On Fighting Shadows (OFS) is a two-dimensional roleplaying game that tells the story of Marvin, a young adult that experiences hidden disabilities, focusing on hydrocephalus and its possible mental health implications, such as anxiety and depression. Developed with the goal of being both informational and engaging, OFS aims to increase awareness…

This article describes two traditional American games and discusses how they can be implemented in a physical education curriculum. These games can be enjoyed by all students and can provide a wide range of benefits, including the continuation of the legacy of some of the most historic games in North America. Rationales such as multicultural…

In the past few years, an increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) by businesses across a range of industries has led to greater demand for employees with AI skills. This raises the question of how educators can introduce AI technologies to undergraduate business students while also developing their higher-order thinking skills and preparing…

Animals depend on their surroundings for their survival. In consuming their food, animals are consuming energy. This cycling of matter and the accompanying flow of energy within an ecosystem occurs because of interactions among and between organisms. To guide students in modeling how ecosystems function, the authors share "Ecosystem…

We describe the design, creation, and preliminary evaluation of a hands-on interactive game, "Giant Genes," which was developed to explain the concept of genetics and the central dogma of gene expression to audiences at Cardiff University's Brain Games. The Giant Genes game is a modified version of the traditional game "Jenga."…

Despite tremendous interest in social games and game studies, the potential of game heuristics for the field of mixed methods remains unknown. This article introduces game heuristics to mixed methods research, showing how it was used in a specific study on the survival probabilities on the "Titanic." Specifically, we describe how game…

Digital games can provide fun, motivating, and challenging experiences for students in the classroom. Recent research on educational games has shown that game play can positively influence academic achievement, engagement, and 21st century skills (Abdul Jabbar & Felicia, 2015; Qian & Clark, 2016). When playing games, students solve…

Educational escape rooms are immersive puzzle-based games that rely on teamwork skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication. This paper describes the development of desert island themed escape rooms in a blended learning environment using physical and online puzzles that were hosted on Genially. The blended escape rooms were…

This article discusses the role of student motivation and learning experiences in online course environments at the post- secondary level. We offer guidance for instructors to design online experiences that encourage students to learn actively, allowing them to persist at academic goals and get the most out of the material. In discussing relevant…

The potential of games to support language learning and acquisition -- be it in the digital wilds or in the foreign language classroom -- has often been discussed. In this article, I will look at digital games from an explicitly plurilingual perspective. I describe five existing games that demonstrate a plurilingual outlook (Romanica, MElang-E,…

This article identifies and describes several different approaches to using game-mediated language learning (GML2), drawing in particular on Reinhardt and Sykes' (2012; 2014) framework and related literature. The article concludes with a brief discussion of potential applications to adult literacy and basic education settings and learners.

The Interactive Strategy Training for Active Reading and Thinking (iSTART) game-based intelligent tutoring system (ITS) was developed with a foundation of comprehension theory and principles of learning science to improve students' comprehension of complex scientific texts. iSTART has been shown to improve reading comprehension for learners from…

In this article, the authors share how gameplay with dominoes can leverage students' quantitative reasoning to promote number development and additive reasoning. This article explores three domino games (Basic Dominoes, Just Before/Just After, and Ten Train), and considers the following: (1) rules and details; (2) students' subitizing and unit…

Educational games are now seen as effective learning tools. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding the core dimensions of Game-based learning (GBL) for comprehensive design, analysis, and evaluation due to inconsistent use of elements. The literature on GBL reports an extensive diversity of elements used for the design and evaluation…

Research concerning play and technology is largely aimed at expanding the knowledge of what technological play may be and, to a lesser extent, examines what happens to children's play when it encounters digital tools. In order to explore some of the complexity in play, this article elaborates on how Latour's concepts of 'translation' and…