Game-based learning for knowledge sharing and transfer: the e-VITA approach for intergenerational learning

The increasing pervasiveness of digital technology is having a profound effect on how younger generations interact, play, and learn. The use of electronic games for education (game-based learning) promotes an agile, immersive, and stimulating form of learning that fosters learner engagement and motivation. This chapter focuses on GBL for knowledge sharing and transfer for the purposes of intergenerational learning. In addition to the challenge of building intellectually appropriate and challenging games, the informal and incidental nature of intergenerational learning introduces another key requirement: namely, that of effectively capturing and re-proposing the informal knowledge of seniors. For this reason, an innovative approach that builds on the combined use of serious games and storytelling is proposed. The application of this methodology in the context of the research project e-VITA is discussed, including the implications of pedagogy upon game design