Effective teachers recognize that education is built upon curiosity. Students are curious about the world around them and they pose questions to themselves, to one another and to their teachers. Teachers thrive on the curiosity and questions of their students. Effective teachers also pose questions to themselves each day in the classroom:

• How to motivate students so that they enjoy learning and are willing to engage in the learning process more fully?
• How to help students apply their knowledge so that they are able to solve problems that arise?
• How to help students become knowledge creators and not simply knowledge consumers?
• How to allow students space for risk, exploration and failure?
• How to differentiate learning for individual students?

In recent decades the advent of faster, more powerful, and less expensive computers has led to an increased development of educational technology. Students today are growing up in a society immersed in technology. From school laptops to home computers to tablets and smart phones, students are consistently surrounded by and engaged with technology in their lives. It is no surprise that technology continues to play an ever increasing role in education and the classroom experience. Teachers are utilizing technology to address the previously mentioned questions more frequently.

One area that has seen great advances is that of games and gaming. With some studies indicating that 97% of US teens engage in digital gameplay regularly, it is unsurprising that games have become more popular in classroom usage (McClarty 2012). James Paul Gee, in Good Video Games and Good Learning, noted of video games: "Lots of young people pay lots of money to engage in an activity that is hard, long, and complex. As an educator, I realized that this was just the problem our schools face: How do you get someone to learn something long, hard, and complex and yet enjoy it?" (Gee, 2005).

A game is defined as “a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome” (Salen & Zimmerman, 2004). A well designed digital game is constantly taking the input given by the player and responding by changing the game environment. This echoes what goes on in the classroom environment. A teacher takes the feedback and input of the students and adjusts the classroom environment to help facilitate student-centered learning. Games are built on a constant stream of feedback, the same as an educational environment. In 2012, McClarty, Orr, Frey, Dolan, Vassileva and McVay wrote:

“Games are also built with clear goals and provide immediate feedback. This allows players to change their game play in order to improve their performance and reach their goals. The idea of immediate feedback is also prominent in good formative assessment processes. Students will improve their work when given constructive feedback” (McClarty, 2012).

Well-written games build on introducing skills and then allowing the gamer to master those skills. The students’ interaction within a game gives the immediate feedback about whether mastery of particular goals and concepts has been met. The game can then dynamically adjust depending on the input of the student. As noted by McClarty et al:

“Digital games inherently force the player to master a concept in order to advance (e.g., the double jump with a dash in midair to get across the pit of lava). Players are able to repeat the same scenario until they master this concept. The same philosophy could extend to the use of digital games in education. A student cannot, in essence, unlock Algebra until a prerequisite knowledge of previous skills has been mastered. This mastery-based learning, however, may require students to invest ample time in learning each skill before moving to the next” (McClarty, 2012).

Games can and should be designed in such a way as to provide appropriate support structures. Gameplay may get progressively more challenging as the student demonstrates mastery through the earlier levels. The assessment of the students' progress can be almost invisible to the student, allowing for full immersion in the learning experience.

Another strength of utilizing games is the impact that they can have on student motivation and engagement. “Student engagement is strongly associated with academic achievement; thus embedding school material within game-like environments has great potential to increase learning, especially for disengaged students” (Shute, 2011).

"Research shows that boys typically read a couple of grades below level in school, but these same boys, it turns out, read texts way above their grade level if the texts are part of online games…A series of tests…showed that if the boys could choose what they read, which they could do with online games, they pushed themselves harder. That result held for boys who were struggling to begin with and for those who already were on track" (MacKay, 2013).

Games speak to many of Kalantzis and Cope's seven affordances of new technology for assessment for new learning, as found in New Learning: Elements of a science of education:

In Good Video Games and Good Learning, James Paul Gee puts forth 16 learning principles that good games incorporate. Paul Stewart illustrates these learning principles in the following slides:

http://www.slideshare.net/Geekula/good-video-games-and-good-learning

In the following video, James Paul Gee discusses the effectiveness of video games as a learning tool, highlighting their benefits for situational learning and their collaborative aspects. Click here to play.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/JnEN2Sm4IIQ

Gee observes, "Specialist language in any domain - games or science - has no situated meaning - thus no lucid or applicable meaning - unless and until one has "played the game", in this case the game of science, or, better put, a specific game connected to a specific science" (Gee, 2014). He goes on to note, "Human understanding is not primarily a matter of storing general concepts in the head or applying abstract rules to experience. Rather, humans think and understand best when they can imagine (simulate) an experience in such a way that the simulation prepares them for actions they need and want to take in order to accomplish their goals" (Gee, 2014). It is precisely in this area that games and simulations can be beneficial in allowing students to connect their learning to more concrete situations and expand their understanding of the applied knowledge.

Simcityedu.org

SimCityEDU is an outgrowth of the popular SimCity series that has been designed with an emphasis on educational applications. It offers built-in lessons and missions that align to the Common Core and Next Generation Science standards while promoting 21st Century Skills. The website also includes a community forum for teachers which incorporates numerous free lesson plans allowing the game to be applied to a wide variety of topics including studying environmental impact, geography, cultivating civic engagement and governmental planning.

The latest version, SimCityEDU: Pollution Challenge!

"not only teaches students about the factors affecting the environment in a modern city, but the game also provides formative assessment information about students’ ability to problem solve, explain the relationships in complex systems, and read informational texts and diagrams. Lesson plans, teacher and student dashboards—along with student data reporting—complete the SimCityEDU experience, delivering personalized learning to every student" (simcityedu.org).

