Abstract:

The development of new digital technologies in ecological education for the sustainable formation of an environmentally friendly society has a long-term effect on environmental protection, sustainable management of natural resources, and the preparation of the younger generation as a responsible factor for the preservation of biological diversity. Serious educational games with creative visualization of real ecosystems make a significant contribution. This paper presents an educational platform for serious games, built on innovative software solutions. A number of experimental scenarios have been created to provide awareness and knowledge about the functioning of protected ecosystems; sustainable use, conservation, and management of natural resources; pollution prevention and control; and protection and response in critical situations affecting biodiversity. Based on these scenarios, serious educational games with creative visualization in a selected natural eco-context are developed. The educational resources and scenarios use creative visualization of the Burgas lake ecosystem. It is distinguished by its exceptional biodiversity and is one of the three most significant protected natural complexes with a concentration of water birds on the Black Sea coast. It is an important part of Via Pontica, one of the main migration routes for birds from Europe to Africa, where they traditionally stop to rest, and some even stay to winter and to nest. The basic software components of the educational platform for serious games are: a module for creative visualization and management of game objects simulating a natural environment; storage of reusable game objects; a module for defining and developing educational game scenarios; a module for formalizing and developing game rules in a selected context. The technological solution allows teachers to dynamically edit, supplement, and customize educational game resources and scenarios to support various activities in educational eco-programs. The serious games created through the platform provide additional opportunities for collaboration and teamwork, problem solving, proactivity, and social responsibility. Through their high interactivity, the serious educational games that have been developed present participants with clear learning objectives, interesting roles, rich actions, and interactions with immediate real-time information. They will receive feedback on the consequences of their choices, thus developing awareness and knowledge of the impact of human activity on natural ecosystems. The game resources can be used in broader educational applications to combine theoretical and practical activities and in different target and age groups to develop environmental skills and enhance dialogue for social change in relation to the responsible management of natural resources.

Keywords:

Learning scenarios, serious educational games, natural ecosystems, creative visualization.