Design of an Educational Game for Blended Learning Environment

Abstract

With the effects of the Internet and Education 4.0, online learning has increasingly become a common choice in higher education. However, despite some great characteristics of online learning (e.g., flexibility in learning), we cannot deny the role of traditional face-to-face learning, where the teaching content can be effectively delivered through direct communication between lecturers and learners. To leverage the advantages of these learning styles, numerous universities have been implementing the so-called blended learning as an innovating teaching method. Nevertheless, the teaching effectiveness of this method is still a big concern of educators (e.g., unattractive video contents in e-lessons). Meanwhile, recent studies have shown that teaching using digital games is more attractive than online learning alone since it can bring excitement and competitiveness to the learners. Therefore, in this study, we propose to build an educational game scenario that is adaptive to blended-learning environment. Thereby, the students will gain practical experiences while learning. In this approach, the students can play games and study together through either websites or mobile applications. The proposed blended learning approach as an innovating teaching method implemented soft-skills subject is being taught in a blended learning environment at Hanoi University of Science and Technology.