The use of digital gaming as a teaching and learning resource for the ethics programme

Abstract

Digital gaming is a popular pastime with all sections of the population. The flourishing of e-sports conventions and competitions both locally and abroad in recent years are a testimony of the extensive popularity of this medium in contemporary culture. Digital games have also become an essential part of contemporary popular culture and cultural discourse. However, digital gaming is predominantly regarded as a tool of entertainment in popular discourse but rarely considered as a viable tool of moral education. This dissertation aims to challenge this notion.

Sicart (2009) notes that conscious gamers are aware of the simulatory nature of digital games to real-life ethical issues. As ethical beings, their interaction with the medium are influenced by feelings of empathy with the virtual character as they contemplate what would they do if they were in the same moral dilemma.

The challenge lays on the implementation of such virtual experiences in the ethics programme. In this study, several examples of ethical themes featured in two digital games will be thematically analysed against the content of the Ethics programme. This will be followed with a thorough SWOT analysis of the use of the chosen games as resources for teaching and learning that can be incorporated in the scheme of work of the ethics educator. This pragmatic analysis will be substantiated through a virtual interview with the Ethics Education Officer. The research questions are the following: 1. Are digital games suitable to teach moral education and for moral development? 2. Can digital gaming enrich the ethics programme? 3. How can digital gaming be implemented effectively and safely in the ethics programme?