Learning about water resource sharing through game play
Abstract. Games are an optimal way to teach about water resource sharing, as they allow real-world scenarios to be enacted. Both students and professionals learning about water resource management can benefit from playing games, through the process of understanding both the complexity of sharing of resources between different groups and decision outcomes. Here we address how games can be used to teach about water resource sharing, through both playing and developing water games. An evaluation of using the web-based game Irrigania in the classroom setting is first presented, supported by feedback from several educators who have used Irrigania to teach about the sustainable use of water resources, and decision making, at university and high school levels. We then present the development of two water games in a course for master students in geography, as a way to teach and communicate about water resource sharing, together with a discussion of the learning outcomes based on our experience and student feedback.