Why Games, Though?

 

We'll let Kurt Squire address this question in a short interview with researchers from the Digital Media and Learning Hub at the University of California Humanities Research Institute (n.d.). Squire brings up some key points that will set the stage for our time together this semester:

• "A sign of good learning through games is at some point people are participating in a broader game-based experience. When people develop a passion for something that doesn’t involve the game, that’s a sign you’ve succeeded."
  
  We'll think together about the relationship between passion and learning, along with the related areas of engagement, motivation, and interest.
   
• "You look for ways to use the game as a tool for producing authentic participation."
  
  We'll think together about what it means to authentically participate in a specific community and consider how games can foster that kind of authenticity.
   
• "We want the games we design to follow a sort of trajectory, or path of participation, that someone can go through."
  
  We'll think together about how games can be one component of a trajectory of learning, challenging perspectives that treat them as one-and-done activities.
   
• "We’re trying to break down the walls of the classroom by intentionally saying good learning doesn’t have to happen within school."
  
  We’ll think together about the "walls of the classroom" (or learning environment, more broadly) and how games, in fostering expansive connections across the home, school, and community, deepen relationships beyond these walls to create more equitable learning opportunities.
   
• "You can design a gamification system that undermines intrinsic motivation or leaves people feeling manipulated by it if it’s not done properly. You have to design participant and reward structures well so they achieve your organization’s goals."
  
  We'll think together about the concept of gamification, including its problems and possibilities.

 

Overall, and to engage with these overarching issues, we'll cover a range of topics during our time together, beginning with game-based learning and gamification (and their differences!) before moving on to story-driven games, role-playing games, multiplayer games, future trends (and concerns) associated with games and learning, and more.

Your goal this week is to begin to develop an identity related to games and learning. Along with Kurt Squire's full interview, a brief entry from Steinkuehler and Squire (2024) will provide a brief history of games and education. One final short reading (Squire, 2015) will open up some ways for us to "critically examine games" throughout the semester with questions like "What value is a particular game bringing? What hidden messages does a game convey? Does the game reveal the intrinsically interesting aspects of a domain? Does the game implicitly communicate why knowledge and skills in this domain are useful?" (p. 88).

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References

Digital Media and Learning Hub. (n.d.). Exploring the educational potential of video game–based learning: A few moments with Kurt Squire. RiFFs: The expert interview series of the Digital Media and Learning Hub. https://dmlhub.net/newsroom/expert-interviews/exploring-the-educational-potential-of-video-game-based-learning/index.html

Squire, K. (2015). Creating the Future of Games and Learning. Independent School, 74(2), n2.