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How can we design playful experiences that support deeper learning and engagement? One way is to make it authentic.

What does this mean? It suggests that the experience you create should provide an authentic context for the intended learning. Users should be interacting the specific tasks, practices, and questions that are relevant to the learning goals. In other words, if you want people to understand the practice of history, you should have them excavate historical artifacts, analyze documents, and then piece together a historical narrative based on their conclusions. And, you can further enable people to understand a historical moment, for example, by recreating it in a virtual environment, and allowing people to explore it from the perspective of an actual figure who lived through that time.

This is supported by a theory called situated cognition, or the idea that what you are learning should be contextualized appropriately. Knowing and doing are intertwined. Situating concepts in relevant settings has been shown to enhance learning, leading to a richer overall experience.