Cases on Digital Game-Based Learning: Methods, Models, and Strategies

For educators, researchers, and policy makers, Baek (educational technology, Boise State U.) and Whitton (Manchester Metropolitan U., UK) draw together 26 cases on use of digital games in various learning contexts, from primary grades through college. Researchers working in technology, education, game-based learning, psychology, and other fields in the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia describe the use of entertainment and educational games in teaching, including Pixie Hollow, massively multiplayer online role playing games, Nintendo Wii, the genre of interactive fiction, Civilization IV, mobile phone technology, using games to teach nutritional habits, and a mixed-reality game; designing games, including Medicina, Serious Games, and Broken Window; how game design can be a means for learning, with discussion of Game Maker, Gamestar Mechanic, and other topics; games for teacher education, including Farmville and Death in Rome; how to create effective learning experiences, such as using educational animation and manipulatives to support learning math and the use of virtual worlds; and research on games and learning.

This book is appropriate for educators at all levels who want to learn more through by reading case studies of those who explore the methods, models, and strategies of digital game-based learning for various purposes and levels. [...] These case studies are valuable resources for seeing what has been done, and also for guidance in how to try these techniques in one’s own settings through the detailed guidance and plans presented in each chapter for reproducing the case.