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Teaching students/library patrons twenty-first century literacies (such as information and library literacies) is important within a library setting. As such, finding an appropriate manner to teach these skills in a practical manner at tertiary level is important. As vehicles for constructivist learning, games provide a unique opportunity to teach these twenty-first century literacies in an engaging, practical, format. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the implementation of an alternate reality game (ARG) to teach these literacies through gameplay.

An ARG was designed and developed where the core gameplay tasks taught and exercised twenty-first century literacies. The game, once completed, was then analysed as a case study to determine the effectiveness of the game-based approach to literacy learning.

Throughout the play of the game, players spent increasingly more time in the library, often using it as a common meeting point during play. Players reported that they learnt or exercised the skills that each game task focussed on, additionally noting that the game-based context made the process of learning and exercising these skills more enjoyable.

The findings suggest that the creation of games, whether real world or digital, may be useful in engaging students/patrons with twenty-first century literacies as well as with their local library. The documentation of a successful ARG to teach twenty-first century literacies provides a model for future research to follow when designing engaging library-oriented games.

The emergence of digital technological advances pushes educators for understanding and utilizing these technologies for classroom use. The current generation of teenagers has grown up in a networked world where everyone is immersed in technology-based gadgets in everyday life. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate video game-based academic and information literacy (IL) learning of teenagers of private schools of Lahore city. Lahore is the capital city of the province of Punjab. Literary works highlighted the importance of video games in developing academic and IL skills; therefore, the current research aims to reveal this fact in local context.

The present study adopted qualitative research design and utilized phenomenological research method to achieve study’s objectives. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews. The study participants were teenagers (aged 13‒19 years) of elite economic class of private schools where students normally owned latest video game gadgets.

Based on the study findings, it is elucidated that playing video games has a positive impact on teenagers’ learning, and it promotes quick thinking. The participants exert effort to achieve goals, take up challenges for completing different points at various stages of games and interact with online competitors. It enhanced their social communication, problem-solving and IL (searching/locating and evaluating) skills.

The present study has some limitations. First, sample is limited to elite economic private schools of Lahore. Second, the lack of availability of regular video game players has limited the sample size, as Pakistan is a developing country and limited numbers of teenagers use and can afford gaming gadgets. Lastly, the results of this study are based on students’ perceptions, so there is a need to measure actual learning with assessments.

The results of the study are beneficial for the game developers, teachers, librarians and parents. The education sector may support video games usability as learning tools.

This paper (published in two consecutive issues of On the Horizon) aims to contextualize research on games for learning by describing the current drivers of innovation in learning technologies situated within broader trends in open educational publishing.

The paper begins with an overview of changes, driven largely by technology in educational technology and publishing. Using massively open online courseware as an example, it describes how these factors are aligning to challenge the status quo. Next, it provides a brief discussion of changes in higher education more generally, including changes in education as a marketplace, reductions to state funding for education and changes in the research enterprise, particularly the rapid growth of the scientific enterprise and leveling off of federal support.

The paper pivots to describe the most recent chapter of over 15 years of work within the Games + Learning + Society (GLS) Center, which has sought to create innovative models of learning, innovative models for funding and conducting research in light of these challenges, and innovative ways of engaging the public.

The assumption driving GLS (and this paper) is that rather than wait for these changes to happen to us, educational technologists can help drive the future by creating it. A good way to get the kinds of learning systems we want is to go about creating them and seeing what works. During this time, GLS developed and released over a dozen game-based learning titles, raised US$10,000,000s in grants and contracts, graduated over 30 doctoral students and post docs, spun out multiple companies, created materials in use by 10,000s (or more) students across the world, and helped build a nascent field of games and learning.

The paper pivots to describe the most recent chapter of over 15 years of work within the GLS Center, which has sought to create innovative models of learning, innovative models for funding and conducting research in light of these challenges and innovative ways of engaging the public.

In this chapter, we discuss initiatives that aim to improve children’s literacy in low- and middle-income (LMI) countries through m-learning. These projects, predominantly introduced by governments and international aid organisations, often involve the provision of e-books and apps including game-based apps, to be used either inside or outside school. In some cases, lesson plans and content for teachers in poorly resourced schools are also delivered via mobile devices. After a general overview, we briefly describe a selection of projects with reference to m-learning and literacy theory and research. It is indicated in this chapter that the use of mobile devices to improve literacy opportunities for children in LMI countries has a great deal of potential but that, in many cases, there are limitations in pedagogical design and implementation practices, not to mention restricted views of what literacy is and might be for children in these locations.

This study aims to investigate gamification-based training program through the lens of self-determination theory and in the context of corporate training programs. It integrates the self-determination theory, game elements and learning outcomes in gamified training programs to derive insights.

Data is sourced from software development companies operating in the city of Bangalore in India. It applies the partial least square structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship between the self-determination learning theory and game elements and the impact it has on learning outcomes.

As a precursor to the development of a game-like learning ecosystem, the authors study the perception of trainers and human resource managers toward game-based training programs in the organization. The authors find that game-based learning makes training more engaging, immersive and contextual for the learners.

The study is based on a specific sector, i.e. software development companies, and so the results may lack in generalizability. Future research, therefore, may consider other industrial sectors such as manufacturing, banking and telecom to understand the relationship between the constructs.

This study provides insights for the trainers, human resource managers and academicians on the effectiveness of gamification-based training programs. It also provides information on how the learning theory can be leveraged to understand gamification-based training programs.

