AQUAKULTOR: USING MOBILE GAME TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE TERTIARY EDUCATION IN APPLIED AQUACULTURE GENETICS

AquaKultor is a fish-farming simulation game for mobile devices developed by aquaculture researchers, François Allal of IFREMER (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea) and Mathieu Besson of INRA (National Research Institute of Agronomy), in conjunction with TOMAGameStudio. The game was launched in August 2018 and it challenges players to run and manage every dimension of a fish farm.

A team of James Cook University (JCU) educators was awarded an internal Learning and Teaching Grant from JCU to establish the game as an alternative resource in the ‘Aquaculture: Stock Improvement’ subject at Australian and Singapore campuses. The team employed a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework with the aim to provide:

• an equitable educational experience by including subject information in different formats, incorporating game-related activities to help students make the connection between the game and learning outcomes in their course;
• flexible materials, including instruction scaffolds for performing game tasks, an introduction to game mechanics, opportunity for students/players to help each other through discussion, and technical support for students to use their own mobile devices for learning;
• visual and auditory cues to help learners engage with scientific principles in Aquaculture;
• an opportunity to learn from mistakes that would not be possible in the real world;
• learning experience catered for varied skills and ability.

Evaluation of use of the game in teaching demonstrated that it provided important context to students with limited previous exposure to aquaculture. For students with more prior aquaculture knowledge, it placed the application of selective breeding approaches and decision-making in the broader aquaculture business context, and was an important complement to the deep-learning material provided on the stock improvement course. There were some suggestions made to include other aspects of aquaculture, such as the ability to manipulate feed formulations, and a desire to see “more dudes on boats” to convey the practical aspects of sea-pen farming. Overall, the game was well-received by students and they encouraged its continued use in tertiary education.