Abstract
Serious games (SGs) have shown great potential as student-active learning tools in education, as they enable experimentation with practice-related work environments and systems that may otherwise be challenging and/or impractical to facilitate in an educational institution. However, existing instructional design models are limited in use when it comes to how to implement and integrate SGs within the existing curricula. Furthermore, the trainer perspective is often neglected in literature about serious games. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of both students and trainers after the implementation and use of a SG in a master level course in project management (PM). Data was collected using six focus group interviews (FGIs) comprising 38 students. In addition, trainers’ experiences were gathered as written comments to the results from the FGIs. Data was analysed using inductive content analysis. Results identified several issues related to the implementation and use of the SG that can be summarized through the following main- and subthemes; 1) Integration (introduction, facilitation, feedback and debriefing) and 2) Usability and gameplay (user interface design, learnability and use, immersion and satisfaction). Results showed that when adopting an existing SG to a course it enhances the need for a good implementation process, especially when it comes to provision of information, instructions, and feedback from trainers. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to share some of the experiences, issues and important lessons learned from the implementation to inform trainers on what to focus on when considering implementing SGs in their program.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abt, C.C.: Serious Games. University Press of America, London (1987)
Loh, C.S., Sheng, Y., Ifenthaler, D.: Serious games analytics: theoretical framework. In: Loh, C.S., Sheng, Y., Ifenthaler, D. (eds.) Serious Games Analytics. AGL, pp. 3–29. Springer, Cham (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05834-4_1
Whitton, N.: Digital Games and Learning: Research and Theory. Routledge, New York (2014). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203095935
Boyle, E.A., et al.: An update to the systematic literature review of empirical evidence of the impacts and outcomes of computer games and serious games. Comput. Educ. 94, 178–192 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.11.003
Lee, W.L.: Spreadsheet based experiential learning environment for project management. In: Proceedings of the 2011 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC), pp. 3877–3887. IEEE (2011). https://doi.org/10.1109/wsc.2011.6148079
Saenz, M.J., Cano, J.L.: Experiential learning through simulation games: an empirical study. Int. J. Eng. Educ. 25(2), 296 (2009)
Rumeser, D., Emsley, M.: Lessons learned from implementing project management games. Int. J. Ser. Game. 6(1), 71–92 (2019). https://doi.org/10.17083/ijsg.v6i1.130
Lamb, R.L., Annetta, L., Firestone, J., Etopio, E.: A meta-analysis with examination of moderators of student cognition, affect, and learning outcomes while using serious educational games, serious games, and simulations. Comput. Hum. Behav. 80, 158–167 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.040
Breuer, J., Bente, G.: Why so serious? on the relation of serious games and learning. J. Comput. Game Cult. 4(1), 7–24 (2010)
Olsen, T., Procci, K., Bowers, C.: Serious games usability testing: how to ensure proper usability, playability, and effectiveness. In: Marcus, A. (ed.) DUXU 2011. LNCS, vol. 6770, pp. 625–634. Springer, Heidelberg (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21708-1_70
Nielsen Norman Group. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/usability-101-introduction-to-usability/. Accessed 01 Jul 2020
Arnab, S., et al.: Mapping learning and game mechanics for serious games analysis. Br. J. Educ. Technol. 46(2), 391–411 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12113
Marsh, T.: Serious games continuum: between games for purpose and experiential environments for purpose. Entertain. Comput. 2(2), 61–68 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2010.12.004
Kolb, D.A.: Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (1984)
Crookall, D.: Serious games, debriefing, and simulation/gaming as a discipline. Simul. Gaming 41(6), 898–920 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1177/1046878110390784
Becker, K., Parker, J.R.: The Guide to Computer Simulations and Games. Wiley, New York (2011)
Younis, B., Loh, C.S.: Integrating serious games in higher education programs. In: Paper presented at Academic Colloquium 2010: Building Partnership in Teaching Excellence. Ramallah, Palestine (2010)
Giessen, H.W.: Serious games effects: an overview. Proc. Soc. Behav. Sci. 174, 2240–2244 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.881
Becker, K.: Choosing and Using Digital Games in the Classroom - A Practical Guide. Springer, Cham (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12223-6
Snowden, D.J., Boone, M.E.: A leader’s framework for decision making. Harv. Bus. Rev. 85(11), 68 (2007)
Krueger, R.A., Casey, M.A.: Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research, 5th edn. Sage, Los Angeles (2015)
Braun, V., Clarke, V.: Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual. Res. Psychol. 3(2), 77–101 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/integration, last accessed 2020/07/08
Tucker, B.: The flipped classroom. Educ. Next 12(1), 82–83 (2012)
Takeuchi, B.L.M., Vaala, S.: Level Up Learning: A National Survey on Teaching with Digital Games (2014)
Kenny, R., Gunter, G.: Factors affecting adoption of video games in the classroom. Education 66, 11–24. J. Interact. Learn. Res. 22(2), 259–276 (2011)
Bollin, A., Hochmüller, E., Mittermeir, R.T.: Teaching software project management using simulations. In: 2011 24th IEEE-CS Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T), pp. 81–90. IEEE (2011). https://doi.org/10.1109/cseet.2011.5876160
Schön, D.A.: The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. Basic Books, New York (2007). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315237473
Kiili, K.: Digital game-based learning: towards an experiential gaming model. Internet High. Educ. 8(1), 13–24 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2004.12.001
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Bonnier, K.E., Andersen, R., Johnsen, H.M. (2020). Lessons Learned from Implementing a Serious Game in Higher Education – A Student and Trainer Perspective. In: Marfisi-Schottman, I., Bellotti, F., Hamon, L., Klemke, R. (eds) Games and Learning Alliance. GALA 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12517. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63464-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63464-3_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-63463-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-63464-3
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)