Running head: PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE OF DIGITAL LEARNING 1

Parental Acceptance of Digital Game-Based Learning

Paper 1 Critical Analysis
Michelle K. Stuyt
California State University Monterey Bay






IST520 Learning Theories
Professor Nancy G. Lockwood
March 5, 2014
PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE OF DIGITAL LEARNING 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 3
Type of Study .............................................................................................................................. 3
Purpose of Study ......................................................................................................................... 3
Hypothesis Stated and Clear ....................................................................................................... 3
Bias Expressed ............................................................................................................................ 4
Importance to Study .................................................................................................................... 4
RESEARCH PROCEDURES (METHODS) .................................................................................. 5
Procedure Used ........................................................................................................................... 5
Participants for Study .................................................................................................................. 5
Validity and Reliability ............................................................................................................... 5
Replication of Research .............................................................................................................. 6
RESEARCH RESULTS ................................................................................................................. 6
Techniques Used ......................................................................................................................... 6
Data Emerged .............................................................................................................................. 7
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS ........................................................................................................ 7
Results and Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 7
Explanations of Findings ............................................................................................................. 8
Reasonable Implications ............................................................................................................. 8
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................... 8
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 10


PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE OF DIGITAL LEARNING 3
INTRODUCTION
Type of Study
The type of study in this research article is a simple experimental study. Prior to this
article, the majority of the video game execution studies were based on the two key players in the
integration process which included both the teacher and student. Today however, parents play
an important role in the school system. Their involvement ranges from taking on the role of a
mere communicative bridge between the school and home environment, over decision making as
members of the board of governors, to occasional partnership in the implementation of
instructional processes (Bourgonjon, de Wever, Schellens, Soetaert, & Valcke, 2011).
Purpose of Study
The authors had stated the main objective of the article was to distinguish between three
approaches for integrating games into the learning process: have students build games from
scratch; have educators and/or developers build educational games from scratch to teach
students; and integrate commercial off-the-shelf games into the classroom. However, due to the
variety of factors which underlie these conflicting ideas, Researchers were starting to focus on
the different barriers that hinder the straightforward adoption of video games in education
(Bourgonjon, de Wever, Schellens, Soetaert, & Valcke, 2011).
Hypothesis Stated and Clear
The hypotheses are stated, clear, and specific. There were several hypotheses presented
which are all depicted in the image below. The hypotheses related to various topics including
learning opportunities, negative effects of playing video games, subjective norm, experience,
personal innovativeness in the domain of information technology, and gender.
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Bias Expressed
In the article, the researchers do lean toward having a positive bias to digital learning via
video games in learning. These biases can be supported by sentences such as: The main quality
of video games is that they foster opportunities for learning; Researchers do not agree about
the aggressive behavior hypothesis; and Students show more positive attitudes toward
computers and report less problems when using IT (Bourgonjon, de Wever, Schellens, Soetaert,
& Valcke, 2011). The observation that the authors incorporate these thoughts without having
the supportive research to justify their positions make the authors appear to be slightly biased.
Importance to Study
The researchers of this study did make a convincing case, primarily through the
compelling arguments of other researchers cited in their work. The additional studies included
statistics, generalized observations, evidence, and explanations which all serve as important
resources to the study of parental acceptance of digital game-based learning.


PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE OF DIGITAL LEARNING 5
RESEARCH PROCEDURES (METHODS)
Procedure Used
This research topic comprised of the data collected from 858 parents of secondary school
students who volunteered to speak on behalf of their educational beliefs (Bourgonjon, de Wever,
Schellens, Soetaert, & Valcke, 2011). The data from these parents was gathered through a
survey. The survey contained questions focusing on their demographics as well as the scales
measuring the variables in the research model. Respondents were invited to rate their agreement
with a statement in each item on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 Strongly disagree to
5 Strongly agree (Bourgonjon, de Wever, Schellens, Soetaert, & Valcke, 2011).
Participants for Study
The purpose of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of digital game-based learning,
but more specifically, whether or not parents support this method. Having that said, the adult
participants, all whom were parents, were appropriate for the purpose of the study. The research
article explained that of the 858 volunteer participants, more than 95.3% of the parents held a
diploma equal to or higher than secondary education. The education level is important to this
study primarily because the article is discussing the effectiveness of learning (Bourgonjon, de
Wever, Schellens, Soetaert, & Valcke, 2011).
Validity and Reliability
The validity and reliability of the article are supported through the measurements of the
study. The participants involved show to be a diverse population which makes the results
applicable to a wider population. Furthermore, there were over 108 articles that had been cited.
Finally, there were 21 editorial advisors, three standard editors and three founding editors of the
PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE OF DIGITAL LEARNING 6
Computer and Education journal (Elsevier, 2012). All of the above elements enhance the quality
and credibility of the article.
Replication of Research
Although this article was written and produced in 2011, which is fairly recent, I
absolutely think this experiment should be replicated using the procedures already described in
this article. First and foremost, it is always useful to update the data and statistics in the article.
Additionally, digital learning is becoming more popular as time progresses. Last week in this
course, as students, we were required to report on our thoughts and perceptions of video game-
based learning. The various responses and preferences were completely scattered. My only
recommendation for change would be to get a larger inventory of responses. It would be
interesting to replicate this data utilizing a wider and more diverse population to see how those
perceptions have skewed over the past three years.
RESEARCH RESULTS
Techniques Used
The preliminary analyses pointed out that the instruments used are both valid and
reliable. With this, structural equation modeling in AMOS 17 was conducted to manipulate the
data. Then, a graphical representation of the model, including the path coefficients and
percentage of explained variance was depicted (Bourgonjon, de Wever, Schellens, Soetaert, &
Valcke, 2011).
PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE OF DIGITAL LEARNING 7
Data Emerged
The article uses a statistical data table to showcase the various results. The table aligned
appropriately with the hypothesis and all results were recorded in one table. The authors then
manipulated the data using both male and female criterion fields and categorized the results in an
additional table. The results from both tables showed to be remarkable. The beliefs of mothers
and fathers only differ from one another in relation to the level of innovativeness and their
experience with video games. No significant differences are found in their beliefs about the
effects of video games (Bourgonjon, de Wever, Schellens, Soetaert, & Valcke, 2011).
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
Results and Conclusion
The results of the study slightly differed from the initial bias which was present. Early in
the article, it was perceived that the researchers leaned toward having a positive bias to digital
learning via video games in learning; however, the results implied that a little over half were in
agreement with this initial perception. Collectively, it appears that parents believe that there is
some truth in the many media messages about the potential danger of gaming. However, parents
feel displeased with the content of certain video games, rather than with the potential negative
outcome (Bourgonjon, de Wever, Schellens, Soetaert, & Valcke, 2011). The researchers had
the opportunity to defend the results because, as a whole, a minority of the parents has
experience with playing video games. The instruction given to the parents when filling in the
survey was to think of video games in general. It is therefore possible that parents mainly
thought about video games that received a lot of media attention, such as video games with a
deviating content. The authors stated it would be interesting to conduct a follow up survey
PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE OF DIGITAL LEARNING 8
to consider the potential effect of motion sensor based gaming. An emphasis would be placed on
the evaluation of Wii, Kinect, and Nintendo. Nonetheless, in the article the researchers explained
in great depth the interpretation of the results as well as their perceptions to help users
manipulate the data and gain a deeper understating of the results beyond the numerical figures.
Explanations of Findings
The model helped to test 12 hypotheses about the interrelation between gender, personal
innovativeness in the domain of information technology, game experience, negative effects,
learning opportunities, and subjective norm. Although each of the sections was not individually
evaluated, collectively, it appears that the common belief that negative media messages hinder
the acceptance of digital game-based learning holds true. The model showed that parents are not
indifferent to what other people think about gaming. Their perception about the learning
opportunities offered by video games is strongly affected by what others give as advice.
Reasonable Implications
The last section of the article stated that this research was found to be reliable and valid
for explaining parental beliefs about games and digital game-based learning. The model
explained 59% of the variance in parental preference for video games (Bourgonjon, de Wever,
Schellens, Soetaert, & Valcke, 2011).
CONCLUSION
This article of the study of parental acceptance of digital game-based learning is a reliable
description of the 2011 experiment. The article explored numerous areas of the topic and noted
several valuable observations which enhance the overall credibility. This article could be utilized
PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE OF DIGITAL LEARNING 9
for future educators and researchers if they may ever be faced with opportunity to introduce a
new method to teach material to different populations.

PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE OF DIGITAL LEARNING 10
REFERENCES
Bourgonjon, J , de Wever, B., Schellens, T., Soetaert, R., & Valcke, M. (2011). Parental
acceptance of digital game-based learning. Computers & Education, 57(1), 1434-1444.
Retrieved on March 4, 2014 from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036013151100008X
Elsevier. (2012, March 02). Computers & Education. Retrieved on March 4, 2014 from
http://www.journals.elsevier.com/computers-and-education/editorial-board/