A Framework for Serious Games in High Education

Abstract

With the ubiquity of technology, we have nowadays, many processes have taken advantage of information technology mechanisms to leverage their outcomes. Education is not an exception. In fact, technology has been playing an increasingly important part in learning experiences. For instance, game elements have been effectively used in educational settings, with very promising results. Hence, we propose a framework for applying game elements in a serious game to be used in higher education settings. It comprises a set of game mechanisms and leverages the importance of a coherent narrative and collaboration. We have deployed this framework in an instance of an engineering course as proof of concept, with promising results. Extensive empirical testing will be conducted, with advanced statistical analysis, to validate our framework. It will then be a tool to be used by educators to enhance learning processes.