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Ek Ming Tan

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My professional experience and publications have been about designing and studying collaborative learning that is mediated by language as well as educational technology, especially digital games. Over the years, I've also coached beginning and experienced teachers in providing such learning experiences to their students.

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Papers by Ek Ming Tan

Learning chemistry with ―Legends of Alkhimia‖ Learning Chemistry with the game “Legends of Alkhimia”: Pedagogical and Epistemic Bases of Design-for-Learning and the Challenges of Boundary Crossing

epistemic bases of design-for-learning and the challenges of boundary crossing

Learning chemistry with the game “Legends of Alkhimia”: Pedagogical and epistemic bases of design-for-learning and the challenges of boundary crossing

Typical textbooks in Chemistry present the field as a fait accompli represented by a body of ―pro... more Typical textbooks in Chemistry present the field as a fait accompli represented by a body of ―proven‖ facts. In the teaching and learning of Chemistry, students have little, if any, agency to engage in scientific inquiry and to construct their personal understanding of the field. An emphasis on pre-determined ―knowledge‖ and the execution of laboratory experiments designed mainly to confirm pre-determined ―findings‖ can lead students to a grave misunderstanding of the nature of science. In this paper, we report on ongoing work to design a learning environment for learning chemistry that addresses the concerns raised above. Pitched at the lower secondary school level, our game-based learning innovation, using the multiplayer game ―Legends of Alkhimia‖, is directed at helping students learn to imbibe the values and dispositions of professional chemists and also to think like them. Drawing on Bourdieu‘s construct of habitus, we seek to foster students‘ capacity for practical reason as ...

Changing Science Classroom Discourse toward Doing Science: The Design of a Game-based Learning Curriculum

This paper presents a game-based learning program designed to foster classroom discourse toward d... more This paper presents a game-based learning program designed to foster classroom discourse toward doing science with language. Both schools and professional science communities practice science, but the beliefs guiding their practices and discourse patterns are significantly different. In schools, students talk about science in order to learn the ready-made science. In professional science communities, scientists use and develop language as tools for constructing scientific knowledge. In order to transform the discourse practice in the mainstream science classrooms as doing science with language, we design the Legends of Alkhimia 3D role-playing game and curriculum.

The Effect of Game Design on Game-Play Time and Learning Outcomes

This paper was presented at the Asian Conference on Society Education and Technology: Learning an... more

Gender differences in patterns of mobile game play

Reconceptualizing Science Classroom Discourse Towards Doing Science Through a Game-Based Learning Program *

US-China education review, 2011

There is a need for schools to engage students in constructing scientific theories like practicin... more There is a need for schools to engage students in constructing scientific theories like practicing scientists in order to excel in the 21st century knowledge economy. An approach to engage students in constructing scientific theories is to enculturate students in doing science with language, which differs from the mainstream classroom discourse-talking about science. In terms of doing science with language, young people use language to produce scientific knowledge like practicing scientists. When it comes to talking about science, students learn to master science knowledge constructed by scientists, eventually leading to a positivist epistemology and consumer identity. In this paper, we conceptualize an approach to design science classroom discourse toward doing science and instantiate the conceptualization with a game-based learning program. The result is eight two-hour sessions chemistry program that is revolved around a six-level role-playing computer game- the ”Legends of Alkhim...

Learning science via a science-in-the-making process: The design of a game-based learning curriculum

This paper was published in the iVERG 2010 Proceedings – International Conference on Immersive Te... more

Designing an E-Learning Curriculum

Handbook of Research on Applied E-Learning in Engineering and Architecture Education

In this chapter, the authors propose to look at the empirical findings that will be useful for in... more In this chapter, the authors propose to look at the empirical findings that will be useful for instructors, who wish to improve their understanding on how to design an e-learning curriculum that will take into account the different learning needs of their engineering students. The studies surveyed in this chapter will focus on gender and game-based learning, which will offer insights as to how to improve the level of participation and learning outcomes for females in male-dominated fields. In particular, the authors will focus on gender issues and how learning in an e-learning curriculum can be designed to engage female students and to improve retention of female students. The authors propose the following change in an engineering e-learning curriculum: mixed-sex groups, use of collaborative activities, blended learning, and communication tools, and mixed-sex curriculum design team.

