Digital Games and Learning

Research and Theory

Nicola Whitton

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9780415629386
• eBook ISBN:
  9781136216435
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

In recent years, there has been growing interest in the use of digital games to enhance teaching and learning at all educational levels, from early years through to lifelong learning, in formal and informal settings. The study of games and learning, however, takes a broader view of the relationship between games and learning, and has a diverse multi-disciplinary background.

Digital Games and Learning: Research and Theory provides a clear and concise critical theoretical overview of the field of digital games and learning from a cross-disciplinary perspective. Taking into account research and theory from areas as varied as computer science, psychology, education, neuroscience, and game design, this book aims to synthesise work that is relevant to the study of games and learning. It focuses on four aspects of digital games: games as active learning environments, games as motivational tools, games as playgrounds, and games as learning technologies, and explores each of these areas in detail.

This book is an essential guide for researchers, designers, teachers, practitioners, and policy makers who want to better understand the relationship between games and learning.

PART 1

Introduction

1

OVERVIEW

This book provides a starting point for anyone with an interest in the relationship between digital games and learning, who wants to gain an overview of the most up-to-date research and theory in the field. In this book, I aim to create a case for why computer games provide such an exciting and pedagogically robust way of learning, as well as highlighting their potential pitfalls. I am a passionate advocate of the use of games and play in learning, for all ages, in formal and informal contexts, so I apologise in advance if I come across as a little over zealous at times; I have aimed throughout to temper my enthusiasm by the research evidence that is available in the field. However, I strongly believe that games – digital and traditional – can provide a way in which to move the focus of our schools, colleges and universities to more active, experiential and student-centred models of teaching, learning and assessment. Of course, computer games are not appropriate in every situation, they will not appeal to all learners, they will not appeal to all teachers, and they certainly will not be suitable for every type of educational content, but I believe that the use of games, gaming elements and playfulness provides a different way to think about how, when and what we learn.

This book is about games and learning, and the four core parts are structured around the reasons why digital games facilitate learning – the ideas that: 1) games instigate active learning; 2) they create motivation; 3) they allow for meaningful play; and 4) they act as learning technologies. In the four central parts of this book, each of these areas is considered in turn, bringing together related research and theory from the field of game-based learning as well as associated areas such as computer science, psychology, interaction design, game design, game studies and education. As well as providing a theoretical overview, I provide a critique and synthesis based on my own knowledge and experience. Of course, in a single short book I shall, out of necessity, explain only briefly some of the detail and nuances of the theories and research that I discuss, as I hope to provide a broad overview of the field of games and learning as a whole, and I would encourage readers to explore the works cited here in more detail where they are of particular interest.

Digital Games and Learning: Theory and Research is intended for researchers, practitioners, teachers, academics, trainers and others in the fields of learning and game studies, essentially anyone who is interested in developing a broad theoretical grounding in the subject. My previous books (see Whitton, 2010a; Whitton & Moseley, 2012) have concentrated on the practical aspects of using games for learning, and this one aims to redress the balance by focusing more on the theoretical. Having made that claim, I still hope that this book will have practical value in terms of stimulating ideas and debate within the field, and will be accessible to a wide range of readers. Getting the most from this book will depend very much on the preferences and motivations of the reader. It can be read from cover to cover to get a complete overview, but it is designed so that it can be accessed as six separate parts, each covering a different perspective on games and learning, with the four core parts each containing three chapters looking at different topics within the part. My aim is that the material in this book can be accessed and understood at both a part and chapter level, so can be accessed depending on the preferences of the reader.

Scoping the Field

In this book, I have purposefully avoided using the term ‘game-based learning’ in preference to the phrase ‘games and learning’ because I feel that the second term is broader and more inclusive of the ideas that I am exploring here. In the context of this book, there are (at least) eight different ways in which the idea of games and learning can be interpreted.

1.Learning with entertainment games. The use and explicit re-purposing of games that were originally designed for pure entertainment, in an educational setting (e.g. school, university, workplace). This includes high-budget professional games – referred to as commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) as well as non-commercial, hobbyist and low-budget games.

2.Learning with educational games. The use of games developed with the express purpose of learning in an educational setting. This can be games that were designed by commercial organisations for learning as well as bespoke games created by enthusiastic individuals or as part of development projects.

3.Learning inspired by games. Using games as a context for learning, but not learning about the game directly, for example, using chess as a stimulus for designing algorithms.

4.Learning within games. The analysis and consideration of the informal learning that happens while games are played for entertainment.

5.Learning about games. Taking the perspective that games are cultural artefacts and studying them as such.

6.Learning from games. Analysis of the design principles that are embedded within many games, and considering how these principles could be applied to learning situations.

7.Learning through game creation. Learning that takes place during the process of design, development and creation of games.

8.Learning within game communities. Understanding about the groups and communities of practice, both online and real world, which develop around games, and the collaborative and supportive learning activities that take place within these groups.

