Research Article 1 Serious computer games in computer science education Jože Rugelj 1, * 1 University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana Abstract The role and importance of serious computer games in contemporary educational practice is presented in this paper as well as the theoretical fundamentals that justify their use in different forms of education. We present a project for designing and developing serious games that take place within the curriculum for computer science teachers’ education as an independent project work in teams. In this project work students have to use their knowledge in the field of didactics and computer science to develop games. The developed game is tested and evaluated in schools in the framework of their practical training. The results of the evaluation can help students improve their games and verify to which extent specified learning goals have been achieved. Keywords: active learning, project work, serious games, teacher education. Received on 28 September 2015, accepted on 28 September 2015, published on 05 November 2015 Copyright © 2015 Jože Rugelj, licensed to EAI. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unlimited use, distribution and reproduction in any medium so long as the original work is properly cited. doi: 10.4108/eai.5-11-2015.150613 1. Introduction A shift from traditional didactic transmission model of teaching to student-oriented forms of active learning, where the teacher's role radically changes, is needed in modern education. Instead of transmitting knowledge, a teacher prepares a suitable environment and tasks as well as other challenges for independent student learning, directs them, and gives them appropriate feedback. Learning objectives should move from lower taxonomic levels, dominated by retrieving various information and facts, to higher taxonomic levels, where there is an emphasis on the search for, evaluation and application of knowledge. Information and communication technologies (ICTs), which have a very limited role in traditional forms of teaching, can very effectively improve the efficiency and quality of learning when these changes happen [1]. ICTs’ potential in finding, processing, transmitting, storing and displaying data in various forms (i.e. multimedia) is well-known, but in the traditional forms of teaching and learning their usefulness is limited [2] [3]. This is also valid for communication support, support for collaboration, as well as for the opportunities for easy distribution of learning materials and results of the work of all those who are involved in the educational process [4], [5], [6]. Only in the last decade did experts discover new opportunities that can contribute for the learner's cognitive processes by interactivity and by the meaningful and purposeful use of multimedia [7], [8]. Games have always represented an important form of learning, but very rarely were they used in formal education. If they are somehow tolerated in the earliest development stages, they cannot be found in the selection of appropriate methods in the more "mature" periods of life, as many teachers believe that teaching and learning is too serious matter to allow the presence of play in these processes. Therefore, games were marginalized for a long time. Significant changes brought more massive introduction of information and communication technologies into education. ICTs do not change teaching methods, but they often encourage teachers and other professionals in the field of education to start thinking about new approaches. Thus, with the advent of ICT, teachers have often started thinking about collaborative forms of learning, even though this could be implemented in the classroom where students sit next to each other also without technology. Even the emergence of computer games teaching has led experts to think more about games EAI Endorsed Transactions on Serious Games * Corresponding author. Email: joze.rugelj@pef.uni-lj.si EAI Endorsed Transactions on Sersious Games 10 -11 2015 | Volume 2 | Issue 6 | e6