Developing a Sense of Identity as a Governor Within a Mobile Learning Community

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2015

Using a quasi-experimental design, this paper examines 36 Grade 9 students in a Singapore high sc... more Using a quasi-experimental design, this paper examines 36 Grade 9 students in a Singapore high school developed their sense of identity as a governor within a mobile learning community. In the traditional social studies classroom, students are taught how governors should govern their towns or countries in an ideal situation. Statecraft X, a mobile-phone game-based curriculum supporting the learning of principles of governance, however, allowed students to have a first-hand experience of being a governor within a mobile learning community, to assume the identity of a governor and to communicate with each other as governors. The server-based game design of Statecraft X ensures that there is a common experience within groups of players as well as between groups. It was hypothesized that civic learning mediated through a mobile game would help students develop a stronger sense of identity as a governor than those who learnt in traditional social studies classrooms. The final student assignment of this study was the presentation of a speech, which enacted students’ understanding of principles of governance, based on their game experience, and in-class and outside-classroom activities. Data sources included surveys and written speeches. Analysis of the surveys showed how students developed their identity as governors and adopted civic values. The analysis of the written speeches indicated that students had enacted their sense of identity as governors as shown by their scores in relevance of proposed policies, perspective, and personal voice.

Game Play Time and Learning Outcomes of Boys and Girls in a Social Studies Mobile Game-Based Learning Curriculum

ABSTRACT

Unpacking the design process in design-based research

ABSTRACT

Assessment of Student Outcomes of Mobile Game-Based Learning

ABSTRACT

Learning chemistry through inquiry with the game Legends of Alkhimia: An evaluation of learning outcomes

Traditional modes of chemistry education in schools focus on imparting chemistry knowledge to stu... more Traditional modes of chemistry education in schools focus on imparting chemistry knowledge to students via instruction. Consequently, students often acquire the mistaken understanding that scientific knowledge comprises a fixed body of “proven” facts. They fail to comprehend that the construction of scientific understanding is a very human and social endeavor. To provide students access to an enhanced learning curriculum, “Legends of Alkhimia” was designed and developed as an educational game for 13 to 14-year-olds to foster the learning of chemistry through inquiry. The multiplayer game supports four concurrent players. It is played on personal computers connected via a local area network. The game embeds students in problem solving challenges related to the use of chemistry in realistic contexts. In attempting to solve these problems, students must engage in individual laboratory work using an in-game virtual chemistry lab. The game levels take students through a narrative arc tha...

Issues and Challenges of Enacting Game-Based Learning in Schools

Education Innovation Series, 2015

In this article, we postulate the issues and challenges when we bring game-based learning from an... more In this article, we postulate the issues and challenges when we bring game-based learning from an informal setting to a formal school setting. The understanding will contribute to the design of game-based learning programs in the mainstream classrooms. We highlight the issues and challenges by re-situating a successful game-based learning program designed to foster problem solving and argumentation—Mad City Mystery—from an outdoor learning setting to a school setting. We first delineate the conditions and mechanisms through which Mad City Mystery was made possible as a plausible twenty-first-century learning experience. Through the analysis, we unpack the enablers and critical conditions that made Mad City Mystery a plausible twenty-first-century learning experience. From there, we examine the plausibility and applicability of these critical conditions in the classroom context. In conclusion, we articulate eight critical challenges/enablers that sustain game-based learning programs like Mad City Mystery in the classroom. Among the challenges, pedagogical, technological, and logistical issues are Grade Two challenges—issues that can be solved when research and financial resources are in place and are more likely to be solved. Curricular, performative, social, and temporal issues are Grade One challenges—which are more resilient to changes even when external resources pour in.

Learning as Becoming

Discoveries in Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations

In this chapter, we share a model of game-based learning for use in the context of classroom lear... more In this chapter, we share a model of game-based learning for use in the context of classroom learning in school. The model is based on the dialectic interaction between game play and dialogic engagement with peers and teacher on one hand and a developmental trajectory of competence-through-performance on the other. It is instantiated in the context of a learning program related to citizenship education using the computer game Space Station Leonis. We argue for the importance of values in all learning, based upon a theory of becoming citizens that is founded on process philosophy. We relate values to dispositions as articulated manifestations of values and describe how the Leonis learning program helps to achieve dispositional shifts befitting citizenship education in a globalized and multi-cultural world.

