Video Games and Indirect Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 69-84
Author(s):  
Monica Miller
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
Video Game ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Alternative Pedagogy ◽  
Transferable Skills ◽  
Game Elements ◽  
League Of Legends

As a result of rapid technological advancement, educators are turning to alternative pedagogy to instill valuable knowledge and transferable skills to their pupils. Esports and video games are being examined as a potential avenue. This research, backed by empirical data, explains how the content of particular games can indirectly teach players real-world skills and advanced academic concepts. Five different soft skills (responsibility, communication, teamwork, problem solving, leadership) and two core academic areas (mathematics, language arts) are examined using in-game elements of the following 12 video games/video game franchises as evidence to support claims of video games being a source of indirect education: Neopets; League of Legends; The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim; Overwatch; Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild; Tetris; Portal; Fortnite; Assassin's Creed; World of Warcraft; No Man's Sky; and Spyro.

scholarly journals Design and Development of a Video Game to Assess Problem-Solving Competence in Chemistry Education

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amany Annaggar ◽  
Rüdiger Tiemann
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Chemistry Education ◽  
Self Determination Theory ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Scientific Content ◽  
3D Game ◽  
Problem Solving Model

<p>The aim of this study is to present how to implement the constructive learning theory and self-determination theory into a video game. This video game is designed as a new kind of teaching tool for chemistry concepts and as an assessment tool for domain-specific problem-solving competence, by applying a problem-solving model and the factors of self-determination theory through game elements. These types of video games are designed not only to have fun and motivate students, but also to help the teachers and educators to assess their students according to their weaknesses and strengths in each particular phase of the competence. Thus, educators could improve their teaching strategy or use the tools to improve weak areas. Based on this idea, we developed ALCHEMIST. ALCHEMIST targeted the 9th-grade students in the German chemistry curriculum. The scientific content is about acids, bases, and indicators, and is designed and based on the problem-solving model to access this competence of the students. The 3D game framework was chosen for this game since it makes the game efficient, interactive and drives it into more virtual reality. The designing process was complicated, as it includes multidisciplinary work across psychology, design, scientific content, development and programming, which makes it challenging. To cover these points, we followed a game design model, adding some steps to cover the educational needs and the aim of the game.</p><p>In order to make the game more effective and interactive, and to drive it into a more virtual world, the 3D game framework was chosen for this game since for this age group a 3D educational game is expected to be more effective (Gunter et al, 2008; Terzidou et al, 2012) . Moreover, the use of avatars in the 3D virtual environment establishes non-verbal communication (NVC) features, which can foster collaboration interactions, and enhance the student’s ability to apply abstract knowledge later in reality (Dede, 1992; Tsiatsos and Terzidou, 2010). The log file provided shows the player points and gameplay path which indicates the performance levels for each problem set. Also, it can help teachers to evaluate each particular phase of problem-solving competence. After the success of the development of our game-based theoretical background, it will be tested and validated by experts in chemistry education. This validation process should examine if the problem-solving model is correctly applied and test the significance of the game design, scientific content and the game’s objective.</p><p>It may also be of interest to develop such video games with scientific content and educational background in other fields. It also would be a success for the scientist to apply the scientific content through a fantasy 3D video game to the students at different ages to have fun, to learn, and to assess their competencies.</p>

Three Perspectives on Video Game Learning

2016 ◽  
pp. 167-195
Author(s):  
Zeynep Tanes
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Social Marketing ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Community Or ◽  
Ways Of Thinking ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Game Elements ◽  
Inherent Component

Video games and gamified applications have been used for various purposes including helping businesses (in commercial marketing), or helping the individual, community or society (in social marketing). Video games are systems with rules, play structures, and narratives; while gamified applications utilize game elements, mechanics, and ways of thinking to generate meaningful, playful and fun experiences. Both video games and gamified applications require a learning process including learning to play, and learning through the game. This chapter advocates that learning is an inherent component of video games and gamified applications. The main purpose of this chapter is to examine the concept of ‘game learning' from three major theoretical positions, namely Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism. In doing so, this chapter first explains, compares, and contrasts these three positions, then elaborates on how learning takes place in specific games designed for commercial and social marketing with the lens of these three positions.

