don't build educational games
When I started researching educational games, I was too boxed into my notion of what an educational game was. I thought that it had to be an isolated thing that someone would play, be educated by, and then they’d move on with their lives.
Breaking free of that mold was really helpful. A game can be:
- A 10 second interactive section in an article.
- A 10 minute supplement to homework.
- Part of a facilitated workshop, where the game presents ideas, but the workshop is where the discussion and learning actually happens.
- As simple as a few rules on a sheet of paper.
Heck, you don’t even have to build a game to get the benefits of game based learning. You can leverage:
- Interactivity, by implementing techniques in active learning.
- Engagement, by using visuals and other media.
- Competition, through points, badges, and leaderboards.
- Customized learning, by using software to track student success and deploy specific interventions for students that need them.
- Realistic scenarios, by giving out projects and scaffolded real world scenarios.
