Learning about serious game design and development at the K-12 level
International Journal of Information and Learning Technology
ISSN: 2056-4880
Article publication date: 4 May 2021
Issue publication date: 24 June 2021
Abstract
Purpose
Very little effort has been dedicated to the teaching of serious game design and development. At the post-secondary level, very few courses dedicated to serious game design and development exist. At the K-12 level, although (entertainment) game design and programming instruction are becoming more widespread, serious game design and development is ignored. This study aims to present a series of lesson plans that allow K-12 teachers to introduce students to serious game design and development.
Design/methodology/approach
The lesson plans include both a didactic and applied component and are intended to provide students with an introduction to serious games and their design and development while making students aware of the many career paths within this exciting growing domain. They can also be completed entirely remotely lending themselves nicely to online instruction to facilitate the COVID-19 shutdowns and the resulting move to e-learning.
Findings
Although several high-school teachers and several elementary school children were consulted during the development of the lesson plans, the lesson plans have only recently been made available, and therefore, there is a lack of any teacher or student feedback available regarding their use. Informally, several elementary school children found the lessons to be fun, interesting and informative.
Originality/value
There are currently no existing courses or lesson plans focusing on serious game design and development at the K-12 level, thus making this set of lesson plan novel and unique.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The assistance from Jennie Cross (Director of Education, Pinnguaq) is appreciated. The financial support of Pinnguaq (a not-for-profit organization), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in the form of a Discovery Grant to Bill Kapralos is acknowledged.
Citation
Kapralos, B. (2021), "Learning about serious game design and development at the K-12 level", International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 316-327. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJILT-01-2021-0003
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited