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Four insights into the future of games and technology for learning

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This article was written by Anya Kamenetz Two very disparate sources shared insights this week on the role of video games, and by extension, technology more broadly, in 21st century learning.

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We were clustered around one of several tables filled with sticky notes on a rainy day at the SXSWEdu conference. A senior executive at an afterschool non-profit and a researcher at a test development company were discussing psychometrics while two executives from a major game development studio listened in. They stopped halfway through the conversation to consult the other side of the table: an English teacher from Toronto and a high school student from Texas. The conversation shifted because teachers and students were invited to the table.

Conversations about teaching with games (game-based learning) and learning about students through games (game-based assessment) are not new. What is new is the increasing focus on those educator and student voices at the table and an increased recognition of the importance of localized game-based education.

The 2016 National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) covers some of these trends. In its section on teaching, the NETP highlights the work of one teacher in using text-based game creation tools to give his students voice. These students created simple games filled with their own culture, characters, and identity as a way to explore literary themes and storytelling skills. In the section on learning, the NETP highlights games that encourage students to assess and build non-cognitive competencies. The games help empower students to express their emotions, build strategies for self-regulation, and explore conflict resolution together.

What these trends and examples both recognize is that students and educators are often the drivers of transformative learning using games. This is a fundamentally different approach to game-based education than some "sit and learn" models out in the field today. In this educational model, the games build on local relationships and activities to catalyze conversations into learning moments.

These trends have spilled over into the world of educational game jams and hackathons as well. In a traditional game jam, event participants come together to create teams of developers, artists, designers, and subject matter experts. Each team builds an educational game, sometimes with input from an educator, which is then playtested by players and students. The game is then released out into the wild for others to play.

Hackathon type events this past year have turned that notion on its head. Instead of inviting teams of developers to build new games, these events have asked teams of educators to find new ways to leverage existing games. Participating teachers and librarians were able to find educational value in "entertainment" games just as they have in "entertainment" art, music, and literature in their classrooms and libraries. It turns out that software developers are not always the best at seeing what they already have. In all fairness, no one ever asked Hemingway to write a lesson plan.

There are other benefits to having educators work in teams at these events as well. There is an opportunity for local teachers, librarians, and afterschool educators to come together to discuss game-based education. This can lead to complementary activities that bridge formal and informal learning and even result in short and long-term partnerships. In many cases, the developed learning resources can also be shared more broadly as openly licensed resources. Does an innovative lesson plan written in Detroit work for a class in Pittsburgh? How about in rural Montana? These conversations can help build a greater game-based education community of practice.

As work in game-based learning and game-based assessment continues in 2017, we expect the field to continue exploring ways to highlight educator and student voices. We expect more game and testing companies to involve educators and students early and often. We also expect educators to continue experimenting with methods to leverage games that were not originally designed for the classroom. We expect an increased focus on game-based education rooted in local relationships. We expect educators to share their work openly and to continue to build a community of practice around game-based education. Most of all, though, we expect the conversations to continue.

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Playing Together: Trends in Game-Based Education

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We were clustered around one of several tables filled with sticky notes on a rainy day at the SXSWEdu conference. A senior executive at an afterschool non-profit and a researcher at a test development company were discussing psychometrics while two executives from a major game development studio listened in.

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Ian Bogost on how games can help or something http://www.persuasivegames.com/

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Kurt Squire is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Educational Communications and Technology division of Curriculum and Instruction and a research scientist a the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Lab. Squire is also a co-founder and current director of the Games, Learning, & Society Initiative, a group of over 50 faculty and students investigating game-based learning.

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NMC Beyond the Horizon :: Games & Gamification

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http://nmc.org What are some great applications of game-play/gamification in education? What are the elements that make learning engaging? How do you deal with the criticism that learning through games is distracting? Where is gamification headed?

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Managing Game-Based Learning in the Classroom

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Curriculum Technology

Hoping to get started or looking for new ways to implement game-based learning? We've gathered a variety of resources in one hearty collection.

Kids and games, two words that go hand in hand. Learning and games may not sound as synonymous. With the increased student engagement and complex thought processes that accompany game-based learning, they should be. Let these questions help in determining whether or not game-based learning is the right fit or you and your students:

Can you accept learning outcomes that don't have a pencil and paper product?

Can students benefit from working at their own pace?

Can learning be entertaining?

Can exercises in logic and complex thought processes benefit your curriculum?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, it's time to introduce game-based learning. You can utilize the resources below to build or refresh your game-based learning repertoire.

Preparation & Justification

First Steps - This entry in Mindshift's series on gaming offers five must-do steps for bringing gaming to the classroom. From assessing your pool of device resources to giving the selected game a thorough preview, these steps need to hit the to-do list for teachers introducing gaming. Teachers need to encounter the nuances of a game before presenting it to students, and this list adds that to the gaming queue.

Rolling It Out - These 9 top tactics from Global Digital Citizen help with the organization and mindset when introducing gaming. The idea that teachers need to be all in and stand firm on the benefits of gaming is of the utmost importance. Sending home parent letters and carving out the ground rules are just a couple of the pieces of advice that this GDC article offers to help teachers prepare.

All Things Gaming - This resource roundup from Edutopia shares all of their articles, videos, and resources relating to gaming in the classroom. Whether you're looking for game ideas or searching for more insight on the effectiveness of game-based learning, this is a great resource. With a lot of in-site links and additional web resources, this one is worthy of a bookmark for teachers beginning to explore the topic.

Games for the Classroom

Any game that is presented to students needs to be thoroughly vetted by teachers to ensure it's the right fit for the content and audience. These 4 options are a few good ones to download and start navigating for the selection process.

Mission US - Users are able to travel to four different time periods in American history via these interactive games. There are many teacher resources available and the free price tag can't be beat.

Minecraft - As a top game for at-home play, Minecraft can easily transition to an at-school favorite too. With a wealth of educational possibilities, working Minecraft into the curriculum can be done with ease, and its popularity has prompted the creation of multiple companion sites for teachers (g., MinecraftEdu) that offer resources and ready-to-use worlds engineered by other educators.

Papers, Please - This strategy game for more mature users explores political themes in a dystopian society. As the game unfolds, the connections between work, family, and government all intertwine and have users weighing all angles as they make life-changing decisions for themselves and others.

Door 24 - Add a little intrigue to mathematics as users work through multiple levels and sets of problems to fix a robot's circuits and reveal the mystery behind Door 24. Students hone their skills in computational fluency as they practice accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility surrounding the number 24.

The introduction of game-based learning can boost student engagement and allow a new medium to increase students' learning potential. Finding the right game that peaks student interest and meets your curricular needs can capture student interest and add a renewed energy to the classroom. Let this resource collection be the bookmark that takes you there.

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Curriculum Technology Hoping to get started or looking for new ways to implement game-based learning? We've gathered a variety of resources in one hearty collection. Kids and games, two words that go hand in hand. Learning and games may not sound as synonymous.

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Check out Edutopia's collection of articles, videos, and resources on using video games, simulations, and gaming concepts in the classroom.

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Not so long ago, video games in the classroom were limited to educational computer games that taught skills like multiplication or parts of speech. A growing number of teachers, however, are integrating the popular games kids play at home (such as "Angry Birds," for example) into their curriculums. What's more, researchers say that video games can be a powerful path to learning since they allow kids to grow from their mistakes, develop problem-solving skills and find internal motivation.

With that in mind, here are six innovative ways teachers have told us they are using video games in the classroom:

Question for you: What's your take-do video games belong in the classroom? Why or why not?

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The Teacher Report: 6 Ways Teachers Are Using Video Games in the Classroom - WeAreTeachers

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Not so long ago, video games in the classroom were limited to educational computer games that taught skills like multiplication or parts of speech. A growing number of teachers, however, are integrating the popular games kids play at home (such ...

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Over the years, many video games with social themes have been developed. In 2005, the United Nations World Food Programme released Food Force. Food Force was a downloadable game, developed by game publisher Konami, in which players delivered food to people in need. Another game for social change was MTV's Darfur Is Dying. Released in 2006, this online game put players in the role of a refugee in civil war-torn Darfur.

