Games Can Teach

Science Magazine's Video on Game-Based Learning

Science Magazine Covers GBL

Science Magazine has posted a video introduction to their special "Education and Technology" issue.

I couldn't agree more about the need to have real data telling educators (and developers) what does and does not work, and that we need a better distribution model for educational games.

However, It's always a little disingenuous to talk about World of Warcraft and The Sims when trying to make the point that video games can reach millions of players. WoW and The Sims are outliers - the most successful games out there.

Posted in: News

Submitted by: Joe Rheaume on: 01/19/2009 - 14:21

Comments: 0

X++: Tip of the Day

X++ Build #14

There's a really interesting experiment going on over at GamingYourWay.com.

Richard "Squize" Myles, one of Gaming Your Way's two members, is posting every single build in the development of his new game X++.

Posted in: Games

Submitted by: Joe Rheaume on: 01/16/2009 - 16:23

Comments: 4

Workshop at ASTD 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 2, 2009
Contact: Web Courseworks, (608) 824-8900

‘Chronotron’ creator will present at top eLearning conference
Free interactivity calculator to be launched as part of game design workshop

MADISON, Wis. — The creator of the Web-based video game “Chronotron” will present at a pre-conference workshop at American Society of Training and Development’s TechKnowledge 2009, a premier conference for designers developers and leaders of eLearning implementations.

Joe Rheaume will appear as the creator of “Chronotron” and as a representative of Web Courseworks, the eLearning production company where he works as lead programmer.

Posted in: News

Submitted by: Jon Aleckson on: 01/15/2009 - 12:22

Comments: 0

IncrediBots: Instructions vs Tutorials

IncrediBots

Welcome to Games Can Teach. My name is Joe Rheaume, and I'm a designer and programmer of educational games. The purpose of this blog is give you some practical examples of how games can be used as educational tools.

I thought I’d begin with an example any casual game designer probably knows by now.

No one reads the instructions. You need a tutorial!

There are so many free casual games out there, that you'd better make sure any player trying out your game for the first time is having fun as soon as possible. Why should they spend the time to read about how to play if they're not totally sure the game is worth it? Even if they do try to read the instructions, chances are that not much is going to sink in. They see a big wall of text, and they have no context, because they haven't tried the game yet. Instant Cognitive Overload.

Posted in: Games

Submitted by: Joe Rheaume on: 01/14/2009 - 15:16

Comments: 1

CHANGING THE GAME will help businesses succeed with game-based learning

Changing The Game

CHANGING THE GAME

How Video Games are Transforming the Future of Business

By David Edery and Ethan Mollick.

Book. 219 pages. FT Press, 2008.

Changing the Game not only gives you fun stories to retell at the water cooler. With a little endnote browsing, you can find the academic research, journal articles, and popular magazine stories that substantiate claims you can use for a business case to create a serious game. The point of the game isn't just to have fun; it's to have fun and help your business initiative succeed.

Posted in: Research

Submitted by: Jon Aleckson on: 01/14/2009 - 15:10

Comments: 0

Announcing GamesCanTeach.com!

Welcome to GamesCanTeach! This blog is a non-commercial project of Web Courseworks. Our goal is to promote game-based learning by bridging the gap between academic research and practice, enabling game-based learning practitioners, academics, developers, teachers, trainers, and everyone else who cares about game-based learning to:

Keep up on the best ideas being generated by the casual Flash game development community,
Engage with the insights of academic research into game-based learning,
Bring those two realms together in their work, and,
Have fun doing it.

Posted in: News

Submitted by: Andy Hicken on: 01/14/2009 - 14:30

Comments: 0

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