Technology-Enhanced Game-Based Approaches in Education: Learning, Emotions, and Motivation

Dear Colleagues,

Building on the growing body of research presented in the previous Special Issue on video games and education (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/mti/special_issues/8F37PJ5A91), this new Special Issue aims to expand the analytical focus toward technology-enhanced game-based and playful learning approaches in educational contexts.

Contemporary educational practice increasingly incorporates playful methodologies grounded in theories of motivation, emotional engagement, and meaningful learning. Digital game-based learning, gamification supported by digital platforms, technology-enhanced educational escape rooms, serious games, simulations, immersive environments (e.g., VR/AR), and other interactive systems involving multimodal technologies have demonstrated significant potential to promote active learning, self-regulation, collaboration, and emotional engagement.

This Special Issue seeks to provide a comprehensive and interdisciplinary forum for empirical research and systematic reviews examining how technologically mediated playful approaches influence learning processes, emotional development, and motivation across educational stages, from early childhood education to higher education, adult education, and lifelong learning. Studies conducted in formal, non-formal, or informal learning contexts are welcomed, provided that they explicitly address the role of technology, interaction, or multimodal systems in the learning experience.

Submissions may employ systematic reviews, quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods designs. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Digital game-based learning and its effects on cognitive, emotional, and motivational outcomes;
• Gamification supported by digital platforms: design, implementation, and evaluation;
• Technology-enhanced educational escape rooms and interactive problem-solving environments;
• Comparative studies between video games and other technology-mediated ludic approaches;
• Teachers’ and students’ perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes toward technology-based playful learning systems;
• The role of emotions, engagement, and flow in digital and multimodal game-based environments;
• Inclusive and accessible technology-supported playful approaches in diverse and special education settings;
• Ethical values, cooperation, and social coexistence fostered through interactive digital games and systems;
• Design-based research and innovative instructional models grounded in playful human–technology interaction.

By explicitly focusing on game-based learning experiences mediated by digital and multimodal technologies, this Special Issue aims to advance theoretical understanding and provide robust empirical evidence to inform educational practice and technological design. Our goal is to bridge research and application, offering insights that support educators, researchers, designers, and policymakers in the effective integration of interactive technologies across the educational lifespan.

We look forward to receiving your contributions to this Special Issue and to continuing the academic dialogue on the transformative potential of multimodal game-based technologies in education.

Best regards,

Dr. Ana Manzano-León
Dr. José M. Rodríguez Ferrer
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 submissions that pass pre-check are 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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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 single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction 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 1800 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.

• educational video games
• serious games
• game-based learning
• motivation in education
• emotional engagement
• ethical values in gaming