Games development is slowly becoming a central and one of the largest global industries. Right after our basic human needs, where satisfaction and esteem start, and self-actualization follows, right there you will find games. It’s not news that games promise entertainment, and looking at cubs playing you can easily deduct the relationship between play and development, but it is becoming clearer that games are the key to learning and education.
There are of course the official “learning games”. A contradiction in term for kids: “You either let me play and have fun or you want me to study. Don’t try to trick me”, would be the kids words, even if not phrased exactly this way.
But as more social aspects get into the game play, the lesser is the need to insert formal learning curriculum into the games.
Every game is a learning game.
Over the past two years I have been researching games for all ages. Trying almost every new game I came across I’ve been having a very good time. I have an accessible focus groups, my own kids, now ages 7, 11 and 15, and they help me understand how the games work for them. There is a constant struggle between the pure fun time and the school-homework time. Most of the time they do not neglect their school obligations, but I can’t say that the afternoon school time is very obviously contributing more to their learning than the games they play.
To count just a few of the skills they have developed through online games – written verbal communications, social skills, languages (our first language is Hebrew, but in all games the communications are in English, normally begun at 2nd grade), strategic thinking and planning, design, math, memory, self management under stress, commercial and negotiations abilities, persistence and more.
Those game skills have contributed a lot to their school performance. Higher grades in English and math, better understanding and commendable discussions in history classes, improved memory in text based tests, better technical performance and computer command, and great social skills, including the ability to negotiate local peace agreements…
I am a very proud mother but I am not talking only about my kids. These skills are showing up clearly with any kids who play more online games. Observing a class or groups of kids it is easy to detect who is more exposed than others to such games.
The mix of games and education is not new, but the balance is changing. How to mix the two today, that is the question. How best use the need for games and entertainment to improve learning skills and acquire knowledge and education, and how to turn studies into a lot more fun?
Many teachers have been doing it for years: Developing fun activities in the classroom. In the recent years, however, more educators are exposed to the new digital possibilities, such as online games. The question is: can existing games be used for the school curriculum or do game developers need to create new games, according to this curriculum.
I believe a new path has to be created. A middle one. One that would enable adoption of existing games with minor modification to school curriculum, while at the same time, adopting the school curriculum to the games reality.
And this is not only because the games reflect a new reality.
More reading on the subject:
Games Learning Society Conference
Education and Learning Commons
The European ARGuing (Alternate Reality Game) project
Or-Tal's Writings 
June 16, 2009 at 05:13
Thank you for introducing me to a completely new and unthought of idea in teaching. I stumbled on to this site while searching for an educational website to complete an assignment. Prior to reading this article and watching the video, I had always thought of video games as a non-educational waste of time. This article introduced me to the idea that some video games can be used for educational purposes. When I try but can’t reach a student, I often look for new methods to teach. Now, I will try to relate to these students through video games and hopefully get them involved and interested in the subject at hand. Thanks to you, I plan to research different video/computer games that can be used in the classroom to teach and enhance different skills and ideas.
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June 17, 2009 at 01:56
Thanks for the video link! Here are some resource links to some of the things I shared in the interview:
Dimension-M – http://www.tabuladigita.com
WoWinSchool Project – http://wowinschool.pbworks.com
-Lucas
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June 17, 2009 at 20:34
Hi, I’m Jessie. I just want to say that from my observation, the positive impact of playing online game could last long. There is only one boy in my class who plays online game everyday, and he got the highest score in our network management class. It was very impressive because according to what he explained to the class later, he just had the sense of what’s going on within the group in an organization and he learned it from his daily practice in online game. I guess my point is that I agree that gaming could be beneficial to children or teens as long as teachers and parents know how to utilize it well.
Thank you for sharing this thought with us! I like your blog so much!
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June 18, 2009 at 03:50
Thank you for the post and video link. I couldn’t agree with you more. I came across your site because we are developing GoGo Lingo, an online game to teach foreign languages to young children – attempting to reach the middle path. I’d love to hear what you think of it. – Afsoun
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June 21, 2009 at 22:35
I am a teacher librarian who has tried the simulation game called “Pharoah” through the inquiry method. When I interviewed the students after the simulation they unanimously agreed that the simulation made a difference in the way they learned. They absolutely loved it! I strongly suggest teachers and teacher librarians take advantage of some of the games out there.
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June 25, 2009 at 12:40
Hi,
Great video – great post.
I reckon we need to get past the ‘are games educational’ question. Most with (a) gaming experience (b) high-school classroom experience can be convinced that there are dozens of commercially available games that would be of ENORMOUS educational benefit.
The real question is how to convince the Faculty Heads and the Gaming Industry to let it happen.
Faculty Heads (usually, at this time) are going to be slightly older than the general age of gamers – on average. They will likely see games as a frivolous activity. They are not 100% resistant, to be sure, but are going to be VERY hard to shift on this issue…and thats before you start talking about the unseemly subject of money. Oh, and before you start talking about which particular game.
