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The serious game. What learning concept?
12 October, 2011
The serious game and more particularly the learning game are anchored in the large learning-through-play family. But what educational value lies behind this concept?
E-learning solutions: learning through play ?
The basic principle of learning through play is to create in the learner the feeling that they are undergoing a particular experience. It is known that mnemonics and assimilating knowledge, expertise or a particular behaviour are encouraged by the environment in which the learning situation takes place. This is the very principle of the learning game which, to achieve a particular learning goal, uses the affect and emotions. Learning through play allows transfer situations to be worked on directly, even though the latter are all too often the wishful thinking of educators. It is obvious that although learning through play is another weapon in the training manager’s armoury, it is not an end in itself and cannot meet all training goals.
Serious games, I love them !
Although learning through play can be attractive, it can also make a large group of learners unhappy who more than anything are looking for efficiency. Indeed, as part of learning-through-play, the learner is only slightly or not at all aware of the learning goal. Sometimes and even worse, the proposed game worries the learner in respect of the completeness of their training course (have I covered everything?).
Finally, serious games often bring with them an additional cognitive burden for the learner, that of game play. This cognitive burden often reflected in overly-complicated game rules can demotivate the learner after just a few minutes of training.
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