Abstract:

Nowadays, in the educational system it is very common to use traditional methods or classes, where the teacher relies solely on the book, leading, as a consequence, that by not performing practical activities, the students' problem-solving skills are not developed, and, therefore, the learning process is inefficient, ineffective, not fun and not interesting at all [1]. Therefore, it is essential that teachers acquire the ability to create innovative approaches, resources, strategies and teaching plans taking advantage of technological progress, in order to increase motivation, creativity, reasoning and student interest, while generating a more dynamic and stimulating educational environment for the growth, performance and development of students [2].
This educational need can be covered through educational games, also defined as Gamification, and more specifically through Digital Gamification technology, which involves the use of Virtual Reality, a technology also used for learning and educational purposes, and which provides the student or user with a more authentic environment similar to the real world [3], [4].
For these reasons, the aim of the article is to analyze the scientific evolution of game-based learning applied to virtual reality. The analysis of the scientific literature will be carried out through the application of bibliometric techniques, accompanied also by data mining and network analysis techniques. Thanks to this, it will be possible to identify the evolution of this scientific area, the main organizations that are implied in the scientific development, as well as to determine the key research areas that facilitate the identification of the fundamental practices or methodologies to implement Virtual Reality in educational environments. All of the above will also be of great help for the scientific community to use these results as a reference point to initiate new actions or establish collaborations.

References:
[1] Y. Gui, Z. Cai, Y. Yang, L. Kong, X. Fan, and R. H. Tai, “Effectiveness of digital educational game and game design in STEM learning: a meta-analytic review,” Int. J. STEM Educ., vol. 10, no. 1, p. 36, May 2023, doi: 10.1186/s40594-023-00424-9.
[2] K. Agustini, I. M. Putrama, D. S. Wahyuni, and I. N. E. Mertayasa, “Applying Gamification Technique and Virtual Reality for Prehistoric Learning toward the Metaverse,” Int. J. Inf. Educ. Technol., vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 247–256, 2023, doi: 10.18178/ijiet.2023.13.2.1802.
[3] A. Ehab, G. Burnett, and T. Heath, “Enhancing Public Engagement in Architectural Design: A Comparative Analysis of Advanced Virtual Reality Approaches in Building Information Modeling and Gamification Techniques,” Buildings, vol. 13, no. 5, p. 1262, May 2023, doi: 10.3390/buildings13051262.
[4] N. Muhammad Amirul Fawwaz Nik Abdullah, A. Huzaifah Ahmad Sharipuddin, S. Mustapha, and M. N. Mohammed, “The Development of Driving Simulator Game-Based Learning in Virtual Reality,” in 2022 IEEE 18th International Colloquium on Signal Processing & Applications (CSPA), Selangor, Malaysia: IEEE, May 2022, pp. 325–328. doi: 10.1109/CSPA55076.2022.9781976.

Keywords:

Gamification, Virtual Reality, Bibliometric analysis, Game-based learning, Education, Technology.