3.3 Asynchronous

Learning with Entertainment Games

• Benefits:

  • Increased student engagement and motivation: Games make learning interactive and enjoyable.

  • Enhanced problem-solving and critical thinking: Games like Minecraft support subjects like math and engineering.

• Challenges:

  • Not all games are educational, requiring careful integration into lessons.

  • Excessive screen time can lead to issues like eye strain and reduced attention spans.

  • Cost and accessibility are concerns, especially in schools with limited resources.

  • Managing distractions and competitive behavior in students can be difficult.

  • The potential presence of bias, violence, or misinformation in some games.

Learning from Educational Games

• Benefits:

  • Educational games are designed to teach specific concepts while keeping students engaged.

  • Games boost motivation, focus, and problem-solving skills in subjects like math, science, and language.

• Challenges:

  • The selection of games is crucial, as not all are educational.

  • Schools may struggle with technology and funding for game-based learning tools.

  • Managing distractions and ensuring games align with educational goals can be difficult.

  • Some games may contain inappropriate content, requiring careful selection.

Learning inspired by Games in AI

AI Development Through Games:

• Games like Chess, Go, and StarCraft provide a structured environment to test and refine AI decision-making and strategic planning.

• AI has evolved from basic models tested on simple games to complex systems capable of adapting to real-time strategies and unpredictable environments.

• Games allow AI systems to improve through competition, self-learning (as seen in AlphaGo), and real-world problem-solving applications like robotics and self-driving cars.

Learning within games

• Cognitive and Motor Skill Benefits:

  • Video games can enhance cognitive abilities such as memory, attention, reasoning, and problem-solving.

  • Studies show that gamers perform better on tasks involving memory retention, attention, and multitasking.

  • Video games also improve hand-eye coordination, reaction times, and motor skills.

• Critical Thinking and Adaptability:

  • Games challenge players to think critically, plan strategically, and adapt to new situations.

  • Research suggests that games designed to solve complex problems can improve cognitive flexibility and strategic thinking.

Learning about games

• Games as Cultural Artifacts: Digital games are a form of media that reflects the values, creativity, and ideas of the societies that create them. Like books, films, and music, games should be studied critically, with a focus on understanding their mechanics, narratives, and the interactive experience they offer.

• Game Literacy: As with media literacy, there is a growing need for "game literacy." This involves understanding the unique language of games, including their mechanics and symbols. Games are participatory and require players to make decisions that affect the experience, making them a complex medium that requires its own analytical approach.

• Educational Value: By studying games critically, students can develop a deeper appreciation for games as artistic, cultural, and technological expressions. This is similar to how literature and film are analyzed in academic settings.

Learning from games

• Game Design Principles: Games use specific design elements (clear goals, adaptive challenges, immediate feedback) that can make the experience engaging and motivating for players. These same principles can be applied to education, creating more dynamic, interactive learning environments.

• Gamification: This involves integrating game-like elements (such as rewards, challenges, and progression systems) into non-game contexts like education. Researcher James Paul Gee argues that these elements can foster deeper learning by keeping students motivated and engaged through feedback, goal-setting, and adaptive challenges.

• Learning Through Game Mechanics: Well-designed games encourage problem-solving, perseverance, and critical thinking, which align with effective educational practices. By analyzing successful game mechanics, educators can create more engaging learning experiences.

Learning through game creation

• Creative Learning: Creating a digital game involves much more than coding—it requires problem-solving, storytelling, and critical thinking. The process of game creation blends creativity with learning, encouraging students to research, design, and test their ideas.

• Constructivism and Constructionism: By creating games, students engage in constructivist learning, where they actively construct their own knowledge. Constructionism, as proposed by Seymour Papert, emphasizes that learning is enriched when students create meaningful, shareable artifacts (like digital games).

• Skills Developed: Game development helps students understand complex topics (e.g., climate change, history) and develop skills such as computational thinking, systems analysis, and digital literacy. The process also fosters teamwork, communication, and creativity, which are essential for real-world problem-solving.

Learning within game communities

• Learning in Game Communities: Digital game communities (both online and offline) are vibrant spaces for collaboration, communication, and learning. In these communities, players exchange knowledge, develop strategies, and enhance their social and problem-solving skills.

• Skills Developed: Participation in game communities fosters teamwork, leadership, digital literacy, and critical thinking. Multiplayer games like Minecraft, Fortnite, and World of Warcraft require players to collaborate and coordinate strategies, making them ideal environments for learning.

• Esports and Education: Esports, as an organized, competitive form of gaming, can also serve as an educational tool. Participation in esports builds social skills, problem-solving abilities, and can even prepare students for future careers in gaming, technology, or related fields.

• Digital Citizenship: Educators can guide students in understanding digital citizenship, responsible online behavior, and ethical decision-making in game communities. These environments require strong communication and conflict resolution skills

Learning _____ games

• with Entertainment

• from Educational

• inspired by

• within

• about

• from

• through

• within communities

What is Gamification?

Learning From Game Design Principles: involves using game mechanics in non-game contexts as opposed to learning games where learning is achieved through the process of playing.

Gamification doesn’t imply a singular learning theory or educational belief system.

ex. Habitica: game where you level for doing everyday tasks, “When Rivers Were Trails”

What types of gamification are there?

Structural and Content

What are the underlying Learning Theories behind Gamification and understand how to make critical choices?

• Behaviorism - Rewards daily activity, attempts to make repetitive drills more engaging and fun

• Connectivism - Rewards and encourages interactivity in the classroom

Gamification is NOT:

Learning From Playing Games (Whitton 2014) - Involves acquiring knowledge through actual play of a game. May be a game specifically designed for education or an off the shelf game used in an educational context

Simulation - Attempts to mimic real life for the purposes of training, analysis, or prediction (Flight simulators, Frog dissection software, Resusci Anne)

Intrinsic

motivation from within (often due to interest or pleasure)

Gamification? Depends on the student. Primarily Extrinsic, but if done well, gamification can do both

Extrinsic

motivation to achieve reward or avoid consequence

Gamification? Depends on the student. Primarily Extrinsic, but if done well, gamification can do both

Scaffolded Learning/Zone of Proximal Development

Students will only learn within the confines of a certain range of difficulty. Scaffolding requires the teacher to play the role of support to aid the student in accessing their zone of proximal development.

Gamification in Society

• Marketing (ex. McDonald’s Monopoly)

• Fitness Apps (ex. Strava, Fitbit)

• The Potty Chart

• The Speed Lottery

Structural Gamification

• Content itself is not gamified, only the context/structure surrounding it

• Tougher to setup, requires effort and thought in development

Content Gamification 

• Content itself is gamified (game elements are added into classroom tasks)

• Tougher to implement effectively. Requires creativity, however many teachers already do some form of this

Advantages of Gamification:

• Multiple Attempts (less stress)

• Low Submission Risk (encouraged to try things without the risk of losing everything)

• Personalized Experience (own character or avatar or webpage)

• Adaptive Difficulty (Pleasant Frustration)

• Immediate Feedback

• High Scores/Leaderboards (Competition) may or may not be a motivator depending on the students

Is Gamification Effective?

According to Sailor and Homner (2020) gamification is statistically effective in all three major areas studied:

• Cognitive Learning Outcomes

• Motivational Learning Outcomes

• Behavioural Learning Outcomes

What is Esports?

Learning Within Game Communities: [collaborative] competitive video gaming involving multiplayer games.

Popular genres: MOBA (e.g., League of Legends), FPS (e.g., Overwatch), RTS, and Fighting games.