Photo by Germán Póo-Caamaño

Looking to cut beyond the hype and dig in to what game based learning is all about? These seven books will give you a deep insight into ways games are being used today, and looks at the good – and the bad – of this growing phenomenon, including gamification.

1. The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education, by Karl M. Kapp

“Kapp introduces, defines, and describes the concept of gamification and then dissects several examples of games to determine the elements that provide the most positive results for the players. He explains why these elements are critical to the success of learning. The Gamification of Learning and Instruction is based on solid research and the author includes peer-reviewed results from dozens of studies that offer insights into why game-based thinking and mechanics makes for vigorous learning tools. Not all games or gamification efforts are the same, the gamification of learning and instruction requires matching instructional content with the right game mechanics and game thinking. Moving beyond the theoretical considerations, the author explores how to design and develop gamification efforts. Kapp discusses how to create a successful game design document and includes a model for managing the entire game and gamification design process.

The Gamification of Learning and Instruction provides learning professional with the help they need to put the power of game design to work.”

2. Video Games and Learning: Teaching and Participatory Culture in the Digital Age, by Kurt Squire

While Squire clearly wants to be an evangelist for game based learning, and wrote this book to convince educators of its power, he does not blindly exhort people to follow his teachings. He realistically outlines pros and cons of using games for teaching and makes it clear that there is more work to be done to further this field by suggesting future areas of research and development. This book is highly useful to any teacher who is enthusiastic about games and wants to incorporate them into the classroom, as well as anyone interested in designing educational games for use by teachers – especially those teachers who may not themselves be gamers. (Read my full review of this book.)

3. Games And Simulations in Online Learning: Research and Development Frameworks, by David Gibson (Ed.), Clark Aldrich (Ed.), Marc Prensky (Ed.)

“Nearly all early learning happens during play, and new technology has added video games to the list of ways children learn interaction and new concepts. Although video games are everywhere, on Web sites, in stores, streamed to the desktop, on television, they are absent from the classroom. Computer-based simulations, a form of computer games, have begun to appear, but they are not as wide-spread as email, discussion threads, and blogs. Games and Simulations in Online Learning: Research and Development Frameworks examines the potential of games and simulations in online learning, and how the future could look as developers learn to use the emerging capabilities of the Semantic Web. It presents a general understanding of how the Semantic Web will impact education and how games and simulations can evolve to become robust teaching resources.”

4. Digital Games and Learning: Research and Theory, by Nicola Whitton

“Digital Games and Learning: Research and Theory provides a clear and concise critical theoretical overview of the field of digital games and learning from a cross-disciplinary perspective. Taking into account research and theory from areas as varied as computer science, psychology, education, neuroscience, and game design, this book aims to synthesise work that is relevant to the study of games and learning. It focuses on four aspects of digital games: games as active learning environments, games as motivational tools, games as playgrounds, and games as learning technologies, and explores each of these areas in detail.”

5. Digital Game-Based Learning, by Marc Prensky

While this is a non-academic book that lacks a research focus, Prensky writes in a clear style and offers concrete examples of successful game based learning. Although Prensky himself falls prey to “hyping” the field, there are valuable nuggets in this book that make it a worthwhile read.

“Today’s workforce is quicker, sharper, more visually oriented, and more technology-savvy than ever. To truly benefit from the Digital Natives’ learning power and enthusiasm, traditional training methods must adapt to the way people learn today. Written by the founder of Games2train, this innovative book is filled with examples and information to meet the demands of both educators and employers.”

6. Good Video Games and Good Learning: Collected Essays on Video Games, Learning and Literacy, by James Paul Gee

“This book discusses a broad range of topics concerning video games, learning and literacy. These include the ways games can marry pleasure, learning and mastery through the sense of ownership, agency and control players enjoy when gaming, as well as controversial issues surrounding games. The book explores relationships between values, identity, content and learning, and focuses on how to understand and explain many young people’s differential experiences of learning in gaming and schooling respectively.”

7. Games, Learning, and Society: Learning and Meaning in the Digital Age, by Constance Steinkuehler (Ed.), Kurt Squire Ph.D. (Ed.), Sasha Barab Ph.D. (Ed.)

“This volume is the first reader on videogames and learning of its kind. Covering game design, game culture, and games as 21st century pedagogy, it demonstrates the depth and breadth of scholarship on games and learning to date. The chapters represent some of the most influential thinkers, designers, and writers in the emerging field of games and learning – including James Paul Gee, Soren Johnson, Eric Klopfer, Colleen Macklin, Thomas Malaby, Bonnie Nardi, David Sirlin, and others. Together, their work functions both as an excellent introduction to the field of games and learning and as a powerful argument for the use of games in formal and informal learning environments in a digital age.”

