Copyright Digital Games: Going Beyond Entertainment Corwin · 2014. 7. 24. · training programs....

Copyright Corwin 2014

Digital Games as Learning Tools? Game On!

A good idea is something that does not solve just one single problem, but rather can solve multiple problems at once.

Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario, Donkey Kong, and The Legend of Zelda

Digital Games: Going Beyond EntertainmentHave you ever watched a person play a video game? The extreme focus and intense concentration on their faces; the frantic manipulation of the game controller, keyboard, or touchscreen; the emotions and expressions apparent in the triumphant cheers or the bitter complaints. Every so often, you want to remind them that it’s only a game. Have you ever played a video game and become so engrossed in the storyline and gameplay that reality seems to slip away from you? Meals are skipped, hours are used, and afterwards you feel as mentally drained as you would after a 200-question history exam. Even if they have never played video games, most people know a gamer who fits some or all of the previous descriptions.

Many video game players remember their first gaming experience as if it were a precious life event. My first encounter was more diagnostic than others. According to my mother (an expert in the field of distant memories of me), I was a very sweet and well-behaved young boy growing up in the early 1980s. However, my parents and primary school teachers observed some form of processing delay in my school and home life. I would listen to my parents and teachers but only comprehend part of the message. I ran through the battery of tests and visited doctors’ offices and specialists, with no discernable answers. What were my parents to do?

One day I arrived home to find an Atari 2600 game console, with its beautiful shiny black finish and clearly-identifiable orange labeling. The console was already connected to the television and ready for me to play. The joysticks had a single handle and button configuration. I spent hours playing Space Invaders, Combat, Frogger, Asteroids, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. I was able to quickly understand the video game parameters and conquer levels with some challenge, experiencing little frustration. I analyzed the numerous game situations presented to me and reacted with twitch speed to achieve the “win” state. I excelled at playing video games.

My mother decided this “gadget” demonstrated I had no significant processing disorders or neurological deficits. In retrospect, my mother was onto something when she used that game system in a semi-clinical manner. The games tested my hand-eye coordination, task commitment, visual and auditory processing, and problem-solving skills while being immensely engaging, motivating, and interactive.

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Making School a Game Worth Playing2

Changing the Context of Digital Game PlaySadly, Mama Schaaf could not take credit as the first person to use video games in a manner other than for entertainment. Throughout history, militaries have used war simulations to test battle maneuvers and plans. With the emergence of television and computer systems, these battle simulations migrated from board models to digital ones. With the benefit of the fast mathematical processing power present in a computer, numerous battle scenarios could be fought virtually with the outcomes being predicted before any military branch was ever mobilized for combat.

In business, gaming and simulations have star ted to find their foothold in training programs. Companies such as Cold Stone Creamery and the Miller Brewing Company are using digital games in their employee training programs (University of Colorado, 2010). With the assistance of these digital game-based training regiments, bartenders are able to pour beer with less froth, and creamery employees can create the perfect sundae.

So, why won’t schools use a learning method that is highly motivational, intensely interactive, and extremely versatile in content and delivery? This generation of students is vastly different from previous ones. They consume media as if it were

sustenance, because to them, it is. Common Sense Media surveyed over 1,000 teens aged 13–17 to spotlight their digital and social media diet in a day. Over 68 percent of the teens texted, 51 percent visited a social networking site, and 23 percent used at least two different types of social media in a single day.

They have the opportunities at home to connect to friends through social networking, playing video games, texting, emailing, and

creating multimedia products. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that our students go hungry in our schools. In contrast to the incredible amount of time they spend online collaborating with others and reading digital content at home, as soon as they enter school they power down and attempt to learn in a disconnected fashion. What if teachers were to utilize the same technologies in the classroom that make up their students’ digital diet at home?

