Video Games for Classrooms
Highly recommended resources for game-based learning
PlayForce – selected games suitable for classrooms with related resources and blog posts
GameKit – nurturing the interests and capacity for game design
Check out Edutopia’s collection of articles, videos, and resources on using video games and simulations in the classroom.
Games in the Classroom
- Game-Based Learning Units for the Everyday Teacher (A game-based unit includes structures, themes, and mechanisms for trial and error.)
- Get Your Game On: How to Build Curriculum Units Using the Video Game Model (Blogger Andrew Miller shows educators some specific techniques for building a game structure across different subjects.)
- Simulation Nation: The Promise of Virtual Learning Activities (Inventive computer sims can turn dull lessons into hyperreal experiences — if we can get educators to use them)
- Sims vs. Games: The Difference Defined (Ever wondered? Here’s your answer)
- Let the Games Begin: Entertainment Meets Education (Video games, once confiscated in class, are now a key teaching tool — if they’re done right.)
Tips and Tools to Get Started
- Wii Love Learning: Using Gaming Technology to Engage Students (Put today’s hottest game console to educational use.)
- Teaching Tools: Using Online Simulations and Games (Gaming remains new territory for most schools. But educators on the frontiers are eager to share what they’re learning.)
- Using the Video Game Model in the Classroom (Blogger Mary Beth Hertz shares her experience in applying gaming concepts to her classroom practices.)
- Making Lessons Come Alive in the Classroom with the Xbox Kinect (Guest blogger and middle school teacher Dan Jones shares how he uses the popular video game platform to increase student engagement.)
- Serious Tips for Using Serious Games in Class (Experts on issue-oriented computer simulations offer advice on how to do it right.)
Using Games for Learning and Assessment
- James Gee: What Do Video Games Have to Do with Project-Based Learning? A conversation between John Larmer and David Ross of the Buck Institute for Education about project-based learning, video games, and the work of James Paul Gee.
- Big Thinkers: James Paul Gee on Grading with Games An Arizona State University professor sees a bright future for video games in the learning process — in and out of school.
- Serious Gaming: Computer Games Become Potent Student Motivators and Evaluators A new generation of video games sneaks into assessment tools.
- A Neurologist Makes the Case for the Video Game Model as a Learning Tool The popularity of video games is not the enemy of education, but rather a model for best teaching strategies.
