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► Journal BrowserSpecial Issue "Digital Game-Based Learning and Gamified Learning: What’s Next?"
A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Technology Enhanced Education".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.
Special Issue Editors
Interests: educational gamification; game-based learning; VR+AR in education; STEM/AI education
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Interests: new media; computer games; game cultures; women players; co-creativity; game artistry; mobile games; pervasive games
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Digital games (hereinafter referred to as “games”) are regarded as an effective tool for promoting students’ learning motivation and engagement, which can lead to better learning achievements (Jong et al., 2008; Shaffer, 2007). The pedagogic strategy of harnessing games in education is commonly termed game-based learning (Gee, 2013; Jong et al., 2013). Instead of the direct adoption of games in the learning process, an alternative way to harness the idea of “educational gaming” is gamified learning. It refers to the pedagogic infusion of game mechanics into the course of learning for motivating and engaging students to achieve intended educational goals (Jong et al., 2018; Kapp, 20012). While both game-based learning and gamified learning are not new research areas in the realm of educational technology, more scholarly efforts are needed to address the problems and limitations regarding their adoption, deployment and sustainability in various educational settings, as highlighted by recent studies (e.g., Jong, 2015, 2016, 2019). Moreover, the field needs new theoretical and practical insights into how to design, implement and evaluate both game-based learning and gamified learning that ride on the recent advancement of technologies such as mixed reality (MR), extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence (AI), etc. (e.g., Bower et al., 2020; Jong et al., 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021; Lan et al., 2018; Lin et al., 2021). This Special Issue solicits high-quality papers that focus on, but are not limited to, the following topics of interest:
- New pedagogical and/or technological perspectives of harnessing game-based learning/gamified learning in early childhood education, K-12 education, and higher education;
- Leveraging advanced learning technologies in educational gamification;
- MR-/ XR-supported game-based learning;
- AI in educational game design;
- Learning analytics in game-based learning/gamified learning;
- Flipped game-based learning/gamified learning;
- Teachers’ facilitation roles in game-based learning/gamified learning;
- Challenges/strategies for introducing game-based learning/gamification in formal schooling contexts;
- Game-based learning/gamified learning in STEM/STEAM education;
- Game-based learning/gamified learning in special education.
References:
Bower, M., & Jong, M. S. Y. (2020). Immersive virtual reality in education. British Journal of Education Technology, 51(6), 1981–1990.
Gee, J. P. (2013). Creating smarter students through digital learning. Palgrave.
Jong, M. S. Y. (2015). Does online game-based learning work in formal education at school? The Curriculum Journal, 26(2), 249–267.
Jong, M. S. Y. (2016). Teachers’ concerns about adopting constructivist online game-based learning in formal curriculum teaching. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(4), 601–617.
Jong, M. S. Y. (2019). Sustaining the adoption of gamified outdoor social enquiry learning in high schools through addressing teachers’ emerging concerns: A three-year study. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(3), 1275–1293.
Jong, M. S. Y., Chan, T., Hue, M. T., & Tam, V. (2018). Gamifying and mobilising social enquiry‐based learning in authentic outdoor environments. Educational Technology & Society, 21(4), 277–292.
Jong, M. S. Y., Chan, T., Tam, V., & Jiang, M. Y. C. (2021). Design-based research on gamified outdoor social enquiry learning with context-aware technology: Integration of teacher facilitation for advancing the pedagogical effectiveness. International Journal of Mobile Learning & Organisation, 15(1), 107–126.
Jong, M. S. Y., Chen, G. W., Tam, V., & Chai, C. S. (2019). Adoption of flipped learning in social humanities education: The FIBER experience in secondary schools. Interactive Learning Environments, 27(8), 1222–1238.
Jong, M. S. Y., Dong, A. M., & Luk, E. T. H. (2017). Design-based research on teacher facilitation practices for serious gaming in formal schooling. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, 12(19), 1–16.
Jong, M. S. Y., Lee, J. H. M., & Shang, J. J. (2013). Educational use of computer game: Where we are and what's next? In R. Huang, Kinshuk, & J. M. Spector, (Eds.), Reshaping learning: Frontiers of learning technology in a global context (pp. 299–320). Springer.
