Children are spending a considerable amount of their leisure time online. Very often they play games on tablets or smartphone devices. These recent innovations have led to a new paradigm, as "learning via play" is gradually emerging in education. Technically-advanced digital games are increasingly being associated with learning. Therefore, this conceptual paper considers relevant theoretical underpinnings that explain the social and psychological impact of games on educational programmes and training. Although, it may appear that digital game-based learning is still far from mainstream, academia are investigating the costs and benefits of digital games in terms of learning outcomes and motivation. Several studies have indicated that games can trigger positive or negative effects on a large number of conative, cognitive, sensorimotor and social skills of children. At the same time, many digital natives are already mastering new digital skills and information as they often think laterally and strategically to solve problems. Notwithstanding, there is potential for them to learn relevant skills and tasks through games and simulations that may be used in future employment prospects. However, a key challenge for educational leaders and stakeholders is designing effective, sophisticated digital games that are purposive learning tools in classroom environments. This paper implies that educators ought to consider taking an iterative approach as they create, implement and refine game designs. It is hoped that this process will involve an ongoing cycle of extensive testing and rapid, quality developments. Finally, this contribution opens up some avenues for future research in digital game-based learning.

Dear Mark, 

I recommend you idea of Edutainment which is combines fun and learning. My research group had conducted an experiment where we used location-based games as educational tools.

Refer to digital games in education I things that literature below could be useful for you.

Aarseth E. (2003). Playing Research: Methodological approaches to game

analysis. Retrived 21.03.2014, z : http://www.bendevane.com/VTA2012/herrstubbz/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/02.GameApproaches2.pdf.

Aarseth E. (2004). Genre trouble: Narrativism and the art of simulation. [In:] N. Wardrip- Fruin, P. Harrigan (red.). First Person: New media as story, performance, and game. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

Frasca, G. (2003). Simulation versus Narrative: Introduction to Ludology. [In:] M. J.P. Wolf and B. Perron (red.), Video/Game/Theory. New York: Routledge.

Haring P, Chakinska D, Ritterfield U (2011). Understanding serious gaming: a psychological perspective, improving learning and motivation through educational games: multidisciplinary approaches. IGI Global, Pennsylvania, pp 413–430

Amory A., Naicker K., Vincent J., Adams C. (1999). The use of computer games as an educational tool: identification of appropriate game types and game elements. Br J Educ Tech 30(4):311–321. doi:10.1111/1467-8535.00121.

Jurczyk-Romanowska, E., Gulanowski, J., Marcinkiewicz, A. (2014). The effect of location-based game on the learning of seniors in the field of information and communications technologies, Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 5, No. 19, 2014, s. 396-404.

Michael D., Chen S. (2006). Serious games: games that educate, train, and inform. Thomson Course Technology PTR, Boston.

Dear Mark,

Last year finished my PhD research on the use of games in primary school mathematics education. We did a class-based intervention study to investigate the effectiveness of different ways of implementing the games in the educational program. Please see our recent paper and my PhD thesis.

Thesis Using mini-games for learning multiplication and division: A...

Article Effects of playing mathematics computer games on primary sch...

Mark,

Just published a study on the use of Tablet computer games in kindergarten to grade 2 math education. 

https://www.academia.edu/10094417/Intuitive_or_Idiomatic_An_interdisciplinary_study_of_child-tablet_computer_interaction

I am overwhelmed with the positive response... I will get in touch with you. Thanks for your support, much appreciated!

Mark

Ver y interesting subject for a research enterprise. I hace done some observacional research con how students get involved in foreign Languages games (English) that involve some degree of competición...

Kind Regards,

Jorge Benavides

I did my Masters thesis on the levels of thinking students were using while working with commercial computer simulation games:

Philip, D. N. (1999). Higher Level Approaches to Knowledge and Commercial Computer Simulations. (Master of Arts), Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, Toronto.

Unfortunately, I don't currently have a digital copy to upload. (It was backed up to drives that either crashed or in incompatible formats.)

Hi Mark,

A colleague of mine, Professor Catherine Beavis, has just completed a major project investigating the use of digital games in primary schools. Here details are pasted below. Cheers, Kevin.

http://www.griffith.edu.au/education/school-education-professional-studies/staff/academic-staff/catherine-beavis

Mark, my Master's is in Computing in Education. I have quite a bit of experience in discussing the cognitive and social affects of virtual reality, virtual worlds, and augmented reality in educational settings. Let me know what I can do to help. My email is [email protected]. Best!

i work at the University of Kent Centre for Child Protection where we have been the first to design child protection simulations/games as teaching and learning tools, both for use by CP professionals and young people themselves.  They are proving highly effective with young people.  Visit our website for more information: http://www.kent.ac.uk/sspssr/ccp/simulationsindex.html

Really interested in this area and simply the need to engage with young people through the mediums that they are most familiar with.  We are currently publishing some research in this area which i can make available in due course.

I should have posted this earlier. MindShift at KQED has a nice guide to digital games in learning:

Shapiro, J., & Tekinbas, K. S. (2014). Mind/Shift guide to digital games & learning (pp. 41). Online: KQED Mind/Shift.

Available: http://www.kqed.org/assets/pdf/news/MindShift-GuidetoDigitalGamesandLearning.pdf

http://www.kqed.org/assets/pdf/news/MindShift-GuidetoDigitalGamesandLearning.pdf

there are two reference article discussed about the use of digital games in education, hopefully can help your research.

Dear all,

Thanks for your insightful support...

Mark

I recommend the following article for a challenging perspective - do gamers really learn more? http://www.utbildning.gu.se/infoglueCalendar/digitalAssets/1775376948_BifogadFil_Why%20Gamers%20Don't%20Learn%20More%20FINAL.pdf

Hello Mark!

I do not know whether this can help you or not, but MITx is about to start an online course on Designing and Development of Games for Learning. While you should not expect most of the users to be researchers, but learners, it is possible that you find some people who can work with you (or know someone who does).

https://www.edx.org/course/design-development-games-learning-mitx-11-127x#.VRMyvI6YG9E

I wish that helps.

Dear Mark, I enclose a list of video games that TeachThought identified as good for learning. The post mentions the criteria that they used in establishing the list.

http://www.teachthought.com/apps-2/50-of-the-best-video-games-for-learning-2015/

Many thanks for your support! Much appreciated...

Mark

Just seeing your post. I am a researcher on games and utilisations, with interests in design, gameflow, gender, teaching-learning and analytics. Is there any way we could collaborate?