MYTH TROUBLES: An Open-Source Educational Game in Scratch for Greek Mythology

Abstract

Background. Educational games are nowadays used for facilitating the teaching and learning process of various subjects. History is one of the subjects that simulations and games are used for promoting active learning and supporting students in comprehending various history-related subjects.

Aim. This article reports on a new educational game on Greek mythology, called MYTH TROUBLES, designed and developed from scratch with the aim of supporting primary school students in studying Greek mythology and raising their interest on the subject of history.

Method. The article presents the educational rationale and design of MYTH TROUBLES in the context of an educational games design model proposed in the literature. Since the game was implemented with the platform of Scratch and it is available online both for students (or anyone interested in Greek Mythology) and game developers, some information for its implementation is also provided. The results of a pilot evaluation of MYTH TROUBLES with the help of 21 experienced school teachers are presented, along with proposals for improvement and extension of the game.

Results. Teachers evaluated positively MYTH TROUBLES in terms of acceptability, usability, utility as an educational tool, as well as its interface and game play and expressed their willingness to use it in the classroom.

Conclusions. MYTH TROUBLES is considered appropriate by teachers for supporting the teaching and learning of Greek mythology and assessing its educational value in class is the next step. Scratch is appropriate for implementing such educational games and sharing them with interested players and game developers.