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ABSTRACT

Educational games have great potential for learning, however the potential of user-generated microgames for supporting learning is still not completely understood. The present study reviews the design quality of user-generated microgames based on microgame design fundamentals and explores the potential of the games for facilitating learning from the perspective of elementary teachers in terms of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This is exploratory research organised within the GeoGebra application and with the participation of elementary teachers in Indonesia. The study found that the games met the microgame design fundamentals but the mechanics and aesthetics were in need of some improvements. The major strength of the games is simplicity for learning, however their user interfaces are their major weakness. Learning resources and environments in Indonesian elementary schools are relatively supportive of games integration into learning processes whilst senior teachers and rural areas are less so. These findings suggest users should pay more attention to audios, visuals and special effects as well as winning conditions when creating microgames in open platforms. It is of pivotal importance to provide playing instructions and games that fit to mobile screens. Furthermore, teachers have to carefully select the games and consider the context before utilising user-generated microgames for assisting learning.

Keywords: user-generated microgames, microgame-based learning, microgame design fundamentals, exploratory study