Digital Games in Education: The Design of Games-Based Learning Environments

Source: Journal of Research on Technology in Education, Volume 40 Number 1  Fall 2007, p. 23-38.

In recent years, electronic games have assumed an important place in the lives of children and adolescents. Children acquire digital literacy informally, through play, and neither schools nor other educational institutions take sufficient account of this important aspect.

We consider that multimedia design for training and education should combine the most powerful features of interactive multimedia design with the most effective principles of technologically-mediated learning.

An examination of the evolution of the design of videogames is a good way to analyze the main contributions and characteristics of games-based learning environments. At the same time, we will discuss the main obstacles and challenges to the use of games for learning.