Playing in the special education school: from gamers to game designers

Abstract

In a one year old study, students with mild and moderate intellectual disability, used serious games in their educational practice. Communication, interaction, participation and motivation have been documented in a qualitative study using two different classrooms as case studies. In this paper we describe the documented process of these endeavors, as students turned from gamers into game designers. During the study we were able to document changes in the educational atmosphere, including change of roles and communication re-enforcement between students and teachers. Co-operative game design workshops were organized, as part of the European Project Code RED , targeting students in the risk of early school leaving (ESL), by using game design workshops as a tool of motivation and inclusion.