Learning Chemistry Performatively: Epistemological and Pedagogical Bases of Design-for-Learning with Computer and Video Games

Issues and Challenges in Science Education Research, 2012

Typical textbooks in chemistry present the field as a fait accompli represented by a body of “pro... more Typical textbooks in chemistry present the field as a fait accompli represented by a body of “proven” facts. In the teaching and learning of chemistry, students have little, if any, agency to engage in scientific inquiry and to construct their personal understanding of the field. An emphasis on predetermined “knowledge” and the execution of laboratory experiments designed mainly to confirm predetermined “findings” can lead students to a grave misunderstanding of the nature of science. In this chapter, we argue that the learning of chemistry must be engaged in performatively if it is to be authentic. Using the multiplayer chemistry game “Legends of Alkhimia” as a context, we articulate the epistemological and pedagogical bases for the design of a game-based learning curriculum to help students imbibe the thinking, values, and dispositions of professional chemists. Drawing on Bourdieu’s construct of habitus, we seek to foster students’ capacity for practical reason as they become themselves via engagement in the scientific and inquiry-oriented practice of doing chemistry, rather than just learning about it. We explain how our design-for-learning seeks to develop epistemic reflexivity and professional identity, in relation to professional chemists, through performance, play, and dialog.

The Role of Gender in Mobile Game-Based Learning

International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 2011

This paper investigates whether there are gender differences in gameplay time and learning outcom... more This paper investigates whether there are gender differences in gameplay time and learning outcomes in a social studies mobile game-based curriculum. Seventeen boys and 24 girls from a ninth-grade class in Singapore used a mobile learning game Statecraft X to enact governorship in the game world. The data suggest that boys spent significantly more time playing Statecraft X than girls. However, there were no significant gender differences in their scores in an essay question assessing their learning about governorship in terms of criteria of relevance of content, perspective, and personal voice. There was also no significant correlation between gameplay time and relevance of content, perspective, and personal voice scores. Thus, higher engagement in gameplay alone does not necessarily lead to higher-order learning outcomes. This paper discusses the factors giving rise to these results.

Learning to Become Citizens by Enacting Governorship in the Statecraft Curriculum

International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations, 2011

Citizenship education is important in developing nations, where establishing a vital sense of sta... more Citizenship education is important in developing nations, where establishing a vital sense of statehood, belonging, and common purpose amongst citizens presents political leaders with significant challenges. This paper examines the enactment of an innovative citizenship education learning program based on the Statecraft X curriculum. The authors hold that it is essential for student learning to be engaged in and studied performatively, in the everyday context of students’ situated action and participation in discursive practices. Consequently, the curriculum involves school students using a 24/7 mobile learning game played on Apple iPhones—Statecraft X—to enact governorship in the game world Velar. In addition, students construct their ideal, but fictional, world Bellalonia via the “play of imagination” as part of a Play-between-Worlds curriculum model. Empirical findings show that (a) dispositional shifts on several values and beliefs related to governance and citizenship were sign...

Becoming Citizens Through Game-Based Learning

International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations, 2009

In this article, we share a model of game-based learning for use in the context of classroom lear... more In this article, we share a model of game-based learning for use in the context of classroom learning in school. The model is based on the dialectic interaction between game play and dialogic engagement with peers and teacher on one hand and a developmental trajectory of competence-through-performance on the other. It is instantiated in the context of a learning program related to citizenship education using the computer game Space Station Leonis. We argue for the importance of values in all learning, based upon a theory of becoming citizens that is founded on process philosophy. We relate values to dispositions, as articulated manifestations of values, and describe how the Leonis learning program helps to achieve dispositional shifts befitting citizenship education in a globalized and multi-cultural world.

Spatializing Social Practices in Mobile Game-Based Learning

2010 10th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, 2010

The objectives of this paper are to explore the characteristics of patterns of participation in s... more The objectives of this paper are to explore the characteristics of patterns of participation in social and gameplay spaces outside the classroom of 10 fifteen-year-olds engaging in mobile game-based learning, and to determine whether there are gender differences in their use of social and game-play spaces. The data indicate some evidence of gender differences in their use. The boys in the study tended to engage in mobile game-based learning more than girls in game-play spaces. The girls tended to use the social space more than the boys and were especially more active in their use of the ingame chat system.

