. When he was asked to choose the best method for crossing the river, he hesitated a little and

finally chose the boat. He later said that boats were made for crossing rivers. He agreed that

building a boat was the best method.

5. When he was asked whether to give up Rabab for the witch as she demanded, he thought for a

second and chose not to give her up. When asked why he did that, he repeated the same line of

the group when they said that “giving up somebody’s right means giving up one’s own rights”.

6. As a 10-year old, Student [1] had no trouble reading the instructions or understanding the

purpose of the game.

Student [2]:

Student [2] is a quiet 10-year old boy who is greatly fond of videogames. During the

game, he sat with a lot of concentration and did not fidget at all. He responded in the following

manner:

1. He had no trouble sitting through the entire game and seemed quite absorbed by it.

2. He had no trouble starting the game when it said “start”. He sometimes turned for reassurances

but in general he needed little guidance.

3. He seemed to find the puzzle rather challenging although he had no trouble solving it in the

end. He proceeded fairly slowly and cautiously, taking quite a bit of time to fit in the last piece.

4. When he was asked to choose the best method for crossing the river, he hesitated a little and

finally chose the rocks. He later said that rocks were more reliable than any other method and

would not sink like a boat.

5. When he was asked whether to give up Rabab for the witch as she demanded or refuse to do

so, he chose to give her up. When asked why he did that, he said that it was a mistake and that he

was confused.

34

6. As a 10-year old, Student [2] had no trouble reading the instructions or understanding the

purpose of the game.

7. He later described the game as interesting and engaged in a discussion with Student [5]

concerning his choices. He said that he wished the game was longer.

Student [3]:

Student [3] is a very quiet 9-year old girl. During the game, she sat with a lot of

concentration and did not fidget at all. She responded in the following manner:

1. She had no trouble sitting through the entire game and seemed quite absorbed by it.

2. She waited a bit at the start of the game when it said "start". However, when nothing

happened, she clicked on it and started the game without any instructions.

3. She had some problems while playing the puzzle game, but she managed to do it correctly in

the end. When asked why she thought that the puzzle showed the word "knowledge", she said

becuase it was the most important thing in life.

4. When she was asked to choose the best method for crossing the river, she chose the boat

without much hesitation. She later said that boats were the only choice becuase the other two

choices were unreal and absurd.

5. When she was asked whether to give up Rabab for the witch as she demanded or refuse to do

so, she chose not to give her up.

6. As a 9-year old, student [3] had no difficulty reading the instructions. However, she seemed to

need assurances from someone that she was doing the right thing.

7. At the end of the game, she seemed a bit disappointed with the ending of the game. She just

got up and left without saying anything further.

35

Student [4]:

Student [4] is a lively 8-year old girl with an alert mind and a great deal of curiosity.

During the game, she was visibly excited and reacted to every event in the story, smiling,

laughing and even hiding her face when the witch appeared:

1. She seemed to enjoy the game a lot.

2. She had no trouble starting the game when it said “start”. She often turned around to share the

excitement and comment on the actions although in general she needed little guidance through

the game.

3. She seemed to find the puzzle rather challenging but in the end managed to solve it. She only

found it rather difficult to fit in the pieces in their places because she could not place them

accurately enough.

4. When she was asked to choose the best method for crossing the river, she chose the rocks. She

later explained that the boat was too large for the river (it appeared to her rather small) and that

the children might fall off the boat. But the rocks were solid and the children couldn’t possibly

fall off them. She thought that Ali’s suggestion of stretching across the river was silly.

5. Student [4] had problems reading the instructions and needed help with that. She did not

understand the meaning of the word “sacrifice” and had to have it explained to her. So when she

was asked whether to give Rabab up to the witch as the witch insisted or refuse to do so by

clicking on the group, she thought that by clicking on the group she would be sacrificing all of

them. When the situation was explained to her she clicked on the group and saved Rabab.

6. As an 8-year old, student [4] had some trouble reading the instructions but no problem

understanding the purpose of the game.

7. After the game was over, she kept talking about it and asking various questions.

36

Student [5]:

Student [5] is a highly spirited 7-year old boy who is greatly fond of videogames and

karate. During the game, he sat with a lot of concentration and did not fidget at all. He responded

in the following manner:

1. He had no trouble sitting through the entire game and seemed quite absorbed by it.

2. He had no trouble starting the game when it said “start”. As his reading skills are not perfect,

he needed some guidance in understanding the instructions. But he had no trouble following

them and proceeding without any hesitation.

