Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Designing an Online Dungeons & Dragons Experience for Primary School Children

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Games and Learning Alliance (GALA 2020)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12517))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

In this work, we present the results of a role-playing game experience carried out with a group of 9- to 12-year-old children during the COVID-19 emergence. The ‘harmony in education’ approach has been used to adapt the game design to the constraints imposed by the online context and the young age of the students involved. The results show the effectiveness of the approach in terms of 21st-century skills training with particular evidence on perspective-taking.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/14/critical-role-helped-spark-a-dungeons-dragons-renaissance.html.

  2. 2.

    https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/rpg_starterset.

  3. 3.

    https://roll20.net/.

  4. 4.

    In D&D, each PC has several skills (Athletics, Insight, Perception, etc.) and an individual’s proficiency in a skill demonstrates a focus on that aspect.

References

  1. Angiolino, A., Giuliano, L., Sidoti, B.: Inventare destini: i giochi di ruolo per l’educazione; [metodi, esperienze e giochi per iniziare subito a scuola e nei gruppi]. Ed. la Meridiana (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bertolo, M., Mariani, I.: Game and play as means for learning experiences. In: INTED2013 Proceedings, pp. 698–707 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Carter, A.: Using Dungeons and Dragons to integrate curricula in an elementary classroom. In: Ma, M., Oikonomou, A., Jain, L.C. (eds.) Serious Games and Edutainment Applications, pp. 329–346. Springer, London (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2161-9_17

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  4. Catala, A., Theune, M., Gijlers, H., Heylen, D.: Storytelling as a creative activity in the classroom. In: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Creativity and Cognition, C&C 2017, pp. 237–242. Association for Computing Machinery, New York (2017). https://doi.org/10.1145/3059454.3078857

  5. Colglazier, W.: Sustainable development agenda: 2030. Science 349(6252), 1048–1050 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad2333. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/349/6252/1048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Council, E.: Recommendation of the European parliament and the council of 18 December 2006 on key competencies for lifelong learning. Bruss.: Off. J. Eur. Union 30(12), 2006 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Coward-Gibbs, M.: Why don’t we play pandemic? Analog gaming communities in lockdown. Leis. Sci. 42, 1–7 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Europea, U.: Council recommendation of 22 May 2018 on promoting common values, inclusive education, and the European dimension of teaching (2018/c 195/01) (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Gardner, H.: Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Hachette Uk, London (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Larson, L.C., Miller, T.N.: 21st century skills: prepare students for the future. Kappa Delta Pi Rec. 47(3), 121–123 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1080/00228958.2011.10516575

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Ligabue, A.: Didattica Ludica. Competenze in gioco. Erickson, IT (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Marmocchi, P., Dall’Aglio, C., Zannini, M.: Educare le life skills: come promuovere le abilità psicosociali e affettive secondo l’Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità. Edizioni Erickson (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Mona, E.: From the basement to the basic set: the early years of Dungeons & Dragons. In: Harrigan, P., Wardrip-Fruin, N. (eds.) Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media, pp. 25–30. The MIT Press, Cambridge (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  14. World Health Organization, et al.: Life skills education for children and adolescents in schools. World Health Organization, Tech. rep. (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Piaget, J.: L’epistemologia genetica. Edizioni Studium Srl (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Qian, M., Clark, K.R.: Game-based learning and 21st century skills: a review of recent research. Comput. Hum. Behav. 63, 50–58 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.023. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563216303491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Scicchitano, M.: Metodo LabGDR: Un manuale operativo per l’utilizzo del gioco di ruolo in clinica, educazione e formazione. Franco Angeli (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Sidoti, B.: Giochi con le storie. Modi, esercizi e tecniche per leggere, scrivere e raccontare. edizioni la meridiana (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Sourmelis, T., Ioannou, A., Zaphiris, P.: Massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) and the 21st century skills: a comprehensive research review from 2010 to 2016. Comput. Hum. Behav. 67, 41–48 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.10.020. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074756321630721X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Taurisano, R.: Progetto giocaruolando. https://giocaruolando.it/giocaruolando/

  21. Uriarte, Y.T., DeFillippi, R., Riccaboni, M., Catoni, M.L.: Projects, institutional logics and institutional work practices: the case of the Lucca Comics & Games Festival. Int. J. Proj. Manag. 37(2), 318–330 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Valença, M.M.: Disciplinary Dungeon master. In: Frueh, J. (ed.) Pedagogical Journeys through World Politics. PP, pp. 209–218. Springer, Cham (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20305-4_18

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  23. Vygotskij, L.: Il ruolo del gioco nello sviluppo mentale del bambino. JS Bruner, A. Jolly K. Sylva, Il gioco 4 (1981)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Witwer, M., Newman, K., Peterson, J., Witwer, S.: Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana; [A Visual History]. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley (2018)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scuola Secondaria I grado G. A. Borgese-XXVII Maggio, Palermo, Italy

    Rosalba Spotorno

  2. Dipartimento di Architettura, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Marco Picone

  3. Institute for Educational Technology, National Research Council of Italy, Rome, Italy

    Manuel Gentile

  4. Dipartimento di Informatica, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy

    Manuel Gentile

Authors
  1. Rosalba Spotorno
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marco Picone
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Manuel Gentile
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manuel Gentile .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Le Mans University, Le Mans, France

    Iza Marfisi-Schottman

  2. University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

    Francesco Bellotti

  3. Le Mans University, Le Mans, France

    Ludovic Hamon

  4. Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, The Netherlands

    Roland Klemke

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Spotorno, R., Picone, M., Gentile, M. (2020). Designing an Online Dungeons & Dragons Experience for Primary School Children. In: Marfisi-Schottman, I., Bellotti, F., Hamon, L., Klemke, R. (eds) Games and Learning Alliance. GALA 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12517. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63464-3_20

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63464-3_20

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-63463-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-63464-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation