New perspectives on learning through (game) design

The aim of this paper and the one which follows is to explore how the potential of computer games may be taken up in schools to support learning engagement among students. It is not the intention of the papers to dismiss existing classroom practices or overlook accounts of innovative practices in schools; the papers’ aim is to provide educators who are interested in exploring the use of computer games in schools with information and ideas about how these games may be effectively used to engage students in their learning. This paper questions whether the empowerment of students to create games for one another based on the school curriculum may address the insignificance of computer games in the sociocultural setting of the school. Both papers have been commissioned by Microsoft (Asia-Pacific) under the Partners-In-Learning Initiative. Under this initiative, Microsoft establishes partnerships with ministries of education, national and local government bodies, and other stakeholders to empower students and teachers to realize their full potential, mediated by information and communication technologies.

2007

International Journal of Simulation: Systems, Science & Technology, 2019

Video games have been long established to be an effective educational tool to engage learners in the process of active learning. However, few studies have been performed to investigate the outcomes of employing game development, rather than video games per se, in the classroom. This posed a large gap in the existing body of literature of integrating the game industry into the education sector. Thus, this study served to address this gap, and argued that game development could serve as a pedagogical methodology much like video games for introducing related Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skills such as programming and multimedia topics, among other things. Conducted over three consecutive trimesters, this study explores game development as an educational tool in promoting the development of related ICT literacy skills among freshmen students in addition to the learning acquisition of the game development itself. More specifically, this exploratory-descriptive study sought to investigate how game development fits within the realm of learning ICT topics, and which of the following do freshmen find essential in developing their own original 2D web game. The findings show that game development, when used as a pedagogical methodology, poses the same potential just like any other educational tool used in a learning environment. While it warrants for more validation, the results of this study should be enough to give educational leaders and educators something to consider as to whether integrating game development in learning ICT concepts is worth the try or not.

2011

This chapter discusses some possibilities of using computer games to effectively reach didactic goals in undergraduate teaching. Nowadays, undergraduate students belong to the Net generation and usually play different kinds of games on consoles, computers, and the Internet. Some elements such as creativity and abstraction could be included in computer science and information technology curriculums through the use of games as educational methodological resources, due the motivational factor they inherently have. This learner-centered approach not only contributes to personalizing the knowledge-building process but also permits the consideration of learning styles to adapt different ludic environments and/or realworld situations according to topics of the course. To demonstrate the possibilities of this educational scenario, two case studies were conducted. One focuses on Design Patterns contents in a computer science course, and the other spotlights computer graphics topics in an information technology course. The results gained in these processes demonstrate the students' involvement in the proposed activities and the capacity to apply the lessons learned in diverse situations.

… -SADDLE BROOK THEN ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS NJ-, 2008

Recently, attention is being paid to computer and video games as a medium for learning. This article provides a way of conceptualizing them as possibility spaces for learning. It provides an overview of two research programs: 1) an after school program using commercial games to develop deep expertise in game play and game creation, and 2) an in school program using game techniques to teach science literacy. Although there are yet to be real mature examples of game based learning programs integrating all of these elements, these programs suggest a future of schooling very different from today's current path. Whether or not educators embrace games, they ought to consider how these underlying aspects of media and technology in the interactive age affect learning and schooling.

Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming in Education

This chapter explores changing conceptions of learning brought about by technological changes and opportunities and examines more closely the understanding of video game creation as a learning experience. Based on the first year of a three-year ethnographic research study of the educative value and potential of video games within a school setting, this chapter examines the powerful learning and teaching practises in classes of information technology and programming in which video game creation has been used as entry points into learning programming skills. Observations, interviews, and video recordings coupled with students’ articulation of their process were used to examine the depth of students’ learning and revealed the development of their multi-literacy skills, social skills, and their learning process awareness. Suggestions within this chapter include how a social constructivist classroom involving technology and popular culture can be developed and valued.

2015

The use of computer games as learning objects is currently being used as an alternative way to address issues and topics in order to address motivational aspect of students. Digital games can amplify the power of exploration and imagination of students, providing moments of research, reflection and learning. Besides being a strong motivational attractive, computer games could amplify students ’ potential of exploration and imagination, providing moments that unify recrea-tion to didactics, involving investigation, reflection and learning. The usage of computer games as learning objects is privileged by the playful differential such software category has, compared to conventional learning objects. Using them both in formal and non-formal learning contexts has been proven to be efficient in different aspects. Thus, this paper presents some strategies of using computer games as effective learning tools for students considered as digital natives – or those presenting similar behavioral ...

This study offers insight into the learning and teaching implications of an open-ended, project--based, learning environment that involves digital literacy development. In a case study of game design technology classes, with grades 6--9 students, interviews, creative thinking items from a 21 st Century Skill survey offer evidence toward understanding emerging concepts of creative and computational thinking, and its connection to digital literacy curriculum. Findings suggest that creative and innovative thinking is a critical construct in game design and development learning approaches. Moreover, students creative thinking is significantly correlated with positive emotions of game design class. Digital literacy, with a direct link to computational thinking is suggested to require technology-based environment that students find engaging and relevant.

Afterschool Matters, 2017

To counter these trends, informal science educators have adopted video games and simulations as teaching tools and have called for research on how games can motivate youth to engage with science (Honey & Hilton, 2011). Video games that provide level-building capabilities (Reiber, 2005) can be particularly useful in fostering informal science learning. To add to the knowledge base, we studied how students used level-based video game development in an out-of-school time (OST) setting to learn science content. Building on prior efforts (Evans & Biedler, 2012; Evans, Norton, Chang, Deater-Deckard, & Balci, 2013; Evans, Pruett, Chang, & Nino, 2014), we explored how the project incorporated the video game to support learners’ science motivation. This work with a commercial Michael A. Evans, Brett D. Jones, and Sehmuz Akalin Using Video Game Design to Motivate Students