Abstract:

Several studies highlight how interactive and highly engaging virtual learning environments (VLE) may be considered vicarious teaching tools that foster the acquisition and enhancement of different skills throughout life. Recent research by Hookham and Nesbitt emphasizes the multifaceted nature of engagement in educational settings, highlighting its emotional, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions. They underscore the importance of understanding these dimensions for designing effective edugames that promote active student participation. Moreover, studies exploring the educational and motivational potentials of music in this VLE reveal its role in enhancing learning experiences and increasing student engagement. Edugames usually integrate musical elements that enrich narratives and structure, making them appealing to diverse learners' needs and preferences. Notably, soundtracks, audio effects, and feedback mechanisms are pivotal in promoting and facilitating active user engagement, as highlighted by several neuroscientific studies that link sound to both the activation of specific brain areas and the user involvement processes. Considering the complexities involved, teachers play an essential role in selecting or designing edugames that align with educational goals and enhance learning outcomes through the increase of pupils' motivation with specific music and sound effects. In this context, simplex didactic may serve as a framework teachers may adopt, a metacognitive approach that may orient strategic decision-making and encourages them to critically reflect on how specific soundtracks, jingles, audio effects may be useful to increase pupils' engagement and their learning process while using an edugame. In particular, simplex didactics aims to seek ways through which the teacher may select, based on the specificities of their learners, communicative channels, generalizable and flexible teaching actions that take into account the peculiarities of everyone, consistent with inclusive teaching. So, the application of the principles and properties of simplexity in the selection of a video game, with special attention to the sound components, may be a concrete operational guide to improve the levels of engagement in learners. Starting from that assumption, the aim of this paper is to trace a reflection on how properties and rules of simplexity may guide teachers to choose engaging properties or creating engaging environments through multiple sound effects and components in order to foster greater involvement in learners.

Keywords:

Engagement, Music, Edugames, Simplexity, Inclusion.