Abstract
Starting from the difficulty of creating playful representation of domain-specific abstract concepts, this study discusses the design of Prime Slaughter, a computer game aimed at facilitating individual sense-making of abstract mathematical concepts. Specifically the game proposes a transposition of primality and factorization into playful interactions, addressed to primary and early secondary school children. Taking into account individual needs expressed by children regarding play, during a participatory design processes aimed at enhancing learning in museums, Prime Slaughter allows for multiple forms of play and their integration. A simple working prototype has already been developed; it will be tested and re-designed through participatory workshops, involving a group of children in our target group.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Zeynep, T., Zeynep, C.: Learning from SimCity: An empirical study of Turkish adolescents. Journal of Adolescence 33, 731–739 (2010), doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.10.007
Marchetti, E.: Myth and Bones: Museum Socio-Epistemic Practice and Children’s Values. In: Proceedings of InterSymp 2011, IIAS 2011, 1st Symposium and Panel on the Art of Relational Living in the Communication Age, Baden Baden, Germany, August 1-5 (2011)
Rogoff, B.: Apprenticeship in Thinking. Cognitive Development in Social Context. Oxford University Press (1990)
Huizinga, J.: Homo Ludens. A study of the play element in culture. Boston Beacon Press (1950)
Squire, K., Barab, S.: Replaying history: engaging urban underserved students in learning world history through computer simulation games. In: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Learning Sciences (ICLS 2004). International Society of the Learning Sciences, pp. 505–512 (2004)
Laakso, M.J., Myller, N., Korhonen, A.: Comparing Learning Performance of Students Using Algorithm Visualizations Collaboratively on Different Engagement Levels. Journal of Educational Technology & Society 12(2), 267–282 (2009)
Petersson, E., Brooks, A.: Virtual and Physical Toys: Open-Ended Features for Non-Formal Learning. CyberPsychology & Behavior 9(2), 169–199 (2006)
Barendregt, H.P.: The Lambda Calculus its Syntax and Semantics. North-Holland (1984)
Valente, A., Marchetti, E.: Programming Turing Machines as a Game for Technology Sense-Making. In: Proc. of IEEE 11th International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, pp. 428–430 (2011)
Henriksen, P., Kölling, M.: Greenfoot: combining object visualisation with interaction. In: Companion to the 19th Annual ACM SIGPLAN Conference on Object-Oriented Programming Systems, Languages, and Applications (OOPSLA 2004), pp. 73–82. ACM, New York (2004), doi:10.1145/1028664.1028701
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 ICST Institute for Computer Science, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering
About this paper
Cite this paper
Valente, A., Marchetti, E. (2012). Prime Slaughter: Playful Prime Numbers. In: Brooks, A.L. (eds) Arts and Technology. ArtsIT 2011. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 101. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33329-3_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33329-3_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-33328-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-33329-3
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)