Wu.et.al[1](Wu, Richards, & Saw, 2014) and Lester et.al[2] ((Lester et al., 2013) make a legitimate
case for considering games as serious tools for learning in various areas
including language and health education. Both articles provide a mix of
evidence including quantitative and qualitative data measuring students affect,
state and other relevant measures related to learning outcomes of the various
disciplines where different games have been used.
All the evidence points to the effectiveness of games
as learning tools in certain conditions, as identified in the Wu.et.al study. However,
Lester and his compatriots make a strong and compelling case for intelligent
game based learning on the results from their study and sample size. This makes
for interesting policy decisions for educational thinkers and leaders. Some of
the implications include, the amount of investment and time it will take to develop
intelligent based games for various subject areas. In addition, will
educational systems have the patience and time to wait for these games to be
developed and used as instructional tools.
While games were shown to be effective in the Crsytal
Island intelligent game study, this is an approach that the authors agree has
been under development for seven years. In addition, recent research and the
authors own research highlights the limitations of adopting these processes
whole sale in all educational environments.
Finally as highlighted by Van Eck[3] ((Van Eck, 2015), and also echoed
by Wu.et.al, the most effective aspects of learning games seem to improve are the
so called 21st Century skills which can be classified as
noncognitive skills. While these are important skills and increasingly
important in today’s world, schools are still held accountable for results on
cognition based areas. Of those, it seems AI games which have the ability to
adapt to individual learners’ responses but cost considerably more have the
most potential to be effective.
[1]Wu,
M. L., Richards, K., & Saw, G. K. (2014). Examining a Massive Multiplayer
Online Role-Playing Game as a Digital Game-Based Learning Platform. Computers
in the Schools, 31(1–2), 65–83.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2013.878975
[2]
Lester, J. C., Ha, E. Y., Lee, S. Y., Mott, B. W., Rowe, J. P., &
Sabourin, J. L. (2013). Serious Games Get Smart: Intelligent Game-Based
Learning Environments. AI Magazine, 34(4), 31. https://doi.org/10.1609/aimag.v34i4.2488
[3]Van
Eck, R. (2015). Digital Game-Based Learning: Still Restless, After All These
Years. Retrieved November 18, 2015, from
http://er.educause.edu/articles/2015/10/digital-game-based-learning-still-restless-after-all-these-year
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