Using Serious Games in Higher Education: Reclaiming the Learning Time

Abstract

Today’s technology provides learners with full control of when, where and how they will access the learning material. Although the advantages are apparent, there are also some “side-effects”. One of them is that the “learning time” is not explicitly defined anymore. It is the design of the learning application that should consider for this, reclaim the learning time and create the necessary conditions for the “learning momentum”. The aim of this paper is to present a serious game that has been created for Law students at the University of Westminster, London, and to discuss the cognitive processes it activates. Serious games aim to teach students, using techniques from the game industry. Gamified elements are used alongside educational theories. The game presented here is a simulation of a tutorial that teaches the “Law of murder”. Students are presented with a case, they are asked to apply the law and decide if this is a murder or not. During the game the main principle of “learning by doing” is applied. One of the objectives of the game is to make students focus on the topic and make the best use of the “learning momentum”.