Digital Educational Games: A Resource to Promote Education 5.0?

Introduction

The term “Education 5.0” is not yet widely recognized, and there is no consensus on what it exactly means. However, it generally refers to the integration of new technologies to create a more personalized and inclusive learning experience, valuing, in addition to skills related with use of information and communication technologies (ICT), skills such as critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. In this sense, “Education 5.0 refers to the purpose of competence-based education, based on the four pillars of education: learning to live together, learning to know, learning to do, and learning to be” (Possato et al., 2022, p. 24).

In Education 5.0, the teaching and learning process involves creating a more dynamic, flexible, and student-centered learning environment that prepares learners for the challenges of the 21st century. To overcome those challenges European Union (EU) proposed an action plan for digital education that reflects EU educational policy and sets out a common vision about the actions to promote high-quality inclusive and accessible digital education in Europe (European Commission, 2018). This plan aims to support the adaptation of the education and training systems of Member States to the digital age. Among other aspects, it emphasizes the need to guarantee the development of student’s digital skills.

In Portugal, a recommendation of the National Council of Education points out that to achieve this goal it is important to invest in teacher training, equipping them with the knowledge to develop their relationship with digital in curricular and pedagogical terms (Cravinho et al., 2022). This recommendation highlights that to move in this direction it is important to “assess how digital tools, pedagogical strategies, and educational environments considered innovative and on-going actually affect education and, specifically student achievement and students' relationship with knowledge” (p. 7). The attention to these aspects is essential to ensure that the kind of skills that are being developed for students are not limited to technological mastering, and that investment is made in the development of foundational skills, such as computational thinking, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, cooperation, etc. (Cravinho et al., 2022).

These fundamental skills are also highlighted in the Students’ Profile at the End of Compulsory Schooling (Martins et al., 2017), a document that, in the Portuguese context, aims to support the development of a curriculum for the 21st century, identifying ten areas of competence, including technical knowledge and technologies and which involve, in an integrated way, knowledge, skills and attitudes. Thus, technologies and digital resources should be used in the classroom context to prepare future citizens for the multiple challenges they will face in a world that is unpredictable and subject to accelerated changes.

It is critical to integrate digital resources in the classroom because they promote greater student engagement and motivation, personalized learning, independent learning, and the development of digital literacy (Chan, 2019). Referring to these types of resources, Gros (2006) highlights digital games as an increasingly promising resource in the teaching context, if emphasis is placed on the connection between experiences, context, and learning. This author warns that one of the reasons that usually justify the use of digital games is related to the motivation of the student’s participation. However, “possibly what is most important about digital games is the combination of motivation, engagement, adaptivity, simulation, collaboration and data collection” (Gros, 2006, p. 17).

This chapter reflects on the challenges of enabling all students to experience Education 5.0 and proposes a set of practical actions that can support teachers' educational practice. It analyses and discusses a study on the design and validation of digital educational resources in the area of mathematics. It also aims to identify aspects associated with Education 5.0, which allows digital technologies to be integrated more meaningfully into the learning process, with a view to developing critical and creative thinking and collaborative work. The chapter ends with some suggestions on the development of quality educational technology tools and teacher training to promote the appropriate use of digital resources in the classroom.