Journal Article 4
Digital Games in Education:
The Design of Games-Based Learning
Environments
By Begona Gros
Journal of Research on Technology in Education

The main idea in this article is that teachers need to incorporate technology into their classrooms in order to have their students prepared for the digital world they will inhabit. Children learn about the virtual world when they are quite young thru video games. While video games can be used as teaching tools, most games are based on violence and mystical themes, which is not always desirable.
In recent years the development of educational games has increased in the educational field but not in the gaming field. With the advancement of technology it is now possible to accurately simulate situations that a student in real live could not normally experience. It should be pointed out that there are two systems simulation and gaming. In gaming the child reacts to the program but is not part of the program. In a simulation program the student becomes a part of the system and interacts more with the program. This technology has endless possibilities in almost every subject a student would be involved. In America the educators tend to look at the structural characteristics of the game, instead of the content and skills. The research for educational purposes of computer games is not well established, some believe because of the lack of academic creditability.
Computer games began development in the late 1950’s. In the beginning educational computer games were developed with the idea that learning was achieved by practicing certain game skills by repetition. The second generation of educational computer games addressed the cognitive learning approach. This approached identified that people come to the game with individual skill levels and experiences. These games were developed to be specific to certain learners. The next generation of educational games looked at the broader use of the games, it looked at the social aspects of the games and developed the position of the facilitator, whose job it is to direct the use of the game and identify it’s use in the classroom.
According to this article there are seven main types of games:

• Action games: These games are mostly first generation and are reaction based.
• Adventure games: The player must complete a list of test to advance to the next level (virtual world)
• Fighting games: These games involve fighting against either another player or the computer, and usually have no educational value.
• Role-playing games: The player assumes the characteristics of some person or creature.
• Simulations: The player becomes more involved in the game; they must achieve a goal to advance to another level.
• Sports games: A reenactment of an actual sport.
• Strategy game: These games recreate a historical or fictional situation and the player must develop a plan to achieve a particular goal.

Many of the games developed now can be a combination of two or even three of these categories.
It is surprising the amount of time student spend on computers outside of class is the same for boys and girls. While boys are thought to spend more time playing computer games, there actually is not a real difference until they reach the ages of 14-18. Since gaming is thought to help with computer skills, there is concern that girls may not be developing the computer skills to keep them competitive with boys, and ready for a computer based work-force. In response to this concern companies have tried to develop games that would appeal to the female audience. Games directed toward girls or ones with non-violence themes have not done well in sales with the exception of Sims and Barbie Fashion Designer. In recent surveys, both genders claim equal knowledge of computers and time spent on computers.


Question: Is it possible to develop a game that will be attractive to both genders?

Answer: From the information in this article the answer is a yes followed by a no. There are games on the market, Sims for example that has aspects in them that are set up to attract both genders. The game has the ability to design and build houses and buildings, and to set up businesses all of which should attract males to the games. While at the same time it has the people and the decorating of the houses, buildings and businesses that should attract females. While the game does attract both sexes the way they go about playing the game is different. Females tend to spend more time developing their people and the buildings they create than actually becoming involved with the simulation, while males want to get started with the simulation.


Question: Of the seven types of games listed, which would be best for an educational setting?

Answer: A game that combines aspects of adventure, strategy, and role-playing, would be the best. Adventure would require the player to achieve a goal before going onto the next level. Strategy would enable the creator to develop the game to teach or reinforce a lesson during a specific time or place in history. And role-playing to tie in with strategy, and make the game more authentic with characters from that time period.