Trends on Educational Gamification: Challenges and Learning Opportunities

Games are a natural activity—we all know how to play. Perhaps this is the key feature that explains the increase in the use of game-based learning (GBL) strategies: Applying games to education converts education into a universal activity. Over the last ten years, the way in which education and training is delivered has considerably changed, not only due to a new technologic environment—plenty of social networks, MOOCs, etc.—but also because of the appearance of new methodologies. Such new methodologies are shifting the center of gravity: from the teacher to the student, with the aim of awakening relational aspects, as well as promoting imagination and divergent thinking. One new approach that holds considerable promise for helping to engage learners is, indeed, game-based learning (GBL). However, while a growing number of institutions are beginning to see the validity of GBL, there are still many challenges to overcome before this type of learning can become widespread.In this Special Issue, we want to gather several studies and experiences in GBL to be shared with other teachers and researchers

An educational game to learn type 1 diabetes management

Virtual environments have proved to be successful for educational purposes in different fields. They are particularly useful when learner experience is necessary but impossible in a real context, like learning type 1 diabetes management, for example. When a diagnosis is made, in fact, the young patient is asked to learn, in a short time, how to control blood sugar levels and adopt a healthy life style. The paper describes a virtual environment in which young users are trained to control the balance between energy/physical activity, one of the main issues in diabetes care. Moreover, a pilot study aimed at measuring the users’ learning achievement reveals that the active learning approach is successful even if users have poor motivation