Extrait d’un article disponible sur Internet intitulé « Using Games in Online Education: Is it a Winning Strategy? »
Since there are a number of differences in the terminology with the use of gaming techniques and strategies in education, we wish to clarify how this study will define “game.” Several authors, follow Salters explanation which is “when a game is designed with a primary purpose other than entertainment, it is generally labeled a serious game” (Salter, 2011b, para. 3). Dickey (2011) provides an explanation of “the notion of ‘game’ as an ambiguous term used to describe structured recreational activities. Typically, components of games include goals, rules, challenges and some form of interaction” (p. 458). Continuing the delineation of the term, Dickey stated: while individual definitions may vary, games are primarily recreational, including challenges or some form of stimulation, and typically, in varying degrees, have some type of victory/loss conditions. In contrast, serious games are games designed with a purpose beyond that of recreation or entertainment. Serious games encompass games designed to educate, train, incite activism, inform. (p. 458) Hirumi, Appelman, Rieber, & Van Eck (2010) differentiated educationally important games from other types of games by describing them as “ ‘serious’ and ‘educational’ games…” (p 27). Torrente, Moreno-Ger, Martinez-Ortiz, & Fernandez-Manjon, (2009) stated that “game-based learning is a very broad field, with varied initiatives and heterogeneous approaches” (p. 362).
