Games in University Education

Abstract

The paper presents conclusions from research into the opportunities to employ games in university education and it constitutes a description of a number of projects carried out at the Institute of Pedagogy at the University of Wrocław. The project encompassed: (1) the use of location-based games in cultural education classes (Kulturalny Wrocław project), (2) a five-day game seminar on career management (the Gamification in career management in the educational practice of Lower Silesia project), (3) a location-based game diagnosing entrepreneurship competences (the Entrepreneurship in the educational practice of Lower Silesia project), and (4) the use of LARP games in developing soft skills (the Learning through games project). During the conducted research triangulation of methods was employed: participant observation as well as focus and individual interviews. The conclusion of the explorations is that the Introduction of games into university education is an effective and attractive educational means, which, at the same time, requires substantial amount of time and number of staff in the preparation of the classes.