Games in Higher Education

Iza Marfisi-Schottman (1, 2)

1 LIUM - Laboratoire d'Informatique de l'Université du Mans
2 IUT de Laval

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… 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 primary school seems natural to teachers and is encouraged by specialists in didactics and neuroscience. This learning technique is much less frequently used in middle school and is almost completely absent from higher education. Yet teachers at all these levels are faced with the same problems, such as lack of motivation and investment, for which games are known to be an effective solution. This entry presents an overview of the games that can be used for higher education and the reasons why some teachers and students still show resistance to this type of learning. The numerous advantages of games for higher education will then be presented, citing games presently used in universities, in graduate schools and for professional training. Finally, this Draft : Marfisi-Schottman I. (2019) Games in Higher Education. In: Tatnall A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies. Springer, Cham entry presents the current research questions that need to be addressed concerning the design of games for higher education and the acceptance of these games by teachers.

Mots clés: Game-based Learning; Serious Game; Learning Games; Simulation Games

Domaines: Environnements Informatiques pour l'Apprentissage Humain; Interface homme-machine [cs.HC]; Synthèse d'image et réalité virtuelle [cs.GR]

Iza Marfisi-Schottman. Games in Higher Education. Springer. Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies, pp.1-9, 2019, 978-3-030-10575-4. ⟨hal-02314679⟩