Design Thinking Methodology for Increasing Quality of Experience of Augmented Reality Educational Games

Integration of technology in education with adequate pedagogical approaches creates new opportunities for improving the quality of teaching and learning experiences, raising students' interest and motivation for the classroom activities at the same time. Game-based learning implemented with different technologies can utilize students' collaboration, energy, and enthusiasm. In order to increase the quality of experience of the learning process, elements of popular games (e.g., mobile games and augmented reality games) should be used in the educational context. This paper describes how design thinking methodology can be used to propose a model for the integration of games in education. The methodology defines the process of creating educational games starting from students' attitudes and needs and moving towards expected educational outcomes. As an example, a case study augmented reality prototype game was designed in order to illustrate the possibilities and benefits of the proposed methodology. The achieved results confirm that the proposed methodology ensures a strong gaming experience and high-quality learning experience.