In my social studies classroom, I have implemented games with social themes, including Ayiti: The Cost of Life, a role-playing game set in Haiti, and the poverty simulation games Heifer Village and 3rd World Farmer. But can playing video games really change the world for the better?

The Social Good

The social media news site Mashable defines social good as the "intersection of technology and social change." Social good includes campaigns that raise awareness and money through social media. One example is Epic Change, which crowdfunds from its online followers to finance projects like building schools in Tanzania. Each year, Mashable, along with organizations ranging from the United Nations to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, sponsor the Social Good Summit. The summit's goal is to "leverage the power of technology and new media to make the world a better place."

Video games that focus on social change have become a fast-growing sector of the "edutainment" gaming sector. An excellent example of a social good project directly linked to gaming is the Half the Sky Movement. This project is based on a documentary that detailed women's oppression in developing countries. Relating to the Half the Sky Movement, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) released three mobile games: the family-planning awareness titles Nine Minutes and Family Choices, and the digestive health game Worm Attacks. In the U.S., the Facebook game Half the Game was published to raise Americans' awareness of international women's rights. There is a published academic study on Half the Sky's positive social affects.

Games for Change

Nowhere is gaming for social good more evident than with the organization Games for Change (G4C). Their mission is simple: "Catalyzing social impact through digital games." Game categories include education, poverty, human rights, health, the environment and economics.

Since 2004, G4C has sponsored a festival in New York City. The purpose of the festival is bringing together game designers and educators to create engaging games that have a social impact. Previous keynote speakers have included Supreme Court Justice and iCivics founder Sandra Day O'Connor, former Vice President Al Gore, author and ISTE 2013 keynote speaker Jane McGonigal (who is also a G4C board member), and Valve Corporation (Half Life 2, Portals) founder and CEO Gabe Newell. At the 2012 G4C Festival, Valve announced Teach with Portals to bring their physics puzzler into the classroom. This past June 17-19 marked the 10th Anniversary Games for Change Festival at New World Stages in New York. Over 100,000 game designers, professionals and academics attended.

Quandary, from the Learning Games Network, won this year's "Game of the Year" award. Quandary is a free, online game that engages players in the ethical decision-making process of colonizing a new planet. Users can track their progress globally on the site's leaderboard. Teachers can access the Quandary in the Classroom page, which features lesson plans and links to Common Core Standards.

Including "Game of the Year," there were four major G4C Festival award categories. BlindSide, which won "Most Innovative" game, is a mobile thriller that "gives players the experience of living without sight as they hear their way through a danger-filled city." Meanwhile, Reach for the Sun, a life science game that puts the player in the role of a growing plant, won "Best Gameplay." In the final major category, Data Dealer was recognized as the game with the "Most Significant Impact." Data Dealer is a web-based game that raises awareness about online privacy concerns.

G4C also promotes social gaming. Playable as a Facebook app and similar to Farmville, WeTopia uses game currency called "joy," which can be exchanged to fund real-world children's charities. A new version of Food Force was also revived as a Facebook game.

Collaboration Superpowers

In the bestselling book Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, author Jane McGonigal states that games can "give us collaboration superpowers." It is becoming increasingly apparent that playing games together -- with a positive purpose -- can effect change for the better.

To review all of the G4C featured games, browse http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/.

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Over the years, many video games with social themes have been developed. In 2005, the United Nations World Food Programme released Food Force. Food Force was a downloadable game, developed by game publisher Konami, in which players delivered food to people in need. Another game for social change was MTV's Darfur Is Dying.

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You want students to learn. Shall we play a game?

Absolutely!

But what is a game?

Game: a form of play or sport, especially a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck.

Is Game-Based Learning the Same as Gamification?

Not exactly. Gamification is "applying typical elements of game playing (e.g., point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity." Great classrooms often use both.

Every day in my classroom, I'm using the essentials: gamification elements, reward systems, and game-based learning. I've already covered 5 Ways to Design Effective Rewards for Game-Based Learning. Let's learn how to pick the games.