Exploring Complex Intertextual Interactions in Video Games

2016 ◽  
pp. 108-128
Author(s):  
Kathy Sanford ◽  
Timothy Frank Hopper ◽  
Jamie Burren
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Teaching Tool ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Video Game Play ◽  
Class A ◽  
Video Gamers ◽  
Grade 11

This chapter explores the intertextual nature of video games. Video games are inherently intertextual and have utilized intertextuality in profound ways to engage players and make meaning. Youth who play video games demonstrate complex intertextual literacies that enable them to construct and share understandings across game genres. However, video game literacy is noticeably absent from formal education. This chapter draws from bi-monthly meetings with a group of youth video gamers. Video game sessions focused on exploring aspect of video game play such as learning and civic engagements. Each session was video recorded and coded using You Tube annotation tools. Focusing on intertextuality as an organizing construct, the chapter reports on five themes that emerged that were then used to help explore the use of video games as teaching tool in a grade 11 Language Arts class. A critical concept that emerged was the idea of complex intertextual literacy that frames and enables adolescents' engagement with video games.

scholarly journals Ethics of Biotechnology in Bioshock’s Interactive Narrative

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasbi Thaufik Oktodila ◽  
Dhita Hapsarani
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Interactive Narrative ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Game Player

The interactivity element in video games allows the process of delivering narration through words and actions taken by the game player. The diversity of game design in delivering stories leads to a debate between ludology (game-centered) and narratology (narrative-centered). Ludology perceives game as ‘sets of rules’ because game itself is a medium that is made up of rules. On the other hand, narratology views game in terms of the narrative resulted from the rules. Narratology tends to reduce the peculiarity of the medium because it does not take game rules into account, while ludology ignores the narrative elements. However, in recent times, games combine aspects of gameplay and narration to form an interactive narrative. One video game that uses such combination is Bioshock (2007). The interactivity elements in this game are not only for conveying the story, but also for allowing players’ participation to determine the resolution of the story through the player’s interaction with the character named Little Sister. Gameplay-wise, Little Sister acts as one of the main resources that helps players complete the game. Narrative-wise, Little Sister who is a chimera (a combination between animal and human) is a representation of technological advancement. Positioned as resource both in the gameplay and the narration, the game player’s treatment toward Little Sister implies ethical and moral consequences. For these reasons, this article implements textual analysis to discuss the characterization of Little Sisters displayed in the gameplay and the narration that leads to the ethical and morality issues lies in biotechnology.

scholarly journals Cognitive and Behavioral Correlates of Achievement in a Complex Multi-Player Video Game

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 198-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam M. Large ◽  
Benoit Bediou ◽  
Sezen Cekic ◽  
Yuval Hart ◽  
Daphne Bavelier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Cognitive Demands ◽  
Behavioral Correlates ◽  
Action Video Game ◽  
The Past ◽  
League Of Legends

Over the past 30 years, a large body of research has accrued demonstrating that video games are capable of placing substantial demands on the human cognitive, emotional, physical, and social processing systems. Within the cognitive realm, playing games belonging to one particular genre, known as the action video game genre, has been consistently linked with demands on a host of cognitive abilities including perception, top-down attention, multitasking, and spatial cognition. More recently, a number of new game genres have emerged that, while different in many ways from “traditional” action games, nonetheless seem likely to load upon similar cognitive processes. One such example is the multiplayer online battle arena genre (MOBA), which involves a mix of action and real-time strategy characteristics. Here, a sample of over 500 players of the MOBA game League of Legends completed a large battery of cognitive tasks. Positive associations were observed between League of Legends performance (quantified by participants’ in-game match-making rating) and a number of cognitive abilities consistent with those observed in the existing action video game literature, including speed of processing and attentional abilities. Together, our results document a rich pattern of cognitive abilities associated with high levels of League of Legends performance and suggest similarities between MOBAs and action video games in terms of their cognitive demands.

scholarly journals The Changes of Cognition in Teenagers after Playing Video Games

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunsh Singh ◽  
Karen Molloy
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Sustained Attention ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Spatial Awareness ◽  
Cognitive Decision ◽  
Serial Addition ◽  
Response Task ◽  
League Of Legends

Recent studies have shown that video games alter cognition in teenagers, but it is unknown how teen cognition changes in the short-term directly after playing video games. This study measured the differences in selective attention, processing speed, sustained attention, and cognitive flexibility of video-game playing (VGP) adolescents at different time intervals after playing video games. Three different reasoning tests were used: the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), and the Stroop Task. A custom 250 question arithmetic test was also used, but was unable to uncover processing speed differences between VGPs after playing video games. All VGP participants in the study underwent reasoning tests before playing video games, played League of Legends (LoL)—known for its intensive use of spatial awareness, cognitive decision making, and working memory—for an hour, and then took reasoning tests once again at different times after having played LoL. This experiment affirms that video games create cognitive enhancement, though the experiment uncovered that VGP teens have worsened selective and sustained attention as time elapses after playing video games. Future research may want to extend the variable of time to test how video games affect attention or cognition by time in a longer term with a larger sample size.

