Protobot: An Educational Game for Algorithmic Thinking

Abstract

Algorithm has been heavily used to provide a comfort life for us: from finding the best route in Google map to biometrics authentication on your phone. The significant of algorithm defines Computational thinking (CT) as one of the 21st Century skills. Although CT has been integrated into the education in the past years, many students still struggle and unable to apply this concept into their lives due to the complication of the topic and limited learning methods provided in school environment. To provide alternative learning approach for algorithmic thinking, we propose a game-base learning system called Protobot. Protobot requires students to apply their CT knowledge, especially the algorithmic thinking to solve problems in the gameplay. The experimental results demonstrate that Protobot fosters the algorithmic thinking skill of the players as well as provides the amusement during the gameplay.