FORUM HIGHLIGHTS EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS OF COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES
 On March 30, education experts, academics and policymakers converged at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. for a discussion on how to incorporate computer and video games into classrooms across the U.S. Organized by the Atlantic and sponsored by the ESA and the AMD Foundation, the “Technologies in Education Forum” emphasized the ability of these tools to bolster student learning and prepare the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs to compete in the global economy.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., chair of the newly-formed Congressional e-Tech Caucus, opened the event by declaring that the U.S. must increase investment in educational technologies, particularly computer and video games, that can teach students vital 21st century skills. She spoke of how computer and video games can help children capture the opportunities of the digital age, igniting students’ interest and enabling them to take charge of their own development. The congresswoman also acknowledged the positive impact games and game-related technologies have already had on scientific research, health and academics.
The forum’s three panels highlighted the many ways computer and video games can enhance education and transform the way students learn. Many participants noted games’ ability to motivate learning and keep students engaged, a particularly important characteristic given the current dropout rate of 25 percent. “Games create a need to know in the player,” said Constance Yowell, director of education for the MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Program. Several panelists also described how games help illustrate abstract concepts, and demonstrate situations and cause-and-effect relationships that are impossible to describe in a classroom setting.
Katie Salen, executive director of the Institute of Play, noted that games continually signal to students when they have completed a task correctly or done something wrong. Panelists suggested this constant feedback loop could revolutionize assessment methods and help teachers individualize their instruction to specific student needs. Forum participants also pointed to the ability of computer and video games to support self-directed learning, enable collaborative problem solving, model scientific processes by challenging players with if-then problems, and advance systems thinking as additional educational benefits. Others argued that games can help students overcome fears of failure in the classroom. “The power of gaming is the kid who will lose the game, lose the game, and they keep coming back,” said Mary Cullinane, director of innovation and business development for Microsoft Education.
Several representatives of the Obama administration took part in the event, outlining new federal policy proposals intended to encourage the use of new technologies in education. Karen Cator, director of the office of education technology for the U.S. Department of Education, noted President Obama’s recent proposal to launch Advanced Research Projects Agency-Education, a $90 million grant competition that seeks to combine the capabilities of the public and private sectors to stimulate research and development of innovative educational technologies. The program will be modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which develops technologies aimed at enhancing U.S. military capabilities. DARPA’s Russell Shilling noted during one panel that the military is already using games to train servicemembers, particularly in handling stressful situations and emergency medical care.
Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra closed the event with a keynote address that focused on the critical role of technology in increasing U.S. productivity and innovation across the economy, particularly within the education sector, and how an expanded adoption of learning technologies would enable the U.S. to “out-educate, out-innovate, and out-build” global competitors. Chopra also announced the winners of the National STEM Video Game Challenge, a competition to motivate interest in science, technology, engineering and math subjects by tapping into the natural passion of youth for playing and making video games. Twelve students in grades 5-8 were selected as winners in the Youth Prize category for their original game designs. Filament Games’ science-based You Make Me Sick! won the Grand Prize in the Developer Prize category.
For more information on the forum, or to view Chief Technology Office Aneesh Chopra’s keynote address, please click here.
For the full list of National STEM Video Game Challenge winners, please click here.
THE PRINCETON REVIEW NAMES TOP GRADUATE SCHOOLS FOR GAME DESIGN
Colleges and universities across the country are developing programs that help teach and train the computer and video game industry professionals of tomorrow. Research conducted by the ESA found 300 American colleges, universities and technical schools offered programs and courses in video game design and development during the 2010-11 academic year, an almost 20 percent increase over the previous year.
 In response to this growth, The Princeton Review and GamePro magazine partnered to create a list of the top video game design programs in the U.S. and Canada. The list, first released in 2010, aims to help students select the school that best meets their needs. This year, the organizations released an expanded list that includes a ranking of the top graduate-level game design programs in addition to undergraduate-level programs.
The Princeton Review selected the schools based on a survey of administrators at 150 schools offering video game design degrees. The survey focused on categories such as academics, faculty, infrastructure and career opportunities.
