Educational game

Educational games are games that are designed to teach people about certain subjects, expand concepts, reinforce development, understand an historical event or culture, or assist them in learning a skill as they play. They include board, card, and video games.

Board games

A board game is a game played with counters or pieces that are placed on, removed from, or moved across a "board" (a premarked surface, usually specific to that game). Frequent subject matters for educational board games are geographical, and the board is a map of the region taught about.

Card games

An educational card game involves the use of playing cards -- either traditional or game-specific. Generally these dula expand concepts, such as the food chain, set matching, etc. Flash card games are used to teach math, animal, and dinosaur species. Some card games improve memory.

Video games

Part of a series on:
Video game industry
Activities/jobs Game art design Game design Game development / Game developer Game modification Game producer Game programming / Game programmer Game publisher Game studies Game testing Game journalism Level design
Types Adult game Casual game Indie game Non-game Interactive art Interactive movie Nonviolent video game Serious game Advergame Art game Edugame Exergame Traditional game
Topics Digital rights management (DRM) Outsourcing Software license Software license agreement (EULA)
Lists List of indie game developers List of video game developers List of video game industry people List of video game publishers List of video game websites

Educational video games are considered a type of serious game, as these games have a strong purpose other than pure entertainment. Some people call these types of games edutainment because they combine education and entertainment. An educational computer game can be defined as an electronic medium with all the characteristics of a gaming environment that have intended educational outcomes targeted at specific groups of learners.

Video games can aid the development of proficiency by allowing users to interact with objects and manipulate variables. They are said to be particularly effective when designed to address a specific problem or teach a certain skill in curriculum subjects, where specific objectives can be stated and when deployed selectively within a context relevant to the learning activity and goal.

Simple types of games can be designed to address specific learning outcomes such as recall of factual content. For instance, the Nobel Prize Foundation website uses on-line games to aid children in understanding the discoveries made by its laureates by embedding the scientific knowledge as part of the game environment.

To aid in educating students and adults about the finer details of different political systems, numerous companies have developed simulations that immerse the player into different political systems by forcing them to make realistic political decisions. These games vary from running an actual election campaign to games that allow the player to make the day-to-day decisions of running a country, as seen in Democracy. These types of games are targeted at students, educators and adults alike.

Educational computer games

Video games have historically received more criticism than other forms of recreational learning because they are often perceived as being mindless entertainment and as encouraging sexism and consumerism, and turning players into social recluses. Many children today also find these "educational" games to lack much interesting content to them, as they are considered by older children to be "for preschoolers". However, a shift from pure entertainment to educational tool has emerged in recent times. Children growing up today can benefit from educational video games because they are already exposed to a society that is increasingly dependent on digital technology.

Researchers today have found that computer games could become part of the school curriculum after researchers found they had significant educational value. "The UK study concluded that simulation and adventure games - such as Sim City and RollerCoaster Tycoon, where players create societies or build theme parks, developed children's strategic thinking and planning skills". Recent games such as the math game Ko's Journey are standards-based to meet curriculum.

The medium of educational games provides an opportunity for teachers to introduce educational and playful elements into the learning environment. With computer-aided learning programs, teachers may assist students on social aspects such as critical learning, knowledge based communication and effective interpersonal skills that traditional methods of teaching cannot offer.

As computer games are being adapted to the education system, the issue of classification and content regulation is being brought to attention. The issue of regulating game content is vital as educational games are created to be effective learning tools. Thus the game developer must have a comprehensive understanding of its young audience and their particular social and educational needs. At the same time, the game developer must balance between entertainment and accordance with the education syllabus.

Below are some examples of games targeting young users from the ages of about three years to mid-teens; beyond the mid-teens, subjects become so complex (e.g. calculus) that teaching via a game can be impractical. Numerous subgenres exist, each for a different field, such as maths games or typing games.

Adult education games are aimed at higher levels of education being targeted at young-adults and up. Like children's games, they can be in the form of mini-games, adventure games, role-playing games and so on.

There can be also defined strategy war games that include historical references like the Total War franchise or the Age of Empires trilogy and an in-game encyclopaedia like Civilization. These games often combine entertainment and education but without being explicitly educational.

Popular educational games for children and adolescents

• Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
• ClickN READ Phonics - Beginning Reading
• ClickN SPELL - Beginning Spelling
• Carmen Sandiego series
• The ClueFinders
• Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (a series of two games)
• EcoQuest (a series of two games)
• GCompris (GPL)
• Genomics Digital Lab
• Gizmos & Gadgets
• History of Biology game
• Immune Attack
• Inanimate Alice
• InLiving
• I.M. Meen
• JumpStart
• Ko's Journey
• Learnalot
• Math Blaster
• Number Munchers
• Oregon Trail
• PlaceSpotting
• Quest Atlantis
• Reader Rabbit
• The Magic School Bus series
• Treasures of the Deep
• Tuxmath (GPL)
• Storybook Weaver
• Urban Jungle
• Zoombinis
• WolfQuest

Popular educational games for adults

• Democracy
• Food Force
• Global Conflict: Palestine
• Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing
• Miniconomy
• President Forever 2008 + Primaries
• The Typing of the Dead
• CyberCIEGE
• Close Combat: Marines
• Virtonomics

Generic Skins for Computer Based Games

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), such as Moodle and Blackboard, can act as a front-end user interface for educational tests. Games based on such tests can be single or multi-player games. Such generic user interfaces are called skins. These skins are popular with schools, an example of a school using Moodle is Coundon Court School and Community College, they can be ideal as a learning environment for pupils using IT.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Educational toy
• Edutainment

References

• Video games 'stimulate learning', BBC News, March 18, 2002
• Dostál, J. Educational software and computer games - tools of modern education, Journal of Technology and Information Education. 2009, Palacký University, Olomouc, Volume 1, Issue 1, p. 24 - 28. ISSN 1803-537X

External links

• Educational Games Nobelprize.org
• Epistemic Games Group, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Games For Change
• LeapFrog Leapad Educational System
• Searchable database of educational computer games