WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES FOR GAMES AND SIMULATIONS ?
Creating effective educational games and simulations require that their features include entertainment and motivation while learning. While most games include a tremendous amount of behavioral activity, they do not all require careful reflection and processing. According to Clark and Mayer, our generation of Millennials, have been raised on the gaming industry and would not respond appropriately to your average power point/spread sheet instructional presentation (Clark and Mayer, 2013). Does this format prove to be more effective? Do students express a greater learning experience during these encounters? Is this appropriate for all learning styles? Will the learning (gaming) experience translate into an effective result? Is the cost to design the game worth the end result? These are some of the questions to consider when pursuing this course of educational design. Unfortunately, there isn't enough research to prove definitively that gaming produces the results that most corporations and educational institutions are searching for. However students are enjoying the process.
Here are some considerations to keep in mind when designing these types of simulations and games.
Principle 1: Match type of game to the learning goals.
Principle 2: Make learning a primary goal of the program.
Principle 3: Design a program with instructional strategies that are proven effective.
Principle 4: Create guidance and structure.
Principle 5: Manage complexity
Principle 6: Make the relevance of your game clear.
Principle 1 Demonstrated (or not)
Nitrotype.com is a fun game for students that will assist them in developing their typing skills. Students compete against other players in their race to the finish as they type a passage. The winner is the typist with the fastest time and the least amount of errors. In this instance speed is an appropriate match for this learning goal. Adding the element of competition makes the game even more enjoyable. While my 9 year old preferred Clever.com for practicing his typing skills, Nitro type was his second choice.
REFERENCES
Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2011). E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designmers of multimedia learning. San Francisco: Pfeiffer
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