The Construction of Knowledge through Gaming. How to Engage University Students in the Understanding of the Historical Developments of Knowledge and Scholarship via Playing and Networking

Game-based learning is an acknowledged and valued teaching approach in children's education and is gaining increased acceptance in some sectors of professional training. However the educational value of games is still sometimes questioned in academic circles. On the other hand evidence of use of games in university teaching reveals that students welcome the idea of adding games to their portfolio of learning opportunities. The article investigates the current status of game-based learning in education; introduces the theoretical framework supporting game-based learning; presents an example of a Flash game developed for the higher education sector. ‘The Secrets of Biblioland’ is a web-based educational interactive game designed to enable university students to develop information literacy skills and awareness of the historical developments of scholarship and publishing, of the role of libraries and knowledge repositories, of cataloguing resources, using libraries and searching engines, producing appropriate referencing.