Games-based learning and game identification

The objective of this course activity is to review and extend your understanding of the resources and games-based learning.

This is the first group tutorial which will use Elluminate Live! Go to the course discussion forum and to the thread 'Tutorial: Resource and project guidance'. This will contain guidance on how the discussion will be conducted.

Please refer to your notes from Activity 2 for discussion points.  

By the end of the session you will have discussed and identified at least one learning need that could be addressed through an online game and suggestions on how you could effectively integrate this game into your planning.

The objective of this course activity is to identify and select at least one (freely available) online game appropriate to the learning needs identified in Activity 3.

A range of online games aimed at supporting learning within the classroom are provided [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . Your task is to identify and select a relevant game to address your learning needs. When selecting a game and integrating it into a lesson you might want to consider the following: 

• What are your intended learning gains or learning outcomes from using this game?
• How strongly do these relate to the game?
• Will the game be used to provide information or give context for other activities?
• Is the game age appropriate?
• How long will it be used for?
• Will it be used in groups, individually or as a class activity (for example, children taking turns at the front or giving instructions)?
• When will it be used – the start or end of a lesson?
• How long will it be before the children reach the learning goal? (In online games this is less of an issue as they are usually casual and therefore take a few minutes. However, in some cases they may have to play for several hours before they have sufficient information to draw conclusions – this occurs in the Global Conflict game series.)
• How will it be introduced?
• What will your role be?
• How will you highlight the learning gains or intentions to the students?
• What evidence will you look for of impact?

There are also practical considerations that would have to be investigated if the game were to be used in the classroom. Does it run on the school computers? Do you have the appropriate software or version installed, e.g. the latest version of Flash. Can it be accessed with a student login? Do you need to launch the game from a saved position? Will you need to save the games for use later? How easy will that be? Are there any firewall or other security issues?