Planning/Designing Games for Education ?
September 15, 2011I watched David Perry’s TED talk “Are Games Better than Life” (http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/david_perry_on_videogames.html).
Interesting.
The “fun factor” is not what will work, even though that seems to be the main motivation for people to make “educational games” today. Fun is good, don’t get me wrong, and people like to have fun. But Perry mentioned that at game conferences, the talk is about “emotion, purpose, meaning, understanding and feeling.” Boiling this down to help someone design a game for education purposes may seem difficult. Yet, let’s think about why we should be educating anyway.
If we (educators) cannot show students the purpose of what they are learning, we probably fail to educate. If we cannot help them realize how this information can be used in their lives, we probably fail to educate. If we cannot help them like what they are learning, we probably fail to educate.
We must show, or teach, the meaning of what they are learning; the purpose of it. Look back at the list: emotion, purpose, meaning, understanding and feeling. When teaching, we must help them grasp the meaning, the purpose and the understanding. Then, and possibly only then, will they have the feeling or emotion related to their learning.
Now, if I were to design an “educational game” or a game for learning, I may first start with the emotion and feeling to get them started (to “hook” them). Then I’d make sure the plot or story line (or goal) of the game made sense and kept them emotionally involved, like it could be “real.” I would also have to keep the purpose foremost and understandable. All this to help the student remember the meaning and purpose of it all and work toward achieving the goal.
Can it be done? Well, fortunately, there are educators who do this – even without a game.
