Games
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What are they?
This is a huge subject area which cuts across many forms and genres. Major genres include: action adventure, role play games, strategy games and simulations . They can be online, offline, single-player, multi-player, PC based or console based (Playstation, Wii etc). For many people the gaming area also cuts across virtual worlds LINK and simulations(LINK). Generally games need to be given a proper context to make them useful learning tools. A game is a simple model and should be treated as such. JISC have produced a briefing paper on Games-based learning also Futurelab have a useful overview of gaming and learning. JISC also list other relevant reports.
How can I use them with my students?
If your sessions are face-to-face then it’s often fruitful to play a game as a form of demonstration in front of a group of students. Games can be a good focus for discussion, especially strategy games and simulation games such as Sim City, Civilisation etc. Many of the military console games can be used to spark debate on an historical or political context. Multiplayer games can be a good way of encouraging teamwork and strategy. If you have a room with multiple computers or remote students then they can all log onto an online multiplayer game and work together or in competition. Most commercial games are designed to be played over many hours. It is likely that you will need to find a way of working with a game for not much longer than 30 minutes to make it fit with a teaching session. It is often possible to re-enter a game at a crucial point or to set a very defined task within a larger game.
Examples
Primary schools have used The Sims and Roller Coaster Tycoon to encourage creative thinking as they both involve both forward planning and the ability to react to new situations. Myst (a puzzle based adventure game) has also been used to support literacy teaching with 9-11 year olds. A modification of the Neverwinter Nights role play game has been used to teach the social aspects of a period in history to a variety of students. A variety of smaller games specifically designed to teach key skills are available on the web. Notably the Skillswise area of the BBC website: There is also a relatively new movement in games being used to make highlight a political situation. For example, PeaceMaker which focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As does Global Conflicts Palestine. Another interesting strand to educational games is the emergence of systems that allow students to relatively easily build games for themselves and others. A good example of this type of approach is made by Thinking Worlds The use of games at higher education level is less common because games are not considered accurate enough models to support more academic learning. However, given the proper context the weaknesses of game content can provide a good context for discussion. See this in depth report from JISC for more detailed case studies.
Where can I get them?
A game console bought on the high street or borrowed is the easiest piece of technology to use as they only require a television and they are very reliable.
If you have access to an ICT suite then simple online games such as those provided by the BBC should run on a standard PC on a broadband connection.
Commercial PC games and some of the more lavish educational games will need to be bought and installed. This usually requires the help of an IT administrator. If the games need to link-up over the web then you will need to check that your online security set-up allows this. Normally you need to buy a licence for each computer the game is installed on which can be quite expensive if you want a whole class/cohort to use a game simultaneously.
Small devices such as the Nintendo DS have an interesting range of games on them some of which can be linked -up. This route is worth considering if you have some budget and want a simple, flexible and reliable way to provide games for students.
What else do I need to know?
Most games are made for the commercial market although there are some produced specifically for education. It is worth bearing in mind that commercial games are often multi-million pound events with cinematic production values. If your students do play games then they might have high expectations. It is also worth noting that many games produced for education have been designed by educationalists and not games designers. It has been said that educational games are like ‘Chocolate covered Broccoli’. Sometimes it’s better to use a commercial game and extract educational lesion from it rather than to use an educational game.
