Integrating Digital Technologies and Alternate Reality Games for Sustainable Education: Enhancing Cultural Heritage Awareness and Learning Engagement

Hao-Chiang Koong Lin, Li-Wen Lu () and Ruei-Shan Lu
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Hao-Chiang Koong Lin: Department of Information and Learning Technology, National University of Tainan, Tainan 700, Taiwan
Li-Wen Lu: Department of Information and Learning Technology, National University of Tainan, Tainan 700, Taiwan
Ruei-Shan Lu: Department of Management Information System, Takming University of Science and Technology, Taipei City 11451, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-18

Abstract: As traditional cultural heritage education gradually reduces students’ exposure to the physical environment, it is more difficult to stimulate students’ awareness of and interest in local culture. The concepts of cultural preservation and sustainable development have not yet been effectively integrated into teaching. Therefore, this study developed an alternative reality game (ARG) combined with a learning scaffold to enable students to gain a deeper understanding of the history and cultural heritage of Taiwan during the Japanese rule period through an immersive learning experience and to explore and solve real-world problems in an interactive environment, which helped students understand the concepts of cultural preservation and sustainable development. The results of the study showed that the experimental group of students using the ARG integrated learning scaffold significantly outperformed the control group in terms of learning effectiveness and engagement. Students in the experimental group not only had a deeper understanding of the curriculum content but also showed higher behavioral and emotional engagement. In addition, students’ awareness of cultural preservation and sustainable development increased, which indicates that the materials developed in this study are effective in promoting their deeper understanding of local educational development and cultural identity. This study confirms that the combination of innovative technology and gamified instruction not only enhances students’ learning effectiveness but also promotes their understanding of cultural heritage. Future research should further optimize the use of technology to reduce the impact of operational difficulties on students’ learning experience and explore how alternative reality game (ARG) technology can be used in more subject areas.

Keywords: immersive learning; gamification; alternative reality gaming (ARG); cultural heritage education; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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