Learning chemistry with ―Legends of Alkhimia‖ Learning Chemistry with the game “Legends of Alkhimia”: Pedagogical and Epistemic Bases of Design-for-Learning and the Challenges of Boundary Crossing

epistemic bases of design-for-learning and the challenges of boundary crossing

Learning chemistry with the game “Legends of Alkhimia”: Pedagogical and epistemic bases of design-for-learning and the challenges of boundary crossing

Typical textbooks in Chemistry present the field as a fait accompli represented by a body of ―pro... more Typical textbooks in Chemistry present the field as a fait accompli represented by a body of ―proven‖ facts. In the teaching and learning of Chemistry, students have little, if any, agency to engage in scientific inquiry and to construct their personal understanding of the field. An emphasis on pre-determined ―knowledge‖ and the execution of laboratory experiments designed mainly to confirm pre-determined ―findings‖ can lead students to a grave misunderstanding of the nature of science. In this paper, we report on ongoing work to design a learning environment for learning chemistry that addresses the concerns raised above. Pitched at the lower secondary school level, our game-based learning innovation, using the multiplayer game ―Legends of Alkhimia‖, is directed at helping students learn to imbibe the values and dispositions of professional chemists and also to think like them. Drawing on Bourdieu‘s construct of habitus, we seek to foster students‘ capacity for practical reason as ...

Changing Science Classroom Discourse toward Doing Science: The Design of a Game-based Learning Curriculum

This paper presents a game-based learning program designed to foster classroom discourse toward d... more This paper presents a game-based learning program designed to foster classroom discourse toward doing science with language. Both schools and professional science communities practice science, but the beliefs guiding their practices and discourse patterns are significantly different. In schools, students talk about science in order to learn the ready-made science. In professional science communities, scientists use and develop language as tools for constructing scientific knowledge. In order to transform the discourse practice in the mainstream science classrooms as doing science with language, we design the Legends of Alkhimia 3D role-playing game and curriculum.

The Effect of Game Design on Game-Play Time and Learning Outcomes

This paper was presented at the Asian Conference on Society Education and Technology: Learning an... more

Gender differences in patterns of mobile game play

Reconceptualizing Science Classroom Discourse Towards Doing Science Through a Game-Based Learning Program *

US-China education review, 2011

There is a need for schools to engage students in constructing scientific theories like practicin... more There is a need for schools to engage students in constructing scientific theories like practicing scientists in order to excel in the 21st century knowledge economy. An approach to engage students in constructing scientific theories is to enculturate students in doing science with language, which differs from the mainstream classroom discourse-talking about science. In terms of doing science with language, young people use language to produce scientific knowledge like practicing scientists. When it comes to talking about science, students learn to master science knowledge constructed by scientists, eventually leading to a positivist epistemology and consumer identity. In this paper, we conceptualize an approach to design science classroom discourse toward doing science and instantiate the conceptualization with a game-based learning program. The result is eight two-hour sessions chemistry program that is revolved around a six-level role-playing computer game- the ”Legends of Alkhim...

Learning science via a science-in-the-making process: The design of a game-based learning curriculum

This paper was published in the iVERG 2010 Proceedings – International Conference on Immersive Te... more

Designing an E-Learning Curriculum

Handbook of Research on Applied E-Learning in Engineering and Architecture Education

In this chapter, the authors propose to look at the empirical findings that will be useful for in... more In this chapter, the authors propose to look at the empirical findings that will be useful for instructors, who wish to improve their understanding on how to design an e-learning curriculum that will take into account the different learning needs of their engineering students. The studies surveyed in this chapter will focus on gender and game-based learning, which will offer insights as to how to improve the level of participation and learning outcomes for females in male-dominated fields. In particular, the authors will focus on gender issues and how learning in an e-learning curriculum can be designed to engage female students and to improve retention of female students. The authors propose the following change in an engineering e-learning curriculum: mixed-sex groups, use of collaborative activities, blended learning, and communication tools, and mixed-sex curriculum design team.

