Serious Games in Higher Distance Education

Ann Celestini

doi:10.21432/cjlt27965

Authors

Ann Celestini Trent University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21432/cjlt27965

Keywords:

serious gaming, post-secondary, distance education, instructional strategy, educator practice

Abstract

Games have been socially entrenched throughout history as a form of entertainment. Current rapidly changing technological advances have permitted an increasingly prominent means of utilizing these sources of entertainment in an instructional capacity for educational purposes. Serious gaming as a result, focuses on engaging learners in activities which are not solely developed for enjoyment purposes. Goal oriented pursuits based in either an authentic or fictitious scenario can be designed to improve a learner or players motor and cognitive abilities or knowledge (de Freitas & Jarvis, 2006; Lamb et al., 2018; Protopsaltis et al., 2011). Serious gaming promotes intentional, active, and mobile learning that can be successfully used as a supplemental educational tool to facilitate a situated understanding of specific content (Admiral et al., 2011; Gee, 2005). This paper is a brief overview of game-based learning, or serious games, as an innovative instructional strategy in higher distance education.

Author Biography

Ann Celestini, Trent University

Ann Celestini is a lecturer at Trent University and teaches in a variety of theory and clinical courses in the four-year BScN program. Research interests include instructional design, curricular development, and distance learning. Through Athabasca University, Ann is currently completing doctoral studies in education. orchid # 0000-0001-8902-0160

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