Understanding Games

Powerful games in the classroom often include:

Multiple levels or challenges

A compelling or intriguing storyline

A personalized, unique experience for each learner

Rewards such as unlocking certain capabilities based upon achievements

Additional rewards and feedback from the teacher or classroom.

Tools to Analyze Game-Based Learning

As you choose games, you'll want to mix up the games you use. These tools will help you analyze which works for you.

Computer Games vs. Simulations

Computer games are often fantasy based. Simulations are a form of computer game that simulates something happening in real life. Both are useful.

A simulation might have students dissect a body online, while a computer game that teaches the same thing would be Whack a Bone. Both can teach the bones and parts of the body. Dissection is more realistic than the game to "whack" the proper bone.

Single- vs. Multi-Player

In a single-player game, each student plays as an individual. There may be a leaderboard at the end, but they aren't playing against or with other players inside the game.

Multi-player games include other players as either competitors or teammates.

For example, the AIC Conflict Simulation from the University of Michigan is a multi-player simulation of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Students play the role of world leaders, and their mentors are grad students at the University of Michigan. Every single game is unique. The learning experience is powerful.

A single-player game, PeaceMaker, also simulates the Arab-Israeli conflict -- however, it's just the student against the computer. There are no unique elements determined by other players in the game, just the software.

Single-player games can be easier to play and coach, but I've gravitated toward at least one multi-player simulation per school year per course. Multi-player simulation environments require higher-order thinking. Students are analyzing, creating, and having to deeply understand their topic.

One of my favorite methods to amp up single-player games is creating teams. For example, using the typing speeds of my students, I create teams with the same average typing speed. These evenly-matched teams play their favorite typing game, Baron von Typefast. We add up all the scores, and the winning team receives a medal (as I play Olympic music). I've seen my eighth graders wear these all day long!

One-Time vs. Persistent Games

One-time games make fun bell ringers. Every time a student logs in, he or she starts over. A persistent game is a permanent game environment where the student achieves over multiple playing sessions.

Right now, my ninth graders are participating in the H&R Block Budget Challenge. In this persistent game, they have to create a budget, pay bills, and save money on the salary of a person who is just six months out of college. It goes along with the real calendar and will last from October through December. (Students can win real cash scholarships, which makes it even more intense.) If you coach a persistent game well, the game itself becomes the reward.

While students are playing the simulation game, I am still teaching with one-time games. This week I used a Tax Bingo game where students fill a bingo card by getting answers from their classmates. (Think of it as a massive think-pair-share.)

Real-Life vs. Electronic Gaming

You can game in the physical classroom. Some gamers call this RL (real life) or IRL (in real life). For example, I invented an accounting game to use with a physical Monopoly board. As my students entered debits and credits, they produced financial documents. While electronic games are fast and easy, the physical classroom is a powerful place to use game-based learning.

Thematic Games with a Storyline

Some teachers like Michael Matera are using game-based learning every day. Every student is in a "house" or "clan," and these groups compete for points all year long. (See Gamification in Education for more about this model.)

Preparation vs. On-the-Fly Game Play

Some formative assessment tools or games like Kahoot! require some preparation ahead of time. Socrative, another formative assessment tool with built-in games, has some "on-the-fly" tools that let teachers ask for answers without preparation.

Feedback vs. No Feedback

Teachers need data on gaps in knowledge. Many of today's educational "games" have no feedback for parents or teachers. Look for games with good teacher feedback systems.

Where Do I Find the Games?

If you want to find great games, I recommend the Gamifi-ed wiki that my ninth graders compiled with the Master's program students from the University of Alaska Southeast. (As an aside, we found a major disconnect between recommendations by app stores and the games that are actually the best for learning.)

Additionally, sites like Common Sense Media and Free Technology for Teachers are always featuring new games and simulations.

Game-Based Learning

Games have always been in the classroom, but improvements in technology have launched us forward. Not all games are alike, so be smart -- but GAME ON!

