Game – Based Learning: Looking Forward

Game-Based learning: A Resource for Educators, Parents, and Students

Due to their nature and the motivation they provide through pleasure, electronic games have been increasingly popular in recent years, especially among children, teenagers, and young people. However, it is true that both parents and children, as well as teachers and students, can have differing opinions on the topic of electronic games due to the fact that they divert so much time from children’s regular activities, are highly engaging, and can even cause addiction if poorly managed. When youngsters play electronic games instead of doing their homework or participating in extracurricular activities, adults are quick to point the finger at the games.

The three main characteristics that characterize electronic games are challenge, curiosity, and imagination, details first suggested by Thomas Malone, Professor of Human Resources at Massachusetts Information Technology, USA in 1980. The design of digital games with sound effects, different figures, and graphics are indeed beautiful elements for young students that raise these characteristics. To what extent, though, does problematic use of computer games exist? Or, can it be used as a good learning tool that combines recreational and engaging elements in the classroom at the same time? How do you feel about the possibility of using video games to teach young children about the value of healthy nutrition, the advantages of regular exercise, and the challenges of fostering positive mental health?

Teaching and the assimilation of social messages are both improved by the use of gamification in the learning process; it can pique the interest of young students, leading to better learning outcomes, and promote knowledge on issues related to physical and mental health, for instance, through the imitation of role models and identification with the heroes of an electronic game. Since this is the case, the multisensory method is intrinsically tied to gamification as a means of education.

Many educational institutions now refer to lessons that include more than one sense as multisensory learning. Learning and memory are both improved by engaging multiple senses at once, and the multisensory method does just that. This might involve any of your senses, from smell and taste to touch and hearing. Therefore, a lesson can be experienced by students in a variety of ways, potentially increasing cognitive stimulation and encouraging greater in-depth subject engagement.

Ultimately, given the importance of a multimodal approach to learning, the diverse stimuli offered by electronic games can play a formative role in the academic, social, and moral formation of children and adolescents.

Therefore, the goal of the project is to develop games that teach young kids about the need of self-care, personal hygiene, and the avoidance of harmful habits to their physical and mental health, laying the groundwork for a lifetime of mental fortitude from an early age. In addition, the young and, at the same time, sensitive population of children and teenagers can benefit from the sensitization and mobilization of parents and the educational community towards a creative and alternative field of learning experience through gamification with an educational character. Recent studies have shown that satisfying a player’s psychological and social requirements through play makes for a more enjoyable experience. Evidence for gamification’s effectiveness in modifying lifestyle behaviors like eating and exercising is stronger than that for its use in improving cognitive abilities, likely because of the intrinsic motivational value of these tasks.

As standard technology evolves at a dizzying pace, the Health Industry and New Technologies sector of gamification as a tool to enhance nutrition and personal psycho-emotional development of children and adolescents is undeniably promising (e.g., Internet of Things).

So stay tuned so we can discover together this wonderful world of educational experience!

Members of the I-Learn4Health Group