Mobile Study Assistance System "GOPAL"
gOPAL - The study navigator for the first terms at TU Dresden
Simply follow the corresponding link and log on using your ZIH login, register and get started. There are gOPAL courses
- for students of the Faculty of Mathematics
- for students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
- for students of the Faculty of Computer Science
- for English-speaking students of the Faculty of Computer Science
- for students of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering / Information Technology (ET / IT)
- for students of the Faculty of Business and Economics (WiWi)
In gOPAL, students gradually gain important information and tips for their studies in short learning game units.
gOPAL - The interactive guide for the introductory phase
The Mobile Study Assistance System (SAS) project offers an online service for beginners in STEM and teacher training courses. Through gOPAL - the name of the application - new students receive continuously relevant information about the course of study, subject content, study strategies as well as structures and support offers at the TU Dresden during the introductory study phase. The motivational design of the service is achieved through gamification.
Whether at your desk or on the go, with gOPAL new students regularly receive helpful tips and tricks that help them during their early days at university. The topics are tailored to the needs of the departments involved in the pilot project:
- Mathematics
- Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
- Business and Economics
- Teacher Training
- Computer Science
- Mechanical Engineering
Via the teaching and learning platform OPAL, relevant information from the subject areas “Study Aid”, “Campus Information” and “Departmental Knowledge” is provided step by step in short learning game units within subject-specific gOPAL courses.
Structure
In the Study Aid section, students receive general information about studying.
- How do you optimally prepare for courses?
- How do you draft study goals?
- What techniques can you use when reading academic texts?
In the Campus Information section, new students can find out more about services
and processes at the TU Dresden.
- What can you find in the SLUB - besides books?
- How do you register for exams?
- What is the ZIH login useful for?
The Departmental Knowledge section contains information that
helps the beginners to get to know their faculty and study regulations better.
- What is in the examination regulations?
- Which contact persons can help with special questions?
- How can you optimally put together the timetable?
And this is how gOPAL works:
Every month, new stages with short educational game units (“missions”) are published in gOPAL.
During the missions, tasks on study-related topics must be solved in order to unlock both useful information and the knowledge store.
The knowledge store can be expanded with each mission. That's the reward.
The technical basis of gOPAL is the OPAL learning platform. The topics depend on the course of study, i.e. the students receive information they need in their respective study phase.
Background
Gamification
The motivation principle of gamification provides the basis for the design of gOPAL.
Gamification is the use of game design elements in non-game contexts (see Deterding et al., 2011). In general, these are computer game elements such as points, badges or high score lists, which are mainly used in advertising and entertainment as a means of customer loyalty. Increasingly, gamification is also used in the health sector (e.g. bonus programs), environmental protection (e.g. city cycling) or education (e.g. Classcraft). The aim is to increase the motivation to handle unpleasant tasks or the use of certain products or applications, and to induce desired behavior. During the project, different gaming principles and elements are embedded in scenarios to ensure the success of the course, and scientifically examined.
The following gaming principles are used in gOPAL:
- Storytelling, Narrative entry
- Missions, Quests
- Rewards, Achievements
- Visual forms of representation
- Immediate feedback
- Surprise, Curiosity
The vision of the project team is to establish a service concept which:
- Appeals to new students through target group-specific formats (including gamification),
- Provides subject-related information during the course and
- Allows the user to engage in studying at any time by being mobile.
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