EscapeWine!: A Fusion of Game-Based Activities for the Virtual Learning Process in a Bachelor's Degree in Enology

Introduction And Background

The educational system is subjected to continuous changes and higher education is not an exception. As a consequence of Covid-19, the whole world witnessed how the educational system had to be adapted to the new scenario. Almost instantly, lectures began to be held online without practically any educational resources available for the students’ other than the slides accompanying the professor´s speech. However, the use of online classes exclusively becomes a problem: as there is no face-to-face interaction between students and lectures, these lectures are often theory-based, with no lively group discussions, etc. Moreover, it is more difficult for professors to assess the knowledge acquired by students during e-learning. Besides, the loss of peer interaction affects the motivation of students, who may perceive lectures to be more difficult, leading to failure or dropout. With online classes, there is a risk of going back to the traditional learning system, centered around the lecturer's input in which the students do not play an active role in their learning process. Additionally, the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) states that non-theoretical skills are also essential factors in the new European University schemes (Riesco González, 2008). Therefore, developing new online educational strategies is needed to guarantee the quality of the education and to motivate students by supporting them with resources that favor the interaction virtually, and to also help the teacher to guide students in the construction of their knowledge.