“Don’t Be Like Frogger”: A Rapid Review on the Use of Serious Game for Road Safety Education in Children
Franky, Franky (2022)
Franky, Franky
2022
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202205047208
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202205047208
Tiivistelmä
Objective: Serious games might have the potential to educate children in road safety knowledge and skills. This review aimed to categorize existing serious games and their effects on road safety skills in children.
Materials and Methods: The author systematically searched PubMed and CINAHL Complete for publications that evaluated serious games to improve road safety skills in children. A taxonomy by De Lope & Medina-Medina was used to classify the identified games.
Results: The author identified five studies, evaluating four unique serious games. Most of the studies targeted pedestrian safety skills in children, while only one study targeted child bicyclists’ situational awareness. Four studies involving child pedestrians found largely positive impacts of serious games on safety skills but displayed mixed results when participants were measured at the streetside testing. The only study targeting child bicyclists did not display a positive outcome.
All studies used simulation games as interventions, while most incorporated the virtual reality technology for added ’realism.’ All studies lack documentation of the game development process, inclusions of key features of ’great games’ (such as narrative context and game-based gaming), and measurement of participants’ experiences while playing the games.
Conclusions: The evidence from a number of studies suggests that games may have positive effects on road safety-related outcomes, particularly road crossing skills. However, further studies are required to assess the translationalability of the positive impacts of serious games in real-life settings. Researchers should also utilize existing evidence in serious games to further improve the educational approaches.
Materials and Methods: The author systematically searched PubMed and CINAHL Complete for publications that evaluated serious games to improve road safety skills in children. A taxonomy by De Lope & Medina-Medina was used to classify the identified games.
Results: The author identified five studies, evaluating four unique serious games. Most of the studies targeted pedestrian safety skills in children, while only one study targeted child bicyclists’ situational awareness. Four studies involving child pedestrians found largely positive impacts of serious games on safety skills but displayed mixed results when participants were measured at the streetside testing. The only study targeting child bicyclists did not display a positive outcome.
All studies used simulation games as interventions, while most incorporated the virtual reality technology for added ’realism.’ All studies lack documentation of the game development process, inclusions of key features of ’great games’ (such as narrative context and game-based gaming), and measurement of participants’ experiences while playing the games.
Conclusions: The evidence from a number of studies suggests that games may have positive effects on road safety-related outcomes, particularly road crossing skills. However, further studies are required to assess the translationalability of the positive impacts of serious games in real-life settings. Researchers should also utilize existing evidence in serious games to further improve the educational approaches.