Serious Games for the Development of Employment Oriented Competences

176 IEEE REVISTA IBEROAMERICANA DE TECNOLOGIAS DEL APRENDIZAJE, VOL. 8, NO. 4, NOVEMBER 2013

Serious Games for the Development of EmploymentOriented Competences

Mariluz Guenaga, Sonia Arranz, Isabel Rubio Florido, Eduardo Aguilar, Alex Ortiz de Guinea,Alex Rayón, María José Bezanilla, and Iratxe Menchaca

Abstract— This paper presents the research work carried outby an interdisciplinary group of technologists, educators, andentertainment experts from the University of Deusto to developa serious game to practice generic skills in job-oriented education.This innovative serious game focuses on entrepreneurship skillsand problem solving competences. Technology is a facilitator for anew teaching methodology, but it also imposes certain restrictionsto be considered by the entire project team.

Index Terms— Employability, entrepreneurship, genericcompetencies, higher education, problem solving, serious games.

I. INTRODUCTION

AT PRESENT we are engaged in a major change in theeducational paradigm that has been determined, among

other things, by the transition from a way of teaching centeredin the transmission of knowledge, to a new student-centeredconception. This approach has found agreement at an interna-tional level and it supports the development of competences asthe key factor to achieve higher levels of educational qualityand equity [1].

In the last years compulsory and higher education havebeen including competences almost at the same time, althoughthe origins, the way of being considered and the role theyplay in each educational level may be different [2]. However,competences are expressed in both cases as “a powerful toolfor the paradigm shift that involves the education of a personin its entirety” [3].

At the University of Deusto (UD) we can point 2001 as theyear when competences were integrated in the learning model,

Manuscript received July 12, 2013; revised October 3, 2013; acceptedOctober 3, 2013. Date of publication October 16, 2013; date of current versionNovember 26, 2013. The work at the University of Deusto was supported bythe Regional Government of Biscay’s Bizkailab program.

M. Guenaga is with the Department of Computer Engineering,University of Deusto, Bilbao 48007, Spain (e-mail: [email protected]).

S. Arranz is with INNOVA, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Univer-sity of Deusto, Bilbao 48007, Spain (e-mail: [email protected]).

I. Rubio Florido and E. Rubio are with the Institute of Leisure Studiesand Department of Social and Human Sciences, University of Deusto, Bilbao48007, Spain (e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]).

A. Ortiz de Guinea is with the Deusto Institute of Technology, Universityof Deusto, Bilbao 48007, Spain (e-mail: [email protected]).

A. Rayón is with DeustoTech Learning and the Industrial TechnologiesDeptartment at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Deusto, Bilbao48007, Spain (e-mail: [email protected]).

M. J. Bezanilla is with INNOVA, Faculty of Psychology and Edu-cation, University of Deusto, Bilbao 48007, Spain (e-mail: [email protected]).

I. Menchaca is with DeustoTech Learning, Deusto Institute ofTechnology, University of Deusto, Bilbao 48007, Spain (e-mail:[email protected]).

Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are availableonline at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/RITA.2013.2285024

since this was the year when the UD Learning Model waspublished. It was the result of a great reflection carried out atan institutional level at all faculties. In this process,the profileof graduates and the maps of competences were defined, i.e.which generic and specific competences to be developed byeach degree and course. In 2011 we proposed an innovativestrategy to develop and assess these competences: seriousgames, as an innovative tool, attractive and with great pos-sibilities for our students.

This was the origin of Serious Games for Education(SG4Edu) at the UD, within the Bizkailab program sup-ported by the Regional Government of Biscay. The objec-tive of this project is to create a serious game to developand assess employability-oriented competences, specificallyproblem-solving and entrepreneurship. The game is intendedfor undergraduate students in their last year and the firstyear of post-graduate studies, and with this purpose we havejoined the knowledge and experience of four research groups:DeustoTech Learning, DeustoTech Computing, Innova and theLeisure Studies Institute.

