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Serious Games and Gaming

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Digital Games and Mathematics Learning

Part of the book series: Mathematics Education in the Digital Era ((MEDE,volume 4))

Abstract

This chapter studies serious games, games for education and training. First, the nature of what makes a game is discussed and a distinction drawn between games and simulation. Games are considered at multiple levels. At one level, there are games which focus on developing a physical skill, such as learning to fly a plane or carry out a surgical procedure. At other levels are games which develop high-level social skills and gamification, the addition of game-like elements to add motivation. The progress in developing games for mathematics education is described, along with a general perspective on the state of evaluation of serious games.

Truth is lived, not taught.—The Glass Bead Game (Hesse 1943)

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Widely known through his words used by Beethoven in his 9th symphony, which provided the music for the European Anthem.

  2. 2.

    Working memory is closely related to short-term memory. It is essentially the things you hold in your mind at one time for analysis and manipulation.

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Acknowledgements

The development of the CADGE game engine and CRASL language were funded by the Australian Research Council grant LP0775418 in conjunction with the Australian Defence Force. Work on expertise was carried out under grant DP0881829.

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  1. Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, Australia

    Terry Bossomaier

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  1. Terry Bossomaier
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Correspondence to Terry Bossomaier .

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  1. Faculty of Edu, Sci, Tech & Math, University of Canberra, Canberra, Aust Capital Terr, Australia

    Tom Lowrie

  2. Faculty of Edu, Sci, Tech & Math, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia

    Robyn Jorgensen (Zevenbergen)

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Bossomaier, T. (2015). Serious Games and Gaming. In: Lowrie, T., Jorgensen (Zevenbergen), R. (eds) Digital Games and Mathematics Learning. Mathematics Education in the Digital Era, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9517-3_11

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