3. He seemed to have some problems placing the puzzle pieces in their slots so that they would

snap into place. The puzzle was therefore rather challenging but he managed through trial and

error to solve it in the end, feeling quite happy that he did. He managed to read the word

“knowledge”.

4. When he was asked to choose the best method for crossing the river, he chose the boat without

much hesitation. He later said that boats were used to cross rivers.

5. When he was asked whether to give up Rabab for the witch as she demanded or refuse to do

so, he chose not to give her up.

6. As a 7-year old, student [5] had some difficulty reading the instructions but seemed to

understand the purpose of the game quite well.

7. He later described the game as interesting and engaged in a spirited discussion with student [2]

concerning his choices.

Student [6]:

Student [6] is an active 6-year old boy. During the game, he sat with a lot of

concentration. He responded in the following manner:

1. He had no trouble sitting through the entire game and seemed quite absorbed by it.

37

2. He had a lot of trouble in understanding the written instructions, and needed a lot of guidance

to tell him what he should be doing.

3. He seemed to have some problems with the puzzle game. The puzzle was rather challenging

but he managed through trial and error to solve it in the end, feeling quite happy that he did.

Someone had to read for him that the word "knoweldge" as it appeared on the puzzle.

4. When he was asked to choose the best method for crossing the river, he chose the boat without

much hesitation. He believed that this was the only way to cross the river.

5. When he was asked whether to give up Rabab for the witch as she demanded or refuse to do

so, he chose not to give her up.

5.2 Evaluation

The testing of the game has produced the following results:

Usability and Navigation:

Both educators and IT professionals believed that the usability and navigation of the

game were easy, and that children would go through the game easily. The children, in fact, went

through the game quite easily and smoothly. Only the children who had problems with reading

needed a little guidance in what the instructions said, but they continued the game on their own

after that.

Some IT professionals suggested that there should be buttons for pausing, replaying, and

exiting the game. The project was mainly designed to be a life-like experience, without the

existence of backtracking options. However, it might be very useful to add such buttons for the

use of teachers, and not students. These buttons can appear when rolling over a certain place for

instance.

38

Plot of the Story:

Some IT professionals believed that the plot did not hang together. They believed that

this kind of plot might confuse children. However, the children who played the game seemed to

have enjoyed the story. Some of them even interacted physically with it: hiding their faces when

the witch appears, jumping up and down when a correct choice was made.

The plot might have interested the children alright, but it perhaps needs to be more tightly

constructed. Moreover future plots of such games will need to be long enough so to engage

students more fully.

Age:

The game was designed for children aged between 6 and 10. However, some of the

educators expressed their fear that children aged 6 and 7 might not find the game very

appropriate, because they are still not very proficient readers (and the game consists of a lot of

written instructions). When the students played the game, it was obvious that three students, who

were 6, 7 and 8 years old, really had problems understanding, and they needed lots of external

guidance.

Some IT professionals proposed a solution to this problem: by changing written

instructions into graphical representations, or by getting the instruction at least read aloud.

However, one of the students aged 9 had a problem with understanding some of the terms

included in the game, such as "sacrifice". So, it is important when creating a game or application

for the ages stated above to make the terms easy and simple.

39

Puzzle:

Many of the educators believed that the puzzle game would be really hard for students to

solve. Some IT professionals, on the other hand, expressed their fear that the puzzle might

confuse the students because of the way it was designed (the colours used for the pieces and the

background of the puzzle were confusing because of the same colour tone used). Others

suggested that the existence of the full image of the puzzle at the side of the screen was

necessary to make the child comprehend the idea behind it.

However, the puzzle game seemed to be the most interesting part for all the children who

tested the game. They all showed great concentration and interest while playing it, and felt quite

happy after they managed to do it correctly. Although some of them did not play the game as

easily as others, they all in the end expressed how much they enjoyed it. Thus, there should be

more of these interactive activities and they should be more challenging, for this is the most part

appealing to the children.

Ending of the Game:

Some educators believed that the ending of the game was rather boring, and needed

something a bit more interesting to make the children feel the achievement they made. One of

the children who played the game was clearly disappointed after the game came to an end. She

just looked at the screen and left. However, other students, especially the ones who were in the

same room with other students who played the game, were engaged in a discussion with each

other concerning their choices.

Some IT professionals suggested that there should be visual and/or auditory indications

when a wrong or correct move of the game was made. That will give some sense of achievement

and success to the child. Thus, beside the visual and auditory indications, the ending must be

designed in an interesting way.