A. Challenges of the Project

After a review of the literature and projects in line withwhat we propose in this article, we have found that it ismore and more common to find use cases of games in highereducation, as for example the European project ChermugLLP [4]. Related to the competences that are being developedin this study, we also found Serious Games oriented specifi-cally to promote entrepreneurship [5] or problem solving [6].However, the game we have developed, besides integrating twogeneric competences specially relevant for the professionaldevelopment of university students, has been designed fromthe competency-based University of Deusto’s Learning Model,taking into account key aspects such as the evaluation system,aligned with competences and methodologies, or providingimmediate and meaningful feedback to students. We believethat the inclusion of these pedagogical variables in the designof a Serious Game can greatly contribute to the developmentof different elements that integrate these generic competences.

Due to the innovative and multidisciplinary nature of theproject we faced several technological, pedagogical and playissues. Among the first ones we highlight the followingneeds:

- Guaranteeing the interoperability of the game for thewhole university community. It is important to reach thehighest number and variety of platforms and devices aspossible, among the ones usually used by students.

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- Adapting the scope of the project, as well as existingeconomic and time constraints, to the pedagogical needs,with an interesting gameplay that attracts users.

- Ensuring the correct transition of pedagogicalapproaches into the game mechanics.

Challenges have also been raised in the pedagogical andleisure spheres, the most relevant being the following:

- Selecting the generic competences that will be devel-oped through the game. Based on several criteria, explainedlater, we have chosen the generic competences and theirlevel of mastery.

- Defining the profile of final users, their characteristics,tastes and preferences when using ICT and specificallywhen they play games, consoles and mobile devices. Dueto the fact that these competences are developed whenstudents are closer to join the labour market, we determinedas target users of the project students in the last yearof graduate studies and first year of postgraduate studies.These choices imply specific characteristics and conditionswhen developing an educational play product.

- The transition from face-to-face activities to an onlinegame. The dynamics to work competences, the type ofactivities, the interaction among students that do not needto share a physical ora time space, the narrative of thegame… all has meant a great challenge for the team.

- The conditions imposed by the proper technology andby the economic and time requirements of the project.The project duration is 12 months and has a budget of3300 working hours for the whole team. The plan pro-posed sometimes by the pedagogical team was consideredunaffordable by the technological team, the reason whywe have had to redesign some approaches, activities andfocuses to fit the viability of the project.

II. AN APPROACH TO SERIOUS GAMES

Games in general and videogames in particular have beenin use as a learning tool in higher education in the lastyears. Although usually played for fun, some argue thatthey could also be played primarily to learn, even if it isan unconscious intent [7]. The game mode called SeriousGames is characterized by being designed specifically witheducational, training and information purposes [8]. This doesnot mean that the game does not have to promote fun, butthe entertaining game is designed to educate, so that studentlearning becomes amusing [9].

Among the distinctive features of this type of games appear[10]: being oriented for the training of skills or the understand-ing of complex processes; to model real-life situations [11];and, to have declared interests in contents (political, economic,psychological, religious, etc.). Thus, and considering the def-inition Clark Abt gave in 1970 for the term Serious Games[12], for the formal modeling of this game we have consideredthe following structural components:

- Objectives: they should be clearly defined and knownpermanently by the player. In the context of an educationalserious game at higher education, the objectives will be

explicitly stated in the learning objectives of the compe-tences that want to be developed.

- Rules: this is the component by which will be deter-mined the order of the players and their actions, the rightsand responsibilities of the players and the objectives to beachieved by each player to achieve the challenge offeredto him or her.

- Challenge: this determines when the game can beconsidered completed. The player will face problems, forwhich solutions must be sought, so that once all areresolved, the challenge will be accomplished. For theSerious Game that is being proposed, the closure criteriaof the partial scenarios and the overall end (game over)will be specified in terms of learning outcomes.

- Interaction: it is the component that arises from thegame mechanics and dynamics [13], and it will leadto all the experiences that the player will have. Theycontinually emerge as a result of immediate feedbackthat the game should offer, and also shows evidence ofprogress toward the final challenge (closure criteria of thegame).

Adding together all these components results in differentscenarios or contexts that create an immersive experiencewhere players become part of the action, and their actionshave effects on the environment that models the game.

