Abstract
Immersion is often argued to be one of the main driving forces behind children’s learning in digital educational games. Researchers have supported that movement-based interaction afforded by emerging embodied digital educational games may heighten even more immersion and learning. However, there is lack of empirical research warranting these claims. This case study has investigated the impact of high-embodied digital educational game, integrated in a primary school classroom, on children’s immersion and content knowledge about nutrition (condition1 = 24 children), in comparison to the impact of a low-embodied version of the game (condition2 = 20 children). Post-interventional surveys investigating immersion indicated that there was difference only on the level of engagement, in terms of perceived usability, while children’s learning gains in terms of content knowledge did not differ among the two conditions. Interviews with a subset of the children (n = 8 per condition) resulted in the identification of (a) media form, (b) media content and (c) context-related factors, which provided plausible explanations about children’s experienced immersion. Implications are discussed for supporting immersion in high-embodied educational digital games.
Highlights
Immersion, as a gradated and multi-level process of cognitive and emotional involvement in digital educational games is often argued as one of the main driving forces behind children’s learning [1,2,3].Dede [4] has stated, for instance, that immersion can enhance children’s learning in different ways, by supporting: (a) multiple and complementary insights of complex phenomena, (b) situated learning, and (c) the transfer of skills in real world situations
The emergence of embodied digital educational games has renewed the interest on this topic, as researchers have argued that the affordances of embodied digital games for movement-based interaction may heighten even more experienced immersion [13,14]
We reflect on our findings, and we discuss the implications for supporting children’s immersion in high-embodied digital games implemented in authentic educational settings
Summary
As a gradated and multi-level process of cognitive and emotional involvement in digital educational games is often argued as one of the main driving forces behind children’s learning [1,2,3].Dede [4] has stated, for instance, that immersion can enhance children’s learning in different ways, by supporting: (a) multiple and complementary insights of complex phenomena, (b) situated learning, and (c) the transfer of skills in real world situations. In its essence, embodied digital educational games compose an emergent category of digital games, which integrate gestures or even full-body movement into the act of learning [15,16,17,18,19,20]. These innovative games, which are grounded in immersive interfaces and leverage the power of motion-based technologies and natural interfaces (e.g., Wii, Xbox Kinect, Leap Motion), it is argued, create new educational possibilities [21,22].
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