As part of a final project for a general psychology course, students were required to play a game, either digital/video or on a board. Students selected their own games, and were asked to identify psychological principles in their game play. Topics included the brain, sensation and perception, human development, learning, motivation, intelligence,…

This article discusses the application of game design thinking as a learning process for scaffolding co-creativity in Higher Education based on the GameChangers initiative (gamify.org.uk) part-funded by the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE). Taking into account the relationship between play, technology and learning, the game…

Pervasive gaming is a reality-based gaming genre originating from alternative theatrical forms in which the performance becomes a part of the players' everyday life. In recent years much research has been done on pervasive gaming and its potential applications towards specific domains. Pervasive games have been effective with regards to…

Facing the need to introduce new approaches to teaching the art of programming to undergraduate Computer and Information Technology (CIT) students as part of the transition of the former Purdue College of Technology to the novel concept and status of Purdue Polytechnic, we came up with the idea of offering a pilot 300-level course entitled…

The mechanism responsible for retrieval-induced forgetting has been the subject of rigorous theoretical debate, with some researchers postulating that retrieval-induced forgetting can be explained by interference (J. G .W. Raaijmakers & E. Jakab, 2013) or context reinstatement (T. R. Jonker, P. Seli, & C. M. MacLeod, 2013), whereas others…

In this paper we consider the problem of making design of digital games accessible to primary school children and their teachers, and we argue for the need of digital games that are easy to alter by young learners. We know from previous research projects that digital games do not enable children to express their creativity at full, in contrast…

Video games have become an integral part of the day to day lives of many people across gender, race, and age in the United States. They have become particularly important in the college student population, with nearly two thirds of all college students playing on a regular basis (Lee, 2003). While much of the scholarly research in this area…

Motivated by the link between play and learning, proposed in literature to have a neurobiological basis, we study the electroencephalogram and associated psychophysiology of "learning game" players. Forty-five players were tested for topic comprehension by a questionnaire administered before and after solo playing of the game Peacemaker…

Learning physics often requires overcoming common misconceptions based on naïve interpretations of observations in the everyday world. One proposed way to help learners build appropriate physics intuitions is to expose them to computer simulations in which motion is based on Newtonian principles. In addition, playing video games that require…

Games and other forms of play are used in today's libraries to attract underserved patrons, to introduce patrons to other library resources and services, and to facilitate engagement between library patrons. While many perceive gaming as a new library service, gaming services have been part of librarianship since the nineteenth century through…

Conventional taught learning practices often experience difficulties in keeping students motivated and engaged. Video games, however, are very successful at sustaining high levels of motivation and engagement through a set of tasks for hours without apparent loss of focus. In addition, gamers solve complex problems within a gaming environment…

In large measure the authors agree with Tobias and Fletcher's (2012) comments stating that clearer operational definitions of game features are needed to enable research on games and learning. The authors cannot accept that games are a subset of simulations, preferring to identify instances when games and simulations overlap and when they do not.…

If one wants to learn about the role that games play in education, then the University of Wisconsin at Madison is the place to go. It's home to the Games, Learning, and Society Initiative and its current director Dr. Kurt Squire. In this interview, Squire talks about his research and how libraries can embrace gaming as a tool for learning.

A 3D multi-user virtual environment holds promise to support and enhance student online learning communities due to its ability to promote global synchronous interaction and collaboration, rich multisensory experience and expression, and elaborate design capabilities. Second Life[R], a multi-user virtual environment intended for adult users 18 and…

Playing entertainment computer, video, and portable games, namely, digital games, is receiving more and more attention in academic research. Games are studied in different situations with numerous methods, but little is known about if and how the playing situation affects the user experience (UX) in games. In addition, it is hard to understand and…