Instructional gaming, for the purposes of this article, will be the act of playing video games for an educational purpose. Note that this does not necessarily require that the game be designed for instructional purposes, but rather that the experience with and around the interaction has specific instructional goals. This can include activities and discussions that center on a shared gameplay experience, participation in game communities, or even participation in game design activities such as level design or game modding.
To date, instructional gaming is a bifurcated field; we have those building video games built on relatively simple technologies which has a large and varied research tradition (c.f Gredler, 1996). In short, this research has shown that instructional gaming can increase motivation and typically does so. Increasing learning - particularly more effectively than traditional instruction has rarely been found. Typically this is because the kinds of learning outcomes one gets with games (such as perspective taking and systemic thinking) is not valued in formal learning environments and difficult to measure via conventional means; most tests rely on declarative type knowledge which games to relatively inefficiently. This is not to say that games cannot produce such knowledge; rather, that such knowledge typically arises only after many hours of play.
A second, emerging line of research is attempting to take commercial games very seriously, studying how learning occurs through game play, and then building instructional models based on this process. Rooted in both media studies and the learning sciences, we might think of this as studying how people making meaning through film and television, and then attempting to build pedagogical models based on these patterns. For the sake of this review, this article will cover primarily the latter approach to studying games, as it is currently the dominant paradigm in the field and the one garnering the most attention across different disciplines.
Underlying this approach is the assertion that games are a complex, immersive and powerful medium. Their value as a resource is both vast and untapped. From "Video Game Literacy, a Literacy of Expertise."(Squire, 2005):
" ... games are spaces constructed for contestation, exploration, and liminal play where we confront and take on new identities. Videogames are thoroughly multimodal in their seamless integration of texts, graphics, and sound. They are deeply pragmatic in their orientation, fundamentally constructed around cycles of meaningful choices and consequences, an epistemology of knowing-through-doing. "
Games that go beyond the current educational scope of drilling exercise or the "Chocolate Covered Broccoli" approach of couching unpleasant learning in a "fun" package are currently in development. For example:
The key to both of these approaches is that they situate players in complex problem solving spaces where they must think creatively with information, tools, and resources to solve problems.
It is easy to think of instructional gaming as an alternative to star stickers or lollipops: a simple motivator to attach to existing educational materials. But instructional gaming as a field is actually a new way to think about teaching and learning, an entire new field of study and experience to consider. Games are compelling, but they are also a world of interaction and immersion that no other media can offer.
Games have been shown to have real demonstrable capabilities as learning tool. Some early research, from "The Social Effects of Electronic Interactive Games: An Annotated Bibliography" lists the basics of this generation of research:
However, the case being made for a new field of game studies is making a more complex claim:
Culturally, they are changing the way we play, learn, and interact, quintessential sites of broader shifts in knowledge consumption and production (de Castell and Jenson in press; King, 2001; Scholder & Zimmerman, 2003; Squire, 2003). Gamers are armed not only with new skills, but different perspectives and expectations of traditional media, and surveys are beginning to show that they have different expectations of work and school (Beck & Wade, 2004).
By way of example, one might consider a gamer who has grown up playing games online - say since the first Massively Multiplayer Game (Ultima Online) which is now 10 years old. For most of their lives, they have had friends across at least 2-3 continents. Looking up information in online databases and forums - crossing both sanctioned corporate and non corporate is normal, and they have been negotiating these information spaces, cutting and pasting information and manipulating data routinely since middle school. Most of their extended network they know from online first, and meeting someone "in real life" who they know online. They have traveled to virtual lands where they have bought and sold goods, played virtual markets for real world cash, and effectively, have lived in another culture for as much time per day in their free time as they are in their home (Castronova, 2001; Steinkuehler, 2004).
In contrast, schools are set up whereby you experience very little first hand. You are doused with information, under the assumption that you will need it later. Of course, we know that in most technology sectors, entire generations shift in 3-5 years, so that just when you graduate, whatever you learned as freshman is literally wrong. This generation prefers to learn through trial and error, be situated in problems, and most importantly, learn in collaboration with others (Oblinger & Oblinger 2004)
Researchers are only beginning to theorize how games operate and understand what the medium will mean for learning, schooling, and society. Key questions that currently shape this growing field of studies include:
For specifically online teaching and learning communities, games offer a vast array of possibilities. Online communities in MMORPG games offer meaningful transformative abilities regarding social landscapes mediated by an online game interface (Steinkuehler, 2004). Other researchers have begun using them for teaching ethnography, foreign languages, economics, and creative writing. Games can offer a common experience for learners, either literally through an online game world, or through shared discussion space on web forums of common experiences in a game played offline.
Perhaps for obvious reasons, the most comprehensive and well studied examples of gaming communities to date are of massively multiplayer gaming space (Steinkuehler, 2005). Massively multiplayer games feature thousands of people interacting in real time from around the globe. Research on these games connects to research on more traditional gaming communities in at least two major ways.
For example, in Sweden, where the video game CounterStrike is the third most popular sport, companies who sell and maintain server software that support game communities report that players spend 4 hours using community features (chatting, participating in forums, reviewing film clips) for everyone one hour they spend playing (Squire, 2005).
Games can also create secondary communities of players who wish to reflect on their gameplay and discuss/refine their experiences. To better understand this, Squire and Levi Giovanetto have been examining Apolyton University , an online community of game players that has evolved to teach other players to become expert gamers. Squire and Giovanetto argue that unlike most other institutions of higher education, the system is driven by learning , with class practices, courses, and administrative structures all taking a backseat to the demands of learning. The core practices driving the community are playing Civilization III and
As players create and change courses, they create custom game modifications to illustrate their arguments about the game, and collaboratively build a "master" curriculum / game file. This is the kind of model that tomorrow's students may expect from a university.
