Annetta, L. (2009). Designing and evaluating educational video games. Learning & Leading with Technology, 36, Retrieved August 7, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume3620082009/SeptemberOctoberNo2/L_L_September_October_2008.htm
Educators are realizing that what today’s children do after school is very different from what children of past generations have done. With a lot of today’s learning emphasis being placed on end-of-grade instruction preparing students for tests, how can move children away from the rote memorization of facts towards developing skills that connect and manipulate information? One of the answers is through gaming.
North Carolina schools are introducing virtual learning environments in the science for grades K-12 through HIFIVES, Highly Interactive Fun Internet Virtual Environments in Science. Students explore a virtual world by having teams of students assume the roles of characters in the games and work collaboratively to solve challenges. Many plots of the K-12 games involve story-lines that align closely to movies and television, CSI for example, because those story-lines engage the student population.
A four-year project is underway that is enabling teachers and students to design and evaluate educational video games that will enhance student learning. By using source code from Half-Life 2 students and teachers can develop their own games that align with state science and mathematics curriculum objectives by using “drag and drop” tools as opposed to having to write the code to develop the games. Class assignments can be more engaging and effective if instead of assigning a research paper, teachers would have their students create a game to teach one another the subject matter. This North Carolina gaming initiative has been made possible by the funds allotted from a National Science Foundation grant.
How can this get rolled out to other schools? The success of this program can be showcased to other school districts by using teacher and student testimonials and presenting the video games that were developed.
What might be the limitations to rolling this out on a broader scale? If schools do not have the necessary computer equipment available for teachers and students to use in this capacity, then the rollout would be delayed until additional funding is available so it can be purchased.
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