play think learn

There have been a number of studies recently that have added to the body of evidence for the effectiveness of educational games, in a variety of different areas.

• Simulators used to train surgeons can make them ‘quicker and better’.
• Action video games can improve contrast sensitivity.

Li, R., Polat, U., Makous, W & Bavelier, D. 2009. Enhancing the contrast sensitivity function through action video game training. Nature Neuroscience , 12, 549 - 551.

• Nintendo ‘brain-trainer’ games no better than pencil and paper.

Although this blog is primarily about games and learning, I do like to include some posts on more general e-learning topics now and again. Here are some e-learning resources that I’ve found over the last few months.

• Free book on Mobile Learning: Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training (pdf), edited by Mohamed Ally from Athabasca University, Canada.
• Guardian report on the Digital Student.
• The Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning, by George Siemens and Peter Tittenberger from the University of Manitoba.

Here are links to some resources sites that I’ve discovered recently:

• investiGaming - Michigan State University’s repository of research findings on gender and gaming.
• Study by the McArthur Foundation on Teens and Video Games.
• Framework on player life-cycles, from The Daedalus Project.
• Open access MIT book on the Ecology of Games, edited by Katie Salen.
• Edited book on the semiotics of computer games, Computer games: between text and practice, edited by Dario Compagno and Patrick Coppock.
• IDGA white paper on Casual Games (pdf).

I’m a big fan of the Gamasutra site, and have posted sever links on this blog previously. Here’s a selection of some of my favourite articles over the past six (or so) months, particularly those that discuss principles that are more generally applicable to educational games.

• Exploration of what ‘missing’ gamers want (’missing’ gamers here being people who used to play games but don’t any more - the case for many students in HE).
• Increasing game accessibility and comprehension (including a useful set of guidelines).
• Thirteen basic principles of gameplay design.
• A discussion on game story design by considering narrative through the ages.

I recently discovered the gamebasedlearning web site, which contains articles, information on events and a series of discussion forums. There doesn’t seem to be that much there at present (I’m assuming the site will grow over time) although there is a really interesting article on Public Pedagogy through Video Games by James Paul Gee and Elizabeth Hayes.

The authors put forward the idea that there is a longstanding myth associated with informal learning: it does not involve teaching. They say that, in fact, three aspects of teaching are present in informal situations: design (e.g. by modelling good game design), resources (e.g. tutorials and supportive media artifacts) and ‘affinity spaces’ (i.e. real or virtual spaces where people ‘interact around a common passion’). They argue that the presence of teaching in informal learning and popular culture means that it can be considered to be a form of ‘public pedagogy’, and consider the importance (or existence) or criticality of the dominant social values.

While I agree with the central thrust of the argument, I’m not sure I see how affinity groups differ greatly from Lave and Wenger’s idea of ‘communities of practice’ (albeit perhaps particularly passionate ones).  The model of learning through good design, resources and community also seems to be one that is established in terms of formal education, through paradigms such as problem- or enquiry-based learning. The authors suggest, towards the end of the paper, that “learning how to produce and not just consume in popular culture … is one good way to start the critical proces” and this ties in very strongly with my own thoughts on learners as designers rather than players.

 I’ve finally got a few minutes to sit down and get this blog up-to-date, particularly adding some of the best blog links that have been building up in my bloglines account for the past six months - so expect a few more posts in quick succession (I appologise if some of this is a bit out-of-date now but I’m adding it anyway so that I can find it again in another six months).

A blog that I find particularly useful is John Rice’s  Educational Games Research. Here are some highlights from the past year:

• The top five Platforms for Creating Educational Video Games.
• The top ten Video Game Reasearch Bibliographies.
• Ten Great Sites for Finding Free Educational Games.