Research trends in game‐based learning research in online learning environments: A review of studies published in SSCI ‐indexed journals from 2003 to 2012

Background and objectives As computer games have become a highly popular form of entertainment and have had a large impact on how university students spend their leisure time (Hainey, Connolly, Stansfield & Boyle, 2011), serious attention has been directed to the potential and the effects of using online games on improving students’ learning (Paraskeva, Mysirlaki & Papagianni, 2010). The increasing availability of game-based technologies together with developments in Human-Computer Interaction and usability engineering provides new challenges and opportunities to online learning environments (Holzinger, Softic, Stickel, Ebner, Debevc & Hu, 2010). Researchers and educators have sought ways of integrating games into curricula to augment traditional teaching methods and improve students’ learning performance (Kim, Doll & Migneco, 2009).