Digital games were reviewed as an emerging tool in educational technology. Factors such as instructional effectiveness, time on task, relationship to curricula, student socio-economic status, violence in games, and game mechanics were considered. Despite considerable variability among studies, larger overall effect sizes for the impact of games on…

Digital games and their power as a tool for acquiring knowledge, training skills and changing behavior are--for some laymen--associated with rather negative concepts, and are thought to pose a general health risk. This paper shortly reviews and evaluates the scientific evidence for both positive and negative outcomes. It describes how particularly…