Gaming

Game-based learning does have various benefits when used in an educational setting. There are several types of games, ranging from traditional pen and paper word searches to virtual multiplayer games on the computer. Educational games can be categorized into three groups: digital games, non-digital games, and collaborative digital games. "Open-ended, challenge-based, truly collaborative games have tremendous potential to transform higher education. Games like these, which occur in both massively multiplayer online (MMO) and non-digital forms, can draw on skills for research, writing, collaboration, problem-solving, public speaking, leadership, digital literacy, and media-making. When embedded in the curriculum, they offer a path into the material that allows the student to learn how to learn along with mastering, and truly owning, the subject matter. These games lend themselves to curricular content, requiring students to discover and construct knowledge in order to solve problems. They are challenging to design well, but the results can be transformative," (Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine A., and Haywood, K., 2011, p. 22). In other words, research has shown that game-based learning is integrating curriculum content in a fun, new way that challenges students to use a more complex and creative thinking process. 

The first website I visited was PBS. Their games were intended for the preschool age, and included various different links for fun games to improve memory retention and fine motor skills. For example, one of the games was "Paint by Letters." The student was expected to use a virtual paintbrush to paint different portions of the picture with the paint corresponding to a specific letter. The second website I visited was UpToTen Games Galore! This website offered age appropriate games for children ranging from the toddler years to ten years old. The games require students to use various skills in order to master levels. Examples are puzzles, coordination games, puzzles, coloring/painting and racing. There was even special features that took virtual tours "around the world." The last website I visited was Cool Math, which included free, online math lessons and games. Pre-calculus, calculus, algebra, and geometry were all featured on the site. Personally, I though this website was very cool, and a great way to creatively stimulate students' minds. "Early studies of consumer games helped to identify the aspects of games that make them especially engaging and appealing to players of various ages and of both genders: the feeling of working toward a goal; the possibility of attaining spectacular successes; the ability to problem-solve, collaborate with others, and socialize; an interesting story line; and other characteristics," (Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine A., and Haywood, K., 2011, p. 20). I feel that all three websites I visited did a good job of integrating these different aspects of gaming into their sites.