Can we use Existing Pedagogical Specifications to Design Mixed Reality Learning Games?

Game-based learning is one efficient pedagogical concept that uses game principles to incite learners to engage into learning activities. Learning games are commonly known as digital environments. In the mean time, new technologies have been increasingly developed, thus providing new perspectives in game-based learning, particularly, mixed reality technologies that merge both real and digital worlds. For instance, they are widely used in mobile learning or learning with tangible interfaces. For the latter, mixed reality technologies make collaboration easier and provide better feedback to users. We present in the paper a brief study on the state of the art of mixed reality technologies. While the technologies have been experimented in educational settings or in games, they are used only in few learning games. Some research efforts have proven positive outcomes of the latter in learning even they are not widely applicable. Based upon the contributions of mixed reality in learning games, we point out that means employed by designers are as crucial as the pedagogical objectives. Therefore, they have to be taken into account during the design process. Our research efforts aim at providing tools and methods to support the design of mixed reality learning games (MRLG). One of the first steps during the instructional design is to write the learning scenario. However, there is no universal method to be used in the design process. Thus, in the second sectio