Do serious games lead to academic learning?

Blunt, R. (2009) Do serious games work? Results from three studies eLearn Magazine, December 1

From Natasha Boskic

In a contemporary digital world that is daily flooded with numerous new video games, a frequent question among educators is the relationship between the use of video games and learning.

The article “Do Serious Games Work? Results from Three Studies” by Dr Richard Blunt finally offers evidence of game use effectiveness to academic achievements. The paper presents the results of three quantitative studies conducted at an east coast university with one first-year and two third-year undergraduate classes. The students were divided into a control group (learning without a game use) and an experimental group (learning with a game use). According to the findings and Blunt “at least in some circumstances, the application of serious games significantly increases learning.”