Another interesting example of a compelling online community around games is gamefaqs.com, a website dedicated to documenting strategies for beating games. Players submit their strategies in a traditional format, where it is reviewed and refined by peers. The complexity and detail of the documents is astounding, and is a powerful demonstration of the type of authority and strength an online community can muster, as well as a testament to the true complexity and difficulty of the games themselves.
Books like Jim Gee's "What Videogames have to teach about Learning& Literacy" outline the details of what games legitimately bring to the table of instructional media. Currently companies like Mind-Control Software, Filament Games and LeapFrog entertainment are working with academic institutions to create games that offer meaningful educational opportunities that go beyond simple flash card drills and multiple choice quizzes.
The professional field of gaming as entertainment design has been considering effective design decisions for it's consumers since its inception. If it's a given that games offer educational opportunities given their strengths as a media, then looking at existing games to consider their construction should also be a given.
Consider the design decisions behind early play levels of World of Warcraft ( a contemporary MMORPG with a current user base of over 6 million players, globally). Norton and White (in press) have dissected and analyzed how the game instructs players with an eye toward building a theory of instruction based in these design principles. World of Warcraft balances game skill, interface operation and cultural immersion into a rich play experience that enables the player to learn about playing, while playing. Nothing in the game appears on screen until the gamer understands what it is and what it is for. Players are simultaneously introduced into the cultural landscape of the game and the game's affordances.
Simply put, the same things that make currently available games great are the same things that will make instructional game experiences equally effective. These need not be technologically driven; the 36 principles articulated in James Paul Gee's work suggest how they might be abstracted to any environment. Conversely, the weaknesses in current game design will illuminate things that games will not accomplish effectively.
First and foremost, one recommendation is to start playing games. As weird as this may sound, imagine that it is 1910, and the Civil War generation is curious about these "moving pictures" and wondering how they might be used for learning. One very good place to start is to explore just what the medium is and what it does. We believe that for college instructors, simply seeing what their students are doing on a daily basis outside of the classroom can be illuminating. To put it bluntly, Play as many as you can, play the ones you hate, and play the ones you love even more. Find someone (a child, grandchild, niece or nephew perhaps) who is passionate about games and see what they have to say.
Perhaps most importantly try to examine gaming culture in order to understand the different logics by which it operates (Beck & Wade, 2004; Squire, in press). Participate in forums, wade into the culture, see how every day American kids are becoming immersed in Japanese culture. Observe kids' passionate arguments (and maybe participate) in the future of technology, culture, and international business in the next generation console wars (and see what big business this is!). Perhaps even join the millions of people who have rolled a character in World of Warcraft and experience the nervous thrill of engaging in meaningful collaborative problem solving in real time 3D with complete strangers. If you've always wanted to play music, become a Guitar Hero. If you like history, play Civilization. If you prefer your pleasures small and pure, build a town and arrange furniture in Animal Crossing. Become a gamer.
Imagine being interested in how books might be used in a classroom, but never reading one. Or thinking that films might be an effective tool for teaching, but refusing to watch one. It sounds preposterous, but it's a reality in this field right now. If you do not understand the media as a consumer/participant, you will never be able to use the media.
Beyond that, advice for educators investigating instructional gaming separates based on intent. For people looking into implementing existing games into their classrooms, take a serious look at the content of the intended game, and see how it matches up to other materials. Games can be a great motivator, but be sure to design discussions and activities that emphasize the particular information you want to transfer from the game experience. For example, you could use a game like Sim City to talk about traffic dynamics, but not city government. A game like Civilization can demonstrate global politics, but can't be used as a definitive resource on literal history. It is critical that educators become deeply familiar with how games work, which suggests that these are steps perhaps best taken after becoming a fairly literate (and passionate) gamer.
For people interested in creating new gaming experiences, strongly consider the advantages and disadvantages of games. A video game with flashcards is not necessarily superior to real flashcards, and the field of "edutainment" is littered with games of dubious quality, both in terms of learning efficacy and gameplay (Clark, 1983; Gredler, 1996; Squire, 2003). Games can create a compelling reason to learn, and environments that deliberately attach meaningful practice to learning. If a game can fully immerse you in the role of a zombie or space hero, why not immerse you in the role of a scientist or astronaut?
Secondly, a game does not need to be an amazing 3D first person perspective adventure with a 3 million dollar budget to be good or educational. If your educational goals are tightly focused, a game can express an educational perspective effectively without being a blockbuster. For example, the simple web game "September 12th" creates an extremely simple game-space that helps discuss a political perspective on terrorism. More and more of such games are appearing every day at sites like http://socialimpactgames.com (see the most recent phenomena, darfur is dying). Simple games are not bad games. (Editor's note: The Social Impact Games site contains some games with adult content and themes. We recommend you review games thoroughly prior to using them with students.)
Thirdly, consider the activities around the game.
Just as a class is more then a textbook, a game is going to be just one component of a class curriculum, and needs to be integrated effectively.
Finally, games themselves are a literacy that needs to be addressed with the intended learners. Older learners may be reluctant to use games at all, and games vary wildly in difficulty and age group. Asking a starting ESL student to get started with Jane Austen isn't reasonable - asking people who are unfamiliar with games to plunge into Halo 2 is equally unreasonable. Like all good design, instructional or otherwise, you must consider your audience.
Dan Norton is a co-founder and designer for Filament Games, an educational games company.
Kurt Squire is an Assistant Professor with the Educational Communications and Technology Division of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.