Creativity, Learning and Technology in MOOC: The DoCENT Approach Between Teaching and Gaming

In this paper we describe an approach that combines MOOCs with games to stimulate creativity in teachers’ design and production of learning scenarios. This approach is exemplified by DoCENT MOOC, the final product of the European DoCENT project, where innovative training stimulates the creative use of technology in the teaching/learning processes. DoCENT MOOC is built in strict connection with serious gaming, as they were both designed according to an innovative methodology called Situated Psychological Agents (SPA). SPA allows to design and implement educational products by representing the flows inside the educational product in terms of agents interacting with educational, psychological, and pedagogical features, implemented with AI methods. The study describes theoretical underpinnings, designing the approach of both MOOC and Game. A pilot study is reported to support the effectiveness of this approach discussing the implications of using AI tools embedded in agent-based models to support teaching/learning processes.