This work fulfills an identified need of the training industry to understand new methods of training with an aim to improve the learning outcomes among the learners.

This study provides a deep understanding on the effectiveness of training tools such as gamified training programs in enhancing and improving the learning outcomes among the learners.

An original concept for a Web‐based role play “SurfingGlobalChange” is proposed on the basis of multi‐year interdisciplinary teaching experience and constructivist pedagogy. Underlying didactic orientation is towards self‐guided learning, acquiring socially compatible “competence to act” in a globalised world, self‐optimising social procedures inside teams, process‐orientation and peer‐review instead of teacher’s review. Participating students find themselves in an argumentative battle where they put their marks at stake. A comparison with similar games highlights the increased level of responsibility attributed to and expected from learners using this kind of “digital game‐based learning”.

During the current global epidemic, e-learning and mobile learning have been rapidly developed in the field of entrepreneurship education. The effect of these learning methods remains to be confirmed. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of mobile business simulation games in entrepreneurship education.

From May 2020 to July 2020, the authors adopted a quasi-experimental design to explore the effect of mobile business simulation games in entrepreneurship education. The authors set up an experimental group to participate in mobile business simulation games, with a total of 105 students, and set up a control group of 100 students. At the beginning and end of the experiment, data on entrepreneurial attitude, self-efficacy, entrepreneurial intention and other related variables were collected. Paired sample T-test and regression analysis were used to analyze the results.

The authors found that mobile business simulation games can improve entrepreneurial attitudes and self-efficacy, but cannot change entrepreneurial intentions. The paired sample T-test in the experimental group showed that the entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial self-efficacy of the participants were significantly improved, but the entrepreneurial intention did not change significantly. The above three variables did not change significantly in the control group. The research results also show that flow experience is very important in mobile business simulation games, which can improve entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial self-efficacy.

The authors’ findings confirm the positive effects of mobile business simulation games in entrepreneurship education, which can improve entrepreneurial attitudes and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. But the disadvantage of mobile business simulation games is that they cannot increase entrepreneurial intention. In addition, the flow experience needs to be valued in mobile business simulation games. The research in this paper has implications for how mobile learning can be used in entrepreneurship education during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, research is of great value on how mobile business simulation games can be improved.

This research case study shares the partnership between librarians and educators to create a live digital literacy experience at The Quest (Camelot Project), a virtual world medieval simulation. The purpose of the partnership was to gain understanding of the learning elements addressed with a group of participants from across the globe, working at various skill levels and interacting with an immersive virtual world simulation.

Using field notes, machinima and interviews (participatory action research), the study identifies learning elements within three contexts: technological, pedagogical and content. Learners cycle toward intended learning outcomes in a virtual-world treasure hunt game from the perspective of both designers and participants.

Findings of the case study illustrate the value of collaboration in a digital game-based learning (DGBL) environment through scaffolding of knowledge and skills in a virtual world. Findings exemplify the experiential learning cycle within a virtual world for constructing learning, and support a proposed new theoretical framework of technology-mediated learning which may help educators in both design and implementation.

As virtual worlds and immersive learning opportunities continue to expand for learners and educators, this study shares the value of experiential learning from the perspective of both the teacher and the learner. Socially constructing knowledge and acquiring skills across distance with a team of librarians and educators are innovative examples of DGBL in an alternative reality setting.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of stereoscopic virtual technology in textile and fashion studies in particular to the area of chemical experiment. The development of a designed virtual platform, called Stereoscopic Chemical Laboratory (SCL), is introduced.

To implement the suggested educational approaches of SCL, a set of teaching and learning materials with emphasis on the application methods was revised from the existing subjects. The architecture of SCL includes building of virtual objects with the Autodesk software Maya and designing of interactivity by using Unity, a game engine system. Prototype version of the SCL has been passed to selected academic colleagues and students for further evaluation and application feedback.

Textile students can conduct laboratory experiments associated with coloration and finishing of textile technologies in a stereoscopic 3D and multisensory laboratory, and hence enhance their learning experience. With the use of SCL, students can learn relevant experiment tools, experimental processes, procedures, and safety and health precautions.

There is very limited educational or training approach in applying stereoscopic virtual reality in teaching activities. In the area of textile experiment, the authors could say it is virtual and does not exist in current research domains.

The purpose of this paper is to present a survey study that analyzes mobile learning through students’ opinion regarding the use of mobile devices for learning, including their advantages and difficulties, as well as the educational value of a specific mobile learning strategy, reified in the EduPARK game, after an experience of exploring it in formal and non-formal educational contexts.

This paper comprises a survey study where mobile learning is analyzed through the eyes of 244 students attending the second or third cycles of basic education. The acknowledged advantages and difficulties of the use of mobile devices for learning, as well as the educational value and usability of a specific mobile learning strategy, using the EduPARK app and game, were analyzed.

Results revealed that most students owned a mobile device and were able to use them to learn. They had a positive perspective regarding mobile learning and valued the advantages of being easy to find up-to-date information, motivating for learning and easy to carry along. Difficulties are related to the use of mobile devices, such as requiring an internet connection, its slowness and prohibition of mobile devices in schools. The EduPARK game achieved an average educational value scale of 83.8 and an average system usability scale of 80.2, indicating its high educational value and usability for students.

This paper presents empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of the integration of mobile game-based augmented reality approaches in basic education to promote students’ learning. It also includes an example of excellent cross-subjects educational materials comprising a very useful tool for teachers and students to explore scientific knowledge by accessing appealing information on biological and historical references of a local urban park.