Computer games can be considered complex learning environments in which players require instructional support to engage in cognitive processes such as selecting and actively organizing/integrating new information. We used meta-analytical techniques to test if instructional support enhances learning in game-based learning (k = 107, N[subscript adj]…

Computer simulations combined with games have been successfully used to teach conceptual physics. However, there is no clear methodology for guiding the design of these types of games. To remedy this, we propose a structured methodology for the design of conceptual physics games that explicitly integrates the principles of the intrinsic…

In this paper, we present an initial study to determine the subject preferences for educational computer games for children, in which 150 education professionals participated. From the results of this first study, we have developed an iPhone game for transmitting knowledge as part of multiculturalism, solidarity and tolerance following established…

Addiction to Massive Multiple Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) among juveniles has become a serious problem in Korea and has led to legislation prohibiting juveniles from playing games after midnight. One key factor in gaming addiction is the so-called narrative, or story, gamers create for themselves while playing. This study investigated how…

This article focuses on the didactical implications when commercial educational computer games are used in Norwegian kindergartens by analysing the dramaturgy and the didactics of one particular game and the game in use in a pedagogical context. Our justification for analysing the game by using dramaturgic theory is that we consider the game to be…

Massively multiple online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are very popular among students. Educational MMORPGs, however, are very rare, as are studies on gamers' behavioral patterns during such games. The current study is an empirical observation and analysis of the behavioral patterns of 100 gamers participating in an educational MMORPG called…

This research reports and analyzes for archival purposes surveyed perceptions, use, and access by 259 United States based exemplar Primary and Secondary educators of computer-based games and technology for classroom instruction. Participating respondents were considered exemplary as they each won the Milken Educator Award during the 1996-2009…

Museums in Taiwan have developed various digital archives, but few people have visited these digital archives. Therefore, this study designed a digital archaeology game for high school students to play. Based on the concept of "learning for playing" (i.e., players who want to win will study more), the digital archaeology game contest…

This paper reports a study conducted to formally evaluate a social problem-solving skills game during the start of the development to ensure that the desired game attributes were successfully embodied in the final game. Two methods, heuristic evaluation and participatory design, were adopted to assess whether the features of the game pose…

This in-situ, descriptive case study examined the potential of implementing computer mathematics games as an anchor for tutoring of mathematics. Data were collected from middle school students at a rural pueblo school and an urban Hispanic-serving school, through in-field observation, content analysis of game-based tutoring-learning interactions,…

In this paper, we present an educational game for an iPhone and a Tablet PC. The main objective of the game was to reinforce children's knowledge about the water cycle. The game included different interaction forms like the touch screen and the accelerometer and combined AR mini-games with non-AR mini-games for better gameplay immersion. The main…

Research in education suggests that computer games can serve as powerful learning environments, however, teachers perceive many obstacles to using games as teaching tools. In this study, we examine three science teachers' implementation and perceptions of a curriculum unit incorporating the game, Mission Biotech (MBt) and a set of supporting…

Do girls have more competition anxiety and exogenous cognitive load than equally able boys during the playing of stressful competitive on-line games? This question led to the adoption of a technology acceptance model to compare the influence factors of competitors in sequential and synchronous games. Confirmatory factor analysis of the data on 220…

This paper examines the literature on computer games and serious games in regard to the potential positive impacts of gaming on users aged 14 years or above, especially with respect to learning, skill enhancement and engagement. Search terms identified 129 papers reporting empirical evidence about the impacts and outcomes of computer games and…

Adolescents spend a substantial part of their leisure time with playing games and using social media such as Facebook. The present paper examines the link between adolescents' computer and Internet activities and computer literacy (defined as the ability to work with a computer efficiently). A cross-sectional study with N = 200 adolescents, aged…