Blackman makes an overview of the games industry andits applications [14]. So, these games can be used to meettraining objectives in areas such as defense, education, scien-tific exploration, health, public policy, strategic communica-tions, emergency management, urban planning, engineering,religion, politics, etc. Thus, in these areas, games could beused for applications such as training in problem-solving,the simulation of real scenario situations, the fostering ofcollaboration, etc.

As far as education is concerned, one of the most famousancestors of today’s Serious Games is The Oregon Trail,created by three professors of History in 1971. At universitylevel in Spain, in the study and presentation of results ofthe educational use of Serious Games, some initiatives andprojects arise such as the Learn and Play project with EA,coordinated by the University of Alcalá and the Open Univer-sity of Spain (UNED) in collaboration with Electronic Arts:the Master in Creation, Multimedia Design and Engineeringof the University Ramon Llull: the F9 research group ofthe University of Barcelona; Young ICT research group ofthe Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), or the courseDesigning serious (video) games: From theory to practicalapplications of the University of Zaragoza.

Outside Spain we can highlight institutions such as Future-lab, GaLA (Games and Learning Alliance), SGI (Seri-ous Games Institute), Innovation in education for creatingvideogames for education (United Kingdom), the Europeanproject SimAULA, for the creation of learning scenarios viasimulations; Learning Spaces platforms and E-kampus of3Dsoft for immersive education, and employed by variouseducational institutions and universities in Colombia, or thework of Muratet et al. [15] presenting a study about a SeriousGame for the acquisition of computer programming skills.


III. REALITY OF THE YOUTH IN RELATION TO DIGITAL

LEISURE AND LEARNING

The project was specifically designed for students in theirlast years of undergraduate study and first years of post-graduate study at the University of Deusto. In addition toidentifying the end user, it was possible to experiment andvalidate the project with university students and lecturers ina real environment. It also enabled us to reflect on certainaspects and include key nuances concerning the target public’srecreation, fun, leisure and learning.

Leisure is undoubtedly important to all citizens. Over 90%of the students in the youngest group regard it as important orvery important, placing leisure at the same level as friendship,studies and even professional training and competence [16].The evaluative or qualitative role assigned to leisure is furthersupported by qualitative aspects such as the amount of freetime available to young people, which ranges from 33.9 hours(women) to 34.5 hours (men) per week [16]. ICTs also playa key role in this group’s leisure and free time, with 98% ofyoung Basques using the Internet [17]. A closer look at theactivities, time devoted to computer-related uses, videogamesand social networks in the various existing forms shows thatit is mainly television watching that is being displaced [17].Leisure and recreation are key aspects of ITC use.

The same study carried out by the Basque Government[17] links the use of the Internet firstly to entertainment. It isalso revealing that “learning interesting things” is linked to31% of Internet use in the group over 30 and 24% of theyoungest group. There are no significant gender differencesconcerning access. However, there are some slight differ-ences related to frequency, with men being more assiduoususers [16]. The growing number of young people participatingin networks/communities such as MySpace, Facebook, Tuenti[16] is also remarkable, with 70% (users under 20-year-old)and 63% (users over 20-year-old).

Spain is one of the top five European countries in termsof the use being made of videogames with players,totalling24% [19]. The profile for the most frequent videogame usersis between 7 and 34 years of age, with an average age of32 [19]. There are significant gender differences, with 59%of Spanish players being men [18]. This information has beenconfirmed by other studies [16], which reaffirm that more menthan women play video and electronic games. There are alsoclear gender differences concerning frequency, with womenplaying less than men [16].

The GFK study [20], [21] highlights fun and amusement asthe main reasons for playing. Depending on the type of player,other reasons include improving one’s performance, a feelingof being in control, competitiveness, living in a fantasy world(very assiduous players), social concepts, the practical valueof the game such as practicing or sport, whereas competitionis relegated to a second position (casual players).