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You want students to learn. Shall we play a game? Absolutely! But what is a game? Game: a form of play or sport, especially a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck. Not exactly.

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13 Principles of Game based Learning Gee

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Uploaded by Josep Ramon Badia Albanell on 2013-11-29.

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Custom Training and E-learning, Anywhere Anytime!

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Who doesn't love games? Incorporating games in your e-learning courses does not just up the fun factor but increases interactivity, engages the learners, improves their retention. Games also provide them with an incentive such as badges or points and create a competitive spirit among the learners to perform better.

To know more about the benefits of game based learning, check out the infographic 5 Benefits of Game Based Learning below!

Hope you like this post. Do share your views!

Topics: game based learning

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5 Benefits of Game Based Learning [Infographic]

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Who doesn't love games? Incorporating games in your e-learning courses does not just up the fun factor but increases interactivity, engages the learners, improves their retention. Games also provide them with an incentive such as badges or points and create a competitive spirit among the learners to perform better.

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Benefits of Gamification in eLearning Infographic

Benefits of Gamification in eLearning Infographic

Gamification is one of the best solution to create an effective learning system in eLearning . In the Benefits of Gamification in eLearning Infographic we will talk about the impact of implementing Gamification in eLearning. Here are the top 6 benefits of using Gamification in eLearning.

1. Better Learning Experience

2. Better Learning Environment

3. Instant Feedback

4. Prompting Behavioral Change

5. Can Be Applied For Most Learning Needs

Learn more about the benefits and implementation of Gamifiaction in eLearning here.
Read also:
Via: www.eidesign.net

Embed This Education Infographic on your Site or Blog! Copy and Paste the following code!

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Benefits of Gamification in eLearning Infographic - e-Learning Infographics

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Gamification is one of the best solution to create an effective learning system in eLearning . In the Benefits of Gamification in eLearning Infographic we will talk about the impact of implementing Gamification in eLearning. Here are the top 6 benefits of using Gamification in eLearning.

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Why not ask a parent to play a problem-solving video game with you? Shutterstock/Alan Ingram

This is an article from Curious Kids, a new series for children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they'd like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome - serious, weird or wacky!

I want to know why adults think video games are bad because the adults around my neighbourhood are ANNOYING me by saying "READ A BOOK! NO VIDEO GAMES". Why can't they say "it's time to play video games now"? - Bo, aged 9, Melbourne.

Parents and children can have different ideas when it comes to video games.

Children like video games because they are fun and because they can be challenging. You have to solve problems, work out the best moves for your character, and decide how to use your equipment and supplies in the best possible way. Making all these decisions can be exciting.

Parents want to make sure that their children are safe and healthy. Because of this, they notice different things about video games.

Many worry that playing video games might have a bad effect on the way their child behaves. For example, if a video game has lots of fighting in it, they worry that playing it will encourage their child to be violent.

They are concerned that their child might always choose to play a video game instead of playing outside and getting exercise. Even though you sit still when you read a book, they know that kids can develop good reading skills and learn a lot. Many adults aren't so sure that kids can learn anything educational from video games.

Sometimes adults think that spending too much time with animated characters is unhealthy for kids. They know it's important for kids to spend time with "real" people and learn good social skills needed for the real world.

What do experts say?

Experts think playing video games can have good and bad effects on kids. New research shows that there are lots of benefits.

One good thing is the video games that children play today often encourage them to work in teams, cooperate, and to help each other. This is because games today are often designed for multiple players, not like old-fashioned video games that were mostly designed for one player.

However, children who are obsessed with video games and play them for a long time can get really competitive and can often try to win at all costs. Experts aren't sure yet, but they have real concerns that this might lead to kids acting like this in real life too.

One thing you also might like to know is that kids who regularly play video games often get higher grades in maths, science, and reading tests. This is because games require players to solve puzzles. You won't get higher marks playing any video games, just those that require the player to solve these kinds of puzzles.

Doing more of the good and less of the bad

It's important for kids to think about what types of games they pick.

Make sure all of your games aren't fighting games. Instead, choose more games where you need to solve puzzles. These are fun and can also help with your schoolwork. Your parents will be much happier about that!

