Gaming & Learning

Katrin’s important thesis is now available both as a Wiki and a PDF download.

“In order to design educational games that remain effective as both games and as learning objects, it is necessary to understand how successful games teach. However, the best games are designed for entertainment and not education, and while they teach effectively, their designs are not expressed in educational terms that could be used by designers of instructional games. Although current literature often cites examples from COTS games to support claims about how games teach and there is a growing body of research on the use of games in formal learning situations, the main focus has been on the learners and there have been no comprehensive detailed examinations of how specific games teach. By treating the COTS game as though it had been deliberately created as an educational game, it becomes possible to identify the learning requirements for the game as well as the strategies used to support that learning in a form suitable for examination as instructional design. Using methodology adapted from reverse engineering called ‘instructional decomposition’, both macro and micro design elements can be identified. This work will contribute to the body of knowledge on elements important in the design of educational games by identifying specific strategies employed in top-rated games to facilitate specific learning requirements.”

Author: Mark Oehlert, e-Clippings, 27th February 2008