LEARNER ENGAGEMENT IN THE USE OF INDIVIDUAL AND COLLABORATIVE SERIOUS GAMES Margarida Romero ABSTRACT This chapter aims to advance in the analysis of the learner engagement and performance in the use of computer-based games, also known as Serious Games (SG). The chapter describes the learner engagement in relation to the use of SG in individual and collaborative learning activi- ties. The SG learning experience considers the learner engagement in the individual activities observed through their real use of the game and their perceptions of the usefulness of the game and the time-on-task spent. The collaborative use of SG considers additional mechanisms of engagement related to the intragroup relationships À relationships within the same members of the group À and intergroup relationships À relationships between the different groups À such is the degree of inter- dependence and the degree of competition in the game AU:1 . The state of the art in the learner engagement in the use of individual and collaborative SG is based in a literature review, and completed by the study case of the individual and the collaborative use of the eFinance Game or eFG Increasing Student Engagement and Retention using Immersive Interfaces: Virtual Worlds, Gaming, and Simulation Cutting-edge Technologies in Higher Education, Volume 6C, 17À36 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 2044-9968/doi:10.1108/S2044-9968(2012)000006C004 17 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39