Video Games and Learning: Teaching and Participatory Culture in the Digital Age, by Kurt Squire

About the author: Kurt Squire is an assistant professor of Educational Communications and Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is Director of the Games, Learning & Society Initiative.

Summary: “Can we learn socially and academically valuable concepts and skills from video games? How can we best teach the ”gamer generation?” This accessible book describes how educators and curriculum designers can harness the participatory nature of digital media and play. The author presents a comprehensive model of games and learning that integrates analysis of games, games cultures, and educational game design. Building on over 10 years of research, Kurt Squire tells the story of the emerging field of immersive digitally mediated learning environments (or games) and outlines the future of education.”

Overview

Video games and learning: Teaching and participatory culture in the digital age explores ways that educators can utilize the interactive nature of digital games. The book provides an analysis of the educational benefits of commercial games and the social interactions they can foster. The book looks at games from three perspectives: (a) designing educational games, (b) teaching with games, and (c) mobile media and education. Squire provides an in-depth analysis of case studies he performed using the commercial game Civilization. He uses his experience with the game as a thread that weaves through the rest of the book. Almost every chapter ends with a section titled “Theory and practice” which reviews the ideas explored in the chapter and provides a bullet-point list of concrete take-aways. He ends off with an eye towards the future of educational gaming with a look at mobile media and independant games and gaming companies that focus on the educational market.

Designing “Good” Educational Games

Squire starts off by analyzing factors that encourage learning in games. Chapters 1 and 2 provide a general overview of how games can facilitate learning. By immersing players in the game world, Squire contends that games encourage players to think about all the details involved in that world in order to successfully navigate it. Games encourage systemic thinking by creating systems that players can manipulate and thereby understand the rules underlying the game world and the relationship between those rules. For example, players learn that if you change one variable, for example the type of ship you choose for your fleet in Civilization, it affects the entire system, for example the placement of cities. This encourages players to think holistically, rather than focusing on single details out of context. This type of thinking transfers better to real world situations outside of the game.

Games are deeply engaging and educators can study general game design principles to incorporate them into instruction. This can make learning more engaging, even without bringing an actual game into the classroom. Some of these principles Squire cites are providing overlapping goals, that is short- medium- and long-term goals that the player can work on at the same time; constructing open-ended problems that have more than one solution; creating open environments in which anything is possible, from battling aliens to developing super powers; providing different identities for players to try on; and engineering social spaces in which players can interact. Games also allow players to participate in a very hands on way with the game environment and with development of the game narrative, in a way that is not always provided in a classroom.

While many educational writers hypothesize that these things are true, Squire cites real world examples of these principles in action through surveys or case studies that he himself collected. Chapter 2 takes a closer look at the ideas raised in Chapter 1 and analyzes several popular games (Civilization, SimCity, and The Sims) through the lens of these ideas.

Teaching With Games

Squire spends the rest of the book expanding on these ideas by writing about his own experiences with games, both as a player and as a teacher. Chapter 3 describes how he connected with students through a mutual love of games and used that love to motivate students to learn in the classroom. He compares the open, but highly structured, nature of games to a typical Montessori classroom, an institution that has a long, proven history of success in education. He briefly mentions a criticism some educators have of the Montessori system being too structured and too rigid, and then glosses over it by explaining that the instructions can be interpreted differently by each instructor.

This illustrates the main problem with this book. While Squire acknowledges limitations of game based learning, he is quick to dismiss them with the belief that a good teacher can overcome these limitations. His belief may very well be true, but without more specific guidelines on how to overcome them, any teacher who is not an avid gamer will have trouble achieving the success that Squire has had. Squire is trying to make the argument that games can be used by any teacher, even one without a hard-core gaming background, yet he fails to convince the reader that that is true. In the end though, this is a minor failing in a book that is replete with concrete advice that is based on real-world experience.

In the next few chapters Squire describes several experiences he had as a researcher in the classroom using games to reach disengaged students and reignite their interest in learning. Until now the book has presented the teacher perspective on the challenges of integrating games into the classroom. This section switches perspective and provides insight into the student experience of using games as a learning tool. Squire provides quotes from students in his class and is able to show the progression from turned off student to engaged game player.

The argument he makes over and over is for the need for well designed educational games, using the analogy of poorly written textbooks. If a teacher bought textbooks written by someone who hates reading and does not know any grammar or spelling – it would be unfair to then say that all textbooks are worthless, since these books did not help students learn. Similarly, many so-called educational games are designed by educators who know little about games and game design. Unfortunately, the potential of all other games is judged by the failure of these games without considering the option to incorporate commercial games into teaching or the existence of well-designed games developed specifically for education (admittedly few and far between).

