Bibliography

How Are Games Educational? Learning Theories Embodied in Games, Becker Katrin
June 2005 Changing Views: Worlds in Play

Game, Motivation, and Effective Learning: An Integrated Model for Educational Game Design, Paras Brad, Bizzocchi Jim
June 2005 Changing Views: Worlds in Play

Research

http://www.kidsknowit.com/

THE TOTALLY FREE CHILDREN’S LEARNING NETWORK

Making education fun and free.
Free educational Websites For the young, and the young at heart.


http://www.knowledgeadventure.com/

Educational Games from Knowledge Adventure

Knowledge Adventure has been making educational games for kids for over two decades. Working with child experts, developmental psychologists and educators, it produces games loved by parents and children alike. The fun educational games created by Knowledge Adventure have won many awards, including the iParenting Media Award, the Toy Man Award of Excellence and the National Parenting Seal of Approval, to name a few. Here is Knowledge Adventure’s collection of one hundred fun, free online educational games for kids.

Learning Though Online Educational Games

Online educational games for kids have proven to be very beneficial learning tools. These games help kids learn many of the skills needed throughout their early childhood education. Learning games are particularly useful for younger kids and can help build confidence while enhancing the skills needed for success in school. Educational games for toddlers prepare young ones for their first scholastic experience and educational games for preschool students teach kids important skills and concepts required by a preschooler. The kids’ games provided here allow children to have fun while they learn. Fun educational games encourage children to keep learning, even after school hours.

Finding the Educational Game You Want

Knowledge Adventure’s online educational games are categorized into different groups based on the age group, grade they’re meant for and the subjects they deal with. If you cannot find the learning game you want, look for it in the ‘All Games’ list on the homepage, where the games are listed in alphabetical order.

Math

• Math Lines
• Math Search
• Quick Math

Word Game

• Bouncing Letters
• Crossword Puzzle
• Letter Activity

Arcade

• Battleship
• Connect Four
• Ivy's Meadow

Preschool

• Path Memory
• ABC Game
• Tub Time

http://archive.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/project_reports/becta/Games_and_Learning_educators_report.pdf

Computer games, schools,
and young people
A report for educators on using games for learning

Ben Williamson, Futurelab
March 2009

Acknowledgements
This report was written by Futurelab and commissioned by Becta as part of a research and development programme
aimed at supporting the delivery of the Harnessing Technology Strategy. The report is aimed at helping educators to
translate innovative and exciting ideas into next steps.
We are grateful to all those organisations and individuals who gave their support and insight in helping to inform the
development of this handbook. The following people deserve special thanks: Jude Ower and Karen Orr for conducting
the interview fieldwork, and all of the schools that so kindly gave their time and assistance; Jim Ashridge, James Binns,
Thalia Baldwin, Caroline Kearney, Lynne Kilpatrick, Leigh Jackson, Will Longhill, Paul Maharg, Wendy Parker, Michael
Rawlinson, Derek Robertson, and Robert Russell-Pavier.
This report, a ‘scenarios’ poster, and further information are available at:
www.futurelab.org.uk/projects/games-and-learning.

Project Brief

Course: BA/FdA Games Art and Design
Year: Two
Unit: BA6: Contexts: Collaboration, audience and employability
Project Title Advanced Game Studies and Research
Project 3 of 3 within this unit
Start Date: 14/03/11
Study Hours: 70
Submission Date: 16/05/11
Tutor(s): TBC

Description
This unit provides a deeper investigation of the critical approaches to digital game studies. It explores theoretical ideas and concepts that impact both on the academic study of games and their practical creation.

You will consider the persuasive capabilities for games beyond acting purely as entertainment; looking at education, commercial, and political games you will evaluate the ability of digital games to change the world. The unit will question the ethics of game design; if games are indeed a persuasive medium what ethical implications are there for the game designer? The unit also considers many of the debates around digital games in contemporary society and look at possible versions of the future. Finally, you will gain enhanced knowledge regarding the skills needed for an extended research project.

Working individually you will produce a online research blog that explores and applies appropriate theories and concepts through critical analysis.

This project addresses the key areas of study as follows:

Studio Practice: Not applicable for this project.

Business and Professional Skills: You will learn theoretical elements essential to the practical design process of a commercially or critically successful digital game. You will gain further understanding of the development of game modes and industries, presenting findings in a professional and appropriate manner.

Contextual Studies: You will undertake extensive primary and secondary research. Using analogue (books, journals, etc.) and digital (websites, e-journals, academic blogs) sources to evidence your understanding of theories and practices you will apply these through critical analysis and integrate them into your practice. The tone of the research must be academic and investigative, and should be communicated with clarity and creativity.

Personal Development and Planning: Not applicable for this project.

The table below lists the work you will need to submit and which areas of study each item relates to:

Work required for this project:
Area of study

Which Unit Assessment Requirement this work contributes to:

Research Blog, containing a variety of audio-visual media [Blogger / Wordpress converted to PDF]

Contextual Studies / Business and Professional Skills
All work MUST be correctly formatted and submitted to the Digital 3D server. Folder structures and naming conventions must be adhered to precisely.

Contextual Studies / Business and Professional Skills

Not assessed in this project:
Studio practice / PDP
n/a

The table below shows which of the Unit Learning Outcomes are addressed by this project and what you will need to do to show that you have met them:

Learning Outcome How you will be assessed:

LO10: Use a range of strategies to articulate and extend the limits of your subject and contextual knowledge. We will look for evidence of understanding and evaluation of critical approaches and theoretical ideas regarding contemporary digital games.

LO11: Communicate your work and ideas effectively and clearly to a range of audiences using image, text and the spoken word. We expect clear, concise, and appropriately communicated research and analysis, professionally presented in the correct format.

Reference material

Bogost, I. (2007) Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Video Games. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Bogost, I. (2006) Unit Operations: An Approach to Video Game Criticism. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Raessens, J. and Goldstein, J. ed. (2005) Handbook of Computer Game Studies. Cambridge, MA:

MIT Press.
Salen, K. and Zimmerman, E. ed. (2006) The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology.

Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Sicart, M. (2009) The Ethics of Computer Games. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Games and Culture. [Internet] Available from: [Accessed 18 February 2010].

Game Studies. [Internet] Available from: [Accessed 18 February 2010].