Developing a Sense of Identity as a Governor Within a Mobile Learning Community

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2015

Using a quasi-experimental design, this paper examines 36 Grade 9 students in a Singapore high sc... more Using a quasi-experimental design, this paper examines 36 Grade 9 students in a Singapore high school developed their sense of identity as a governor within a mobile learning community. In the traditional social studies classroom, students are taught how governors should govern their towns or countries in an ideal situation. Statecraft X, a mobile-phone game-based curriculum supporting the learning of principles of governance, however, allowed students to have a first-hand experience of being a governor within a mobile learning community, to assume the identity of a governor and to communicate with each other as governors. The server-based game design of Statecraft X ensures that there is a common experience within groups of players as well as between groups. It was hypothesized that civic learning mediated through a mobile game would help students develop a stronger sense of identity as a governor than those who learnt in traditional social studies classrooms. The final student assignment of this study was the presentation of a speech, which enacted students’ understanding of principles of governance, based on their game experience, and in-class and outside-classroom activities. Data sources included surveys and written speeches. Analysis of the surveys showed how students developed their identity as governors and adopted civic values. The analysis of the written speeches indicated that students had enacted their sense of identity as governors as shown by their scores in relevance of proposed policies, perspective, and personal voice.

Game Play Time and Learning Outcomes of Boys and Girls in a Social Studies Mobile Game-Based Learning Curriculum

ABSTRACT

Unpacking the design process in design-based research

ABSTRACT

Assessment of Student Outcomes of Mobile Game-Based Learning

ABSTRACT

Learning chemistry through inquiry with the game Legends of Alkhimia: An evaluation of learning outcomes

Traditional modes of chemistry education in schools focus on imparting chemistry knowledge to stu... more Traditional modes of chemistry education in schools focus on imparting chemistry knowledge to students via instruction. Consequently, students often acquire the mistaken understanding that scientific knowledge comprises a fixed body of “proven” facts. They fail to comprehend that the construction of scientific understanding is a very human and social endeavor. To provide students access to an enhanced learning curriculum, “Legends of Alkhimia” was designed and developed as an educational game for 13 to 14-year-olds to foster the learning of chemistry through inquiry. The multiplayer game supports four concurrent players. It is played on personal computers connected via a local area network. The game embeds students in problem solving challenges related to the use of chemistry in realistic contexts. In attempting to solve these problems, students must engage in individual laboratory work using an in-game virtual chemistry lab. The game levels take students through a narrative arc tha...

Issues and Challenges of Enacting Game-Based Learning in Schools

Education Innovation Series, 2015

In this article, we postulate the issues and challenges when we bring game-based learning from an... more In this article, we postulate the issues and challenges when we bring game-based learning from an informal setting to a formal school setting. The understanding will contribute to the design of game-based learning programs in the mainstream classrooms. We highlight the issues and challenges by re-situating a successful game-based learning program designed to foster problem solving and argumentation—Mad City Mystery—from an outdoor learning setting to a school setting. We first delineate the conditions and mechanisms through which Mad City Mystery was made possible as a plausible twenty-first-century learning experience. Through the analysis, we unpack the enablers and critical conditions that made Mad City Mystery a plausible twenty-first-century learning experience. From there, we examine the plausibility and applicability of these critical conditions in the classroom context. In conclusion, we articulate eight critical challenges/enablers that sustain game-based learning programs like Mad City Mystery in the classroom. Among the challenges, pedagogical, technological, and logistical issues are Grade Two challenges—issues that can be solved when research and financial resources are in place and are more likely to be solved. Curricular, performative, social, and temporal issues are Grade One challenges—which are more resilient to changes even when external resources pour in.

Learning as Becoming

Discoveries in Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations

In this chapter, we share a model of game-based learning for use in the context of classroom lear... more In this chapter, we share a model of game-based learning for use in the context of classroom learning in school. The model is based on the dialectic interaction between game play and dialogic engagement with peers and teacher on one hand and a developmental trajectory of competence-through-performance on the other. It is instantiated in the context of a learning program related to citizenship education using the computer game Space Station Leonis. We argue for the importance of values in all learning, based upon a theory of becoming citizens that is founded on process philosophy. We relate values to dispositions as articulated manifestations of values and describe how the Leonis learning program helps to achieve dispositional shifts befitting citizenship education in a globalized and multi-cultural world.