Digital Games: HOTS and LOTSIn 2009, The National Center for Education Statistics published “Teachers’ Use of Educational Technology in U.S. Public Schools.” This report provided national data on the availability and use of educational technology amongst teachers in public elementary and secondary schools. In studying the findings of the report, a troubling conclusion can be drawn: There is a lack of higher-order thinking skills being fostered in our students.

Well-constructed digital games accompanied by effective game-based facilitation promote higher- and lower-order thinking skills during student gameplay. In-game interactions

Well-constructed digital games accompanied by effective game-based facilitation promote higher- and lower-order thinking skills during student gameplay.


Digital Games as Learning Tools? Game On! 3

are constantly challenging game players to think fast and make informed decisions. The various challenges and tasks stimulate players and force them to think or fail (and even their failures are rich learning opportunities). When designers create new video games, they intentionally design them to require the players to make a decision every 0.5 to 1 second—and they ensure that players are rewarded or punished for those decisions every 7 to 10 seconds. That’s the immediate gratification and reward our students want.

Let us now apply the concepts embedded in Andrew Churches’s revised Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy (n.d.) to exploring the benefits of instructional gameplay.

Remembering, a lower-order thinking skill, is performed most frequently during gameplay. Players must remember how to manipulate the game, follow game rules, navigate the story narrative, and countless other factors vital to gameplay. Further review of the Remembering category displays numerous actions prominent during gameplay. Recognizing, listing, describing, identifying, retrieving, naming, locating, finding, and searching are found in a wide variety of video games.

Ascending the taxonomy to Understanding, game players are interpreting, summarizing, inferring, classifying, comparing, explaining, exemplifying, categorizing, and commenting often during many video game experiences. Game players are often forced to comprehend events quickly, similar to the real-world situations they face everyday. Video games help develop this ability of “hyper-extrapolation”—using prior knowledge and available data to make quick and accurate decisions or mental connections.

Next is Applying, which players demonstrate during gameplay by implementing, carrying out, using, executing, running, loading, playing, operating, hacking, uploading, sharing, and editing. The Applying stage of this taxonomy attributes actions to occur based on the understanding and remembering of information. Since the mental processes and physical operations associated with gameplay are interdependent, digital games help promote “thinking before doing.”

Next, the players begin to utilize higher-order thinking skills starting with Analyzing. During this level of thinking, players are comparing, organizing, deconstructing, attributing,

Level 1—REMEMBERING

Level 2—UNDERSTANDING

Level 3—APPLYING

Level 4—ANALYZING



outlining, finding, structuring, integrating, linking, validating, reverse engineering, and decoding within various digital games. Digital game players must constantly analyze storyline scenarios during gameplay, and make decisions beneficial to the game outcome to achieve the “win” state. This form of exercise in determining strategic advantage promotes analytical reasoning and interpreting cause-and-effect relationships.

Players ascend further up the taxonomy to Evaluating, where they demonstrate the following actions or attributes: checking, hypothesizing, critiquing, experimenting, judging, testing, detecting, monitoring, reviewing, posting, moderating, collaborating, and networking. As digital game formats and technologies have evolved, the gameplay has become more social and communal. Numerous best-selling games such as Call of Duty, Minecraft, and World of Warcraft have developed in-game collaboration and interaction to solve quests and missions. However, these games have also developed committed communities of players who create reference materials and walkthroughs and discuss strategies in online forums. Players want to share in the adventure experienced during gameplay, similar to how students want to interact inside and outside the classroom. Kurt Squire, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin and director of the Games, Learning and Society Initiative, observes,

In many game communities, players themselves become the content, making them emblematic of participatory media culture. Gamers are surrounded by walkthroughs, guides, even videos explaining and demonstrating almost every nuance of the game. Schools, in contrast, segregate learners by ability level and erect strong barriers between classrooms in authentic communities of practice. (Squire, 2011, p.13)

The pinnacle of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy is Creating. Digital game players are constantly in an engaged state with designing, constructing, planning, producing, inventing, devising, making, programming, blogging, video blogging, mixing, remixing, wiki developing, publishing, video casting, podcasting, directing, and broadcasting. The digital generations love their video games, but are no longer satisfied with just consuming them.

