Like books, radio, television and movies, games are an ideal medium to captivate an audience. Yet, unlike these other mediums, games afford full interactivity. That can have big implications for education: Just ask Texas A&M University, which recently wrapped up its first ever game-based course this fall.
The course was so successful that the university has opened registration for two game-based courses this spring: another focused on art history and a new one focused on calculus.
Video games have become mainstream in our culture. Commercial entertainment games deliver graphics and scenarios that are so lifelike they transport players into alternate worlds and empower users to assume imaginative identities. They are immersive and they draw players in to go for the epic win, playing for hours on end. With student digital literacy climbing at impressive rates, isn’t it a natural progression to channel the power of games into a productive academic setting?
Academic video games are meeting an important educational need, boosting engagement and making learning fun. Some research even suggests that video games might make people better learners. Game-based learning products brought in $2.6 billion in worldwide revenue in 2016 and this is projected to surge to $7.3 billion by 2021.
While many different types of games can be used in a college setting, games that are backed by rigorous research, instructional design best practices and stellar graphics can have the biggest impact on the teaching and learning experience. Games that mirror the suspense and sophistication of their entertainment counterparts present curriculum in relatable ways, engage students far more than traditional textbooks, and test learners’ abilities to ensure knowledge mastery…
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