Aims

DoomEd is a research project exploring ways in which learning and gameplay can be seamlessly blended; not so that the learning is by stealth or disguised or dressed up as something else, but where understanding, knowledge and/or skills are required to complete a game. Where learning content is intrinsic or and endogenous (Malone, 1980) in the gameplay and where realistic content is situated within ‘fantasy’ gameplay.

We want to harness the attention that people give to playing games. We want to bring curriculum content to life, by putting it into an authentic scenario and letting kids ‘play and discover’, rather than being ‘told and tested’. We want to invade the space between home and school (bedroom and classroom) - the space where kids play and interact, but so easily could be learning, thinking and reflecting at the same time. We want to use gameplay to draw them into learning.

We want to test the validity of this approach to learning and compare it with ‘conventional’ teaching methodologies and e-learning content. We want to see if a games approach can affect students’ understanding, retention and enjoyment of learning.