Literature Review in Games and Learning

FUTURELAB SERIES

REPORT 8:

Literature Review in Games and Learning

John Kirriemuir, Ceangal Angela McFarlane, Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol

FUTURELAB SERIES

REPORT 8:

CONTENTS:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Literature Review in Games and Learning

John Kirriemuir, Ceangal Angela McFarlane, Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol

SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION SECTION 2 GAMES CULTURES AND PLAY SECTION 3 GAMES AND LEARNING SECTION 4 KEY ISSUES IN DEVELOPING GAMES FOR LEARNING

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FOREWORD

Computer games are today an important part of most children’s leisure lives and increasingly an important part of our culture as a whole. We often, as adults, watch in amazement as children dedicate hours to acting as football coaches, designers of empires, controllers of robots, wizards and emperors. In the past, computer games have been dismissed as a distraction from more ‘worthy’ activities, such as homework or playing outside. Today, however, researchers, teachers and designers of learning resources are beginning to ask how this powerful new medium might be used to support children’s learning. Rather than shutting the door of the school against the computer game, there is now increasing interest in asking whether computer games might be offering a powerful new resource to support learning in the information age. This review is intended as a timely introduction to current thinking about the role of computer games in supporting children’s learning inside and out of school. It highlights the key areas of research in the field, in particular the increasing interest in pleasurable learning, learning through doing and learning through collaboration, that games seem to offer. At the same time, the review takes a measured tone in acknowledging some of the obstacles and challenges to using games within our current education system and within our current models of learning. It goes on to propose some ways in which designers,...