Proposal for an integrated evaluation model for educational games based on meega+ and its implementation in a three-year academic program for environmental education for sustainable development

Game-based or play-based learning offers particularly positive results, combining learning and entertainment. Educational play in any form effortlessly introduces the participants to the learning processes, while maintaining high levels of interest and satisfaction. The value of the modern game lies in its great attractiveness. In contrast to traditional learning processes, which are compulsory and rarely fun, children and adults, without having to, spend many hours in these modern forms of entertainment, which are fascinating and seductive. Especially in the programs of Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development, the use of games is an excellent choice, which contributes to the achievement of the set goals. In this context, a six-month course was designed in the Postgraduate Program "Environmental Education" of the University of the Aegean, which taught the design and evaluation of educational board games. This course was repeated for three years, resulting in the creation of about sixty original board games, focused on teaching how to balance economics and ecology. At the same time, a complete evaluation model of board games was designed, based on the MEEGA+ model, which was successfully applied in the evaluation of specific games. From the analysis of the research data, the beneficial contribution that educational board games have in achieving the goals set in the context of lifelong learning, but also the effectiveness of their proposed evaluation model, which covers a wider range of this issue and shows clearly greater validity, was proven.