Survey of Electronic Games that Teach Ms. Diane Gaither and Dr. Carol L. Redfield Computer Science Department San Antonio, Texas AACE/SITE Conference in Orlando, Florida March 2006

Overview Games of Old Games of Today Research Performed Research Findings Further Research

Games of Old Musical Chairs Letter recognition –Jingles –Rhymes Number recognition –Counting fingers & toes –Number blocks –Adding/Subtracting sticks/marbles/jacks We didn’t even know we were learning!

Games of Today Arcades Laser tag –LaserQuest Handheld –GameBoy Consoles –GameCube, Xbox, PS2 Internet games Computer Games –Reader Rabbit –Math Blaster –World of Warcraft –Star Wars Galaxies –Starfleet Academy –Age of Empires –Civilization

Research Performed Addressing –What educational games are out there and what do they teach? –What effectiveness studies are available? What we did –Designed database determined game characteristics we wanted to find –Collected the data –Created the database –Populate the database –Created a website

Where we looked Commercial stores Educational facilities –Home school co-ops –Public schools –Private schools Internet Catalogs Personal libraries

What games are out there? Catalogued over 1000 games Multiple platforms Wide content range Variety of teaching methods All grade levels

Game Platforms None for game consoles were some for older consoles

Educational Content

Teaching Methods

Major Grade Differences Toddler – Elementary Middle School High School - Adult

Toddler - Elementary

Middle School

High School - Adult

Effectiveness of the Games Study done in 1999 presented at AACE/SITE International Conference* –The Learning Company Reader Rabbit As of summer 2005, no effectiveness studies were found on any games –Some anecdotal references * Redfield, C.L. (1999). “Sky’s the Limit Charter School: Offering a Tutor-based Curriculum,” Proceedings of the 1999 Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) International Conference, San Antonio, March 1999: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education.

Further Research Perform an Effectiveness Study –Select Game –Select test group –Select control group –Perform study –Analyze data Apply findings to new games

Research Contribution Data is available for existing games The data can be used as a resource for further study The site can be used to query a specific search request by parents, teachers and administrators –