In recent years, electronic games have assumed an important place in the lives of children and adolescents. Children acquire digital literacy informally, through play, and neither schools nor other educational institutions take sufficient account of this important aspect. We consider that multimedia design for training and education should combine the most powerful features of interactive multimedia design with the most effective principles of technologically-mediated learning. An examination of the evolution of the design of videogames is a good way to analyze the main contributions and characteristics of games-based learning environments. At the same time, we will discuss the main obstacles and challenges to the use of games for learning. read more... > see the resource
posted by Nicolas Balacheff on Saturday 27th, February 2010 (18:24)
This article offers a general overview of video-games and their contribution to learning, with an interesting discussion of their use in a school context. The reader must pay attention to the keywords, the word "design" in the title refers to instructional design and not to computer science design. Still, its touches a few technological issues.
After a short history of the area from the research perspective, Begoņa Gros reports on what we can learn from research on the contribution of games to learning. Several general cognitive competences are mentioned: improved spatial skills, iconic and spatial representations, ability to read images, divided visual attention, keeping track of events at multiple location on the screen, better developed attentional skills including metacognitive competence enhanced by the collective game play (sharing strategy, knowledge, sharing resources). "However, there is no research that actually documents a link between video games playing, attentional skills, and success in academic performance or specific occupations" (p.30). So it is not surprising that while most teachers acknowledge the contribution of games to the development of a variety of skills thay witness a resistance in adopting them in their everyday practice. One reason is the time needed to become familiar enough with a game so that a significant activity can be engaged. Another reason is that "it is difficult for teachers to identify how a particular game is relevant to some component of the curriculum, as well as the appropriateness of the content within the game" (p..35). This resonate with the remark that "game designers are not concerned with the accuracy of contents of the games and, on occasions, they are capable of producing contradictions or erroneous concepts with respect to the function of particular games used in learning activities" (p.36) This time, "design" means computer science design of game-based learning environments.
The main concern which is transversal to this paper is that of the challenge of adapting computer games to school and curricula. I would suggest an other challenge which is that of a closer collaboration between researchers in computer-science and education to design learning games not only adapted to the use in schools but also coherent with the game of knowledge.
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