40

Choices for Crossing the River:

The choices that were given to cross the river were either by building a boat, or putting

rocks, or by Aly stretching across the river. Both IT professionals and educators pointed out that

these three choices were not quite appropriate. They argued that the children, when playing the

game, would be less likely to choose the third idea for they would consider it absurd. None of the

six students who played the game in fact chose the last option. They either chose the boat, for

they saw it was the only way to cross the river, or the rocks, because some of them thought that

the boat would be too big to use. However, they all agreed that the choice of Aly stretching

across the river was most absurd and could not be done.

In choosing those three methods of crossing the river, an imaginative option was given

next to a realistic one to see how students would respond to that. However, the results showed

that this was not perhaps the right choice. The children should be presented either with three

realistic choices, and they try to choose the best one between them, or be presented with three

totally unrealistic imaginative methods.

Children’s involvement in the game:

One of the main purposes behind this project was to make the students more involved in

activities and more engaged with their teachers and fellow students than normal. To a great

extent, the results showed that the children who tested the game, in fact, were more engaged in

the game than usual. Student 3, for example, a really quiet girl who says almost nothing in class

and sometimes even does not answer her teacher if she is asked about anything outside of the

curriculum, showed marked interest in the game. She was slightly more active, talked a bit more

and asked questions about the game. The other two students, who were at first very shy, became

very excited after finishing the game, talked with each other about the choices they made and

talked with their teacher about what they thought of the game.

41

CHAPTER SIX

DISCUSSION

In implementing and testing the game, several points became clear. One such point is that

a game whose core aim is to educate children about the basics of human rights should relate to

the problems existing in those children’s own societies and clearly discuss them. Abuses of

human rights, including discrimination, represent a serious problem in Egyptian society, as was

mentioned in the Human Rights Report in 2010. However, many Egyptians refuse to see that

there is a problem at all and believe that these abuses are non-existent. (3) In this project, the

character of Aly was modeled to be visually different from the others, and was discriminated

against as a result. In future projects, it is hoped that such ideas should be taken into account and

dealt with in a more profound and comprehensive way.

Another main problem existing in Egyptian society is rote learning, where students are

often required to memorize as much information as possible in order to pass their examinations,

without having developed their critical skills or attained real knowledge of the content they are

studying. Thus, interesting and appealing methods that attract children to learning need to be

developed and implemented in order to overcome this problem. Narratives and storytelling are

important methods for teaching and instruction as has been highlighted by many scholars. (12,

13)

Many researchers have suggested that technology in the shape of interactive multimedia

is quite effective as a teaching tool. The interest of the children testing the game has clearly

demonstrated this fact and has shown that narrative is also a very powerful method that can be

used effectively in education. Some of these children, who are active by nature, were so focused

on the game that they played it entirely without fidgeting at all. Others responded physically to

the events of the story, by hiding their faces for example when the witch appeared, or by jumping

up and down when a correct move was made.

Other than being an appealing visual material to students, multimedia includes another

important element which is interactivity. A superior kind of knowledge can be achieved through

42

this element (2). For that reason, the project was designed as a combination of a movie and a

small game. The idea was to make the students participate in the action of the story, and choose

which turn the story takes. The students thus understand the concepts behind the game in an

indirect way. Taking responsibility for their action is essential, just as Yvonne Rogers points out.

(21). When students feel that they have control over the path the story takes, they become more

confident and willing to continue. That was proved when teachers started discussing with

students the choices they made. It was clear that students discussed their choices with a great

deal of confidence and conviction.

The way games for young children are designed is a highly important issue. Several

scholars argue that games should be suitable for their audience. Bright colours should be used in

characters and scenery. Although the characters and scenery of this project were created in bright

colours, some professionals saw that the overall visuals still needed to be brightened up a little

more. They also suggested that the existence of more graphical representations, such as funny

question marks, or right and wrong signs, could help in engaging children more effectively.

In exactly the same way that the game should use suitable graphics, it should also be

appropriate for the age range it is addressing. This project is designed for children aged between

6 and 10. However, through some of the educators’ recommendations, and through the testing of

the game on children between the ages mentioned above, it was discovered that the age range

should be adjusted. The game had several written instructions. Those instructions were very hard

to understand by the children aged 6 and 7. By making the instructions audible and including

more graphical representations, this problem might be solved.

One of the activities in the game required the player to choose the best method to cross

the river. Although the three methods given for crossing the river were selected in order to raise

issues regarding certain values such as respecting others’ opinions, freedom of expression,

equality and non discrimination, they have not been chosen successfully. Two of those methods

were fairly realistic, while the third was imaginative. All of the students chose one of the two

realistic methods. When asked why, their replies were that the non-realistic method was most

absurd. Therefore, the elements given as choices must be consistent. They should all be either

realistic or imaginative.