The University of Southern California, located in downtown Los Angeles, received the top spot on The Princeton Review’s list of graduate programs. The School of Cinematic Arts’ Interactive Media Division and the GamePipe Laboratory, a program within the Department of Computer Science at the Viterbi School of Engineering, run the university’s game-related degree programs collaboratively. The GamePipe Laboratory supplements the more traditional academic requirements of the degree program with learn-by-doing team projects. The program stages Demo Days at the conclusion of the fall and spring semesters, providing students an opportunity to display their work before an audience of representatives from the computer and video game industry and talent agencies. More than 100 students are currently working towards an M.A. through this prestigious program.
Ranked second on the list, the University of Central Florida (UCF) offers a master’s degree in Interactive Entertainment, a program housed in the school’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy. Located in Orlando, Fla., the program allows students to follow one of three tracks: art, production or programming. UCF started the program in 2004, after representatives from Electronic Arts approached school officials for help in hiring hundreds of video game programmers, artist and producers.
Southern Methodist University (SMU) ranked third on the list for its program, which features courses taught by industry veterans. Over 400 students have graduated from the program. Rochester Institute of Technology ranked fourth, and is known for its unique ‘capstone experience,’ where students construct their own working game engine and software titles and present them to program faculty as well as the public. Drexel University rounded out the top five with its Graduate Certificate in Learning in Game-Based Environments program.
The University of Southern California also led The Princeton Review’s list of the top undergraduate programs, followed by the University of Utah, DigiPen Institute of Technology, the Art Institute of Vancouver, and Michigan State University.
These undergraduate and graduate programs are helping to prepare the future innovators of the entertainment software industry. As more schools expand their academic offerings to include programs on video game development and design, a greater number of graduates will be equipped to take on top-paying jobs and establish successful, rewarding careers in this innovative and growing industry.
PLAYING WITH NUMBERS: IT ALL
ADDS UP
 Teachers across the country are looking to get their students excited about learning new math skills as Math Education Month begins. Many are incorporating educational, math-based computer and video games into their lesson plans. In addition to being a great way to keep students engaged, educators are increasingly recognizing the value of computer and video games as effective learning tools, particularly in science and math instruction. | |
Games such as Tabula Digita’s DimensionM are gaining popularity in K-12 classrooms across the country. The computer program challenges players to navigate virtual 3D environments and complete missions by successfully solving math problems. The multi-player games cover pre-algebra and algebra topics, and provide students with an opportunity to practice concepts already learned in class. Since its release in 2007, more than 13 of the country’s top school districts in states such as New York, Illinois, Florida and Texas have adopted DimensionM into their curricula.
Two independent studies confirm that playing DimensionM produces real, positive results for students. Researchers at the University of Central Florida found that high school students in Orange County, Fla. who played the games scored significantly higher, and demonstrated greater gains in their scores from pre-test to post-test, on district benchmark exams than their peers who had not played the games. A study of middle school students conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington found that playing DimensionM generated more positive attitudes towards math, and increased students' confidence in their mathematic abilities. These findings suggest that an expanded integration of entertainment software into the classroom can enhance learning outcomes and generate greater interest in math.
DimensionM is only one example of a math-based game. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ website features a variety of online games for different grade levels, such as Okta’s Rescue for grades K-2, Deep Sea Duel for grades 3-8, and Vector Investigation: Boat to the Island for grades 6-12. In addition, the Education Arcade at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed Lure of the Labyrinth, an online game for middle school students that focuses on pre-algebra skills. A number of commercial computer and video games also provide students with an opportunity to continue their learning at home, such as Nintendo’s Brain Age Express: Math and O-Games, Inc.’s Challenge Me: Maths Workout.
The United Nations Children’s Fund also acknowledged the value of games in encouraging students to learn and practice their math skills. Last month, the organization hosted the fourth annual World Math Day, and sponsored a global online game competition. Over the course of the two-day event, over 5 million children from 218 countries competed against each other in a series of 60-second math challenges.
Math-based computer and video games provide a fun, easily accessible way for students across the nation and around the globe to master essential mathematics skills during Mathematics Education Month, helping to build a solid foundation of knowledge that is vital to future success. |
