Innovative teaching through video games: literature review and best practices

Game-Based Learning (GBL) is an increasingly popular medium across Europe and the United States of America, as it promotes students' motivation and provides them with a constructive and collaborative approach to learning. Video games match the needs and aspirations of our new generation of students, often called digital natives, and are usually based on implicit instructional design concepts. However, despite the phenomenal educational and motivational potential of video games, few Irish Universities and Institutes of Technology are currently using GBL, whereby digital games can be employed to illustrate concepts interactively and on a wide range of devices (e.g., desktop computers or smart phones). It is believed that this lack of interest is perhaps due to a lack of universal guidelines for the use and deployment of educational video games, and also because of a perceived requirement to be an avid gamer in order to be able to teach effectively with video games. In this paper, the author aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to GBL, and to review best practices for the design and deployment of GBL systems. Theoretical foundations supporting the design of educational video games will be explained, based on instructional design, game design and motivational factors. Common issues faced by instructors will be analysed. Case studies on the use of video games for teaching will be presented, highlighting and explaining best practices. This paper should be of particular interest to instructors who are willing to use educational video games as a learning resource, but with no or little previous experience of video games. It should provide both theoretical and practical information that practitioners can employ as part of their innovative teaching strategies.