Requirements for educational games in MOOCs

Abstract

MOOCs are disrupting educational technology by democratizing access to high quality courses offered by some of the most prestigious universities. However, due to low entry cost and multiple other factors, MOOCs suffer from low retention rates: making MOOCs more interactive and engaging is therefore an important goal. Educational games provide environments that mix both immersion and quick feedback cycles, and we consider that games also have the potential to improve interaction and assessment in MOOCs environments; indeed, many game-like simulations have already been successfully applied within MOOCs in domains such as electronic circuits (schematic circuit simulator) and biology (foldit, eyewire). In this work, we analyze multiple such experiences and propose a catalogue of best practices that could contribute to the successful integration of educational games into MOOC platforms.