The issue of access and Digital Game Based Learning-reflecting on Van Eck
Van Eck[1] does a good job in outlining the potential and limitations of digital game based learning (DGBL) in the educational sphere. In both the original article in 2006 and the follow up in 2015, he does a good job of laying out the ground in terms of design, skills and hurdles impeding the penetration of DGBLs at a critically mass level. However, the one area where he falls short or gives perfunctory treatment to, is the matter of cost and income-levels for students and their families in accessing and effectively utilizing DGBLs as learning tools.
Van Eck[1] does a good job in outlining the potential and limitations of digital game based learning (DGBL) in the educational sphere. In both the original article in 2006 and the follow up in 2015, he does a good job of laying out the ground in terms of design, skills and hurdles impeding the penetration of DGBLs at a critically mass level. However, the one area where he falls short or gives perfunctory treatment to, is the matter of cost and income-levels for students and their families in accessing and effectively utilizing DGBLs as learning tools.
While Van Eck discusses the cost in adopting digital games for schools and educators in both articles, he does not really address that issue as an impediment for students and families. This issue is one of the stronger impediments I believe has prevented DGBLs from reaching a critical mass within education. It is an issue tied directly to the learning of 21st Century Skills including problem solving, critical thinking , effective communication through DGBLs.
A closer look at non-cognitive research[2] will reveal that, students most in need of 21st Century skills development which are mostly, non-cognitive fall on the lower end of the income spectrum and increasingly on the wrong end of the digital divide[3].
For DGBLs to be effective and reach a critical mass, as Van Eckhas identified, there needs to be an awareness of this divide and how to design games to bridge this gap. In addition, there needs to be more games that are designed to show an effectiveness and efficiency in teaching cognitive subject areas and also meet the non-cognitive needs of a critical mass of the population. Unless DGBLs meet this threshold in some form, it will be a while before they can reach the mass critical penetration as envisioned by its proponents.
[1] V Van Eck, R. (2006). Digital Game-Based Learning: It’s not just the Digital Natives Who are Restless. Journal, Vol 41(Issue 2), 16–30. Retrieved from http://edUnequal Classrooms: Online Higher Education and Non-Cognitive Skillsergbl.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/47991237/digital game based learning 2006.pdf
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-years
[2] arrington, C. A., Roderick, M., Allensworth, E., Nagaoka, J., Keyes, T. S., Johnson, D. W., & Beechum, N. O. (2012). Teaching Adolescents to Become Learners: The Role of Noncognitive Factors in Shaping School Performance--A Critical Literature Review. Consortium on Chicago School Research. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED542543
Fletcher, J. M., & Wolfe, B. (2016). The importance of family income in the formation and evolution of non-cognitive skills in childhood. Economics of Education Review, 54, 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2016.07.004
Nagaoka, J., Farrington, C. a, Roderick, M., Allensworth, E., Keyes, T. S., Johnson, D. W., & Beechum, N. O. (2013). Readiness for College: The Role of Noncognitive Factors and Context. Voices in Urban Education, (38), 45–52.
[3] Attewell, P. (2001). The First and Second Digital Divides. Sociology of Education, 74(3), 252–259. https://doi.org/http://www.jstor.org/stable/2673277
Dolan, J. E. (2015). Splicing the Divide: A Review of Research on the Evolving Digital Divide among K-12 Students. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 48(1), 16–37. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?q=%22%22&ff1=subAccess+to+Computers&ff2=dtyIn_2016&id=EJ1091134
Helsper, E. J. (2012). A Corresponding Fields Model for the Links Between Social and Digital Exclusion. Communication Theory, 22, 403–426. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=9c660582-cc87-4b0d-a411-9b8c5a5a7823%40sessionmgr4002&vid=2&hid=4111
van Deursen, A. J. a. M., & van Dijk, J. a. G. M. (2015). Internet skill levels increase, but gaps widen: a longitudinal cross-sectional analysis (2010–2013) among the Dutch population. Information, Communication & Society, 18(7), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2014.994544
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