Acceptance of Serious Games to Develop Digital Competencies in Higher Education

Abstract

Serious games are the focus of the current research agenda. They show promise for allowing students to learn andpractice skills. In fewer studies, they are used for the development of academic competencies. Therefore, it is of interest todeepen the research on the benefits of serious games in academic education and training. This article presents a study usingserious games aimed at higher education academics’ training for the development of digital competencies. The study wascarried out with 56 academics, using the serious game called AstroCódigo. The study analyzed the level of acceptance ofserious games using the TAM model and what factors the academics believe affect this acceptance. It is important to knowpossible barriers that affect the development of actions oriented to the formation of academic competencies through seriousgames, which can also affect the adoption of games as a resource for teaching situations. None of prior studies have focusedon analyzing the technological acceptance of serious games used for the development of academic competencies. The resultsof this research indicate that participants believe that using serious games can be beneficial to drive digital competencies.However, there are aspects such as the highest academic qualification, work experience, professional development,perceived usefulness, ease of use, and fear of change associated with age rank which can play a negative role in the use andacceptance of digital technologies by academics, particularly serious games. These results may be a clue to the barriers linkedto the fact that most of the participants in this study do not use serious games in their classes or for their digital skills training.Additionally, the possibility to try and fail and the increased level of challenges proposed in the serious games, related toenjoyment, were valued by academics, during the sessions with AstroCódigo. These findings open the door to organizestrategies for academic training in digital competencies within higher education institutions. They can also impact the designdecisions of new serious games.