Digital games offer an appealing environment for assessing student proficiencies, including skills and misconceptions in a diagnostic setting. This paper proposes a dynamic Bayesian network modeling approach for observations of student performance from an educational video game. A Bayesian approach to model construction, calibration, and use in…

The implementation of a learning environment for young African American males, called the Glitch Game Testers, was launched in 2009. The development of this program was based on formative work that looked at the contrasting use of digital games between young African American males and individuals who chose to become computer science majors.…

Children and adolescents spent a considerable portion of their time watching television, movies, playing videogames and on the internet. Media has proved to be a very useful tool in the fields of education, arts, science, sports, and culture. Over the past few decades, there has been a surge in the use of media by the younger generations and…

This response to Rachel Muehrer, Jennifer Jenson, Jeremy Friedberg and Nicole Husain's paper, "Challenges and opportunities: Using a science-based video game in secondary school settings," explores the issues encountered while a science-based video game is introduced in secondary school settings. It highlights the importance of the context, the…

This article briefly summarizes findings from a review of 95 empirical studies of games used in instruction. The article suggests that such efforts are best assessed as transfer from game play to performance on external tasks that are targeted by the instruction. Review findings suggest that such transfer may be expected only if the cognitive…

In this paper we present WEEV (Writing Environment for Educational Video games), a methodology for educational "point-and-click" adventure game authoring. Our approach aims to allow educators to actively collaborate in the educational game development process, using a narrative-based representation. WEEV is based on a pragmatic reinterpretation of…

Stochastic Frontier Regression Analysis was used to investigate strategies and skills that are associated with the minimization of time required to achieve proficiency in video games among students in grades four and five. Students self-reported their video game play habits, including strategies and skills used to become good at the video games…

The relations between media consumption, especially TV viewing, and school performance have been extensively examined. However, even though video game playing may have replaced TV viewing as the most frequent form of media usage, relatively little research has examined its relations to school performance, especially in older students. We surveyed…

Conventional taught learning practices often experience difficulties in keeping students motivated and engaged. Video games, however, are very successful at sustaining high levels of motivation and engagement through a set of tasks for hours without apparent loss of focus. In addition, gamers solve complex problems within a gaming environment…

Troy Thomas and Lynda Wiest share an engaging lesson on statistics involving analysis of real-world data on the top ten video game sales in the United States during a one-week period. Three upper-primary classes completed the lesson, providing insight into the lesson's effectiveness. The lesson description includes attention to the manner in which…

The present research examined how mode of play in an educational mathematics video game impacts learning, performance, and motivation. The game was designed for the practice and automation of arithmetic skills to increase fluency and was adapted to allow for individual, competitive, or collaborative game play. Participants (N = 58) from urban…

Games and other forms of play are used in today's libraries to attract underserved patrons, to introduce patrons to other library resources and services, and to facilitate engagement between library patrons. While many perceive gaming as a new library service, gaming services have been part of librarianship since the nineteenth century through…

Several researchers have highlighted the potential of applying adventure video games in second language acquisition; however, few studies have investigated the impact of adventure games on foreign language learning. This study aimed to examine the effects of a commercial adventure video game on foreign language learning and learners' perceptions…

At the present time, the use of video games goes beyond mere amusement or entertainment due to its potential for developing capacities, dexterity and skills. Thus, video games have extended to environments like that of education, serving as didactic resources within dynamics that respond to the interests and necessities of the 21st century…

Some educational researchers claim that videogames can energize learning in both traditional and non-traditional contexts; cultivate skills more useful to a changing economy; and present information in ways more appealing to students. The notion of "serious games" dates back as early as the 1950s, but so far has failed to make a significant…