Education Tech Research Dev (2014) 62:125–128

DOI 10.1007/s11423-014-9332-y

GUEST EDITORIAL

Transforming the classrooms: innovative digital

game-based learning designs and applications

Nian-Shing Chen • Gwo-Jen Hwang

Published online: 12 February 2014

Ó Association for Educational Communications and Technology 2014

Introduction

Digital game-based learning has been recognized as an effective approach in promoting

students’ learning motivation, which is an important factor of improving students’ learning
performance. In recent years, many educational computer games have been developed for
enhancing learning in various subject domains, such as mathematics (Hung et al. 2012),
natural science (Hwang et al. 2012), social science (Hung et al. 2012) and engineering
(Cagiltay 2007). Several studies have reported the effectiveness of educational computer
games in enhancing the learning interest of students, and even increase their motivation
(Hwang et al. 2012). In comparison with traditional instructions or conventional tech-
nology-enhanced learning, digital game-based learning is able to provide a more inter-
esting and challenging learning environment for acquiring knowledge (Bourgonjon et al.
2010; Gerber and Scott 2011; Hwang et al. 2012; Hwang et al. 2013).
In the meantime, researchers have indicated that the effectiveness of educational
computer games might not be as significant as expected if they are developed without
embedding appropriate learning strategies; therefore, it has become an important issue to
develop educational computer games by taking effective learning strategies, knowledge
construction tools, or educational theories into account (Chao et al. 2013; Hwang et al.
2013; Sung and Hwang 2013).
The aim of this special issue is to provide an opportunity for researchers to present their
studies related to the development of educational computer games with effective learning
strategies. The developed games need to be thoroughly evaluated via practical applications.
The submitted papers all went through a double-blind review. It is expected that through

N.-S. Chen (&)

Department of Information Management, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
e-mail: [email protected]

G.-J. Hwang
Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and
Technology, Taipei, Taiwan
e-mail: [email protected]

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the publication of this special issue researchers can inspire each other in developing more
creative and effective educational computer games in the future.
After a rigorous review process, seven high-quality research papers have been
accepted for publication in this special issue, which would collectively present new
perspectives and challenges in bridging the strategies and applications in digital-game
based learning. In the first paper, Hwang, Hung and Chen reported a peer assessment-
based game development approach, which was applied to an elementary school science
course. The experimental results showed that the approach helped the students in
improving their deep learning status in terms of ‘‘in-depth thinking,’’ ‘‘creativity,’’ and
‘‘motivation’’. In the second paper, Chu and Zhang presented an educational computer
game for migratory bird identification based on a two-tier test approach. It was found
that the proposed approach significantly promoted the students’ learning motivation,
learning achievements and technology acceptance degree in comparison with those who
learned with the conventional e-learning approach. In the third paper, Chen, Wong and
Wang investigated the effects of the type of exploratory strategy and level of prior
knowledge on middle school students’ performance and motivation in learning chemical
formulas via a 3D role-playing game. Several interesting findings were reported in this
study, such as ‘‘significant worked-example effect was revealed on knowledge com-
prehension and marginal worked-example effect occurred on knowledge application.’’
In the paper titled ‘‘Embedding diagnostic mechanisms in a digital game for learning
mathematics,’’ Huang, Huang and Wu presented a mathematics game with diagnostic
mechanisms and showed the effectiveness of the approach in enhancing students’
interest and reducing their anxiety in learning mathematics by conducting a learning
activity in an elementary school. In the paper titled ‘‘Using Digital Board Games for
Genuine Communication in EFL Classrooms,’’ Chen and Wu proposed a digital board
game for language learning. An experiment on an English course for EFL students
showed that the digital board game could improve the students’ learning performance.
In the paper of Borro-Escribano et al., the development of a game-like simulation
system for representing transplant management procedural knowledge was reported. In
the paper of Voulgari, Komis and Sampson, the perceptions of players on the learning
impact of massively multiplayer online games, the potential transfer of skills to other
domains, the learning practices they employ, and elements of the design of the envi-
ronment that may present positive conditions for learning were investigated.
From these papers, a common finding is that merely applying digital games to
educational settings might be insufficient. To provide an effective digital game-based
learning environment, it is important to design good learning strategies or tools in a
game-based learning environment (Hung et al. 2013); moreover, the learning objectives
and contents need to be well-integrated into the gaming missions and scenarios. The
papers included in this special issue have demonstrated good examples for better ref-
erences. There are several research trends/directions for the digital game-based learning
research identified by the researchers of this special issue. For example, it is expected
that more and more educational computer games with good learning strategies and
well-designed learning content will be presented by researchers, as predicted by Hwang
and Wu (2012). In addition, emphasizing on personal factors, such as preferences or
learning styles, should be taken into account by researchers for developing more
adaptive and effective educational computer games in the future (Chen et al. 2011;
Hwang et al. 2012).

