Education for a Digital World Advice, Guidelines and Effective Practice from Around Globe, 2008a

23 – Computer-Based Games for Learning
training or infrastructure. Its games are accessed on
the Internet by individual players or teams; the newly
released ENJEUX multiplayer environment (http://
www.savie.ca/enjeux) supports their use for multiple
players online at different sites. Performance and research
statistics can be collected for each play session.
Although EGC games are based on more traditional
question-and-answer exercises, they have
proved very successful in using play and competition
to engage learners from young children to adults.
EGC games have recently been used for several
health-related applications as part of the SAGE for
Learning research project (http://www.sageforlearning
.ca) on games and simulations for learning.
• COTS games in the schools: Commercial off-theshelf
(referred to as COTS) games have being applied
in many learning contexts. In one example, a school
in the US reports using Roller Coaster Tycoon projects
to teach momentum, speed, mass, and other concepts
in junior-high physics classes (Kirremuir,
2006a). In another case, SimCity is being used for a
complex Grade 6 to 8 project to create and manage a
small city’s infrastructure and environmental impact
(Kirriemuir, 2006b). In a third example, the Education
Arcade project at MIT used Civilization III to
teach high school and middle school social studies.
The researchers found that students used much more
complex concepts than expected. One student commented,
“What I learned is that you can’t separate
economics from politics or geography. What natural
resources I have or where I’m located affects how I
can negotiate with other civilizations.” (Jenkins &
Squire, 2003).
• University, adult and professional learning: A project
at Purdue University is building the Critical Mass
video game to teach university chemistry through an
adventure mission that requires solving chemistry
problems (http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~kmartine/).
Virtual-U (http://www.virtual-u.org/) lets players experience
the intricacies of university management.
Public Health Games (http://www.publichealth
games.com/), a centre at the University of Illinois at
Chicago, is creating “state of the art games for public
health workers and emergency responders for a multitude
of catastrophic scenarios,” including an anthrax
attack response simulation. The Objection!
simulation (http://www.objection.com/), customizable
for any state’s legal system, is used in US law
schools to teach trial skills and is approved for continuing
legal education.
• Mobile games: Naismith et al. (2004) use case studies
to review how a number of mobile games implement
current learning theories. One example is Environmental
Detectives (http://education.mit.edu/ar/ed
.html), an augmented reality game, in which Grade 5
to 8 students use a constructivist approach, playing
the role of environmental engineers searching for
data to solve problems related to a toxic chemical
spill. Simulation events are triggered by real-world
locations as players navigate through a physical space.
Tip
Search the Internet to find examples for your discipline.
Some sites to start you off are the FutureLab
showcase (http://www.futurelab.org.uk/showcase
/show.htm), BBC Schools (http://www.bbc.co.uk
/schools/games/), FunBrain.com (http://www.fun
brain.com/), and the EDUCAUSE Games and
Simulations page (http://www.educause.edu/Games
andSimulations/11263).
What makes a learning game
effective?
As with other new learning technologies, it is important
to separate hype from reality. Not all game-based
learning trials are successful, for reasons related to a
game’s design, fit with learning objectives, role within
the larger learning context, technology support, and
other factors. However, experience and research are
developing a growing body of knowledge about features
and practices that contribute to game-based learning
success.
GAME DESIGN
Well-designed learning games aim to achieve engagement
levels similar to entertainment games, which keep
players involved for many hours of increasingly complex
exploration and step-by-step achievement.
Gee (2003, pp. 62–63) argues that “learners must be
enticed to try even if afraid, must be enticed to put in
lots of effort even if initially not motivated to do so, and
must achieve some meaningful success when he or she
has expended this effort”. He suggests that good video
games do this by incorporating the following principles
(pp. 137–138):
358 Education for a Digital World