Involving students in the creation of their own games about a theme may enhance the interest toward the addressed topic, a sense of ownership and a better understanding of the value of what is learned. This paper presents the application of a Toolkit to Game Design in two Game Creation sessions with upper-secondary students. The Toolkit was developed in the context of the Gamers4Nature project and includes resources and tools designed to enhance the active participation of the youngest audience in game creation activities, while promoting environmental preservation and biodiversity conservation. The Toolkit to Game Design was used in two Game Design sessions organized with upper-secondary students (n=28). By using the Toolkit, 10 functional prototypes of digital games were created. Students enhanced the Toolkit’s ease of use, mentioned that it was an engaging approach to game creation and that its use promoted a more active way to addressed the educational content and the programming activity. Preliminary results indicate that the Toolkit can be seen as an engaging approach to game creation, able to be adopted in different upper-secondary and higher education disciplines and fields.

This paper, reporting on research at an early stage, aims to analyse the impact of badges when used in conjunction with an introductory tutorial that aims to help users getting to know its most important areas and functionalities. With that in mind, a test session was designed, asking learners new to SAPO Campus platform (an institutionally supported social Web platform), to complete a tutorial, discovering the existence of badges and how they could be earned and associated with their profile page, visible to the community. Learners were also asked about the impact of badges on their desire to complete the tutorial, and their general attitude towards being rewarded for completing several actions inside and outside the platform. Preliminary data reveals that learners considered that badges had a significant positive contribute to make them feel more engaged and motivated to complete the tutorial.

The emergence of online environments created a space where individuals can work on the construction and reconstruction of the self. Introducing a case study developed at the University of Aveiro – Portugal, this paper discusses the importance and challenges of building a representation the self in online contexts and addresses the main differences between building the self in physical and online environments. Data were collected through the application of questionnaires, direct observation and in-depth interviews, made to the participants of the study, 13 individuals, convenience sample. From the analysis of the collected data, a framework and a model have emerged: the Online Identity Analysis Model. By applying the model to the information shared by each participant in three online spaces (Facebook, Twitter and SAPO Campus, an institutionally supported platform), two main online identity profiles were outlined: the context-driven online identity profile and the user-driven online identity profile. By presenting the main results of a study focused on the construction of the self in online contexts, this paper should be understood as an approach and/or a starting point for a more wider and profound analysis of the online self and therefore contribute to the understanding of the importance of building a presence over the web, advantages and challenges included.

As technological devices surrounding the television are changing, so are viewers’ habits. When the interactive Television industry turns its focus to the development of second-screen applications, this paper reports on a study aiming to analyse the impact, on users, of notifications in second-screen scenarios. As part of the study, the research team developed a prototype that simulated an application able to deliver synchronized information related with TV content, notifying the user – through visual, audio and haptic stimuli - whenever new content was displayed in the tablet. The study included observation sessions, conducted in laboratory settings, with participants (N=12) being invited to watch a 15-minute film while using the application. Tests were conducted under a cognitive walk-through methodology, and data collected through direct observation and questionnaires. Results show that to achieve a balanced user experience in second-screen scenarios notifications on tablet should be combined with visual notifications on TV

Social media is changing the way individuals collaborate, learn and express themselves, allowing for the construction of an identity and a reputation that encompasses over many other digital spaces. In a context where the online identity of individuals may reveal the sum of their experiences and skills, reflecting the path of their personal, academic and professional lives, this paper introduces a conceptual framework and a model developed to analyse the construction of the self in online environments. The model was used in a research study developed at University of Aveiro, Portugal, aiming to analyse how identity is built and managed in formal and informal digital environments and reveals the existence of two main online identity profiles – context driven and user-driven identity profiles.