Özgül öğrenme güçlüğü olan çocukların eğitsel alıştırmaları için uyarlanabilir ciddi oyunlar geliştirilmesi

Recent developments in technology and the video game industry enabled video games to play essential roles, especially in education, health, and military services under the umbrella term serious games (SGs). Recent studies show that playing computer games is common among children and teenagers, and SGs ease the learning process by providing immersive and interactive platforms. Recently, SGs have been used as an alternative method in education and diagnosis of children with a specific learning difficulty (SpLD). However, these studies have focused on only one or two types of SpLD at the same time. To analyze a broader range of SpLD, in this thesis, five different SGs were designed and developed in order to be used in the training of children with any SpLD. Usability tests were applied to two different participant groups —10 educators and 25 students with SpLD— while they played the games during which think-aloud protocols were implemented. In the second part of this study, a rule-based adaptive difficulty level enhanced the two of the five games, and these modified games were played and tested by the students. The results show that both participant groups had a positive attitude on using SGs together with a complete training tool for students with any type of SpLD. Also, students performed better when they played the adaptive difficulty levels since the games were adjusted automatically due to their performance.