The use of computer games for teaching and learning purposes is gaining attention from many educational researchers. A review of the DGBL literature by Van Eck (2006) reveals three techniques to integrate computer games into learning.
1. Educators or game developers develop educational computer games to teach students.
2. COTS games are used for educational purposes. 3. Students are taught how to develop games.
2.3.1 Educational Games
In the first approach, games are designed by educators or game developers to integrate seamlessly learning and gameplay to address educational and entertainment equally (Van Eck, 2006). Some examples of games developed for educational purposes are Astra Eagle for learning mathematics (Ke and Grabowski, 2007), Internal Force Master for learning civil engineering (Ebner and Holzinger, 2007),
Triangle for learning mathematics (Holzinger et al., 2001), Bio-X game for learning life
science (Cai et al., 2006), Magalu, Hermes, Tiki-Tiki and Roli for learning language, communication and mathematics (Rosas et al., 2003), Hangman for learning language and communication (Rosas et al., 2003), Age of Computer for learning history of computer (Natvig and Line, 2004), Proportional Tetris and Proportional Clown for learning mathematics (Çankaya and Karamete, 2009) and LearnMem1 for learning basic computer memory concept (Papastergiou, 2009). The real challenge for the educators or game developers is developing educational games that are comparable to the quality and functionality of COTS games with persuasive examples and proven track record for being effective in education (Van Eck, 2006). Educational games will be discussed further in Section 2.7.
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2.3.2 COTS Games
Van Eck's (2006) second approach involves taking the existing COTS games, not necessarily developed as learning games, and using them in the classroom (Van Eck, 2006). In the short term, Van Eck (2006) claims that this approach is the most cost- effective (i.e. game development cost is not involved) and promising (i.e. flexibility of teachers in choosing the appropriate games and designing their lessons), but the use of COTS games requires careful analysis and a matching of the game content to the study content. Van Eck (2006) further explains that in the long term, game companies should be enticed to develop educational games. This approach is gaining acceptance due to its practicality and effectiveness. For instance, Tetris is used to learn mental rotation accuracy (De Lisi and Wolford, 2002), World of Warcraft is used to learn game design (Dickey, 2011), Second Life is used to learn ecology of the virtual world (Hayes, 2006) and Angry Birds, The Sims and Plants vs. Zombies are used to learn mathematics (Avraamidou et al., 2015).
2.3.3 Games Development
In the third approach, students take the role as game designers to build the game and study the learning content at the same time (Van Eck, 2006). In this approach, students can learn problem-solving skills and programming languages to develop the game (Van Eck, 2006). Gamers are encouraged to become game designers to evolve sophisticated thinking skills (Papert, 1998). This approach is unlikely to be used widely (except for computer science teaching) due to a few constraints: (1) teachers have no game development skill, (2) teachers have no time to learn/teach game development skill, (3) traditional institutions do not allow for interdisciplinary teaching (e.g. computer science and English), and (4) not all areas allow good content for game development (Van Eck, 2006). For instance, students could develop computer games to learn computer science (Denner et al., 2012; Carbonaro et al., 2010), biology and programming (Yang and Chang, 2013) and language courses (Vos et al., 2011).
2.3.4 Comparison of the three approaches
The use of educational games in classroom teaching may seem to be easy and straightforward because they are specifically designed for educational purposes. However, most of the educational games are not engaging and motivating like COTS games. Educational games are claimed to be lacking in autonomy, play, affinity and
space (Nolan and McBride, 2014). The use of COTS games for educational purposes
may seem to be a better option. However, teachers should be knowledgeable and able to choose the appropriate COTS games that can match and fit into the learning curriculum.
The games development approach may seem to be more positive as some studies (Carbonaro et al., 2010; Yang and Chang, 2013; Vos et al., 2011) indicate that students
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learn more problem-solving skills and become more motivated through game development activities. However, it is not easy to learn programming skills, user interface design, human-computer interaction (HCI), artificial intelligence (AI) and the associated game development skills. The objective of this approach is not to produce a high-quality game, but to allow students to learn implicit skills through game production. This approach is difficult for the teachers with no computer literacy and programming knowledge. However, many authoring tools require minimal programming skills such as Adobe Authorware, Adobe Flash, Scratch and GameMaker.
Scratch is free software developed by The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT). It is used by many learning communities to develop games and animations because it is interesting and free to use.
In fact, some gaming companies are looking for gamers to develop games. Recently,
Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has published Landmark, a free to play massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that allows players to design, build
and make anything they can imagine (e.g. houses, stores, villages) (SOE, 2014). SOE has hosted a competition and the objects and buildings that the players have constructed in Landmark may be used in the upcoming MMORPG, EverQuest Next (SOE, 2014). Nevertheless, most of the past studies in DGBL were built on the first two approaches in which students would play either educational games or COTS games for educational purposes.
2.3.5 Summary
Digital games can be used for learning in numerous ways. There are three approaches to DGBL - use of educational games, use of COTS games for educational purposes and teach the games development skills. Every approach has its pros and cons, and the selection of DGBL approach should be based on the learning objectives.
Every approach to DGBL is unique. The use of educational games is more straightforward and teachers have more control over the flow of learning processes in the games. The games are designed with pre-defined learning objectives, and the learning content is made explicit. It is difficult to justify the claim that COTS games are beneficial for learning. Most of the learning contents or even the metacognitive skills learned through COTS games are embedded in the games and not visible to the players. Players are learning the implicit skills such as multitasking, control, teamwork and other metacognitive skills. Another matter of concern is to what extent these implicit skills are transferable to formal learning and how to assess these transferable implicit skills? Moreover, how can teachers make sure that students learn the desired skills in COTS games (e.g. spatial ability, mental computation and land navigation) and not the others (e.g. cheating, homicide and conflict)? The use of COTS games requires a detailed teaching plan and a teacher who is familiar with the games. The third
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approach to DGBL - teach the games development skills (e.g. programming, multimedia and graphics design) will not be discussed further because it is not the focus of this study.
There is a need to explore the teachers’, students’ and parents’ understanding of DGBL and COTS games which will provide a guideline for the potential use of DGBL for mathematics learning. For instance, the first approach is not viable if the teachers have no access to mathematics computer games. Furthermore, the second is not feasible if the teachers have no interest and experience of playing COTS. If the teachers’ interest and proficiency in gaming are limited, then an alternative approach may be viable – the use of embodied learning principles of computer games.