ELLE the EndLess LEarner

ELLE, The EndLess LEarner: An interdisciplinary digital humanities collaboration

ELLE the EndLess LEarner a suite of language learning games for Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), mobile, and PC created in collaboration with faculty and staff members from the Office of Instructional Resources, the Center for Humanities and Digital Research, and Modern Languages, Games and Interactive Media, as well as groups of Computer Science students. Designed with the dual purpose of education and research, each game is linked to a database that stores terms and definitions and allows the player to select the level of difficulty and terms, ideal for a midterm review as well as an isolated research study.
 
See what’s been happening lately and download games at endlesslearner.com!

We were awarded internal Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) funding to add a professionalization pack to the game—Portuguese language students researched job interview questions common to Brazil and Portugal that were then incorporated into the database. Players can then choose to add this group of questions to their game, augmenting language learning with important professionalization skill practice.

This endless-runner-style language learning game sprung up from a Games Research Group meeting where we watched a demo of the endless-runner in Unreal. After our research team received the honor of first runner-up for an internal grant (but no funding), we pitched the idea to a Computer Science Capstone course and got a top-notch group of students to make it a reality.

The first iteration of the project won Best Computer Science Project at the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Fall 2017 Senior Design Showcase!

Capstone project sponsor team:

Computer Science capstone teams

ELLE 1.0:
  • Georg Anemogiannis (BS Computer Science, 2017)
  • Eric Butt (BS Computer Science, 2017)
  • Tyler Chauhan (BS Computer Science, 2017)
  • Megan Chipman (BS Computer Science, 2017)
Art:
  • Christopher Ward (BA, Digital Media-Game Design Track, 2017)
  • Lily (Lark) Nghi (BA, Digital Media, 2018)
  • James Distel (BA, Digital Media, in progress)

ELLE 2.0: as seen at Otronicon 2019and HCII 2019!
  • Mark Behler
  • Phillio Da Silva
  • Ian Holdeman
  • Santiago Perez Arrubla
Boy playing ELLE VR

ELLE Mobile and AR:
  • Christian Acosta – Database Developer
  • Kyle Hendricks – Android Developer
  • James Jachcinski – iOS Developer
  • Mustapha Moore – Website Developer
  • Dominic Rama – Android Developer
Screenshot_20190806-130727_ELLEMobile3D

ellemobileandar

ELLE Ultimate
  • Kalonte Jackson-Tate – Full Stack Developer
  • Eugene Lucino – Website Front End Developer
  • Christopher Rodbourne – Mobile / API Developer
  • Josh Sewnath – Project ELLE Game
  • Patrick Thompson – Project Manager
Vocabulary Art
  • James Distel
  • Jennifer French
  • Tyler Gonzalez
  • Lais Marquez Da Silva
ELLE Speak Your Mind 
ELLE BetterRacer (mobile for android and iOS)
  • Jinyu Pei, BS Computer Science 2020, Game Developer, ELLE for mobile
  • Zach Schickler, BS Computer Science 2020, Game Developer
  • Reinaldo Villasmil, BS Computer Science 2020, Backend/Game Developer
ELLE Card Game (for PC and Mac)
  • Noah Corlew, BS Computer Science 2020, Unity Developer
  • Kalvin Miller, BS Computer Science 2020, Website Developer
  • Michael Santiago, BS Computer Science 2020, Backend Developer
    • ELLEments of Learning (VR)
    • Kaarthik A. Alagappan, Computer Science 2020, Backend Developer & Project Manager, ELLE VR
    • Jonathan Jules, Computer Science 2020, VR Developer, ELLE VR
    • Tiffany Lin, Computer Science 2020, Website Developer, ELLE VR
    • Catalina Morales, Computer Science 2020, VR Developer, ELLE VR
    • Samuel Tungol, Computer Science 2020, Backend Developer, ELLE VR
     
    Research Support: 

    UCF QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan) $3,500 grant to improve game aesthetics, include professionalization module, and implement game into undergraduate Portuguese language courses at UCF.

    Publications & Presentations:
    Journal of Universal Computer Science
    Johnson, E.K., Giroux, A.L., Merritt, D., Vitanova, G., Sousa, S. (2020). Assessing the Impact of Game Modalities in Second Language Acquisition: ELLE the EndLess LEarner. Journal of Universal Computer Science, 26(8), 880-903.

    Johnson, E.K. (2020). ELLE: The EndLess LEarner. UCF AR VR Innovation Discovery Event (AVID). UCF Downtown Campus, February 28, 2020.
     
    Johnson, E.K.(2020). ELLE: The EndLess LEarner. UCF Downtown Maker Space Grand Opening, November 15, 2020.
     
    Johnson, E.K., Merritt, D., and Giroux, A. (2019). Learning Portuguese in VR with ELLE. Human-Computer Interaction International Conference. July 29-31, 2019. Orlando, Florida.
     
    Johnson, E.K. and Giroux, A.L. (2019). Effective ELLE-ments: Learner Preferences in Learning Game Features And Mechanics. Irish Conference on Game-Based Learning. June 26-28, 2019. Cork City, Ireland.
     
    Johnson, E., Giroux, A.L., Merritt, D., Vitanova, G., and Sousa, S. (2018). ELLE the EndLess LEarner: Language Learning Videogame. (O)rlando Elec(tron)ic (I)nteractive Entertainment (Con)vention. January 18-19, 2019. Orlando Science Center, Orlando, Florida. [ELLE 2.0 VR]
     
    Johnson, E., Giroux, A. L., and Merritt, D. (2018). ELLE the EndLess LEarner:
    A Second Language Acquisition Virtual Reality Game. Demonstration. Proceedings from Immersive Learning Research Network Conference, Missoula, Montana, June 24-29, 2018. Graz University of Technology (Austria). [ELLE 1.0 VR]
     
    Merritt, D. F., Johnson, E. K., Giroux, A. L. (2017). ELLE the EndLess LEarner: Exploring Second Language Acquisition Through an Endless Runner-style Video Game. Paper presented by A. Giroux at Digital Humanities 2017 in Montreal, Canada, August 9, 2017. [ELLE 1.0 VR & PC]
     
    Giroux, A.L., Johnson, E.K., Merritt, D., Vitanova, G., Sousa, S. ELLE, The EndLess LEarner Videogame: An interdisciplinary digital humanities collaboration. Presented by all authors at Humanities Arts Science Technology Alliance Consortium (HASTAC), Orlando, Florida, November 2-4, 2017. [ELLE 1.0 VR & PC]

    Anemogiannis, G., Butt, E., Chauhan, T., & Chipman, M. ELLE, The EndLess LEarner Videogame: Language Acquisition Through Interactive Technology. Demonstration at Humanities Arts Science Technology Alliance Consortium (HASTAC), Orlando, Florida, November 2-4, 2017. [ELLE 1.0 VR & PC]

    Anemogiannis, G., Butt, E., Chauhan, T., & Chipman, M. ELLE (EndLess LEarner): Learn a Second Language with Virtual Reality Video Game. Presented at UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science Fall 2017 Senior Design Showcase November 30, 2017. *Awarded Best Computer Science Project [ELLE 1.0 VR & PC]

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