IV. COMPETENCE-BASED LEARNING AND

SERIOUS GAMES

As we have discussed previously, a paradigm shift in edu-cation is taking place in which competency-based learning is

Fig. 1. The concept of competence at UD, referenced by Poblete andGarcia (22) (p. 51). The competences promote an integration and activation ofknowledge, standards, techniques, procedures, skills, attitudes and values (23).

increasing (generics and specifics) (see Fig. 1). We can definethe competences as “the integration of different elements(knowledge, techniques, attitudes, procedures, values) that aperson puts into play in a particular problematic situation,showing is able to resolve it” [3].

The competence has an integrative character, in the mannerthat it combines different resources in order to respond to asituation. As de Miguel [24] states, at the present time, it ismeaningless to offer students knowledge and skills separatelyon the one hand, and on the other, values and attitudes.

Other key elements of the competences are their link to aspecific context, their interrelation with other competences ortheir direct relationship with tasks and activities [25].

Learning from this perspective is understood as the demon-stration in real or simulated contexts of the command of thecompetence or performance, which “is bringing the univer-sities to introduce new teaching methods which favour thedevelopment of these competences, as well as thinking aboutnew systems and methods for their assessment” [26].

We consider that ICT in general and serious games inparticular are invaluable tools to support these new teaching-learning and assessment processes.

A. What do Serious Games Contribute to the Developmentof Competences?

The serious games constitute a privileged setting for thedevelopment of all of the components of the competences(concepts, skills, attitudes, motivations, values, etc.) as theyallow for life experiences to be developed in which theycan be put into practice, starting off in situations which areoften similar to those which students will come across inreal settings. At the same time factors like multimode andinteractivity [27], as well as the motivations which encourageleisure activity or its power to generate emotions, have animportant impact on learning in general, and especially on thedevelopment of competences [28]–[31].

The relationship between videogames and learning is clear.Apart from the specific learning of certain tasks and/or enter-tainment, the literature contains aspects which confirm thatwith this type of game not only are contents acquired, butalso certain skills and competences.


Authors like Gros [32] consider that serious games encour-age self-esteem and have a motivational factor, as well as thepossibility of developing cogitative skills and strategies like thecapacity to solve problems, take decisions, search and organizethe information, procedural memory and abstract reasoning.

To all of this we could add that they increase the capacityof coordination, spatial perception and the visual field [33],which has an impact on reading and the efficient handlingin 3D environments. On this matter, it has been found thatmedicine students who have experienced playing videogameslearn more quickly and handle the sophisticated surgery andimage apparatus more effectively [34]. These games also favorsocialization as they act as instruments for the transfer ofbehavioral, value and attitude guidelines in certain contextsand improve the cognitive processes, as well as the skillsof memory reasoning and social interaction, particularly withthe strategic games [32]. As regards the digital competencesand the processing of information, the videogames’ environ-ment requires certain skills of the users whereby continuouspractice make them competent to handle the information inorder to select that which they need in order to successfullyparticipate in the game process, update the versions of thegames, download extensions and update and install them [35].On the other hand, competences are developed for communi-cation, provided by the communities of videogame playerswhich facilitate this by becoming channels of communica-tion between friends, colleagues and occasional players, forexample through chats or direct communication tools duringthe game.

Beyond the achievements in the development of punctualcompetencies, we must remember that modern theories oflearning suggest that learning is most effective when it isactive, experiential, situated, based on problems and receivesan immediate feedback [31], and according to a recent meta-analysis on this issue [36], most of the Game Based Learningexperiences are based on these principles.

Many authors consider the use of videogames as anappropriate resource for the development of competences[10], [30], [37]–[41], citing features such as the abilityto connect and control events, the possibility of livingthe experiences, the interaction with knowledge and withother people, opportunities for problem solving in real orsimulated contexts, their ability to mobilize emotions andincrease motivation for learning and for mediation of conduct,among others.

Here are some of the experiences that are being developedin relation to the educational use of serious games for com-petences development:

- simSchool. A simulator for teachers that offers teachingsituations in which they develop knowledge and skills neces-sary for success in the classroom. Research has indicated thatthe training time in the simulator makes a significant differencein relation to the teacher with self-efficacy and sense of locusof control.

