Bates, T. (2018) How serious should we be about serious games in online learning? Online Learning and Distance Education Resources, May 27
This post provides a description and analysis of a conference on serious games organised by the School of Continuing Studies at Ryerson University. The main takeaway:
serious games are a relatively high risk, high return activity for online learning. This requires building on best practices in games design, both within and outside education, sharing, and collaboration. However, as we move more and more towards skills development, experiential learning, and problem-solving, serious games will play an increasingly important role in online learning.
Fusch, D. (2010) An innovation in learning games Academic Impressions March 11
This is a report of a ‘minimal technology’ approach to using games in the teaching of Latin by Roger Travis, associate professor of classics and director of the video games and human values initiative at the University of Connecticut. The article contains a number of useful further links.
Managed by Natasha Boskic
Serious games in elementary and high schools
Goldman, T. (2010). Miyamoto Focusing on Getting DS into Schools. The Escapist Magazine, 21 Mar 2010.
With the DS already being used in places like museums, galleries, and aquariums, Miyamoto told reporters about Nintendo’s plan to roll the system out “in junior high and elementary schools in Japan starting in the new school year.”
Serious games in higher education
Serious games learning community from the University of Notre Dame explores the use of games in higher education. Their goal is to find or create games designed to improve learning and implement those games in their courses.
Best Learning Game Competition
Playing History won the 1st European Best Learning Game Competition Award in the category “Best Professional Game with a Budget over 40.000 Euros.” The players are transferred to historically significant and interesting time periods. They meet major historical personalities and experience history in the making.
Serious Games Design competition – the Disney Learning Challenge
Disney Research in conjunction with SIGGRAPH sponsors the Learning Challenge, based on the principle that fun and learning shouldn’t be contradictory. The Learning Challenge is designed to show that sophisticated concepts can be conveyed via entertaining interactions on computers that will impart Active Knowledge of Learning Concepts. The challenge is to develop an engaging Learning Application that will delight, inspire, and reveal key learning concepts for children ages 7-11.
Games to defeat obesity
At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco (March 9-13, 2010), US Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra announced the Apps for Healthy Kids game development challenge promoting healthy lifestyle changes in young adults. The competition was a part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign to end childhood obesity within a generation.
The ludologist (Jesper Juul’s blog)
playthinklearn. The end of the year is always a time for summarizing and recapitulations of all the achievements, changes and mistakes we have made during those 365 days. Nicola Whitton, a Research Fellow at the Education and Social Research Institute at Manchester Metropolitan University published in her blog her thoughts about how gaming has changed, but not only in 2009, but in the whole decade. She lists five major places where the changes have occurred: interaction, casual games, mobile, location-sensitive and augmented reality games, ARG (Alternate Reality Games) and MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games).
Doh, J. (2010). Centian is looking forward to playing with humans again. ARGNet, Alternate Reality Gaming Network, February 14, 2010.
Similar to the previously announced EVOKE, this ARG plunges right into 2.0 technologies and spreads on all fronts, starting with information notes posted on twitter, inviting players to ning community and following by text updates via cell phones.
Bogost, I. (2010). Mel Brooks, Ontologist: from Videogaming Illustrated, October 1982. February 15, 2010
Ian Bogost posted in his blog a very interesting newspaper article from 1982 (found by one of his students). It is always fun to read what people thought about something, in this case video games, and what they predicted would happen in the future.
Agent SureFire Infosec is a simulation to train office managers, executives or all staff about security of information and how to protect it in an office environment. It received a number of awards and it is a candidate for Best in eLearning category at the 2010 Digital Media Award in Ireland.
See also: News on educational games, More news on educational games – and conferences, and Books and articles on games, simulations and virtual worlds
Dr. Tony Bates is the author of eleven books in the field of online learning and distance education. He has provided consulting services specializing in training in the planning and management of online learning and distance education, working with over 40 organizations in 25 countries. Tony is a Research Associate with Contact North | Contact Nord, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network.
