Investigating the Use of 3D Mobile Games for Teaching Ethics & Basics to Children

Abstract

DIY (Do It Yourself) approaches have led the way for Learning things in a new and smart way. One way to learn things practically is to play computer or smartphone games. Gaming for learning has several uses, you master your skills in a fun way. Since the children most of the time these days are busy with playing games on smartphones, therefore, in this research we focus on how to use the modern 3D mobile games for teaching ethics and Islamic values. We have built two mobile apps for this purpose, Akhlaqee-1 and Akhlaqee-2, using the Unity 3D gaming engine. Akhlaqee-1 has been built with virtual reality applications i.e. Oculus Touch where the player can wear the Oculus headset and using an oculus rift can play the game. The other application Akhlaqee-2 has been built to be a heavy graphics-based computer virtual reality game. Additionally, the students used an olfactory display and a new mechanism for walking in virtual reality environments to increase the realism of the virtual environment. This research compares the effectiveness of both games from the development and user perspective. Experts evaluation (user experience) reveals that 73% of users like to play Akhlaqee-1, while 58% of them preferred the Akhalqee-2 to be suitable for teaching and its cost-effectiveness. In addition, Akhlaqee-1 was concluded by 82% of the users to be more expensive with the inclusion of VR features such as Oculus VR Headset and Oculus rift.