Using Simulations as a Starting Point for Constructing Meaningful Learning Games
Name
Using Simulations as a Starting Point for Constructing Meaningful Learning Games.pdf
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319.87 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
9323be153da1148449d7fda6c1d809a9
Author(s)
Klopfer, Eric
Purushotma, Ravi Krsna
Date Issued
March 2012
Journal
Computer Games and New Media Cultures
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Citation
Klopfer, Eric, and Ravi Purushotma. “Using Simulations as a Starting Point for Constructing Meaningful Learning Games.” Computer Games and New Media Cultures (2012): 603–617
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
For many school administrators and decision makers, the term “video games” holds numerous cultural associations which make their adoption in the education space challenging. Additionally, the term is so broad that it can sometimes be difficult to communicate explicitly a desire to build learning experiences that go beyond the Drill and Kill edutainment titles that currently dominate most people’s perceptions of educational games. By contrast, the term “simulations” is often well respected among educators, particularly in the natural sciences. With “simulation” already being a full genre of video games, it would seem natural that researchers are beginning to explore the overlaps between simulation games and pedagogical goals that go beyond those found in Drill and Kill games. In this chapter, we survey some of the relevant research concerning both simulations and video games and outline practical pathways through which we can leverage the interest and frameworks designed for simulation construction to facilitate the introduction of video game concepts and experiences into the classroom environment. In particular, we report on the use of Starlogo TNG, a graphical programming environment in which kids themselves can create simulation-based video games, for deepening children’s understanding of scientific concepts.
MIT Department
Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2777-9_38
