Use of video games to enhance construction management education

ABSTRACT

The new approach for education calls for more interactive methods to communicate with students. New technologies have found their way into classrooms and have proven to be more effective in delivering learning materials to students. Video games have been introduced as one of the possible new tools for educating the upcoming generation in many different fields. Specifically, construction management education has attempted to use simulation software to introduce students to various construction concepts. However, these simulations have missed the mark when it comes to the fun factor which has affected the uptake and therefore the educational impact of such tools. CONVEX is an educational video game that was developed with the objective of teaching high-level construction management concepts without sacrificing enjoyment. A study was conducted that showed that CONVEX impacted players’ ability to recognize construction activity sequence as well as the resources required to complete these activities. CONVEX had a higher impact on students that had no prior construction background and was used successfully in teaching construction management concepts in an approach that can one day replace conventional classrooms lectures and tests.

KEYWORDS:

• Video games
• construction management
• education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.