The games industry rarely (if ever) offer an ‘education licence’ on the broad range of games. And why should they? If they can sell 30 units for a class, well, that is something they would have been aiming for in the design investment process. I’ve been looking into the older ‘bargin bin’ games for my school – around the $20 mark – bt even still, our faculty budget would bust just getting enough for 1 between 2.
Are games going to be designed JUST for the education market? Well, in my opinion, not good ones.
Here is a great interview and related info.
http://www.iear.org/iear/2009/5/13/sylvia-martinez-show-47-and-interview-6.html
Again, great post!
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June 25, 2009 at 12:49
Thank you all for your kind replies. I think that in general this is a new school that is forming. Not only does playing games impact learning abilities, but there are many more techniques and strategies derived from games and the games theory that serve for a better education, or education which better suits our present and future global needs.
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June 27, 2009 at 19:46
Hi,
I am a career change teacher who came from a career in games that included designing, programming, and producing (project management). I would advise some caution and moderation in combining the two fields.
At an industry conference, one of the original EverQuest designers gave an insightful overview of how to make an addicting online game.
He cited research done with lab mice to teach them how to navigate a maze, and that the principle for the pacing and magnitude of rewards was the same. You give the user little crumbs in the expected path at a pace of roughly once a minute – this holds their short term attention. You also have medium sized rewards (medium chunks of cheese) interspersed at roughly once every hour or two – this serves as a near-term goal. Finally, you have rare, but attainable, big rewards that can take a week or more to reach – the prospect of those big rewards keep the player playing even after they have collected one of the medium rewards. You could think of it as a more refined “carrot in front of the horse” design theory.
If you look for it, you can find this design pattern everywhere you look in modern online games. While I think this is a very effective approach at retaining customers and getting a usage fee every month from them, I’m not sure that the model of constant external reinforcement is something that we should be conditioning our students with. Many jobs and hobbies have “gruntwork” phases where we have to persist without the benefit of constant validation, and we need to give students a safe place to practice struggling and learning with only their internal long-term goals as motivators.
The social world of online games (or even chat/messaging) can be a double-edged sword in my opinion. I don’t always see virtual in-game confidence and bravado translate into a sustained healthy self-image of players in the real world. If the game is an escape or avoidance of coping with non-virtual social situations, then parents and teachers still need to encourage students to grow in their handling of face-to-face situations. The self-esteem boost of an in-game accomplishment can turn out to be hollow when faced with un-met demands of college applications, dating relationships, or job preparations.
As for the learning in existing games, my view is that the amount of learning from a given game situation can vary greatly from group to group and from person to person. Lucas mentions the group challenges and problem solving in online games in the video you posted, but the amount of learning is often much greater for the groups who first attempt a game challenge than it is for those who follow. Many guilds wait for strategy guides to come out before attempting challenges, and are following a pre-written recipe, with the main remaining challenges being coordinating timing and hand-eye coordination. Think of the difference between a true inquiry-based lesson and an old-school lab where students follow step-by-step and just concern themselves with “doing it right” and “getting the right answer”, without developing understanding. You can get both situations in the same game challenge depending on group dynamics and the availability of guides or cheats.
I used to think that anyone playing a game would automatically develop an instinct for the underlying mechanics, or the “laws of physics” if you will. Now I think I was projecting. In my experience, many players do not develop an understanding beyond “this is how everyone does it” or “this is the best way” (without being able to explain why).
This is not to say that I don’t believe that games can enhance the classroom, just that like every previous technology that has come to the classroom, they aren’t a miracle cure. Successful programs will have thoughtful planning, careful implementation, and open-eyed reflection / evaluation.
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June 28, 2009 at 09:13
Wow! Neal, thanks for the detailed reply. This is really insightful for me.
All in moderation is clearly the key phrase in adoption of any feature, let alone when it is new and the experience with it is little, as with games in education now.
I don’t believe games should in any way take over the classroom, but I do believe there are games that can enhance learning. I also think there are many gaming features that can be used in the classroom without turning the classroom into a game. One good example is the ability kids have in games to “do this level again” – and again, and again – until they do it right and can pass to the next level. I have met several teachers who adopted this approach to tests. They will allow the students to take the test again and again until the student is satisfied with the grade.
As for external reinforcement – sure, the ideal situation would be if any students could find his or her internal motivator. But the reality is different. It could be because students are not interested in the particular material presented to them, or because the fail to see the relevancy of a curriculum to real life, or because it’s difficult for them. There could be many reasons. That’s when external reinforcement can contribute. Depending on how and what this reinforcement is, it can translate to an internal motivator in time. Sometimes it justs serves as a kick start. It should definitely not take the place of internal motivators.
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July 27, 2009 at 19:08
I must share my recent discovery of Q2L – Quest to Learn – a school, real school, based on games.
It’s a school in New York, about to open in Manhattan in the coming falls, for grades 6-12.
If you want more information – start here: http://www.q2l.org/
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April 19, 2010 at 23:09
Making Education interesting for students at a young age can definetly have future benefits. Chances are, if they didn’t like school back then they won’t like it when they grow older. “Learning Games” could definitly lead to more students interested in a College Education, and better grades overall.
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January 25, 2011 at 15:02
I am really thankful to this topic because it really gives useful information
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