- e-Kampus. It is a virtual world where users can buildrelationships, plan financial transactions, etc. It allows toestablish contacts with others entrepreneurs and experts in thebusiness that act as models.

- SciEthics Interactive. This project is designed to createvirtual simulations with an approach that integrates scienceand ethics, where higher level students and graduate studentscan experience real world situations in the safety of a virtualenvironment.

V. OUR RESEARCH: A SERIOUS GAME FOR THE

DEVELOPMENT OF GENERIC COMPETENCES AT THE

UNIVERSITY OF DEUSTO

The Regional Government of Biscay (RGB), along withthe University of Deusto, has launched an important strategicapproach for innovation and development through the pro-gram BizkaiLab that “is born with the aim of generating aknowledge, development and social innovation hub in the pre-ferred interest fields of the Historic Territory of Biscay” [43].BizkaiLab is the supporting framework of the project SG4Eduwe present here. The project was developed in 2012 by amultidisciplinary team made up by technicians, pedagoguesand leisure experts.

In this first phase (2012) the project has focused the effortson the serious games in higher education, the conceptualfoundations in which games are based, existing projects andproducts and use cases. Taking advantage of this background,two prototypes to be used at the University of Deusto havebeen developed. This article presents the part of the projectfocused on the development and assessment of employmentoriented competences.

A. Phases of the Project

The project is structured in three phases:Phase I. Analysis of the state of the art. We have carried out

a bibliographical review at international level from the peda-gogic, technological and recreational point of view. Authors,entities, publications and relevant conferences in the field havebeen identified. Commercial products, experimental projectsand companies dedicated to the development and exploitationof serious games have been analyzed. We also studied theexperiences of using serious games in education, focusing onhigher education. The result of this phase is a report publishedin July 2012.

Phase II: Design of prototypes. Based on acquired knowl-edge in the previous phase two prototypes have been designed.Prototype-1 deals with Engineering degrees and its objectiveis to research the development and use of serious games forengineering education and their impact in the acquisition ofemployment oriented competences, and to make experimentaluse of technology in this context (remote laboratories, mobiledevices, digital interactive boards, etc.). Prototype-2 is ori-ented to the development of generic competences to improveemployment skills. It is based in the work done by the Univer-sity of Deusto in the definition of the University of Deusto’sLearning Model and the design of generic competences, todevelop a prototype that allows the practice of employmentoriented competences with a multilevel approach, applicableto different degrees. The result of this phase is the design ofthe two prototypes described above.


Phase III. Development and test of the prototypes. Basedon the design obtained in the second phase two seriousgames have been developed. Existing technologies for thedevelopment have been analyzed and the selection has beenmade responding to different criteria to achieve the objectivesof the project, such as portability, multiplatform execution,compliance with standards, robust and stable technology, etc.Project members have tested both prototypes. This phase wasfinished in December 2012.

B. Competences to be Developed

When talking about competences at the university two typesof competences can be distinguished: specific competences(associated with concrete knowledge areas) and generic com-petences (common to different degrees and related to theintegral training of people). Tuning shows that the need existsto spend time on and pay attention to the development ofgeneric competences, because they are more and more impor-tant in the training of students for their future performance asprofessionals and citizens [42].

For the serious game developed at the UD two genericcompetences have been selected: entrepreneurship and prob-lem solving. The criteria followed to choose these compe-tences are:

- These are competences usually practicedin the last coursesof graduate studies, and these are our target users.

- Possibilities of play and development. Among the mostrepeated competences the entertainment possibilities of seriousgames were studied, taking into account the resources of theproject. This led us to eliminate competences such as verbalor written communication, and the third most repeated wasselected: problem solving.

- Employability: one of the key objectives of the projectwas the orientation to promote the employability of players,and that was the main reason to choose the entrepreneurshipcompetence. Besides we believe it is an especially appropriatecompetence to be developed with an adventure-like seriousgame.

In both cases we started from the definition of the compe-tences described in the book Competence based learning, anapproach for the evaluation of generic competences, whereeach competence, besides following the UD Learning Model,is classified in three levels of mastery, and each level is formedby a number of indicators that will help to assess the degreeof competence development among students.

