Background and purpose

Pharmacy students often exhibit minimal interest in pharmacy management courses. This pilot study reports on the design and testing of a mobile game application (app) prototype to improve student engagement and learning of financial management concepts.

Educational activity and setting

A mobile app (Planet Finance) was designed to supplement instruction for two key financial management topics. The app was introduced to students in two schools of pharmacy after content on financial management was taught. Students were requested to use the game app for a minimum of two weeks and complete a questionnaire assessing their knowledge of management content and perceptions of the app.

Findings

The overall survey response rate was 41%. The majority of respondents played the game app two to four times (48.3%). Only 13.8% of respondents completed all 10 levels. Participants generally agreed that game instructions were clear, and that the game was easy to navigate, entertaining and made learning fun; allowed more engagement with content; and enhanced financial statements and ratios comfort. Those who played the game app more often had more favorable perceptions. User data from the game app showed that the majority of respondents accessed the game app on not more than two days (89.1%) and played up to four levels (69.6%).

Summary

Overall, students enjoyed playing Planet Finance; however, uptake of the app was low. Future revisions may involve adding additional competitive features, content, levels, incentives, and focusing on strategies to incorporate the game into traditional classroom instruction.

中文翻译：

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一款辅助教学的移动端严肃游戏应用的设计与评估

背景和目的

药学专业的学生通常对药学管理课程兴趣不大。该试点研究报告了移动游戏应用程序 (app) 原型的设计和测试，以提高学生对财务管理概念的参与度和学习率。

教育活动和环境

移动应用程序（Planet Finance）旨在补充两个关键财务管理主题的说明。在教授财务管理内容后，该应用程序被介绍给了两所药学院的学生。学生被要求使用游戏应用程序至少两周，并完成一份问卷，评估他们对管理内容的了解和对应用程序的看法。

发现

总体调查响应率为 41%。大多数受访者玩游戏应用两到四次 (48.3%)。只有 13.8% 的受访者完成了所有 10 个级别。参与者普遍认为游戏指令清晰，游戏易于浏览、娱乐性和学习乐趣；允许更多的内容参与；并增强财务报表和比率的舒适度。那些经常玩游戏应用程序的人有更好的看法。来自游戏应用的用户数据显示，大多数受访者访问游戏应用的时间不超过两天 (89.1%)，最多玩过四个级别 (69.6%)。

概括

总体而言，学生们喜欢玩 Planet Finance；但是，该应用程序的使用率很低。未来的修订可能涉及添加额外的竞争功能、内容、级别、激励措施，并专注于将游戏融入传统课堂教学的策略。