Jong, M. S. Y., Shang, J. J., Lee, F. L., & Lee, J. H. M. (2008). Harnessing games in education. Journal of Distance Education Technologies, 6(1), 1–9.
Jong, M. S. Y., Tsai, C. C., Xie, H., & Wong, F. K. K. (2020). Integrating interactive learner-immersed video-based virtual reality into learning and teaching of physical geography. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(6), 2063–2078.
Kapp, K. M. (2012). The gamification of learning and instruction. Pfeiffer
Lan, Y. J., Botha, A., Shang, J. J., & Jong, M. S. Y. (2018). Technology-enhanced contextual game-based language learning. Educational Technology & Society, 21(3), 86–89.
Lin, P. Y., Chai, C. S., Jong, M. S. Y., Dai, Y., Guo, Y., & Qin, J. (2021). Modeling the structural relationship among primary students’ motivation to learn artificial intelligence. Computers & Education: Artificial Intelligence, 2, 100006.
Shaffer, D. W. (2007). How computer games help children to learn. Palgrave Macmillan.
Prof. Dr. Morris JONG Siu-yung
Prof. Dr. Hanna Elina Wirman
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- game-based learning
- gamified learning
- educational gamification
- education in games
- games in education
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title:Using Serious Game Design and Gameplay to Sensitize Japanese Children on Bullying Victimization
Abstract. Serious games are intended to provide playful learning experiences. In what ways can we use the design and gameplay of a serious game to make moral demands of players and encouraging them to reflect on their negative behavior? The article presents an ethically notable serious game that provided sensitization to the Japanese children (aged 7-12 years) training through both participatory design and gameplay on bullying victimization and resulting child suicides in Japan. The introduction section, after citing the related work, acknowledges the knowledge gaps that exist on both basic and applied research spectrum on Japanese school violence i.e., lack of sensitivity training opportunities through co- design and gameplay to Japanese children on empathy and bullying victimization. Section 2 addresses the need that underpins the interdisciplinary approach taken in the research and consequent choice of methods. It also provides a 4-phase research design and the choice of qualitative research as appropriate methodology for the study. Section 3 discusses the use of both game design and gameplay as an effective bullying prevention strategy, which stem directly from the application of a bottom-up approach, providing new ways of dealing with emotionally sensitive issues. To measure success, we present the results of two participatory design workshops with children (n=60) and a user study (n=20) carried out at Japanese elementary schools. An overview of the data collection methods and the means to analyse data have been provided in the subsections, along with a discussion on key innovations, findings findings and contributions. The participatory design methods were applied including brainstorming (Dindler & Iversen 2007), comic-boarding (Moraveji et al., 2007), Boal’s (1993) Theatre of the Oppressed and Digital Storyboarding (Paracha & Yoshie 2011). Data were obtained through Classroom Discussion Forums (Hall et al., 2006) and analysed through template analysis using NVivo for the purpose of generating game narratives. The outcomes of these participatory design workshops highly contributed to developing a new architectural approach i.e., combining intelligent instructional and narrative layers. The system had the capability to generate and adapt narratives spontaneously in order to produce situations that were tailored to each learner. Ethical dilemmas, Socratic persuasions and intuitive interactions with empathic characters were used to trigger ethical reasoning and reflection in children on bullying victimization. In the user study, direct observations were made through videotaping the upper torso and face of the child using a small digital camera. Logging software was used to capture the child’s interactions with the system. Log file analysis was supplemented with interviews. Satisfaction was measured through the use of focus groups (classroom discussion forums), questionnaires and facial expression analysis. The results established the effectiveness of game-based learning to raise awareness of children on bullying victimization and eventually producing bystander intervention behavior. Children considered the characters’ perspectives, interactivity, realism, and feedback important aspects of the game to enhance their attitudes towards bulling victims and enrich their learning experiences on emotionally-sensitive issues. The paper concludes after describing research limitations and future work in Section 4.
Keywords: Serious Games; Participatory Design; Bullying Sensitization; Social & Emotional Learning