A SERIOUS GAME APPROACH IN ANTI-DOPING EDUCATION: THE GAME PROJECT

Anti-doping education has largely relied on traditional educational approaches such as face-to-face interaction and e-learning material. Current challenges in anti-doping education involve a) the development of modern educational tools suitable for the new generation of athletes, b) the use of state-of- art learning pedagogies that will enable effective engagement, learning and retention of the learned material, c) a systematic evaluation of the outcomes of anti-doping educational interventions on behavior and related cognition, and d) a positive approach to doping prevention. Project GAME aims to address these needs through the development of a serious game that will incorporate current empirical evidence on the psychological mechanisms underpinning the decision making process towards doping use in competitive and recreational sports. The aim of the present study is to highlight the importance of anti-doping education, conduct a state of the art literature review on serious games' design, present the prototype of a scenario that will be included in a serious game for anti-doping education, and discuss the project's activities related to the use of technologies in anti-doping education. +++++++++++++ Anti-doping education has largely relied on traditional educational aproaches such as face-to-face interaction and e-learning material. Current chalenges in anti-doping education involve a) the development of modern educational tools suitable for the new generation of athletes, b) the use of state-of- art learning pedagogies that will enable effective engagement, learning and retention of the learned material, c) a systematic evaluation of the outcomes of anti-doping educational interventions on behavior and related cognition, and d) a positive approach to doping prevention. Project GAME aims to address these needs through the development of a serious game that will incorporate current empirical evidence on the psychological mechanisms underpinning the decision making process towards doping use in competitive and recreational sports. The aim of the present study is to highlight the importance of anti-doping education, conduct a state of the art literature review on serious games' design, present the prototype of a scenario that will be included in a serious game for anti-doping education, and discuss the project's activities related to the use of technologies in anti-doping education.