Good games inspire creativity and smooth ramps to usher players from users to producers. (Squire, 2011, p. 36)

Players want to produce digital games or fan-related media products as well. The video game industry provides an outlet for game programmers, game designers, interested fans with the ability to add new levels to their video games, or fan fiction that is based on digital game storylines. The stunning reality is that game players are performing these thinking skills before, during, and after gameplay.

Level 5—EVALUATING

Level 6—CREATING



Digital Games Are on “The Horizon” for ClassroomsThe New Media Consortium (NMC) is an international community of experts in educational technology. It includes college professors, college presidents, chief information officers, technologists, field practitioners, and teachers. From this collaborative effort comes the annual NMC Horizon Report, which provides insights into the new and emerging technologies entering classrooms and instructional institutions around the world. Over the span of the last three reports, the topic of game-based learning has been recognized as an emerging technology preparing for adoption (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1—NMC Horizon Report K–12 Edition (4 years of predicted academic technology adoption)

2009 2010 2011 2012

Collaborative Environments (Time to Adopt: 1 year or less)

Cloud Computing (Time to Adopt: 1 year or less)

Cloud Computing (Time to Adopt: 1 year or less)

Mobile Devices and Apps

(Time to Adopt: 1 year or less)

Online Communication

Tools (Time to Adopt: 1 year or less)

Collaborative Environments (Time to Adopt: 1 year or less)

Mobiles (Time to Adopt: 1 year or less)

Tablet Computing (Time to Adopt: 1 year or less)

Mobiles (Time to Adopt: 2 to 3 Years)

Game-Based Learning

(Time to Adopt: 2 to 3 Years)

Game-Based Learning


Game-Based Learning


Cloud Computing (Time to Adopt: 2 to 3 Years)

Mobiles (Time to Adopt: 2 to 3 Years)

Open Content (Time to Adopt: 2 to 3 Years)

Personal Learning Environments (Time to Adopt: 2 to 3 Years)

Smart Objects (Time to Adopt: 4 to 5 Years)

Augmented Reality (Time to Adopt: 4 to 5 Years)

Learning Analytics (Time to Adopt: 4 to 5 Years)

Augmented Reality (Time to Adopt: 4 to 5 Years)

The Personal Web (Time to Adopt: 4 to 5 Years)

Flexible Displays (Time to Adopt: 4 to 5 Years)

Personal Learning Environments (Time to Adopt: 4 to 5 Years)

Natural User Interface


The NMC’s advisory board concluded that game-based learning will be widely adopted in the near future. Further, many of the other technologies they described as preparing for adoption are either directly or indirectly related to digital games. These include mobile devices, tablet computing, personal learning environments, augmented reality, and collaborative environments, to list a few. Clearly the time to prepare for digital game-based learning in schools is now!



The Stage Is SetThe technological aspects of video gaming have advanced at an astounding rate. The visual and audio components of today’s console or PC game platforms are far more detailed and realistic than previously. The evolution of the Internet has further added opportunities for collaboration and community building. Consoles and personal computers are quickly being replaced by devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Here’s a brief spotlight on the technology of today:

• Computers are smaller, more powerful, and provide high-resolution screens with pin-drop audio quality.

• Internet bandwidth is providing faster data transmission rates.

• Tablets like the iPad bring most of the functionality of today’s computers to a small portable device with an impressive battery life.

• Smartphones such as the iPhone or Android provide mobile access to our social media personas on Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Today’s advancements in hardware, software, and data transmission provide a direct connection from producer to consumer. Cloud computing provides services such as Apple’s iCloud, Amazon’s Cloud Drive, and Google Play to millions of digital citizens. These services stream our media diet to us without the shackles of wires or computer ports. This sets the stage for the delivery of rich interactive multimedia resources to students in educational settings. Digital access and network infrastructure have developed in most modernized school systems and institutions.

