Enhancing Education With Online and Electronic Games

Networking For Information - November 5, 2008

Sean C. Duncan & I. Alex Games
Games+Learning+Society Initiative
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Content Area Workshops

In the afternoon, we will focus on potential content they may be useful in teaching:

We're now going to ask you to play as many games as you can in the time remaining (at least 10-15 minutes), and will walk through the room and try to assist you as you explore them. Try the game tutorials or simply explore -- we'd like you to experience a variety of games (both commercial and designed for learning goals), and wrestle with what role games like these may play in education and learning.

We want to encourage each of you to think through what the game is "about" in terms of your actions, in terms of what the game designers appear to have intended to impart with the game, and the kinds of skills you find yourself needing to learn to be successful at it.

Also, please take notes as you entertain the following questions as you're playing:

  • What implicit or explicit theories of knowledge does this game embody?
  • Does this game appear like it's constructed primarily for entertainment or primarily for a classroom? How do you see this supporting or impeding its use in schools?
  • How does this game "scaffold" instruction? How does it teach you to play the game?
  • How might this game be adaptable to fit a curriculum you're familiar with, or how might you make room in an existing curriculum to incorporate a game like this?
  • What might you want to change about this game? Why?
We will all reconvene at 2:30pm for a general discussion. We will float between groups, and offer whatever assistance we can as you play. We'd like this portion of the day's activities to be centered around your personal experiences playing, critiquing, and thinking about as many of these games as you can. Ask if you have any questions, talk to each other about the potential of these games, and have fun!

Links To Games

Throughout the talk, interactive illustrations, and content area workshops, we will describe a number of games -- some designed primarily for entertainment, some designed primarily for education, and many in-between. We provide links below to a number of these games and their official websites as reference -- feel free to click through and check them out throughout the day.

Other Resources