Game-based Learning and the Future of ~Oregon Trail~
I entered the educational system as a student about the same time my small, rural school was placing Apple computers in the elementary school classrooms. While my school district did not have a plethora of technology resources (we didn’t get internet in my high school until 1999), I do remember always having a brownish-gray box with a green and black screen at the back corner of every classroom. As a result, when I look back on my elementary school experience, it is peppered with fond memories of finishing my classwork early so I could sift through the stack of 5.25 inch floppy disks and get lost in games such as Oregon Trail or Where in the World is Carmen San Diego. In fact, there were many days I would give up my personal recess or show up to school early just so I could get more time to play. As a child, I didn’t realize that while I was having all that fun, I was also engaged in deep learning.
Educational games have come a long way since 1985. Today, many students have access to technology in school and at home through not only classroom computers, but at their fingertips through easily accessible applications on tablets and personal phones. For many of our students, educational games are not just an activity to engage in after classroom learning, but the educational games are the classroom learning, and for good reason. Research has shown that game-based learning can have positive effects on student engagement and motivation (Jabbar & Felicia, 2015) as well as increase academic knowledge (Liu & Chen, 2013).
Beyond the classroom, educational games can be beneficial in other settings as well. In fact, the University of Oklahoma’s K20 Center has developed a portfolio of games that address national GEAR UP Goals and can be fully integrated into existing GEAR UP programming. These games can be used in the classroom, as extension activities in after school programs, to supplement curriculum for summer programs, or even as an at-home family activity. The K20 Center’s Game Based Learning (GBL) team currently has 13 games available to download and use for free! The games range from a quick 10-15 minute online card-based game focused on improving college and career awareness to interactive puzzle and strategy games designed to increase student skills related to the functions of algebra and calculus. Additionally, the K20 Center is soon releasing a new game that meets national middle school science standards. AWARE, a weather awareness game in which students assume the role of emergency manager, challenges students to use their knowledge of budget, resource management, and weather to protect their town from the impacts of natural disasters.
To learn more about these games, request free access, and to find additional resources for each game, visit the K20 Center website. You can also access research briefs on each game below.