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From Virtual Worlds to Real-World Equity: A Scoping Review of the Metaverse as Computer-Assisted Learning for STEM Competencies
(2026)
Franklin Parrales-Bravo
;
Roberto Tolozano-Benites
;
Janio Jadán-Guerrero
;
Leonel Vasquez-Cevallos
;
Víctor Gómez-Rodríguez
This scoping review critically synthesizes 34 studies (2015–2026) examining the metaverse’s role in fostering six core STEM competencies, moving beyond descriptive reporting to interrogate whether these technologies constitute genuine pedagogical transformation, whose learners are served or excluded, and how isolated interventions connect into lifelong learning pathways. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, our analysis reveals that while technology literacy and collaboration appear in 91.2% of our selected studies, mathematical application is addressed in fewer than half (44.1%), raising unanswered questions about whether this pattern reflects an equitable distribution of mathematical learning opportunities across diverse learner populations—a question the current evidence base cannot answer but one that warrants urgent investigation. The evidence demonstrates substantial immediate learning gains through embodied presence and risk-free experimentation, yet a deeper reading suggests this often represents technological optimization of traditional goals rather than epistemological transformation. More troublingly, the concentration of inclusivity evidence on select populations—while rendering students with physical disabilities, Indigenous learners, and refugee students entirely invisible—reveals an equity paradox where immersive technologies may inadvertently amplify existing disparities. The absence of any longitudinal data linking short-term engagement to sustained STEM participation leaves the field’s claim to transformative impact unsubstantiated. This review argues for moving beyond fragmented interventions toward designing coherent, equitable learning pathways that fulfill the metaverse’s potential for all learners. © 2026 by the authors.
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CONGA: CONscientization GAme for Colon Cancer Literacy in Last-Semester Software Engineering Students
(2026)
Franklin Parrales-Bravo
;
Jonatan Guillen-Salabarria
;
Jadán Guerrero, Janio
;
Leonel Vasquez-Cevallos
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the CONGA game, an interactive and gamified digital tool that uses AI-generated or manually created questions with feedback, to improve colon cancer literacy among tenth- semester Software Engineering students at the University of Guayaquil. Grounded in Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy, CONGA operationalizes the concept of “conscientização” (critical consciousness awakening) by engaging learners in dialogical reflection on medical myths and encouraging critical evaluation of health information sources. This work addresses an age group—emerging adulthood—that is often overlooked in cancer prevention campaigns despite increasing cancer incidence in this population. The game incorporates an adaptive engine that personalizes difficulty and scoring based on player performance, enhancing engagement and learning personalization. A controlled experiment compared the game-based intervention with traditional lecture-based instruction, using pre- and post-test assessments to measure knowledge gains and misconception reduction. Results demonstrated that the CONGA group achieved a significantly higher post-test correct response rate of 82%, compared to 57% in the traditional instruction group, and showed a 70.4% reduction in incorrect responses versus 42.4% in the control group. These findings indicate that CONGA’s adaptive, feedback-driven design was more effective in enhancing short-term knowledge acquisition and immediate conceptual clarification following a single session. The study concludes that, based on immediate post-intervention assessments, gamified learning represents a scalable and engaging pedagogical strategy for colon cancer literacy, particularly in our local younger population. However, these results reflect short-term learning gains measured immediately after a single session, and further research is needed to evaluate long-term knowledge acquisition.
1
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GUM: Gum Understanding Mission—A Serious Game to Improve Periodontitis Literacy Among University Students
(2026)
Franklin Parrales-Bravo
;
Arias Flores, Hugo Patricio
;
Luis Caguana-Alvarez
;
Miguel Dávila-Medina
;
Carolina Parrales-Bravo
Objectives: Periodontitis represents a significant global health burden, yet preventive health literacy remains critically low among emerging adults—a developmental stage where lifelong health behaviors crystallize. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the GUM (an acronym of Gum Understanding Mission) game, an interactive gamified digital tool incorporating AI-informed or manual feedback, for improving periodontitis literacy among tenth-semester Software Engineering students at the University of Guayaquil. Methods: In a controlled pre-test/post-test experiment, 50 participants were randomly assigned to either the GUM game intervention or a traditional lecture. Both groups completed identical knowledge assessments immediately before and after their respective 50-min instructional sessions. The GUM game featured adaptive questioning, immediate elaborated feedback, and comprehensive performance analytics, while the control group received instructor-led didactic instruction with a subsequent question-and-answer session. Results: The GUM group improved from a baseline of 21% to 94% correct responses, while the lecture group increased from 22% to 67% (p<0.001). Error reduction was 74% in the GUM group versus 45% in the control group. However, the study’s scope is currently limited to a single, digitally literate cohort, and knowledge retention over time was not assessed. Conclusions: These findings suggest that a self-directed, feedback-driven serious game can substantially outperform traditional methods in fostering periodontitis literacy within this population. Further research is needed across diverse populations with extended follow-up periods to assess knowledge retention and generalizability.</jats:p>
5
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LAURA: Let’s Arrange User Requirements Accurately
(2025)
Franklin Parrales-Bravo
;
Jadán Guerrero, Janio
;
Lorenzo Cevallos-Torres
;
Giampaolo Delgado-Olea
;
Alfredo López-Lozano
One of the most important skills in software engineering is the ability to specify clear unambiguous requirements. Students in the software engineering degree program at the University of Guayaquil present difficulties in describing user requirements (without using technical words) in an unambiguous manner. Thus, the present work proposes a serious game called LAURA (which is the acrostic of “Let’s Arrange User Requirements Accurately”) to support software engineering students in developing their ability to specify unambiguous user requirements in natural language. LAURA has been conceived following the EMERGO methodology. To evaluate the effectiveness of the game when improving the students’ specifications and to collect their perceptions about the learning experience, we performed an experiment with 64 participants, who were divided into two groups: one that used the game and one that received a traditional training session. It reports that both groups improved their ability to specify unambiguous functional user requirements after the training sessions. However, the game group showed a higher preference for the activity experience and learning experience, considering LAURA as a game that stimulates their learning, maintaining attention with non-tense interactions, and recognizing it as a tool for learning to specify unambiguous user requirements. All in all, the experiment demonstrates that the proposed LAURA serious game can be a useful learning tool that produces learning results similar to those obtained with blackboard class while improving its requirement specifications in an interactive way.
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