Throughout the book, I draw on this range of perspectives on games and learning to describe what I believe is a holistic overview of the field. I also intentionally do not focus on any particular area of formal education, but draw on the breadth of research into games and learning from early years, through primary and secondary schooling to further and higher education; I also include informal learning, learning that takes place at work and learning that takes place through the whole of life into retirement and throughout later life.

Background

Researchers, theorists and philosophers have spent years discussing the definition of a ‘game’, with whole books being devoted to creating a definition (e.g. Suits, 1978) in which definitional problems relating to the multi-faceted nature of games are explored (e.g. Wittgenstein, 1958). Therefore, to try to explore the range of definitional discussions within a short book section would be a difficult undertaking, and I am not going to attempt it here (an excellent overview can be found in Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Smith, & Tosca, 2008). In the field of games and learning, I do not believe that debating the exact definition of a ‘game’ is of primary importance because what is of interest is the value of an activity in the context of learning, not whether or not it adheres to a strict definition of a game. However, to enter into any meaningful exploration of an object, it is important to have an explicit understanding of the topic under study, so I propose the following definition of a ‘game’ for the purposes of this book (Huizinga, 1955; Salen & Zimmerman, 2004; based on the ideas of Suits, 1978).

In the context of this book, a game is:

•a challenging activity;

•structured with rules, goals, progression and rewards;

•separate from the real world;

•undertaken with a spirit of play.

In addition, games are:

•often played with, or against, other people.

By a challenging activity, I mean a task that is non-trivial and involves doing something difficult and meaningful. Rules, goals, progression and rewards (tangible, such as prizes or intangible, such as satisfaction) are the basic structural elements of games. The idea of a game being distinct from the real world, and taking place in a separate play space is an important one; games provide a safe alternate space in which ‘real-world’ rules and normal behaviour do not apply. This means that they can, in theory at least, provide safe spaces for experimentation and mistake-making in an environment that is stress-free and where the consequences do not matter outside of the game space. Games, in this context, are inherently playful, undertaken with a lightness of spirit, with scope for exploration and creativity and having fun. Of course, this raises the question about the appropriateness of play in the context of learning, particularly formal education, and this is discussed later on in the book (in Chapter 9). Finally, games are often – but not always – played with other people, either in real time or asynchronously, which highlights the importance of the social dynamics of games in the context of learning.

I have tried here not to dwell on the issue of ‘what is a game?’ but to provide a straightforward working definition that will apply to the vast majority of games applied in learning contexts. Of course, there are examples of activities that are typically described as games (for instance, simple games of chance like Snakes and Ladders that offer little challenge, or professional sports, which are deadly serious for many) that fall outside of this definition. A problem with any usable definition of games is that it will often exclude common, accepted everyday uses of the term, but I believe that this ambiguity is simply something that we have to accept if we are to avoid coming to a definitional standstill, or creating a definition that is so over-complex that it is meaningless in practice.

This book focuses primarily on digital games (although much of its content will be equally relevant to non-digital and traditional games). By digital games, I mean games that are played on, or use, an electronic device. This includes arcade video games, computer games played on desktop or laptop machines, video games played on consoles, or mobile devices such as phones and tablets. It includes games that are played wholly on an electronic device, as well as those that take place in the real world in additional to the digital, for example games using augmented reality, or digital treasure hunting such as geocaching. It includes ‘traditional’ models of digital game, such as first-person shooters or adventure games, along with more recent game developments, such as casual games and social network games. It includes games played alone by a single individual, those played online or in the real world by small groups, to massively multiplayer games, such as role playing or alternate reality games.

As well as being about games and learning, this is a book about theory and research. By ‘theory’ I mean the abstract ways in which substantiated ideas and processes have been conceptualised and articulated; by ‘research’ I mean the evidence that has been generated through investigation into the field. While some scholars argue that theory is unhelpful because it is an overused and ill-defined term, uncritically lauded in itself, which propagates misrepresentations of reality (e.g. Thomas, 2007), for me, theory is about trying to better understand the complexities of the world, and the multiple perspectives that lie within it. It is not simply trying to explain or predict, but a tool with which to explore the different ways in which the world might be conceived. In this respect, theory is an abstraction of reality, or rather an abstraction of many different realities, but I do not see that, in itself, as problematic. The issue for me is about how we use theory, or what we believe it can do for us, not in the very idea of theory itself. Theory is a way of abstracting, of simplifying, of challenging, of offering differing perspectives, of representing in different terms and of providing a basis upon which to critically interrogate a phenomenon. Theory is not just a way of understanding ‘what is’, but a starting point for considering ‘what might be’ and ‘what should be’.

Games and learning is a multidisciplinary field, bringing together disciplines as diverse as cultural studies, game d...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Figures
• Tables
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Games as Active Learning Environments
• Games as Motivational Tools
• Games as Playgrounds
• Games as Learning Technologies
• Conclusion
• References
• Index