Game-Based Learning

Reviewed by Tom Johnson

 

For my research journal review assignment I decided review an article out of Innovate entitled Game-Based Learning: A Different Perspective.  In the article Mr. Royle first gives his rationale by describing how games have never worked well in the classrooms and at school in general because he feel's that the edutainers have been analyzing educational games from the wrong perspectives.  He shows data from other studies and surveys about gaming in education and asserts that: "Rather than striving to get games into education, educators should be investigating ways to get education into games." (2008, Royle)

 

In the article he suggests ways in which game developers can get education into games, and points out the traditional problems of integrating games into education, and how the new approach would help build hooks for curriculumn integration into games.  Royle also shares an example of the new approach in an open source project called "DoomEd"  which takes a traditional first person shooter-type game and skinned it with different features which allowed for traditional gaming engagment but integrated certain school curriculum skills as well.

 

He highlights other researchers findings on what works in educational games and how game developers can use the findings in the development process.  Some of these findings were they can:  provide motivation for problem solving, a well constructed backstory can engage learners, designing obstactles and puzzles in a way that utilizes curriculumn topics can be useful, and designing the game narrative in such a way to maximize literacy opportunities improves learning.

 

The main idea is that games need to be made to be completed with real entertainment value while immersing students in learning at the same time.