4208713: FU_Educational Video Games

Beschreibung

The concepts of gamification (the use of game-design elements like badges and leaderboards to increase user engagement) and serious games (training games that do not have entertainment as a primary purpose) have become popular in professional contexts, but conventional video games have not yet found their way into practice and research. While recent studies have confirmed that being adept at video games can be an indicator of skills and abilities beyond those required for gaming, our understanding of whether and how video games can be used for skill assessment and development remains incomplete. To contribute to filling this gap, this research seminar seeks to identify the managerial and architectural skills and abilities that can be measured and developed with the help of video games, and to understand the game mechanisms that facilitate skill assessment and development. Students will be required to play video games of various genres (e.g., simulation, strategy, and building games) and to demonstrate entrepreneurial and creative abilities alike. Based on their gaming experiences, they will reflect on the lessons learned from both a business and an architecture perspective.

Lernergebnisse

Students will contribute to an innovative and educational research project. After successful completion of the seminar, they will…

• know about the fundamental concepts and principles of gamification and serious games;
• leverage entrepreneurial and architectural skills and abilities for successful participation in the games;
• playfully develop these skills and abilities (e.g., architecture students will learn about the main activities of growing an entrepreneurial business, and business students will learn what it takes to plan and design infrastructures in cities, buildings, and the like);
• collaboratively analyze the video games' potential to measure and develop entrepreneurial and architectural skills and abilities; and,
• learn how to work in a research team in terms of division of labor, discussion of results, and presentation and write-up

Lehrmethoden

• Every two weeks, students will play a new video game and reflect on the gaming experiences in presentations and discussions

Literatur

Students will be provided with a reader.