Student Game Design as a Literacy Practice: A 10-Year Review

Hsiu-Ting Hung ； Jie Chi Yang ； Yi-Chin Tsai

《Educational Technology & Society》 23卷1期 (2020/01) Pp. 50-63

https://doi.org/10.30191/ETS.202001_23(1).0004

摘要

Learning through designing digital games has recently emerged as a potential approach for school learners to boost their literacy development and learning in and across disciplines. However, existing knowledge on this relatively new approach is still fragmented, and little is known about its implementation features, associated learning opportunities, and possible challenges experienced by students. As such, the present review seeks to synthesize relevant research in terms of the three aspects stated above to better understand the concept of student game design as a literacy practice. A total of 30 peer-reviewed research articles published between 2010-2020 are included in this research synthesis. Findings reveal that there is considerable variation in how the literacy learning approach of student game design is currently implemented, with respect to the school learners involved and game-making tools adopted. Despite its diverse nature, the feasibility of literacy learning by game-making is confirmed across the reviewed studies, with the disciplinary literacy in computer science and 21st century literacy being most prominent. This review has also brought to light the potential of introducing students to content-based game design to foster interdisciplinary learning. In order to provide a balanced portrait, this review further identifies major challenges of learning with the game-making approach from students' perspectives.

關鍵字

Digital games ； Game design ； Literacy learning ； Literature review