Digital simulation games in university teaching – flexible and versatile

Digitally supported simulation games as part of university teaching - Senaryon is already in use at over 20 universities worldwide! The flexible usage models allow us to respond precisely to the most diverse requirements of university teaching. Lecturers can use the task and assessment system to give students feedback and award ECTS points, e.g. for reflection essays or independent development of the simulation content. The simulation games can also be conducted asynchronously over a longer period of time and can thus be integrated well into the course.

What it’s about

Senaryon conducts a broad range of university simulations, which cover topics such as the European Council, regional services of general interest, and international climate negotiations. They are also very diverse in terms of structure: one-day workshops with simulation games, blended learning settings with online and face-to-face phases, or simulations lasting several weeks during the semester. Senaryon is also exciting in the context of international university cooperation, in which students are not all in one place and can still participate in a simulation game via the platform. One example is the cooperation between the University of Göttingen and the Universiteit Antwerpen in Belgium. In mixed groups, Master’s students from both universities conduct the online simulation game “Green Europe? Lobbying in the European Union using the example of climate policy”. As representatives of the European institutions and various interest groups, the students are working on a regulation to reduce greenhouse gases in transport.

How it works

The simulation “Green Europe?” is a pure online simulation game. It is structured asynchronously, i.e. the individual phases last several days. Within this time, the students complete tasks, chat with each other, work out drafts and prepare resolutions. At certain scheduled times, all participants are online simultaneously to conduct negotiations using a video conferencing tool. Otherwise, the participants are free to organise their working time as they wish - the Senaryon notification system keeps them up to date on what is happening in the game. The content developed by the students is assessed by the lecturers from both universities. In the moderation area of Senaryon, they can use the task system to observe and evaluate the students' activities and contributions and give feedback directly on individual contributions. The work to be done is usually part of the simulation game, so for example, content has to be researched and position papers and press releases have to be written. For this project, we developed the structure and the basic content of the simulation game, which has been carried out for many years by lecturers from both universities.

The special feature: The flexible usage models

Whether at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt/Oder, at the FernUniversität Hagen or as part of the European Studies Masters of CIFE in Brussels and Nice: sometimes the games are completely online, sometimes blended, sometimes digitally supported on site. Sometimes the content comes from us, sometimes it is developed and uploaded by the university itself. The task and assessment system enables flexible use in teaching and makes participation attractive and engaging for students.

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