Educational+Impact

Educational Impact
A number of key ideas emerge regarding the educational impact of the trend toward (digital) game-based learning:
 * The use of digital games of many types offers teaching and learning in a variety of contexts (Horizon Report, 2011)
 * Gaming based learning does offer relevance for teaching, learning, research and creative inquiry (Horizon Report, 2011). It is both learner centred and highly motivating.
 * Learning games have been piloted and used in a variety of contexts and allow for flexibiltiy in approaches used to support learning.
 * All games should be easy to follow, have clear goals and objectives, provide immediate feedback and offer a variety of skill levels.
 * Gaming involves the attributes of Howard Gardner's (2007) five minds for the future: the disciplined mind, the synthesizing mind, the creative mind, the respectful mind, and the ethical mind (Jacobs, 2010).
 * Experiential learning teaches learners "to do" and "to be" more effectively than linear application traditionally used and games with an educational orientation can become tools that will help the learner in and out of the classroom (Jacobs, 2010).

(see Examples of Digital Games)
 * K-12 Schools**
 * Traditional schools will have to upgrade their infrastructure in order for students to have the necessary access to the digital games. This infrastructure will have to be supported on an ongoing basis.
 * Teachers and administrators will have to gain a real understanding of technology integration and how to align learning outcomes with technology (Van Eck, 2006).
 * The notion of school as taking places in classes learning discrete subjects must give way for deep learning to take place using digital games as the medium.
 * Digital immigrant teachers must learn to speak the language of digital natives (Prensky, 2001).
 * Value must be given to personalizing learning through digital games; with the plethora of games that exist, students can be given choice from among digital games that have been selected as addressing curricular outcomes.
 * Games don't have to just be played; students are being encouraged more and more to learn through the design and creation of their own games.
 * With increasingly common distributed learning opportunities and access to mobile devices in by students, games become a part of the "any time, any place, any pace" learning concept.


 * Learners with Special Needs**
 * A special need is a term that includes people with physical and/or mental disabilities as well as those with learning disabilities.
 * It should be noted that because students may have a special needs they should not be denied an opportunity or accessiblity to participate in game based learning. The following website talks about accessibility issues for those with disabilities regarding games: @http://igda-gasig.org/about-game-accessibility/why-is-accessibility-important/
 * Games can allow those with a disability to learn new skills and can be used as therapeutic therapy.
 * For learners with special needs, digital games can offer the opportunity to experience the world in a way the majority of us take for granted. In Kearney's study of cerebral palsy students it was found that the participants were not interested in learning games, or games designed to help them to learn or to adjust to their environment rather they wanted to play computer games that simulated the environment that others take for granted (Pivec, 2007).
 * There are on-line games that can assist with fine motors skills and memory.


 * Higher Education**
 * Challenging collaborative games are advantageous to higher education as they can draw on research skills, writing skills, collaboration, problem solving, public speaking, leadership, digital literacy, and media making (Horizon Report, 2011).
 * Game design and development as part of higher education programs would expose learners not only to the critical thinking involved in game creation, but could also address the trend toward developing serious games that have an educational component that has direct ties to mandated learning outcomes.


 * Corporate Training**
 * Areas such as the medical field and legal practice, security and defence training, and business and management studies are known for using games to offer experiential learning and to role play particular jobs and professions in advance of real life practice (Aldrich, 2004, 2005; Maharg, 2006 cited in de Freitas, S.).
 * Games and simulations offer greater opportunities for scenario-based and exploratory learning. Cross training between services assist in providing a "worldview" approach to inform decision making and policy development.
 * More and more companies like Breakaway Games are turning their attention to the corporate world as a means to provide opportunities in training, business and consulting. The military, in particular, is sponging game designers for their knowledge of how to create compelling user experiences for the basis for changing understandings, behaviour, beliefs and even identities (Squire, 2005).
 * Popular online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft allows for team strategies.
 * Virtual worlds such as Second Life, Google Live, There, and Entropia Universe lets the learner create avatars, buildings and even virtual classrooms and corporate settings (Jacobs, 2010).
 * Civilization III shows how games can communicate new ideas.
 * Games like Virtual U and Virtual Leader challenges us to rethink what can be done.

No matter the context in which digital games are used, they offer the learner the opportunity to develop skills relevant for today's world by working in an environment that reflects the digital nature of our world. The key though, is that solid pedagogy is always at the fore, with instructors considering how learning outcomes can be met when making decisions about which games to play and when. Additionally, in keeping with the idea of personalized learning, it will be important to account for learner preferences so that games to become the next "one size fits all" learning strategy.
 * Summary**