2006-11-02T18:59:00.000-08:00

Are schools ready for "Serious Games?"

Being present at the 2006 Serious Games Summit in Washington DC this weekend, it was easy to be swept away by the exciting prospect of games as educational tools in the classroom. The conference presented some of the latest educational game development projects occurring across the country and there was a heavy emphasis on the use of virtual multiplayer worlds as learning environments. The projects presented were innovative and should inspire us to take a closer look at games and their role in the world of education.

It is clear that most people at this conference would consider serious games to be the future of how we approach education in and outside of the classroom. Arguments for using games as learning tool range from the fact that children devote hours of their free time to them and are intrinsically motivated to play them, to the notion that multiplayer worlds allow students to visit worlds that may no longer exist, like ancient Babylon or Egypt. In addition, games are viewed as a natural fit for creating interactive, inquiry-based and open-ended learning environments, where players can test hypotheses, make choices, and construct their own understanding of the content presented.

As games are touted to be the next big technology in education, the question remains whether or not they are actually effective in helping students learn. There is a clear interest in educational game development from all directions. Corporations and national organizations seemed eager to hand out funding for game development. Educational publishing companies also seem to have taken an interest in developing and pitching them to school administrators. Yet the K-16 forum at this conference, dedicated to discussing the issues surrounding educational game development, resulted in a heated debate between educators, publishers, game developers and academics that signaled there are still plenty of barriers to bringing games into the classroom. Valid concerns were raised about the effect games truly have on student outcomes, the perception educators and administrators have about games and their role in the classroom (or whether they have a role in the classroom), and the time teachers have to invest to effectively integrate games into their existing curricula, which are often focused heavily on standardized testing.

In order to bring "serious games" into the classroom, researchers, academics, game developers and educators will benefit most by collaborating in this endeavor. Prior research on game design and learning that intrinsically motivates students should be explored before great sums of money are spent designing the next greatest online multiplayer world. Current research is needed to determine whether student outcomes are indeed improved by games and learning. In addition, it is clear that games offer something truly unique and can contribute to the way we teach our children. The ability to let children explore their ideas within a game environment, construct their own understanding of content and make it relevant are undoubtedly invaluable. Yet to make these way of learning feasible in our schools, we also need to explore how teachers can be given access, administrative support and an understanding of how they are best integrated into curricula.

Only time will tell what the world of educational games will look like five or ten years from now. The serious game summit offers a promising look at the way our students may one day approach learning.

Considering Games & Multimedia in Education