Browsing by Subject "Gamification"

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Digital educational escape rooms as a novel approach to cybersecurity education: An empirical study on learner perceptions of usefulness and usability
(2025) Keller, Thomas; Guggemos, Josef; Warwas, Julia
With the increasing number and severity of cybersecurity incidents, programs for security education, training, and awareness (SETA) have become essential components of organizational and educational strategies to promote information-secure behavior at the workplace. While traditional training is often perceived as uninspiring and tedious, digital educational escape rooms (DEERs) are a promising tool that combines immersive, game-based learning with authentic problem scenarios to improve cybersecurity skills. Despite their growing popularity in cybersecurity education, key acceptance factors of DEERs have not been systematically investigated. This study applies the technology acceptance model (TAM) to examine how perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use affect the intentions of target learner groups to engage with DEERs in SETA programs. A total of 217 participants, comprising trainees, students, and employees, played one randomly selected DEER from a set of three on password management, privacy and data security, and social engineering. After completion, participants evaluated the learning environment using a standardized TAM-based questionnaire. Structural equation modeling revealed that perceived usefulness was the strongest predictor of learners’ intentions to engage with DEERs. Perceived ease of use influenced engagement intention directly and indirectly by positively affecting perceived usefulness. Multigroup analysis revealed no significant differences across age, gender, professional background, or DEER scenario. These findings highlight the importance of balancing ease of use with the extent to which learners perceive the content to be meaningful, important, and relevant to their professional context in order to ensure acceptance and effective integration of DEERs into SETA programs.
Stimulating awareness of precision farming through gamification: The farming simulator case
(2024) Pavlenko, Tetiana; Argyropoulos, Dimitrios; Arnoult, Matthieu; Engel, Thomas; Gadanakis, Yiorgos; Griepentrog, Hans W.; Kambuta, Jacob; Latherow, Tamisan; Murdoch, Alistair J.; Tranter, Richard; Paraforos, Dimitrios S.
Precision Farming (PF) provides different solutions to assist the decision-making process on farms. Current PF technologies such as variable rate site-specific applications can bring financial benefits to farmers as well as environmental advantages. Increasing scientific research and an expanding number of PF products are supporting a growing interest in PF applications. However, the actual implementation of these technologies on farms in many cases remains low. Therefore, there is a need to disseminate and transfer knowledge about the positive aspects of PF. One of the ways to facilitate the adoption process of PF technologies is education and training among farmers and other interested stakeholders. This paper presents a case study using the computer game Farming Simulator as an educational tool for raising awareness about the topic in an engaging and enjoyable way. Two distinct downloadable content (DLC) versions were developed and implemented in the versions 2019 and 2022 of the game, respectively, each with a range of PF functionalities (automatic steering, variable rate applications, yield mapping among others). The PF DLCs have received positive feedback from students and scientists but also the general public. The growing number of downloads (3,661,069 in total for both DLC versions as of 15th November 2023) demonstrates the effectiveness of computer games as an educational tool to educate and inform stakeholders (farmers, scientists, students, and the general public) about agricultural challenges and the potential of PF as a solution.