What Research Tells Us About Designing and Creating Game-Based Learning

In the past few years, the terms games, gamification, and game-based learning have entered the vocabulary of trainers, eLearning developers, and instructional designers. While the use of games for learning seems like a good match, questions arise. How should games be integrated into the curriculum? Can attitudes and behavior change result from playing a game? What elements of games should eLearning designers borrow from game designers and what elements are not appropriate in a learning situation? Is first-person or third-person a better perspective for game development? How complicated does the game need to be to impact learning?

Participants in this session will learn the answer to these questions by examining the research on game-based learning. You’ll see many examples of game-based learning for performance improvement and highlights of how organizations have used games to achieve learning success, and discover how research-based practices fit in with today's need for quick, effective online instruction.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to apply game-based strategies to the presentation of learning content
• Three principles for adding serious games to learning curriculums
• Four motivational aspects of games that improve learning recall and application

Handout(s)

Recording

December 8, 2011