Mobile Learning and Augmented Reality

The last part of the book moves from digital games like Civilization and Pirates! to custom made augmented reality and simulations. This is perhaps where the book really shines because it shows a much tighter integration between gameplay and how the students apply knowledge gained in the game. Rather than focusing on how students feel about what they are learning or about the game they are playing, quotes from students show the thinking process that develops as students play the game. In these games students can take on different roles within the game and must analyze information discovered through gameplay. This section provides examples for teachers and explores ideas that apply outside the realm of history, which is Squire’s main subject as a teacher and the topic he focuses on in the rest of the book.

It is clear that Squire’s enthusiasm for games transfers well to the classroom and that he is able to utilize games to reach students who are already turned off by traditional learning. It also seems clear that it is not just Squire’s enthusiasm for games that motivates his students, but the interactive nature of the games themselves. However, it is not clear whether this new found engagement with learning history through playing Civilization transfers back to the classroom. Did understanding the underlying systems involved in the development of a certain civilization make it easier for students to remember relevant facts about that civilization? Were they more interested in learning about the real history of those civilizations, or did their interest end with wanting to manipulate history within the game environment?

Given the paucity of hard evidence on game based learning at this point in time, Squire is interested in showing that game based learning can work. Period. We are left with many other questions, however. Can it work with all students? With what type of student does it work best? With which subjects does it work best? What type of knowledge does it teach best? Does it teach content well or is it best used as a motivational tool? Can it replace other teaching tools such as textbooks or should it be used as a supplementary tool? These questions and others still need to be answered before more educators can be convinced that game based learning is a tool that every teacher should be using.

In the coda at the end of the book Squire does a good job of explaining why these kinds of questions are so hard to answer and why research in education in general is harder to do than in a hard science like health care. The gold standard of research is randomized trials, but this is hard to do in educational settings. Classes of students can rarely be manipulated in this way and researchers have to work with existing groups of students who are available and willing to participate. Much of educational research is done through case studies, which do not always generalize across the population. Additionally, the things that games are good at teaching are often hard to measure with standardized assessment tools. This makes it hard to evaluate student learning from games. While it may not raise test scores, it may raise interest in the material being learned and may lead to increased activity around that material, such as writing a letter to the editor.

Conclusion

While Squire clearly wants to be an evangelist for game based learning, and wrote this book to convince educators of its power, he does not blindly exhort people to follow his teachings. He realistically outlines pros and cons of using games for teaching and makes it clear that there is more work to be done to further this field by suggesting future areas of research and development. This book is highly useful to any teacher who is enthusiastic about games and wants to incorporate them into the classroom, as well as anyone interested in designing educational games for use by teachers (especially those teachers who may not themselves be gamers).

1. All students are naturally comfortable doing anything on a computer
   Like adults, kids are comfortable doing what they’re used to doing on a computer. Beyond that, figuring things out is a skill like any other – most kids can play sports on some level and all are required to take gym, but some are simply better than others. If a gym teacher tries to teach the exact same thing to every student, or assumes that each kid can figure out how to play a new game without being shown, I imagine both teacher and students would quickly get frustrated.
2. Kids can easily create the kinds of things they see online, like videos and games
   True, some kids will sit down with a video editing program and create their own video mash-ups without any guidance, the same way that some kids will pick up science fiction and dive right in no matter how complex the topic seems to be. But kids tend to be consumers of media, not necessarily producers, and assuming they’ve learned digital literacy without being taught is like assuming they’ll learn to read without being taught – some do, but we don’t take that for granted.
3. I don’t have to know how to use the computer, I’ll tell the kids what we’re going to do in class and they’ll show me how to do it
   Yes, it can be helpful to appoint that know-it-all kid who gets bored easily as your helper when teaching, but if you tell the kids you have nothing to teach them you’ll quickly lose their respect. Besides, aren’t they going to school to learn things they don’t already know?
4. My students already know how to use Google to find information
   Sure, they know how to find answers using Google. But do they know how to evaluate if the websites they find are reliable? What do they do when two sites contradict each other? Do they ever click on more than the first search result? Do they know about advanced search settings to find creative-common licensed content they can reuse legally?
5. They’re so used to texting, they’ll never learn to spell properly
   Adults understand context, so do kids. You might need to teach them the difference between informal texts and formal school papers, and explain why spelling matters in certain situations. It also helps to accept that sometimes spelling DOESN’T matter – for example, if they are making an outline for a story have them focus on ideas rather than form – if it helps them to be more creative when they don’t have to stop and think about spelling, isn’t that OK? At least in that particular situation? Isn’t text-speak just another form of shorthand, similar to what many of us grew up using when we took notes in class?