Flickr/Zorin Denu, CC BY-ND

Also, think about whether the fighting games you play are affecting how you play with your friends in real life. Only you will really know if they are having a bad effect. If they are, you might want to change the games you play.

Why not ask your parents to play a problem-solving video game with you? This will help your parents see that video games are not all bad.

It's also important that kids and adults don't spend too much time using a screen. That means kids not spending all their time on technology, and parents not always checking their phone and screens.

What we want to aim for is adults and kids who can spend some of their time on their screens, but also enjoying other kinds of interests and spending time with family and friends.
Hello, curious kids! Have you got a question you'd like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to us. They can: * Email your question to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au
* Tell us onTwitter by tagging @ConversationEDU with the hashtag #curiouskids, or
* Tell us onFacebook

CC BY-ND

Please tell us your name and age (and, if you want to, which city you live in). You can send an audio recording of your question too, if you want. Send as many questions as you like! We won't be able to answer every question but we will do our best.

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Curious Kids: Why do adults think video games are bad?

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This is an article from Curious Kids, a new series for children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they'd like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome - serious, weird or wacky! I want to know why adults think video games are bad because the adults around my neighbourhood are ANNOYING me by saying "READ A BOOK!

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As a leading scholar of video games, game culture and game player behavior, Constance Steinkuehler argues that games amplify learning and academics.

In fact, video games and esports "leverage and require an incredible amount of cognitive intellectual labor," she said at last week's University of California, Irvine eSports Symposium. "Video game play actually leads to higher problem-solving skills. And, those higher problem-solving skills actually lead to higher academic grades.... You can start to see where games, rather than being in competition for so-called intellectual pursuits or academic performances, actually are enhancers."

The UCI professor of informatics and president of the Higher Education Video Game Alliance gave an overview of research findings from studies conducted over the past decade. Among the results:

Video gaming has significant positive effects on reading, reasoning skills and mathematics achievement.

Games align well with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). For example, one study showed improvement in STEM performance of more than a grade of difference when using games to learn instead of textbooks.

Video gaming results in 20% higher self-efficacy, 11% higher declarative knowledge, 14% higher procedural knowledge and 9% better retention.

Video games have a positive impact in areas like perception and attention, systemic thinking, ethical reasoning, collaborative problem solving and computer and technology fluency.

Stereotypes that video game players are anti-social are untrue, emphasized Steinkuehler, who is part of UCI's Connected Learning Lab. "Game play is done in collaboration and in tandem with other people. Even when you play on one screen, you tend to rely on a community of interests that actually drives your performance."

When looking at athletics and academics, she said, research shows that athletic motivation predicts academic performance. In other words, Steinkuehler said, "kids who really want to be good at competitive athletics tend to be really good and competitive in school. You see higher GPA (grade point average) for high school students. Team sports are associated with a long list of positive impact, such as personal growth, motivation toward degree completion, persistence, grit, tenacity, internal locus of control, the belief that your performance is based on how much work you do and that it's a skill you can improve. Sports amplify academic success."

As for esports, she said, not much is known. That's why she and her UCI research team is launching a study of UCI's video gamers in the fall. The study will be asking how students' game play aligns with what they're doing in school and how it amplifies in ways that endure. Scholars interested in helping conduct the research are invited to contact Steinkuehler by email at const@uci.edu.

Her UCI eSports Symposium talk is available online.
Banner image: Constance Steinkuehler speaking at the UCI eSports Symposium May 19. Photo by Mimi Ko Cruz Editor's note: Watchworthy Wednesday posts highlight interesting resources and appear in DML Central every Wednesday. Any tips for future posts are welcome. Please comment below or send email to mcruz@hri.uci.edu

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Watchworthy Wednesday: How Video Games Amplify Learning - DML Central

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As a leading scholar of video games, game culture and game player behavior, Constance Steinkuehler argues that games amplify learning and academics. In fact, video games and esports "leverage and require an incredible amount of cognitive intellectual labor," she said at last week's University of California, Irvine eSports Symposium.