BioShock and the Ghost of Ayn Rand

2016 ◽  
pp. 92-107
Author(s):  
Chris Richardson ◽  
Mike Elrod
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Tacit Knowledge ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Ayn Rand ◽  
Transferable Skills ◽  
Emancipatory Learning ◽  
Intertextual Connections

This chapter examines the popular 2007 video game BioShock and its relation to the work of Objectivist author Ayn Rand. Using Jacques Rancière's model of emancipatory learning and Polanyi's concept of tacit knowledge, the authors explore how video games can instill transferable skills and knowledge by forming intertextual connections to other media. Including an interview with BioShock creator Ken Levine, the authors discuss how players may learn about works such as Rand's Atlas Shrugged, forming opinions, criticisms, and applications of her philosophy, without ever receiving explanations of it in the game. They conclude the chapter by demonstrating the potential for such forms of learning to become more prominent in video games, while also acknowledging the inherent limitations of the medium.

scholarly journals Game Transfer Phenomena in Video Game Playing

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelica B. Ortiz de Gortari ◽  
Karin Aronsson ◽  
Mark Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Game Playing ◽  
Optical Illusions ◽  
Video Game Playing ◽  
Video Game Content ◽  
Game Environment ◽  
Game Elements

Video game playing is a popular activity and its enjoyment among frequent players has been associated with absorption and immersion experiences. This paper examines how immersion in the video game environment can influence the player during the game and afterwards (including fantasies, thoughts, and actions). This is what is described as Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP). GTP occurs when video game elements are associated with real life elements triggering subsequent thoughts, sensations and/or player actions. To investigate this further, a total of 42 frequent video game players aged between 15 and 21 years old were interviewed. Thematic analysis showed that many players experienced GTP, where players appeared to integrate elements of video game playing into their real lives. These GTP were then classified as either intentional or automatic experiences. Results also showed that players used video games for interacting with others as a form of amusement, modeling or mimicking video game content, and daydreaming about video games. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate how video games triggered intrusive thoughts, sensations, impulses, reflexes, optical illusions, and dissociations.

scholarly journals Gaming With Stigma: Analysis of Messages About Mental Illnesses in Video Games

10.2196/12418 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. e12418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela Ferrari ◽  
Sarah V McIlwaine ◽  
Gerald Jordan ◽  
Jai L Shah ◽  
Shalini Lal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Clinical Practices ◽  
Computer Gaming ◽  
Game Elements ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundVideo game playing is a daily activity for many youths that replaces other media forms (eg, television); it serves as an important source of knowledge and can potentially impact their attitudes and behaviors. Researchers are, thus, concerned with the impact of video gaming on youth (eg, for promoting prosocial or antisocial behavior). Studies have also begun to explore players’ experience of gameplay and video game messages about violence, sexism, and racism; however, little is known about the impact of commercial video games in the sharing and shaping of knowledge, and messages about mental illness.ObjectiveThe aim of this review was to identify how mental illness, especially psychosis, is portrayed in commercial video games.MethodsWe performed keyword searches on games made available between January 2016 and June 2017 on Steam (a popular personal computer gaming platform). A total of 789 games were identified and reviewed to assess whether their game content was related to mental illness. At the end of the screening phase, a total of 100 games were retained.ResultsWe used a game elements framework (characters, game environment/atmosphere, goals, etc) to describe and unpack messages about mental health and illness in video games. The majority of the games we reviewed (97%, 97/100) portrayed mental illness in negative, misleading, and problematic ways (associating it with violence, fear, insanity, hopelessness, etc). Furthermore, some games portrayed mental illness as manifestations or consequences of supernatural phenomena or paranormal experiences. Mental illness was associated with mystery, the unpredictable, and as an obscure illness; its treatment was also associated with uncertainties, as game characters with mental illness had to undergo experimental treatment to get better. Unfortunately, little or no hope for recovery was present in the identified video games, where mental illness was often presented as an ongoing struggle and an endless battle with the mind and oneself.ConclusionsThe game elements of the identified commercial video games included mental illness, about which many perpetuated well-known stereotypes and prejudices. We discuss the key findings in relation to current evidence on the impact of media portrayals of mental illness and stigma. Furthermore, we reflect on the ability of serious video games to promote alternative messages about mental illness and clinical practices. Future research is needed to investigate the impact that such messages have on players and to explore the role that video games can play in fostering alternative messages to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness.

Massively Multiplayer Online Games as Spaces for Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 78-104
Author(s):  
Anastasia Lynn Betts ◽  
Meagan K. Rothschild
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Online Games ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Massively Multiplayer Online Games ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Self Regulated Learning ◽  
Multiplayer Online Games ◽  
Massively Multiplayer

Metacognition, or the ability to be consciously and intentionally aware of one's thinking and the ways in which one's thinking impacts one's learning, has been shown in the research to be a critical component of learners' abilities to learn effectively. One area of research on metacognition has focused on the role of metacognition in video games, specifically in massively multiplayer online games, known as MMOs. Through examples of metacognition in a popular video game such as World of Warcraft or in Adventure Academy, a new educational MMO for children ages 8–13 years old, this chapter highlights the ways in which MMOs can act as spaces that support the development of metacognitive behaviors through the components of planning, monitoring, control, and evaluation, toward improving learning overall.

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