The Investigation of Lusory Attitudes of Students in Educational Games

Games have increasingly been integrated into educational environments because they have the potential to increase motivation and enliven learning activities. Games provide students with a situation where they will actively participate and create interesting environments. However, some issues need to be considered to increase the educational value of games. For example, they need to be correctly adapted to predetermined educational goals and these goals need to be clearly shown. In addition, the rules that are indispensable for games need to be presented in a way that does not leave any gaps. Although educational games have aspects that encourage learning and participation, they also have aspects that cause undesirable results under competitive conditions. In this case, students may violate the rules to win the game. Thus, the educational purpose can be deviated from, and the intended integrity can be disrupted. This study emphasizes how the competition between two classes playing an educational game violates the rules of the game and the risks posed by competitive dynamics. Thus, it shows how games deviate from their purpose when they diverge from being collaborative learning tools to competing ambitions. The aim of this paper is to show educators what negative consequences educational games can have in situations where competition is high and how students can go beyond ethical rules.