Learning by gaming, coding and making with EDUMING: A new approach to utilising atypical digital games for learning

Papert's constructionism makes it clear that learning is particularly effective when learners create tangible artifacts and share and discuss them in social contexts. Technological progress in recent decades has created numerous opportunities for learners to not only passively consume media, but to actively shape it through construction. This article uses the EDUMING concept to present a new method to simplify the development of digital learning games and thus support their integration into learning situations. A key difference between the concept and established ideas such as game-based learning, gamification, serious games, etc. is that games are not closed and are consumed passively, but can also be actively developed by users individually by modifying the source code with the help of an IDE. As part of an empirical study, the usability of the game "Professor Chip's Learning Quest" (PCLQ) is recorded, as well as previous experience with digital learning games and the acceptance and motivation to use new technologies. The purpose of this article is to test the PCLQ digital learning game, developed according to the EDUMING concept, as part of an exploratory study regarding its usability, acceptance and suitability for use in schools. The study is intended as a first empirical approach to practical testing of the concept.