So, bottom line, treat computer skills like any other skill – it exists on a continuum, so just because kids know a little doesn’t mean they know everything; and remember that they won’t all be on the same level, just like they don’t all do math on the same level.

Because they are primarily visual, comics are appealing to younger children who might shudder at the thought of a page full of text. Also, sometimes a picture really is worth 1,000 words and illustrations can make a concept clear in much less time than text. Text and illustrations can work hand in hand where one medium extends the other; comics tend to use both media to good effect. Stories also tap into the affective, or emotional, component of learning, which is another way to add context and increase motivation (Egan, 1989).

An example of using narrative to show concepts in a relevant context is the graphic novel by Flat World Knowledge called Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed (http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/node/15264). It is a novel about a young man in business school, learning about business, and trying to apply concepts to his own life – with mixed results. It is meant to be used in business class, and shows students not only how what they are learning is relevant to business, but also to their daily lives.

The comics Constitution Construction (http://www.chestercomix.com/constitution-construction/) show the difficulties involved in creating laws for a new state and many of the complexities that are involved. This is a difficult thing to teach, but by integrating the principles into a story form and showing the progression that it might take based on the interactions between people, the comic is able to explain a difficult concept in a simple way. The illustrations show what can happen when a principle is taken to an extreme, for example when a crab is sent to prison for worshiping a crab instead of a god, and humor serves both to gain the reader’s attention and also to drive home the point – for instance, when Lockezan wants to protect his property, the tiger makes fun of him because he does not own any property other than his loincloth. This opens it up for Lockezan to talk about what the basic definition of property is and how it applies to individuals, without confusing the reader with a complicated discussion of transactions and ownership. It also keeps the discussion informal and friendly, which makes it easier for the reader to relax and therefore learn better.

References

Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed. Graphic novel published by Flat World Knowledge.     http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/node/15264

Constitution Construction, retrieved from http://www.chestercomix.com/constitution-construction/

Egan, K. (1989). Memory, Imagination, and Learning. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from     http://www.jstor.org.libproxy.boisestate.edu/sici?sici=0031-    7217%281989%2970%3A6%3C455%3AMIALCB%3E2.0.CO%3B2-    A&origin=serialsolutions&

Mallia, G. (2007) Learning from the sequence: The use of comics in instruction. ImageTexT:     Interdisciplinary Comics Studies, 3(3). Dept of English, University of Florida. Retrieved on 11     Mar 2011 from http://www.english.ufl.edu/imagetext/archives/v3_3/mallia/.

Nelson, O. (1989). Storytelling: Language Experience for Meaning Making. The Reading Teacher,     42(6), 386-390.

Just this week someone mentioned how “natural” play is – all animals engage in play, and learn important adult skills through games of trial and error. However, as humans, most of us aspire to be more successful than animals, at least to have more interesting career choices and a nicer car. What differentiates how humans play from the way animals play? Clearly, informal playing can only teach so much – otherwise, there would be no elementary education system and my kids wouldn’t have as much to complain about. Kids do need guidance and input from those who know more – whether it’s an older neighbor who can explain the rules of a game you’ve never played before, to a teacher who can demonstrate knowledge you’d never find on your own.

The real question is why play has to stop when formal schooling begins – perhaps the challenge for educators is to blend their own experiences and knowledge with children’s natural ability to learn, creating a environment where sophisticated learning can arise from a playful environment where trial and error and mistakes are not only accepted, but encouraged. I’ve had adult students who cringed at the phrase “Why don’t you try it and see?” This comes from a lifetime of not being encouraged to play at school.

However, educators should be careful of using play simply as a distraction from the boredom of learning – learning should be an integral part of playing, rather than a reinforcement of the idea that learning is boring (ie “class is over – recess time! Yay!!”). Play can highlight how exciting learning can be, when it is done for a purpose and in a way that engages the learner’s interest. (“Do we HAVE to take a break now, or can we keep working on our projects?”)

One of the balancing acts we have to do when trying to make learning fun is remembering that it’s not about pandering to kids who might not feel like learning, or be in the mood for school, or just not have the patience to do the work. The game or entertainment aspect should be contributing to the learning in some way (either through creating engagement, or illustrating a situation where the learning will be relevant) but that not every kid will enjoy  learning every subject. There are certain things they will have to learn anyway.

