Digital Educational Games (GICAME): The Need and Urgency of STEAM-Based Literacy Learning

In the digital age, literacy has become a crucial skill that must be taught to elementary school students. It is essential to equip students with strong reading and writing abilities by integrating technological advancements, such as game-based learning media. This study aims to analyze the need and urgency of developing STEAM-based digital educational games for literacy instruction. A mixed-methods approach (both qualitative and quantitative) was employed, with 100 fifth-grade students and 25 teachers from SDN Pakel Sub-district as research participants. Data were collected through four techniques: questionnaires, interviews, observations, and literature reviews. Descriptive statistics were applied to analyze quantitative data, while triangulation was used for qualitative data. The findings reveal a significant need and urgency to develop STEAM-based digital educational games, as they enhance the literacy learning process by making it more interactive. This approach can accelerate the mastery of reading and writing skills, preparing students to face the challenges of the digital era. The study concludes that the development of STEAM-based digital educational games offers an innovative approach to improving literacy instruction and can serve as a foundation for future research in this area.