In the following video, students and teachers talk about their experience utilizing SimCityEDU in the classroom. Click here to play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLh-vutw4-c

mathblaster.com

MathBlaster places the student in the role of a hero who is tasked with saving the galaxy from invading aliens. By correctly solving math problems the student may, for instance, receive ammunition to help shoot down an invading ship. The form of the levels changes but always centers around correctly completing problems. If a student gets a problem wrong, they still have a chance to solve the next problem and save the galaxy. This can help minimize feelings of failure in the student and encourage them to remain engaged in the ultimate goal.

http://toucharcade.com/2009/02/25/a-preview-of-the-classic-the-oregon-trail-from-gameloft/

The Oregon Trail places the student in a wagon train heading for the West Coast. Students can make decisions about the profession of their character, which brings various benefits to their gameplay. While playing students are immersed in the historical time, learning naturally through the game. The decisions that they make directly impacts the success or failure of their wagon train. There are multiple ways of proceeding through the game, and based on the input of the student the game changes the situation that the settler finds themself in. Students must pay attention to food, health and supply levels. They may buy needed supplies or barter along the way. No matter which avenue they pursue, they find themself encountering, and hopefully learning, more about the history of the time period.

darfurisdying.com

Darfur is Dying

"is a viral video game for change that provides a window into the experience of the 2.5 million refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan. Players must keep their refugee camp functioning in the face of possible attack by Janjaweed militias. Players can also learn more about the genocide in Darfur that has taken the lives of 400,000 people, and find ways to get involved to help stop this human rights and humanitarian crisis" (DarfurisDying.org)

http://www.cnet.com/news/angry-birds-celebrates-st-patrick-with-free-update/

Popular games not originally intended for education can also be used as effective teaching tools. The game Angry Birds has been adapted by numerous teachers to help demonstrate physics principles. As noted on Educade "Angry Birds is a widely-known and played game based on physics principles. Players are able to control trajectory and force by "pulling" on a slingshot thus affecting speed, velocity, and other factors pertinent to kinematics."

There are numerous organizations and websites that detail games that can be used effectively in an educational setting along with many lesson plans to help implement them effectively. Below are three examples:

http://www.wise-qatar.org/play-app-selection

World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) contains a library of 40 game-based learning tools.

educade.org

Educade hosts an expansive library of game-based lesson plans, many utilizing MineCraft.

https://sites.google.com/site/gameonlearning/home

Game On is a website created as a collaborative project for EPS 415. It includes information about games in education and a list of games broken down by subject matter and grade level.

There are numerous benefits to using games in education. Games can be a very useful tool to help promote intrinsic motivation. If a student is able to immerse themself into the game then motivation to continue the learning process can be dramatically enhanced and the need for extrinsic motivation lessens. Games can help provide a crucial engagement factor for students who may not be engaged otherwise.

Games also offer immediate feedback to students and can give students the freedom to work at a comfortable pace. The scaffold approach present in many games helps build greater understanding of concepts and can help lessen the stigma of failure. The potential for collaborative work within games is also a strength. Games such as SimCityEDU also offer the ability to replicate a real world scenario in a manner that wasn't possible previously.

While there are many potential benefits to using games in education, there are legitimate concerns and drawbacks that must be recognized. Creating a well-structured game takes time and resources. This can lead to financial limitations adopting games for schools. Many schools lack enough available computers or computer labs for games to be used effectively. Many games require updated hardware in order to run, hardware that may not be frequently updated in many schools. Games can also tax a school's network capacity, especially if multiple students are engaged in online gameplay at the same time. There are also practical considerations of headphone and speaker use when using games in a classroom.

The proper implementation of games is critical for ensuring that the knowledge and skills students learn in the game itself are easily transferred to other situations outside the game environment and connections are able to be made to the wider body of learning. As with any tool, the manner in which it is utilized will help determine its effectiveness. Teachers face the challenge of making sure that the game is actually contributing to and enhancing learning. As with any technology, games cannot stand on their own. Digital games should not be used as substitutes for good learning practice, rather they should supplement that practice. Games should be used in the proper context which includes "leading pre- and post-game discussions which connect the game with other things students are learning in class" (McClarty, 2012).

Games being used for their own sake can distract from the intended learning and risk creating a slippery slope of providing "entertainment value" to every educational undertaking. Games have the potential to be collaborative, as seen in some of the above examples, however many games focus primarily on individual success rather than collaborative or group success. In most cases, however, teachers can introduce some form of collaborative element.

James Paul Gee makes the observation that "those of us who have made the claim that games are good for learning have meant, of course, that well-designed games are good for learning, not poorly designed ones" (Gee, 2014).

Digital games have the capability to greatly enhance the classroom learning environment. They offer an adaptable, engaging platform which can aid student interest and learning. The success of games in education depends upon the learning environment that already exists and how they are implemented into the learning objectives. Games are meaningful if they are properly placed within the context of the applied learning. If they are not properly integrated in or contextualized then they will fail to reach the stated goal, as would any learning activity. As Gee notes in Good Video Games and Good Learning, "In a good game, words and deeds are all placed in the context of an interactive relationship between the player and the world. So, too, in school, texts and textbooks need to be put in contexts of interaction where the world and other people talk back" (Gee, 2005). In this regard, games should be viewed as another tool for educators to draw upon to allow students to thrive in their learning.

To help that become a reality, The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), relates the following best practices for implementing games in the classroom:

Software & Information Industry Association