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References

Bourgonjon, J., Valcke, M., Soetaert, R., & Schellens, T. (2010). Students’ perceptions about the use of
video games in the classroom. Computers and Education, 54(4), 1145–1156.
Cagiltay, N. E. (2007). Teaching software engineering by means of computer-game development: Chal-
lenges and opportunities. British Journal of Educational Technology, 38(3), 405–415.
Chao, K.-J., Huang, H.-W., Fang, W.-C., & Chen, N.-S. (2013). Embodied play to learn: Exploring kinect-
facilitated memory performance. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(5), E151–E155.
Chen, N.-S., Quadi, B., & Teng, D. C.-E. (2011). Integrating book, digital content and robot for enhancing
elementary school students’ learning of English. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology,
27(3), 546–561.
Gerber, S., & Scott, L. (2011). Gamers and gaming context: Relationships to critical thinking. British
Journal of Educational Technology, 42(5), 842–849.
Hung, I.-C., Chao, K.-J., Lee, L., & Chen, N.-S. (2013). Designing a robot teaching assistant for enhancing
and sustaining learning motivation. Interactive Learning Environments, 21(2), 156–171.
Hung, C. M., Hwang, G. J., & Huang, I. (2012a). A project-based digital storytelling approach for improving
students’ learning motivation, problem-solving competence and learning achievement. Educational
Technology and Society, 15(4), 368–379.
Hung, P. H., Hwang, G. J., Lee, Y. H., & Su, I. H. (2012b). A cognitive component analysis approach for
developing game-based spatial learning tools. Computers and Education, 59(2), 762–773.
Hwang, G. J., Sung, H. Y., Hung, C. M., Huang, I., & Tsai, C. C. (2012a). Development of a personalized
educational computer game based on students’ learning styles. Educational Technology Research and
Development, 60(4), 623–638.
Hwang, G. J., Sung, H. Y., Hung, C. M., Yang, L. H., & Huang, I. (2013a). A knowledge engineering
approach to developing educational computer games for improving students’ differentiating knowl-
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Hwang, G. J., & Wu, P. H. (2012). Advancements and trends in digital game-based learning research: A
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Hwang, G. J., Wu, P. H., & Chen, C. C. (2012b). An online game approach for improving students’ learning
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Hwang, G. J., Yang, L. H., & Wang, S. Y. (2013b). A concept map-embedded educational computer game
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Dr. Nian-Shing Chen is Chair Professor at the Department of Information Management in the National Sun
Yat-sen University, Taiwan. He has published over 350 papers in the international referred journals,
conferences and book chapters. One of his papers published in Innovations in Education and Teaching
International was awarded as the top cited article in 2010. He is the author of three books with one textbook
entitled ‘‘e-Learning Theory & Practice’’. Professor Chen received the national outstanding research awards
from the National Science Council, Taiwan in 2008 and 2011–2013. His current research interests include
assessing e-Learning course performance; online synchronous teaching & learning; mobile & ubiquitous
learning; natural user interface & game-based learning. Professor Chen is serving as editorial board
members for many international journals and guest editors for more than 10 special issues of international
journals. He has also organized and chaired numerous international conferences and workshops in the area
of advanced learning technologies. Professor Chen is a senior member of IEEE, ACM and the Chair of the
IEEE Technical Committee on Learning Technology (http://lttf.ieee.org/). He is Co-Editor-In-Chief of the
SSCI-indexed Journal of Educational Technology & Society.

Dr. Gwo-Jen Hwang is currently a Chair Professor at the National Taiwan University of Science and
Technology. He received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science and Information Engineering from the
National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan in 1991. Dr. Hwang serves as an editorial board member and a
reviewer for more than 30 academic journals. His research interests include digital game-based learning,
mobile and ubiquitous learning, computer-assisted testing, and artificial intelligence in education. Dr.
Hwang has published nearly 400 academic papers, including 150 papers in such professional journals as
British Journal of Educational Technology, Computers & Education, Educational Technology & Society,

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Innovations in Education and Teaching International, Interactive Learning Environment, and Computer-
Assisted Learning among others. Owing to the good reputation in academic research and innovative
inventions in e-learning, he received the annual most Outstanding Researcher Award from the National
Science Council in the years of 2007, 2010 and 2013.

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