# Development of Students' Skills through Gamification and Serious Games: An Exploratory Study
## 2 Related Works  
### Background  
According to the European Council's (EC) definition from May 2018, digital competence implies the safe, critical, and responsible use of digital technologies for learning, work, and participation in society, as well as the interaction with these technologies. To identify and promote these competencies, the EC has created various frameworks, depending on the intended audience and objectives. At first, the DigComp was defined as the European Framework of Digital Competences for Citizens, aimed at European citizens in general. It details the essential skills necessary to have appropriate competencies in digital environments [4]. The framework includes 21 competencies, which are divided into five different areas and described in terms of knowledge, skills, and aptitudes. The DigCompEdu framework, as a continuation of the previous one, was defined to respond to the growing need among educators to identify specific digital skills for their profession and to take advantage of technological advances to incorporate new methodologies into the educational process [5]. On the other hand, the OpenEdu framework aims to assist European higher education institutions in decision making regarding open, free, and easy-access education [6]. Lastly, the DigCompOrg framework focuses on educational organizations, such as schools and higher education institutions, among others. Its purpose is to aid in reflecting on the integration progress and effectiveness of digital learning technologies, which should be a part of education as an indication of quality [7]. Currently, there are numerous projects and experiences in which the aforementioned reference frameworks have been utilized. There are studies in which a training program has been designed with the aim of developing digital skills for future teachers. In a study carried out in 2020 [8], after the digital training of 24 teachers-in-training, the work revealed a need for effective implementation of digital competence training programs in which future teachers collaborate on digital issues regardless of their previous experience. Additionally, trainers must structure their courses in a way that future teachers can see them as role models. The EduTrans21 project is in line with this study, offering a transversal approach for developing current skills in teachers through a methodology that primarily relies on digitization. They introduce free and open-source technologies and have developed an online evaluation model [9]. Another example regarding this type of experience is the Pilot Project developed by Microsoft Education, which offered teachers a set of educational tools (Microsoft 365 tools and Minecraft Education Edition) based on the areas of the DigCompEdu framework. After the completion of the project, among other results, 96% of the teachers indicated that they had acquired new skills for the development of their profession and 98% claimed to be able to include gamified methodologies [10]. Similarly, the DigitALAD project offers opportunities for teachers to improve their teaching through the development of digital tools, information, training organizations, and evaluation spaces for their own skills [4]. There are diverse projects in this regard, such as a study carried out in 2019 in Spain, in which researchers applied a teaching improvement cycle in one of the subjects of the Master's degree in Teacher Training, which is mandatory to practice as a teacher in Spain. This study instructed students on digital skills of the DigCompEdu framework to enable them to apply these skills in their future professional practice. The results show substantial improvements in their digital skills compared to their initial abilities [11]. In this context, gamification is a new methodology that uses rewards, points, levels, and other game elements to enrich the teaching/learning process and motivate students. In this context, the concept of serious gaming is defined as a (digital) \"game\" used for purposes other than mere entertainment.