These indicators have been used as a guide when definingthe activities to be included in the game. In Tables I and II youcan see two examples of activities designed to develop thesecompetences, and indicators used to evaluate the degreeofachievement.

C. Technological Design

Regarding the technology applied to the context of thisgame, and considering the chosen modality, it will not requirelong playing sessions, and this is why it is considered casualplay [44]. Based on this characteristic the development triesto adapt to different environments of usual consumption.

TABLE I

AN EXAMPLE OF ACTIVITY DEVELOPED TO PROMOTE

ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETENCE

TABLE II

AN EXAMPLE OF ACTIVITY DEVELOPED TO PROMOTE PROBLEM

SOLVING COMPETENCE

There are many ways to develop graphical adventures,such as the veteran SCUMM, revitalized with the newestOpen Source implementation SCUMMVM [45], or otherengines, developed taking eLearning in mind, such as eAdven-ture [http://e-adventure.e-ucm.es/tutorial/]. The main problemusing these game engines is to adapt our game design to thetechnological limitations they involve. They will prevent usfrom integrating activities with different mechanics in the maingame; and in most cases the game would not run in a non-PC/Windows environment.

Once we decided to develop our own game engine forthe graphic adventure, the next decision was the selectionof the concrete technology. We decided to use HTML5 andJavascript, using canvas. Even if the graphical performanceof this combination is nowadays very limited, and mainlyin 2d, it is also true that our design does not require highefficiency, because it is based in a pondered point-and-clickinteraction, and not in rapid animations or tenth of secondreactions. Besides, this development will allow the executionin any kind of mobile phones, tablets and desktop computers,with the only requisite of having a modern web browser.

Among other technologies evaluated to be usedin the project we would like to mention Unity3D


(http://unity3d.com/), a well-known engine we have usedin other applications. In spite of being a solid engine thatenables powerful development, it is too complex for thisserious game.We could also have used, maintaining themultiplatform and browser execution philosophy, Flash andJava technology; but different performing constraints, theneed of installing plug-ins, the opening of the platform andpersonal experience have led us to the final decision.

The base of the code for the development of the project hasbeen designed bearing reusability in mind; this is why we havedeveloped an engine using Javascript, which is responsible forprocessing a game script in JSON format, which representsdifferent parts of the game.

Following a quite classic approach, the game is dividedinto scenarios represented with a desktop background. Thesescenarios have hot-spots where the player is able to click andrun different actions (change the state of the game, change thescenario, text fields, launching of small games).

Over the game elements a graphical user interface hasbeen developed. It is a folder icon with the logo of theUD that shows the game utilities (save/remove round, acti-vate/deactivate the highlight of elements), the current scoringand an icon with a map that allows the player to see theblueprint of the university and links different rooms.

VI. CONCLUSION

The project SG4Edu represents an important contributionto the field of educational Serious Games, both due to itsorientation to the development and assessment of generic com-petences, and because of being oriented to university students.

Higher education institutions are worried about the employ-ability of their students and graduates. Training them not onlyin knowledge, but also in competences, is an increasing trendthat the University of Deusto has adopted since 2001. Seriousgames are an innovative tool in this field that contributes withhigh possibilities of individual and collaborative work. Theyare considered attractive for teachers and students because theypromote different dynamics in and outside the classroom.

Since December 2012 we have a game available, a graphicadventure set at the University of Deusto itself, with whichstudents can develop and assess their capability of entrepre-neurship and problem solving. It is a game to be used with aPC but also on a mobile device like tablets, which opens newpossibilities for mobile learning.

Looking ahead to the course 2013-2014 we will be consid-ering the use of the game in different degrees at the Universityof Deusto. It will be necessary to train teachers so they usethe game as an educational tool. We are also thinking ofdeveloping new games for other generic competences and/orlevels of mastery, or the possibility to integrate differentcompetences in the same game.

