OUTCOMES OF THE USE OF VIDEO GAMES IN EDUCATION: A REVIEW OF SOME KEY RESEARCH FROM THE PAST TEN YEARS

It has been proven that digital games, in addition to some negative sides that are often discussed in various media and on the Internet, do also have quite a few positive ones. In particular, they can be of great help in developing various skills in adolescents such as critical thinking, communication, and technical skills. The purpose of the present study is to scrutinize the results of approximately one dozen recently published research studies and publications in the area and to provide an evaluation of the achieved results. This evaluation will be of use to developers of online learning who may be hesitating about the benefits of the use of digital games in education. Do games have a positive impact on learner motivation and engagement, and if so, to what extent? Which elements in learning using games have a more tangible effect and which ones have a more negligible one? What are the bottom line results and to what extent do digital games have a positive effect on learner success? These are the questions that, in the era of distance learning, increasingly concern both the scientific community, teachers and school administration, as well as adolescents and their parents. In this paper we try to answer these questions by reviewing key research from the recent past.