43

One of the improvements needed in the project involves making the plot more tightly

constructed. Some of the professionals pointed out that loosely constructed plots would lead to

confusion, specially to very young children. They found that there were several discontinuities in

the story, such as the sudden appearance of the wicked witch before even the children got to see

the star from the mountain. The ending of the game was also criticized. They believed that it is

important that it is designed in an interesting way, so that the children playing it would feel a

sense of achievement after they are through with it, and would be encouraged to play games of a

similar nature in the future. One of the children who tested the game seemed annoyed and

disappointed at the end of the game, for she got up and left the room without further discussion.

Since interactivity helps students become more involved in the action of the story and

identify with its characters, it should not consist of just pointing and clicking (6). The three

interactive activities offered in this project include: drag-and-drop method (presented in the

puzzle game), and two activities with the method of just clicking on the required choice.

Students who played the game showed a great deal of interest while playing the puzzle game.

Moreover, they expressed their wish that there were more parts like the puzzle within the game.

The game is intended to be played by students individually. The questionnaires that were

filled out by the educators were completed based on the discussion they had with each student

alone. However, only two students out of the six met in the same room after playing the game

each on his own. The result was that those two children were really excited about discussing

their choices. They ran to each other asking which choices they made, and why they made them.

Moreover they started discussing the same issues with their teacher even before she started the

discussion with them. Hence, even if a game is designed to be played individually, it is a great

idea to make the players meet right after finishing it because that will automatically lead to

constructive discussion between them.

This project is presented merely as a model to test the importance and the effectiveness of

interactive narrative multimedia in teaching. There are very few attempts to employ technology

and integrate it into Egyptian school curricula. Furthermore, very little attention is given to the

issue of human rights in Egypt at the moment. Thus, it is hoped that this project will represent a

44

starting point for creating other projects of the same nature that should help teach Egyptian

children, who are the future decision makers, the basics of their rights and how to defend them.

45

CHAPTER SEVEN

CONCLUSION

A great deal has been done in the field of teaching through technology, particularly in the

teaching of mathematics and sciences. However, very little has been done in the area of teaching

the basic concepts of Human Rights and civic responsibilities, especially in countries like Egypt.

This project highlights the importance of using interactive computer-based games to enhance

students' awareness of their rights as human beings and responsibilities as citizens. The project is

an attempt to explore the possibilities of using interactive multimedia in promoting this

awareness.

In general, the project had an overall positive response, in spite of the various critical

remarks about its design and implementation. However, what the project clearly demonstrates is

that further research in this field is badly needed. If modifications and improvements are made

to games of a similar nature, better outcomes are expected. This can happen if future games are

made longer, had more sophisticated plots, and contained more activities that are more

challenging and exciting.

The hope for improving educational systems in developing countries, such as Egypt, will

depend to a great extent on how effectively technology will be used in the future. It is also

important that traditional methods of teaching, which depend on rote memorization and rote

learning, be replaced by new strategies aiming at enhancing students’ imagination and their

abilities to think critically and creatively. This project is perhaps one step in that direction.

46

REFERENCES

1. Annetta, Leonard A. “Video Games in Education: Why They Should Be Used and How They

Are Being Used”, Theory into Practice, Vol. 47, No. 3, New Media and Education in the 21st

Century. Summer, 2008, pp. 229-239.

2. Bakshi, Abhay. A Real-Time Multimedia Based Education Through The Internet. MSc

dissertation, West Virginia University, 1998.

3. Berger, Marie-Jeanne, "Racism in Egypt", The Egypt Monocle. June 30, 2012.

4. Bruner, Jerome S. Making Stories: Law, Literature, Life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2003.

5. Bruner, Jerome. Cultivating the possible. Transcript of a Lecture delivered at Oxford

University, 17 March 2007. http://www.education.ox.ac.uk/wordpress/wp-

content/uploads/2011/03/Transcript-Cultivating-the-Possible.pdf [Accessed 7 September 2012].

6. Cairncross, S. and Mike Mannion. “Interactive Multimedia and Learning: Realizing the

Benefits.” Innovations in Education and Teaching International. 2001, 38, 156-164.

7. Clark, Richard E. "Media Will Never Influence Learning", Educational Technology Research

and Development, Vol. 42, No, 2, 1994, pp. 21-29.

