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Using serious games for
learning in higher
education – “False Dawn”
or untapped resource?"
Pauline Rooney, Brian MacNamee

CAL ’07, Trinity College Dublin
26th-28th March 2007

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Presentation overview
 Serious games & digital game-based
learning
 Serious Gordon case study
 Evaluation & future work
Q&A

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Serious games & digital game-based learning

 What are “serious games”?
 “games designed to do more than just entertain”
(Michael & Chen 2005)
 “games that have ulterior motives such as
teaching, training and marketing” (Johnson et al.
2005)

 Simple digital games for learning
 www.teach-nology.com

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Modern serious games movement

America’s Army

Peacemaker

Hazmat Hotzone

Food Force

Yourself!Fitness

A Force More Powerful

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Why serious games for learning?

 Engaging!
 Extensive opportunities for drill & practice /
skills development in risk-free environment
 Multi-sensory environment
 Facilitate situated learning / cognitive
apprenticeship
 Develop higher order cognitive skills – critical
thinking, problem-solving, team work etc.

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Designing serious games: the challenge

LEARNING/
PEDAGOGY

VS

ENTERTAINMENT

“…the key is not to privilege one arena over the
other but to find the synergy between pedagogy
and engagement…”
(Van Eck 2006)

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Serious Gordon

 Project aims:
 design serious game to teach
undergraduate culinary arts students at
DIT the principles of food safety
 to explore the potential of using a
commercial source engine for developing
serious games

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The Food Safety Authority of Ireland
(FSAI)

FSAI state that:
“…it is a legal requirement that staff involved
in a food environment are trained and/or
supervised commensurate with their work
activity.”
Food Safety Authority of Ireland (2006)
Guide to Food Safety Training: Level 1Induction Skills and Level 2 - Additional
Skills for Food and Non-Food Handlers
(Food Service, Retail and Manufacturing
Sectors)

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Kitchen food safety competencies
1. Wear and maintain uniform/protective clothing
hygienically
2. Maintain a high standard of hand-washing
3. Maintain a high standard of personal hygiene
4. Demonstrate correct hygiene practice if suffering
from ailments/illnesses that may affect the safety
of food
5. Avoid unhygienic practices in a food operation
6. Demonstrate safe food handling practices
7. Maintain staff facilities in a hygienic condition
8. Obey food safety signs
9. Keep work areas clean

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Serious Gordon: first steps
 Formed multi-disciplinary team
Digital Media
Centre

Learning
Technology
Team

School of
Food Science
& Environmental Health

School of
Computing

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Screenshots (cont…)

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Screenshots (cont…)

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Future work
 Undertake a rigorous evaluation and pilot
(beginning 29 March)
 Expand game scenarios to incorporate
more complex learning outcomes.
 Expand game features – e.g. complexity
of graphics, difficulty levels, scoring
mechanisms, multi-player option?

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Questions raised
 Do students learn through game? Are students
more motivated to learn through gaming?
 Does students’ prior gaming experiences impact
on effectiveness of gaming as learning aid?
 Can students transfer learning in game to reallife context?
 Balance between fun and learning: have we
been successful? What constitutes an effective
balance?
 How realistic does the gaming environment need
to be for effective learning?

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Using serious games for learning in higher education – “False Dawn” or untapped resource?

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Using serious games for learning in higher education – “False Dawn” or untapped resource?