I do believe that attention, and the ability to do something you may not be in the mood for are skills that can and should be learned in childhood – as adults, we may not be in the mood to get up for that crying child at 3 am no matter how much we love them, but it is a part of life. It’s OK to show kids that everything comes with pros and cons, and the cons are a part of life but that’s not a reason to give up. It’s hard to teach, because it’s an understanding that comes with time and maturity, but I do think it’s one of the things elementary teachers should be stressing where possible in class. And yet, not by turning classtime into torture, or “do it because I said so.”

That’s the balance. Use entertainment where appropriate, but don’t turn school into an expectation of being entertained on demand.

Elisa Gopin – Interactive Storytelling

Game Based Learning, often shortened as GBL, is about using games to teach – facts, concepts, attitudes, whatever. It can use digital games, which is becoming increasingly popular, but has also been used for decades in the classroom with board games, team games, Jeopardy-like quizzes, etc. Anything that uses any form of a game, rather than direct instruction, to teach. I won’t go into the definition of a game in this post, let’s say that if it looks like a game and quacks like a game, for the purpose of this discussion it’s a game.

Some of the hallmarks of using games to teach include placing a student into some context where they have apply relevant information (whether this is inside a digital game, or live acion role playing or simulation), and having the student locate and identify the information they’ll need to win the game. So it’s much more student centered than traditional instruction (of course other teaching methods fall into this category of being student centered, such as problem based learning; GBL is just one example).

Gamification, on the other hand, has more to do with motivation than teaching. While using games in class can often be motivating for students who might otherwise not want to learn, GBL can work even when motivation is not affected. The initial excitement over using games in class can die down quickly once students realize they still have to work hard to learn, but the benefits of game based learning remain. Gamification has certain elements in common with GBL, such as rewards for accomplishements, leaderboards, and level based learning. However, it does not necessarily change the way information is being taught – it is a technique that is even being used in situations that have nothing to do with instruction, such as motivating workers in a corporate environment.

These two techniques can also be combined in the same classroom and used together – but it is important to realize they aren’t the same. This is not to say that Gamification is not as good as GBL – simply that it is best used for a different purpose. Why is this an important distinction? Because when you come right down to it, these are just tools – and when you know what a tool does best, you can use it in a more efficient way. In the end, it depends on a teacher’s comfort level with either of these tools, and what they really want to accomplish in their classroom.

Another learning theory evident in Lemonade Stand is situated cognition. This theory explains that thinking and learning are affected by the context in which they occur. They involve the relationship between a learner and a situation (Schunk, 1999). Lemonade Stand places the relevant knowledge in the context of running a stand – in order to decide how your investments will grow (or shrink) you place those choices in the context of investing a lemonade stand business.

Information processing is a theory that states that learning occurs in stages as information is processed in different ways by the brain. Each time information is retrieved from memory, information is processed again by the brain and in a sense re-learned. Information processing theorists describe different cognitive activities necessary for learning, including rehearsing and remembering (Baddeley, 1999). Lemonade Stand provides for information to be processed in various ways during gameplay by providing players with multiple “days” to run their stand and try out different theories of running the business. Players can practice strategies they think will work, and each day have to remember the outcome of previous days.

Lemonade Stand can also be described using the theory of cognitive dissonance. This theory states that learning occurs when a person encounters a conflict between knowledge they had and new knowledge, or even between two different pieces of knowledge that they previously did not realize conflicted (Hollingsworth, 1989). The learner must find a way to resolve the apparent conflict and integrate new knowledge that either incorporates both pieces of knowledge or rejects one piece and accepts the other. When players first play Lemonade Stand they have certain ideas about how to run this kind of business. Some of their ideas will be supported, and others will conflict with the feedback they get from the game. Players have to reconcile what they know with what happens in the game in order to be successful.

Anchored instruction involves placing learners in the context of a story. They have to play a role while learning about the situation and developing solutions.  Using anchored instruction enhances transferability of new knowledge (Squire, 2002). Games in general are a great example of anchored instruction, and specifically realistic simulations. Lemonade Stand provides an environment in which to practice what it would be like in real life to run a lemonade stand business and the knowledge gained through gameplay is directly transferable to a real-life stand.

References

Baddeley, A. (1999). Essentials of Human Memory (1st ed.). Taylor & Francis.

Hollingsworth, S. (1989). Prior Beliefs and Cognitive Change in Learning to Teach. American educational research journal, 26(2), p. 160.

Schunk, D. H. (1999). Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective (3rd ed.). Prentice Hall.

Squire, K. (2002). Cultural Framing of Computer/Video Games. The International Journal of Computer

    Game Research, 2(1).