Playing online games on Facebook: The conscious and unconscious learning in database design

This study intends to examine how conscious and unconscious learning in game-based learning (GBL) enhance student's understanding in database design. Conscious learning refers to intentional learning whereas unconscious learning indicates unintentional learning. Using Facebook's online games, this study evaluates the effectiveness of GBL in enabling students to grasp the normalization concept and Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD). Additionally, this study adopts content analysis of the semiotics approach for data analysis. The preliminary findings reveal that unconscious learning encompasses student's realization in that a purportedly simple online game is built on a complex, highly functional database. The preliminary results also uncover that conscious learning constitutes (1) student's cognitive reflection on normalization concepts during database design and (2) a better understanding of ERD resulted from the collaborative effort of database design. Drawing on these findings, this study infers that the aforementioned outcomes of unconscious learning lead to student's appreciation of conscious learning.