Abstract
This paper presents the design of a serious game on the mathematical foundations of computer hardware, namely the binary system. The work builds on previous research efforts targeting gamification of mathematics. The game enables the players to understand the principles behind the positional number systems, transfer their knowledge of the decimal number system to the binary and explore the mechanisms (algorithms) of the four arithmetic operations. It employs a plot and an appropriate representation that promotes creativity and engagement of players. It offers new learning opportunities, when compared with previous work related to game-based teaching of the binary system. The games surveyed mainly focus on the binary representation of numbers without engaging students in active exploration of arithmetic operations in the binary system. The knowledge developed can be transferred to other number systems and in particular to the decimal system, thus contributing to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of number representations and arithmetic.
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Acknowledgments
This research is partially supported by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science under the National Research Programme “Cultural heritage, national memory and development of society” approved by DCM №577/17.08.2018.
The game described in this paper is used within the context of pilot activities organized by the Theatre in Mathematics – TIM project (project number 2018–1-IT02-KA201–048139) funded by the Erasmus+ programme.
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Moumoutzis, N. et al. (2022). The Design of a Serious Game to Enable the Exploration of the Binary System. In: Auer, M.E., Tsiatsos, T. (eds) New Realities, Mobile Systems and Applications. IMCL 2021. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 411. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96296-8_81
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96296-8_81
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