SGAME: An Authoring Tool to Easily Create Educational Video Games by Integrating SCORM-Compliant Learning Objects

Abstract

Previous research on game-based learning has provided firm empirical evidence that playing educational video games can positively impact students’ motivation and learning outcomes at all levels of education and disciplines. However, the use and uptake of game-based learning in educational settings is being hampered by the lack of authoring tools capable of allowing teachers to easily create educational video games and adapt them according to their needs and contexts of use. Moreover, in order to determine to which extent this kind of tools are useful for teachers to conduct effective game-based learning experiences, further research is required to evaluate these tools from the teachers’ perspective, as well as to evaluate the instructional effectiveness of the educational video games that teachers can create by using them. This article contributes to fill this research gap by presenting a teacher-oriented authoring tool for educational games called SGAME, as well as by examining the teachers’ perceptions toward this tool and the effect of the educational video games it allows to create on students’ perceptions and learning outcomes. A total of three evaluation instruments were used: a questionnaire to collect teachers’ perceptions toward the SGAME authoring tool, another questionnaire to collect students’ perceptions toward a game created with SGAME, and a pre-test and a post-test to measure the students’ learning gains achieved by playing this game. A total of 201 teachers and 79 students participated in the evaluation reported in this article. The results of this article show that SGAME is an easy-to-use authoring tool that allows teachers to create motivating and effective educational video games.