Educational Gaming What, Why, and Where it Goes From Here.

Educational GamingWhat, Why, and Where it Goes From Here

What is Educational Gaming

?

Not For Our Context• Digital Game Based Learning• Motivates• Instant Assessment• Single Player

So We’re Good?

Nope

What Type of Game?

Just About Every Game?

Games Created to Educate?

Non Edutainment Games?

???

Which is the Best Pursuit?

Somewhere in the middle

And With That…• Games and Education Scholar James Paul Gee on Video Games

, Learning, and Literacy

Important Takeaways• All games teach!• Self evaluating

Where is the Revolution?

The Data Just isn’t There• “For all of the enthusiasm around games and learning, very

few studies have examined whether video games improve classroom performance and academic achievement.”

Emma Blakey, PhD Researcher in Developmental Psychology. – Sept 2014

Advancements and trends in digital game-based learning research: a review of publications in selected journals from 2001 to 2010

• G.J. Hwang and P.H. Wu• 137 Articles Published on Digital Game Based Learning

(DGBM) Among 7 Major Journals

Results:

Sample groups selected for DGBL studies from 2001 to 2010

Research learning domains selected from 2001 to 2010

What’s This Mean?• Research on the use of educational gaming to teach sciences

to high school students?• Out of 137 studies, the unspecified set intersecting the 23 high

school focused articles, and 14 science education based articles.

Non Uniform Subject• Teaching a First Grader English ≠ Teaching College Students

Science

Subtopics• Design (frameworks, requirements), testing, efficacy,

adaptivity, etcetera• Suggested topic of future research• Efficacy CUBED

What Do We Care About as Software Engineers

Requirements• Expert Knowledge• Enumerating those requirements• How do you specify that something must be educational in a

useful way?• How do you create fun?

Testing• Similar to above• How do you test efficacy of software (including long term

educational outcome)?• How do you test for fun?

More Videos!• The Best Computer Education Games For Children Ever• Dora

Hmm…• Video Games and Learning

Tangential Learning• Learning through exposure to educational content in media

you are already engaged in.

Research Focus• Better integration of entertaining content into educational

gaming

Closing Thought• Not a Panacea

Questions:• What do you think are the 3 most important reasons that

Digital Game Based Learning may be effective?• In the context of Software Engineering, what are two of the

greatest challenges facing Digital Game Based Learning research?

• When working on an Digital Game Based Learning project, is it better to focus on making the content entertaining first, educational first, or should both be focused on simultaneously, and why?