Abstract
This chapter uses autoethnography to examine game-based learning approaches to teaching. It begins with an analysis of educational games and concludes that curricular games are goal-driven simulations where players can experiment in a risk-free environment. The author then pulls out the essential elements of game-based learning and examines ways in which free and/or ubiquitous technology tools can be used to design curricular games. This chapter addresses common misconceptions about creating digital games and counters them by showing how technological tools that are commonly used by educators can be repurposed into game creation tools. It emphasizes a game design process where the game is derived from the content in order to enable students to engage in deeper learning. The chapter concludes by encouraging educators to explore and make their own discoveries and to share these discoveries with others.
“Students frequently walk away from homework when it is too difficult, but difficult games are another matter–kids walk away from games when they’re too easy.”—Devaney (2014)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Works Cited
Arhar, J., Holly, M., & Kasten, W. (2001). Action research for teachers: Travelling the yellow brick road. Prentice Hall.
Bransford, J., Brown, A., and Cocking, R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
Devaney, L. (July 7th, 2014). 5 gaming dynamics that truly engage students. eSchoolNews, at http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/07/07/gaming-engaging-students-365/. Retrieved Nov. 6, 2015.
Gee, J. P. (2007). Good videogames + good learning: Collected essays on videogames, learning, and literacy. Peter Lang.
Hamilton, M. L., & Pinnegar, S. (2000). On the threshold of a new century: Trustworthiness, integrity, and self-study in teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 51(3), 234–240.
Huizinga, J. (1955/2006). Nature and significance of play as a cultural phenomenon from Homo Ludens: A study of the play element in culture. In K. Salen & E. Zimmerman (Eds.), The game designer reader: A rules of play anthology (pp. 96–120). MIT Press.
Jackson, J. (2009). Game-based teaching: What educators can learn from videogames. Teaching Education, 20(3), 291–304.
John Seely Brown, (2000) Growing Up: Digital: How the Web Changes Work, Education, and the Ways People Learn. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning 32(2), 11–20
Kellinger, J. (2018). Gaming and college reading. In R. Flippo & T. Bean (Eds.), Handbook of college reading and study strategy research (3rd ed., pp. 168–177). Taylor and Francis.
Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., & Salen, K. (2009). Moving learning games forward: Obstacles, opportunities, and openness. The Education Arcade at MIT.
Laurel, B. (2001). Utopian Entrepreneur. MIT Press.
Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. Basic Books.
Prensky, M. (2011). Comments on research comparing games to other instructional methods. In S. Tobias & J. D. Fletcher (Eds.), Computer games and instruction (pp. 251–280). Information Age Publishers.
Samaras, A., Hicks, M., & Berger, J. G. (2004). Self-study through personal history. In J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (pp. 905–942). Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Schell, J. (2008). The art of game design: A book of lenses. Morgan Kaufmann.
Shute, V. (2011). Stealth assessment in computer-based games to support learning. In S. Tobias & J. D. Fletcher (Eds.), Computer games and instruction (pp. 503–524). Information Age Publishers.
Tierney, W. (2000). Undaunted courage: Life history and the post-modern challenge. In N. Denzin, Y. Lincoln (Eds.). Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 537–544), New York: Sage Publications.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kellinger, J. (2021). Repurposing Tech Tools for Game-Based Learning. In: Daniela, L. (eds) Smart Pedagogy of Game-based Learning . Advances in Game-Based Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76986-4_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76986-4_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-76985-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-76986-4
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)