In 2008, The National Center for Education Statistics reported an estimated 100 percent of public schools in the United States had one or more instructional computers with Internet access, and the ratio of students to these devices was 3.1 to 1 (Gray, Thomas, & Lewis, 2010).

This improved digital infrastructure, together with lower student-to-computer ratios in schools, provides an ideal setting for learning with digital games.

What About Teachers?Many teachers are willing to adopt new instructional approaches to make learning fun, while at the same time increasing achievement scores. The “Teacher Attitudes About Digital Games in the Classroom” survey (Millstone, 2012) examined the attitudes of over 500 teachers in the United States. Here’s a summary of the findings:

• 70 percent of teachers surveyed agreed that using digital games increased motivation and engagement with content and curriculum.

• 62 percent reported that it made it easier to differentiate instruction and effectively teach the various ability levels present in a classroom.

• 60 percent observed that using digital games helped personalize instruction and better assess student learning.



Similarly, PBS Education published a 2009 survey conducted by Grunwald Associates that indicated 76 percent of K–12 teachers (p. 2) used digital media in their classroom, and the “most highly valued” activity for these teachers—at 65 percent approval—were games or activities for students’ use in schools (p. 5). These surveys indicated many teachers had the perception that digital games were useful in the classroom. A welcome side effect was just how fun, engaging, and interactive this approach was for the digital generation.

Breaking the Barriers of Classroom AdoptionDespite its excitement and potential, game-based learning must overcome some serious barriers before it can be adopted as a mainstream teaching approach. There are essentially five barriers to digital game-based learning adoption in schools:

1. Funding2. Stigma associated with video games

3. Time

4. Lack of professional development

5. Fear of change

These five barriers can be conquered. Money has always been a barrier to the adoption of new technologies and approaches in the classroom. To combat this, school leaders must embrace and fund new programs with compelling evidence of success. Digital game-based learning has worked for the military and big business because it has the means to augment training programs and to sharpen skills. It is now education’s turn to reap these benefits.

Second, video games have a negative stigma attached to them because some are too violent and lack any redeeming qualities whatsoever. However, these are only a small percentage of the games available. Grand Theft Auto and Mortal Kombat have well-deserved mature ratings and are inappropriate to use with students. Teachers are able to select appropriate and relevant games from an ever-increasing supply.

Third, time is a valuable resource for teachers. The time demands associated with teaching are overwhelming, and often teachers sacrifice professional growth for other classroom responsibilities. Teachers are also concerned with the amount of time non-traditional forms of instruction such as digital game-based learning would use. The fact is that time is well spent when students are deeply engaged in learning. In the new digital landscape, teachers need to explore such powerful and promising instructional practices.

Teachers experiencing new approaches and strategies need support and guidance through the process. Where can teachers get the help they need? In this current state of overtesting, intense accountability, and financial challenges, teachers and school leaders struggle to address staff development and professional growth. It is essential that teachers explore new avenues to reach the students of today.



Finally, many teachers become too comfortable in their instructional practices. This leads to complacency, which then develops into a fear of change.

“That’s The Way We’ve Always Done It” is no excuse for obstructing instructional innovation. Teachers must endeavor to constantly update teaching and learning approaches, utilize or incorporate new technologies, and diversify experiences for their students.

It’s about time educators stop asking “why” or even “why not” and start asking “how.”

Sage on the Stage vs. Guide on the Side

Game-based learning environments might empower teachers to act as coaches, advisors, and producers rather than as content dispensers and police officers. (Squire, 2011, p. 59)

Game-based learning promotes a student-centered approach to instruction. Digital games allow teachers to step out of the spotlight during instruction and become guides in the classroom, rather than the source of all information. Students today prefer not to be lectured at, or to receive information from one source. They prefer to generate their own knowledge from the readily available resources (digital and human) around them. Students prefer participatory, collaborative learning communities in which the teacher assumes the role of facilitator or guide to help students as needed, to steer them when necessary, and to provide them with the resources and means to solve problems.