Learning Chemistry Performatively: Epistemological and Pedagogical Bases of Design-for-Learning with Computer and Video Games

Issues and Challenges in Science Education Research, 2012

Typical textbooks in chemistry present the field as a fait accompli represented by a body of “pro... more Typical textbooks in chemistry present the field as a fait accompli represented by a body of “proven” facts. In the teaching and learning of chemistry, students have little, if any, agency to engage in scientific inquiry and to construct their personal understanding of the field. An emphasis on predetermined “knowledge” and the execution of laboratory experiments designed mainly to confirm predetermined “findings” can lead students to a grave misunderstanding of the nature of science. In this chapter, we argue that the learning of chemistry must be engaged in performatively if it is to be authentic. Using the multiplayer chemistry game “Legends of Alkhimia” as a context, we articulate the epistemological and pedagogical bases for the design of a game-based learning curriculum to help students imbibe the thinking, values, and dispositions of professional chemists. Drawing on Bourdieu’s construct of habitus, we seek to foster students’ capacity for practical reason as they become themselves via engagement in the scientific and inquiry-oriented practice of doing chemistry, rather than just learning about it. We explain how our design-for-learning seeks to develop epistemic reflexivity and professional identity, in relation to professional chemists, through performance, play, and dialog.

The Role of Gender in Mobile Game-Based Learning

International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 2011

This paper investigates whether there are gender differences in gameplay time and learning outcom... more This paper investigates whether there are gender differences in gameplay time and learning outcomes in a social studies mobile game-based curriculum. Seventeen boys and 24 girls from a ninth-grade class in Singapore used a mobile learning game Statecraft X to enact governorship in the game world. The data suggest that boys spent significantly more time playing Statecraft X than girls. However, there were no significant gender differences in their scores in an essay question assessing their learning about governorship in terms of criteria of relevance of content, perspective, and personal voice. There was also no significant correlation between gameplay time and relevance of content, perspective, and personal voice scores. Thus, higher engagement in gameplay alone does not necessarily lead to higher-order learning outcomes. This paper discusses the factors giving rise to these results.

Learning to Become Citizens by Enacting Governorship in the Statecraft Curriculum

International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations, 2011

Citizenship education is important in developing nations, where establishing a vital sense of sta... more Citizenship education is important in developing nations, where establishing a vital sense of statehood, belonging, and common purpose amongst citizens presents political leaders with significant challenges. This paper examines the enactment of an innovative citizenship education learning program based on the Statecraft X curriculum. The authors hold that it is essential for student learning to be engaged in and studied performatively, in the everyday context of students’ situated action and participation in discursive practices. Consequently, the curriculum involves school students using a 24/7 mobile learning game played on Apple iPhones—Statecraft X—to enact governorship in the game world Velar. In addition, students construct their ideal, but fictional, world Bellalonia via the “play of imagination” as part of a Play-between-Worlds curriculum model. Empirical findings show that (a) dispositional shifts on several values and beliefs related to governance and citizenship were sign...

Becoming Citizens Through Game-Based Learning

International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations, 2009

In this article, we share a model of game-based learning for use in the context of classroom lear... more In this article, we share a model of game-based learning for use in the context of classroom learning in school. The model is based on the dialectic interaction between game play and dialogic engagement with peers and teacher on one hand and a developmental trajectory of competence-through-performance on the other. It is instantiated in the context of a learning program related to citizenship education using the computer game Space Station Leonis. We argue for the importance of values in all learning, based upon a theory of becoming citizens that is founded on process philosophy. We relate values to dispositions, as articulated manifestations of values, and describe how the Leonis learning program helps to achieve dispositional shifts befitting citizenship education in a globalized and multi-cultural world.

Spatializing Social Practices in Mobile Game-Based Learning

2010 10th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, 2010

The objectives of this paper are to explore the characteristics of patterns of participation in s... more The objectives of this paper are to explore the characteristics of patterns of participation in social and gameplay spaces outside the classroom of 10 fifteen-year-olds engaging in mobile game-based learning, and to determine whether there are gender differences in their use of social and game-play spaces. The data indicate some evidence of gender differences in their use. The boys in the study tended to engage in mobile game-based learning more than girls in game-play spaces. The girls tended to use the social space more than the boys and were especially more active in their use of the ingame chat system.