And, lastly,we also want to point out that working in amultidisciplinary team is very enriching and necessary for thiskind of projects, but it is necessary to find consensus amongdifferent points of views, objectives and priorities during thedevelopment of the project. Continuous communication hasbeen essential for the good understanding of the team and

to carry out a really collaborative work, where each memberhas contributed with his/her knowledge and experience in theachievement of the objectives of the SG4Edu project.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

DeustoTech Learning, DeustoTech Computing, LeisureStudies Institute and Innova research groups have participatedin the project.

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Mariluz Guenaga received the Ph.D. degree incomputer engineering from the University of Deusto,Deusto, Spain, with the thesis “Integral accessibilityof digital resource centres for people with visualdisability,” in 2007. She is the Head of DeustoTechLearning Research Group and a Lecturer at theComputer Engineering Department, Faculty of Engi-neering, University of Deusto. Her research fields,projects and publications focus on learning technol-ogy and human-computer interaction.

Sonia Arranz received the Degree in pedagogyfrom the University of Deusto, Deusto, Spain, in1998. She has been a member of the research teamINNOVA, Faculty of Psychology and Education,University of Deusto, since 2010. Her main areas ofresearch are the use of technology in education andthe development and evaluation of generic compe-tences. She is working on her doctoral thesis on theuse of video games for the development of genericcompetences.

Isabel Rubio Florido received the B.A. and Ph.D.degrees in leisure and human potential from theUniversity of Deusto, Deusto, Spain. She is theDirector of the master’s degree in leisure manage-ment (culture, tourism, sport and recreation). She hastaught courses on Pedagogy of Leisure, InformationTechnology and Communication and video gamesboth from the point of view of education, teachertraining, elderly and people with disabilities. Sheis a member of the research team on Leisure andHuman Development at the University of Deusto.

She currently teaches graduate and undergraduate courses at the Universityof Deusto.

Eduardo Aguilar received the B.A. and M.A.degrees in information and knowledge management.He is a Professor in the Tourism degree and inthe Diploma in Culture and Solidarity, as well asin the Master in Leisure Management, Master inCongress management, Events and Fairs and Masterin Human Resources. He is a member of the researchteam Leisure and Human Development, Universityof Deusto, Deusto, Spain, and he has been work-ing on the relationship between leisure, informationtechnology and communication and the process of

development individual and collective learning.

Alex Ortiz de Guinea he has been a Researcherwith the DeustoTech Learning Group, University ofDeusto, Bilbao, Spain, since 2011. He has wideexperience as a System Technician and SoftwareDeveloper. His main research area is accessibilityand usability of multimedia resources and game-based learning.

Alex Rayón has been a Lecturer at the IndustrialTechnologies Department, Faculty of Engineering,University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain, since 2009.He is a Computer Engineer, Industrial Organiza-tion Engineering, and Master in Human Resources.He is working on his doctoral thesis. He is ICT-Teaching coordinator at the UTIC and researcher atDeustoTech Learning. His areas of interest are ICTin learning, especially mobile learning.


María José Bezanilla is currently pursuing thePh.D. degree in education from the Institute ofEducation, University of London, London, U.K. Sheteaches at the University of Deusto, Deusto, Spain,in the social education grade and primary educa-tion degree. She coordinates the master on compe-tence development in higher education and the Mas-ter Erasmus Mundus European Master in LifelongLearning: Policy and Management. Her main areasof teaching are the educational resources, informa-tion technologies and communication, competence-

based learning and E-learning. She is member of the research team INNOVA;she is involved in projects on the use of ICT in the university contextand competences development in higher education. She shares her teachingand research tasks with management tasks in the management techniqueinnovation unit and quality, in the field of university innovation with specialemphasis on the pedagogical area, ICT.

Iratxe Menchaca received the Degree in pedagogyfrom the University of Deusto, Deusto, Spain, spe-cialized in the management and innovation of edu-cational centres and ICT applied to education. Sheis a Researcher in the field of educational innovationat DeustoTech Learning and she is studying an offi-cial master on learning technologies: eLearning andknowledge management. She has wide experiencetutoring online masters, as well as in the pedagogicaldesign of digital educational resources. She hasgiven courses about 2.0 tools, cyber bullying, and

security on the net.

Documents

Serious Games for the Development of Employment Oriented Competences