Teaching Local History, Culture, Traditions, and Customs Using Digital Games: Preliminary Results from a Case Study in the Island of Nisyros

Abstract

The study presents the preliminary results of a project having as an overall objective to examine whether digital games have an impact on teenagers' cultural identity formation. Having completed the first stage, the results regarding digital games' impact on knowledge about local history are reported. Thirty high-school students from the island of Nisyros studied the local history, culture, traditions, and customs of their island, using printed material, board games, and digital games. Data were collected using evaluation sheets and a short questionnaire. The results indicated that the digital games were more effective in terms of knowledge acquisition compared with the other tools. Moreover, students were more motivated to learn and enjoyed their teaching more using this medium. Implications for research and practice are also discussed.