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Educational Games

Using educational games opens the doors for new possibilities in teaching and learning. These serious games, if done right, can be powerful tools to encourage collaboration and critical thinking.

According to Elliot Masie, serious games allow learners to "fail to success". This concept of failing forward permits learners to test their limits in a safe environment. In addition, gaming increases muscle memory, or the rehearsal necessary to solidify correct behavior. Finally, gaming increases an internal and external competitive spirit related to learning opportunities.

[See article in the Washington Post on educational gaming in Fairfax public schools]

An increasingly popular form of educational gaming is Alternate Reality Gaming which uses the real world as a platform for delivering a social game.

Some Interesting Gaming Facts

Here are some interesting facts on gaming from the Learning Federation:

  • An 8th grader plays video games an average of 5 hours per week
  • By high school, 77% of students have played games; by college nearly all have
  • 60% of college students are regular game players
  • As of April 2005, America’s Army had more than 5 million registered users

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project:

  • 70% of college students play video or online games at least once in a while.
  • 65% of college students are regular or occasional game players.
  • Half of college student gamers agreed that gaming keeps them from studying. In addition, about 10% admitted that their main motivation for playing games was to avoid studying.

Educational Gaming Resources Online

Some questions to ask when evaluating serious games

  1. How compelling or engaging was the experience?
  2. How comfortable did you feel with the game controls (interface, etc)
  3. Did you feel you were playing or learning?
  4. Did the graphic quality help or hinder the experience?
  5. What kind of instructional design could you observe in the game?
  6. Did you choose to continue on to the next level or stage when you had the opportunity?

MIT  Education Arcade

Federation of American Scientists

Research paper - Electromagnetism Supercharged!  Learning Physics with Digital Simulation Games [PDF]

Virtual Reality Games and Simulations

Does using an avitar increase your engagement with the game? How did you interact with other avitars in the virtual world?

There.com
Secondlife.com

Forio Simulation Builder - broadcast.forio.com (needs a password )

Academic Gaming Organizations

  • BECTA – British Educational Computer and Technology Association (UK)
  • DigiPlay - Universities of Manchester and Central Lancashire (UK)
  • E-GEMS – Electronic Games for Education in math and Science (U of British Columbia, Canada)
  • e-Cybermission - Math and Science learning
  • The Learning Federation (American Federation of Scientists, Microsoft, et al.) (US)
  • MIT Games To Teach Project (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Microsoft) (US)
  • MIT Media Lab (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (US)
  • TEEM – Teachers Evaluating Educational Multimedia (UK

Other Educational Gaming Websites

 

Social Learning

Mobile Learning

© 2010 Richard Culatta