Teaching Service-Oriented Architectures Using a Two-Player Online Game

Teaching Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is crucial, as it imparts foundational knowledge and skills vital for modern software development and system design. SOA principles centre around decomposing a system into modular and loosely-coupled services that can be combined and reused, essential for navigating today’s complex, heterogeneous, and interconnected computing environments. This paper delineates a project-based learning approach to teaching SOA, exemplified through the development of a two-player online game as the foundational project. The course blended traditional lectures and flipped classrooms to ensure a comprehensive understanding and hands-on experience. Various scaffolding techniques, such as subdividing the project into manageable parts and providing illustrative examples, aided students in understanding and time management. The course’s success was primarily evaluated through student perceptions, which were overwhelmingly positive. Students appreciated the structured learning experience and the practical, hands-on approach to understanding SOA, reflecting the effectiveness of the course structure and content.