Serious Games
Serious games can be broadly defined as experiences that are created using educational technology theory, educational psychology, and lessons learned from the commercial digital game industry to address specific educational purposes. While commercial games such as Civilization and Zoo Tycoon, for example, are often adapted and implemented by practitioners in educational environments, serious games are designed and developed from the ground up with learning as a goal, while leveraging the tools, technologies, and successful strategies of commercial game design (Michael & Chen, 2006).
Many see digital games, serious and otherwise, as a treasure trove for educators, learners, and researchers, embodying solid instructional strategies, providing embodied experiences, and delivering stunning and engaging multimedia experiences (Gee, 2003; Jenkins et al, 2003; Klopfer, 2005; Prensky, 2001).
At eLearning, we share this vision for capitalizing on the inherent and designed advantages of this unique mode of learning. Using professional design tools and processes, we create serious games to engage learners in a broad array of experiences, including academic topics such as political science and research, and more applied topics such as homeland security and fire and emergency medical response.
References
Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Jenkins, H., Klopfer, E., Squire, K., Tan, P. (2003). Entering the education arcade. Computers in Entertainment, 1(1), 17-27.
Klopfer, E. S., & Yoon, S. (2005). Developing games and simulations for today and tomorrow's tech savvy youth. TechTrends, 49(3), 33-41.
Michael, D., & Chen, S. (2005). Serious games: Games that educate, train, and inform: Course Technology PTR.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital game-based learning: McGraw-Hill.