The experiences become more meaningful as the students create the learning and assume ownership of the newly acquired knowledge. This approach will prove to be a significant change for many teachers, as it is a paradigm shift from the traditional approaches to skills and learning they have been using in the classroom on a daily basis.

Some educators may feel reluctant to adopt new teaching and learning strategies. Under these circumstances, an effective approach is to begin by starting small and selecting one lesson. By easing into this model, teachers can learn how to adopt a potentially powerful, appealing, and effective approach to learning.

The transition to a student-centered classroom is assisted by digital game-based learning, because the digital game steals the spotlight from teachers and forces them into the role of facilitator.



Summarizing Main Points

• Digital games and simulations are currently being used in both the military and in big business to aide in professional training programs.

• The digital generation regularly uses digital technology outside of schools, but often experiences an unplugged atmosphere in most schools.

• Students must develop their higher-order thinking skills by analyzing, evaluating, and creating using the digital tools they’ve grown accustomed to.

• Game-based learning has already been adopted by some schools and is predicted to spread over the next few years.

• Most schools possess technology resources and infrastructure to support digital game initiatives.

• A significant population of teachers believe digital games are beneficial to learning.

• Many of the barriers blocking the progress of incorporating digital game-based learning can be overcome.

• Digital game-based learning supports teachers in assuming the role of a facilitator, rather than the source, of student knowledge.

Questions for Reflection

• How would you describe the attitude and behavior of a person playing a video game?

• What are the factors making digital game-based learning adoption in the classroom possible now or in the near future?

• What are the general attitudes of teachers in regard to using digital games in the classroom?

• What is the new role teachers assume when incorporating digital game-based learning into the classroom? What does this change mean for teachers? What does this change mean for students?

• What barriers exist that hinder digital game-based learning adoption? How can learning institutions overcome these obstacles?

• How do digital games promote lower-order thinking skills (LOTS)?

• How do digital games promote higher-order thinking skills (HOTS)?



Further Readings and References

Churches, A. (n.d.). Bloom’s digital taxonomy. Retrieved from http://edorigami.wikispaces .com/Bloom’s+Digital+Taxonomy

Common Sense Media (2012). Social media, social life: How teens view their digital lives. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/socialmediasociallife-final-061812.pdf

Gray, L., Thomas, N., & Lewis, L. (2010). Educational technology in U.S. public schools: Fall 2008 (NCES 2010–034). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://nces .ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010034

McClure, M., Jukes, I., & MacLEAN, R. (2011). Getting it right: Aligning technology initiatives for measurable student results. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

McLeroy, C. (2008). History of military gaming. Retrieved from http://www.army.mil/article/11936/History_of_Military_gaming/

Millstone, J. (2012). Teacher attitudes about digital games in the classroom. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. Retrieved from http://www.joanganzcooneycenter .org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/jgcc_teacher_survey1.pdf

PBS & Grunwald Associates (2009). Digitally inclined: Teachers increasingly value media and technology. Retrieved from http://www-tc.pbs.org/teachers/_files/pdf/annual-pbs-survey -report.pdf

Squire, K. (2011). Video games and learning: Teaching and participatory culture in the digital age. (1st ed.). New York: Teacher’s College Press.

The New Media Consortium (2012). NMC Horizon Report K–12 Edition. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://www.nmc.org/horizon-project

University of Colorado Denver (2010, October 20). Video games can be highly effective training tools, study shows: Employees learn more, forget less, master more skills. Science Daily. Retrieved August 31, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101019171854.htm

Copyright Digital Games: Going Beyond Entertainment Corwin · 2014. 7. 24. · training programs....

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