Games and Virtual Worlds in Education
Imagine an environment where students come willingly to participate. This environment has clear tasks and an overall goal for all students. Each task completed advances the student closer to the end goal. In order to complete tasks, students must process content, give input, and solve complex problems. Each task builds upon the last and students must learn from previous successes and failures.
A community is built upon completing the tasks, as students share their experiences in hopes of helping others along their path to the end goal. Some tasks even require direct collaboration among students in order to be successful. Students are engaged in the content and motivated to complete the end goal, even though it may be quite difficult along the way.
This sounds like the potential for a very successful learning environment. This is, in fact, the environment often faced when playing many of today’s games.
The power of games in education is becoming a hot topic among many educators. OIRT is active in promoting the use of games and virtual worlds in education. Whether helping to support already existing programs at Rutgers, seeking out new uses for games and virtual worlds at Rutgers, or presenting to the Rutgers community and greater educational community at events, workshops, and conferences, we are striving to enhance students’ education with games and virtual worlds.
To learn more about projects we are currently working on involving games in education, take a look at our Goals for Games in Education
Why Games?
Throughout history, games have been considered intellectual, aiding learning and expanding one's mind: think of Chess, Go, strategy war games, etc.
Even today, children learn through play. It is not until later years during a child's academic career that learning and games become distinct.
So why have we removed games from education? Why can't learning and playing coexist?
Games have a lot to offer education:
- Focus on problem solving
- Experimental acquisition of knowledge and skills
- Gatekeeping - requiring task completion to advance
- Teamwork and/or competition
- Social collaboration in single-player games
- Freedom of exploration and discovery
- Engaging environment - ‘learning by accident’
- Personal expression/reflection (fan art/fiction, etc.)
Subject Areas That Benefit From Games
Below are some examples of subjects currently being taught in K-16 classes with links to games that are, or can be, used to help improve teaching.
Communication
Creative Writing
Economics
History
Literature
Psychology