Skip to main content

Games in Higher Education

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies

Synonyms

Game-based learning; Learning games; Serious game; Simulation games

Introduction

This entry presents an overview of how and why Learning Games are used in higher education.

Learning Games can be defined as games that are designed to captivate the learners’ attention and facilitate their learning process. They have explicit educational purposes and can be used for teaching at all levels of education. All types of games can be used for learning: board games, card games, role-playing games, first-person shooter games, simulation games, management games, puzzle games, treasure hunts, etc.

The main characteristic of Learning Games for higher education is the fact that they are designed to teach specific complex skills taught at university or during professional training programs. Unfortunately, it is not infrequent to observe strong opposition on the part of this target audience to this mode of learning that these adult students associate with children.

The use of Learning Games in...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aldrich C (2005) Learning by doing: a comprehensive guide to simulations, computer games, and pedagogy in e–learning and other educational experiences. Wiley, San Francisco, 400 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Barot C, Lourdeaux D, Burkhardt J-M, Amokrane K, Lenne D (2013) V3S: a virtual environment for risk-management training based on human-activity models. Presence Teleop Virt 22:1–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruckman A (1999) Can Educational Be Fun? In Proceedings of the Game Developer’s Conference. San Jose, California, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Caillois R (1961) Man, play and games. Free Press. Washington, DC, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Carron T, Marty J-C, Heraud J-M (2008) Teaching with games based learning. Management systems: exploring and observing a pedagogical dungeon. Simul Gaming 39:353–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dondlinger MJ (2007) Educational video game design: a review of the literature. J Appl Educ Technol 4:21–31

    Google Scholar 

  • El-Nasr MS, Smith BK (2006) Learning through game modding. Comput Entertain 4

    Google Scholar 

  • Eyster T (2008) Playing game in class, a beginner’s guide for higher education. Internal report. University of Kaplan, Kaplan

    Google Scholar 

  • Fabricatore C (2000) Learning and videogames: an unexploited synergy. In: Proceedings of the Association for Educational Communications And Technology, AECT, Long Beach

    Google Scholar 

  • Federation of American Scientist (2006) R&D challenges in games for learning. p 17. The Learning Federation. Washingtown DC, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Garris R, Ahlers R, Driskell JE (2002) Games, motivation, and learning: a research and practice model. Simul Gaming 33:441–467

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gené OB, Núñez MM, Blanco ÁF (2014) Gamification in MOOC: challenges, opportunities and proposals for advancing MOOC model. In: Proceedings of the international conference on technological ecosystems for enhancing multiculturality, TEEM. ACM, New York, pp 215–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Habgood MPJ (2007) Zombie division: evaluating principles of intrinsic integration. In: Proceedings of serious games summit, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Huguet L, Sabouret N, Lourdeaux D (2016) Errare Humanum Est: simulation of communication error among a virtual team in crisis situation. In: Proceedings of the international conference on Cognitive Informatics Cognitive Computing, pp 344–350. Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Kafai YB, Franke ML, Shih JC, Ching CC (1998) Game design as an interactive learning environment for fostering students’ and teachers’ mathematical inquiry. Int J Comput Math Learn 3:149–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kamii C, DeVries R (1980) Group games in early education: implications of Piaget’s theory. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Washington, DC, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Karoui A, Marfisi-Schottman I, George S (2017) JEM iNVENTOR: a mobile learning game authoring tool based on a nested design approach. In: Proceedings of the mobile learning European conference, Larnaca

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirriemuir J, Mcfarlane A (2004) Literature review in games and learning. NESTA Futurelab. Washington, DC, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Kücklich J (2005) Precarious playbour: modders and the digital games industry. Fibreculture J 5:FCJ–025

    Google Scholar 

  • Lederman L (1992) Debriefing: toward a systematic assessment of theory and practice. Simul Gaming 23:145–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lenhart A (2015) Teens, social media & technology overview 2015. Pew Research Center. Washington, DC, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Lepper MR, Malone TW (1987) Intrinsic motivation and instructional effectiveness in computer-based education. In: Aptitude, learning and instruction. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, pp 255–286

    Google Scholar 

  • Marfisi-Schottman I, George S, Tarpin-Bernard F (2010) Tools and methods for efficiently designing serious games. In: Proceedings of the European conferences on games based learning, ECGBL, Copenhagen, pp 226–234

    Google Scholar 

  • Marfisi-Schottman I, Vinatier I, Bevacqua E, Kébé M (2018) Enabling teachers to create authentic interview simulations. In: Proceedings of the world conference on educational media and technology, EdMedia, Amsterdam, pp 1506–1511

    Google Scholar 

  • Mariais C, Michau F, Pernin J-P (2012) A description grid to support the design of learning role-play games. Simul Gaming 43:23–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayo MJ (2007) Games for science and engineering education. Commun ACM 50:30–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mehm F, Göbel S, Steinmetz R (2010) User support in digital educational game authoring tools. In: Proceedings of the international ELBa science conference, Stuttgart, pp 202–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Moreno-Ger P, Burgos D, Martínez-Ortiz I, Sierra JL, Fernández-Manjón B (2008) Educational game design for online education. Comput Hum Behav 24:2530–2540

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nacke LE, Bateman C, Mandryk RL (2014) BrainHex: a neurobiological gamer typology survey. Entertain Comput 5:55–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council (2000) How people learn: brain, mind, experience, and school: expanded edition. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Ney M, Balacheff N (2008) Learning aware environment: a Laboratorium of epidemiological studies. In: Proceedings of adaptive hypermedia, Hannover, p 10

    Google Scholar 

  • Padilla Zea N, Medina Medina N, Gutiérrez Vela FL, Paderewski P (2011) A model-based approach to designing educational multiplayer video games. In: Proceedings of technology-enhanced systems and tools for collaborative learning scaffolding. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp 167–191

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ponder M, Herbelin B, Molet T, Schertenlieb S, Ulicny B, Papagiannakis G, Magnenat-Thalmann N, Thalmann D (2003) Immersive VR decision training: telling interactive stories featuring advanced virtual human simulation technologies. In: Proceedings of the workshop on virtual environments, EGVE, New York, pp 97–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Prensky M (2001) Digital natives, digital immigrants. MCB Université Press. Washington, DC, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan RM, Deci EL (2000) Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. Am Psychol 55:68–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez E, Monod-Ansaldi R, Vincent C, Safadi-Katouzian S (2017) A praxeological perspective for the design and implementation of a digital role-play game. Educ Inf Technol 22:2805–2824

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thiagarajan S, Thiagarajan R (2003) Design your own games and activities: Thiagi’s templates for performance improvement. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • van Oostendorp H, van der Spek ED, Linssen JM (2014) Adapting the complexity level of a serious game to the proficiency of players. EAI Endorsed Trans Serious Games 1:1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Vigier M, Bryant M (2009) The astonishment report: a pedagogical tool to assist students in learning from their international experience. Glob Bus Lang 14:41–54

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Iza Marfisi-Schottman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Marfisi-Schottman, I. (2019). Games in Higher Education. In: Tatnall, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60013-0_35-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60013-0_35-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60013-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60013-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Computer SciencesReference Module Computer Science and Engineering

Publish with us

Policies and ethics