Society is continually evolving and the needs of current generations of students are changing, deriving from the ongoing digital evolution of the whole of society. Gamification tools are increasingly being implemented in education, since previous studies have demonstrated their usefulness to foster motivation, particularly in the case of…

Background: Exergames are a new socio-technological phenomenon consisting of digital motor games that aim to stimulate players' motor skills. The physical-motor component of exergames has been well studied, but knowing more about their possible psychological effects in the school context is interesting to promote physical exercise practice.…

The extension of technology in current society has encouraged teachers to introduce products based on VR and IVR in their classrooms, especially video games. In this paper the specific role of video games in cultural heritage and history teaching is analyzed. Moreover, the results of recent research on the application of video games in Secondary…

Background: A novel pedagogical approach that is becoming increasingly popular in educational contexts is called Gamification. To our knowledge, empirical research on its effectiveness in education is scarse, and almost absent in physical education. Purpose: The goal was to explore how Gamification can be used in physical education, and what…

Pre-service teachers frequently express negative prejudices towards science and the methodologies traditionally used during their training. Gamification is a booming technology based on combining the psychological aspects, mechanics and dynamics of a game in non-ludic environments. The use of gamification has shown good outcomes in terms of…

This paper has as its aim to analyze how CityVille, a videogame hosted on Facebook and oriented to the construction of a virtual city, can favor collaboration between gamers along with the exchange of strategies, equally contributing to learning transfer and skill acquisition. The first step consists in identifying the opportunities which the said…

Training through gamification is everyday a more evident reality in Primary Education classes. The teachers' view about this has been modified as it is shown in the study published by aDeSe in 2012. However, does it really have place in the students' curricular development in the primary education stage? For the sake of responding to this…

This paper focuses on the design of a serious game for the teaching and assessment of generic competences, placing particular emphasis on the competences assessment aspect. Taking into account important aspects of competence assessment such as context, feedback and transparency, among other aspects, and using the University of Deusto's Generic…

At the present time, the use of video games goes beyond mere amusement or entertainment due to its potential for developing capacities, dexterity and skills. Thus, video games have extended to environments like that of education, serving as didactic resources within dynamics that respond to the interests and necessities of the 21st century…

The introduction of new technologies in society has created a need for interactive contents that can make the most of the potential that technological advances offer. Serious games as educational games are such content: they can be defined as video games or interactive applications whose main purpose is to provide not only entertainment but also…

Although the value of serious games in education is undeniable and the potential benefits of using video games as ideal companions to classroom instruction is unquestionable, there is still little consensus on the game features supporting learning effectiveness, the process by which games engage learners, and the types of learning outcomes that…

This paper presents the results of an ongoing study which has been carried out with a group of German Foreign Language students at the University of Cadiz since 2012. The purpose of the study was to analyze the impact of videogame-like applications on foreign language learning and their motivational potential to increase learning beyond the…

The increasing adoption of e-Learning technology is facing new challenges, such as how to produce student-centered systems that can be adapted to each student's needs. In this context, educational video games are proposed as an ideal medium to facilitate adaptation and tracking of students' performance for assessment purposes, but integrating the…

This study presents an innovative pedagogical approach where teachers become game designers and engage in creative teaching practices. Within co-design training workshops, 21 Spanish primary and secondary school teachers have developed their own Game-Based Learning (GBL) scenarios, especially tailored to their teaching contexts and students…

This book is an invitation to informed and critical participation in the current debate on the role of digital technology in education and a comprehensive introduction to the most relevant issues in this debate. After an early wave of enthusiasm about the emancipative opportunities of the digital "revolution" in education, recent…