8. Conle, C. “An anatomy of narrative curricula”, Educational Researcher. 2003, 32(3), 3 -15.

9. Dettori, G. et al. Technology-Mediated Narrative Environments of learning, Rotterdam 2006.

10. Dettori G. and A. Paiva. “Narrative Learning in technology-enhanced environments”.

In Technology-enhanced learning: Principles and products, S. Ludvigsen, N. Balacheff, T. de

Jong, A. Lazonder, and S. Barnes (eds.). 2009, Springer.

11. Diamond, Myrna Elyse. The Role Of Narrative In Multimedia Learning. PhD dissertation,

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2011.

12. Egan, K . Teaching as storytelling: An alternative approach to teaching and curriculum in

the elementary school. London: Althouse Press, 1988.

13. Hay, Trevor and Julie White. “The Teacher Writer: Narrative Theory, Storytelling and

Research”, AARE 2005.

14. Ivers, Karen S. and Ann E. Barron. Multimedia Projects in Education: Designing,

Producing, and Assessing, Libraries Unlimited, 2006.

47

15. Johnson, Cheryl I. Testing the Assumptions of Multimedia Learning Principles: An Eye

Movement Analysis. PhD dissertation, University of California, 2011.

16. Laurillard, D. Multimedia and the learner's experience of narrative. Computers in Education,

1998, 32, 229-243.

17. Mayer, Richard E. and Roxana Moreno. “Animation as an Aid to Multimedia Learning”,

Educational Psychology Review, Vol. 14, No. 1, March 2002, pp. 87-99.

18. Piaget, Jean. The Principles of Genetic Epistemology. London: Routledge & Keegan Paul,

1972.

19. Plowman, L.; Luckin, R.; Laurillard, D.; Stratfold, M. & Taylor, J. “Designing Multimedia

for Learning: Narrative Guidance and Narrative Construction”, in Marian G. Williams & Mark

W. Altom, ed., 'CHI' , ACM, 1999, pp. 310-317.

20. Robin, Bernard R. “Digital Storytelling: A Powerful Technology Tool for the 21st Century

Classroom”, Theory Into Practice, 2008, 47:220–228.

21. Rogers, Yvonne and Mike Scaife. “How can interactive multimedia facilitate learning?” In J.

Lee (ed.) Intelligence and Multimodality in Multimedia Interfaces: Research and

Applications. Menlo Park, CA: AAAI. Press, 1998.

22. The Human Rights Online Teaching Guide. www.amnesty.org.au/humanrightstoday

[Accessed on 18 July 2012]

23. The Human Rights Report Egypt 2010.

http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/nea/154460.htm [Accessed on 18 July 2012]

24. Yadav, V. Using Multimedia in Education. Delhi: Global Media. 2006.

48

APPENDEX

Questionnaires

Questionnaire for IT Professionals:

Name:

Gender:

Field of Specialization:

(Place an x where appropriate)

01) How would you rate the usability of this game?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Very low Very high

02) How would you rate the navigation of this game?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Very low Very high

03) How would you rate the usage of multimedia elements?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Very low Very high

04) How would you rate the quality of multimedia elements?

a) Text

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Poor Excellent

b) Animation

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Poor Excellent

c) Sound

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Poor Excellence

05) How appealing is the overall interface of the game?

49

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Not at all

appealing

Highly

appealing

06) How suitable is the interactivity level of the game to learners' age (6-10)?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Not at all

suitable

Highly

suitable

07) How would you rate the fun and enjoyment element of the game?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Very low Very high

Please use the space below to write any further comments or suggestions regarding this

game:

50

Questionnaire for Teachers/ Educators

Name:

Gender:

01) How easy was the navigation of this game?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Very

easy

Difficult

02) How would you rate the fun and enjoyment element of the game?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Very low Very high

03) How clear are the goals and objectives of the game?

a) Right to Knowledge

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Very

vague

Very clear

b) Freedom of Movement

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Very

vague

Very clear

c) No Discrimination

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Very

vague

Very clear

d) The idea of giving up other's right will leave to giving up one's right

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Very

vague

Very clear

51

04) How interesting and engaging are the activities in the game?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Boring Interesting

05) Do you think that the game be a self-directed learning tool?

No Yes

52

Questionnaire for Teachers/Educators: (based on observing the child):

(Please fill out a questionnaire for each child tested)

Name of Child:

Age of Child:

Gender of Child:

06) How much extra guidance did the child need to comprehend what is required?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

No

guidance

A great

deal of

guidance

07) How keen was the child to engage with the game?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Indifferent Very keen

08) According to your previous knowledge of the child's attitude during activites, was the

child more engaged than normal during the game?

No Yes

09) Please rate how engaged the child was with the game?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Frustrated Visibly

Engaged

Please use the space below to write any further comments or suggestions regarding this

game: