A General Architecture for the Integration of Educational Videogames in Standards-compliant Virtual Learning Environments Ángel del Blanco 1 , Javier Torrente 1 , Pablo Moreno-Ger 1 , Baltasar Fernández-Manjón 1 1 Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Facultad de Informática. C/ Profesor José García Santesmases s/n. 28040 Madrid, Spain {angel.dba, jtorrente, pablom, balta}@fdi.ucm.es Abstract Although Virtual Learning Environments have become popular educational tools, they remain a very active research topic. Two important aspects being discussed for next-generation VLEs are how to track the performance of the students for assessment and how to provide personalized learning experiences (i.e. adaptive learning). In this line, educational videogames could contribute thanks to their highly interactive nature. However the combination of VLEs and educational games requires solving diverse conceptual and practical challenges. In this paper we present a general architecture to integrate games in VLEs with special emphasis on how to abstract the communication between the videogames and the VLEs for assessment and adaptation purposes. 1. Introduction Virtual Learning Environments (VLE), such as Moodle, Sakai, .LRN or WebCT-Blackboard have become a powerful tool in education, providing instructors and students with multiple tools that support the learning process. In addition, VLEs are able to track the performance of the students not only through on-line exams, but also by monitoring the interaction between the student and the learning materials. VLEs can use this information to produce and maintain a persistent record of the activity of the student. Moreover, current research in VLEs explores how to use these student profiles to produce a user model of the student and personalize the learning experience according to that model. However, the effectiveness of VLEs for tracking the interaction is hindered by the passive nature of the web-based content, as it is very difficult to determine if html/hypermedia documents are really being attended or skimmed. Another emerging trend is the use of videogames as educational materials due to their great educational potential, which has been thoroughly discussed in the literature [1-3]. Among these benefits, one is especially relevant for this work: games are highly interactive, establishing a very short action-reaction feedback cycle with the player. This interactivity means that videogames can track students’ actions to determine if the learning goals are being achieved [4]. In addition videogames can use the information gathered from user interaction to drive the on-line adaptation of the educational game experience [5]. However, videogames cannot keep a persistent record of the overall progress of the students in the course (which may include other forms of content and other games). Therefore a synergy between VLEs and educational videogames could result in mutual benefit. On the one hand videogames can provide effective mechanisms to track the performance of the students. On the other hand VLEs can use that information to keep an updated profile of the student and use it for adaptation. Moreover, adaptation can be split in two stages: a first general adaptation phase directed by the VLE and a second, fine-grained in-game adaptation phase. Nonetheless this integration poses significant challenges. Usually VLEs are ruled by standards and specifications that define the communication protocol between VLE and learning materials (e.g. SCORM [6]). If videogames are to be integrated in VLEs they must follow such rules, which is an extra technical burden for games authors, as many specifications coexist with no de-jure standard communication protocol. Furthermore, once the communication channel between VLE and videogame is established, the problem of how to use it for assessment and adaptation purposes arises, as these communication protocols were not designed to connect VLEs with so interactive content as videogames are [7]. In this paper we present a general architecture that aims to tackle both issues by abstracting the communication between the game and the VLE for adaptation and assessment purposes.