Gaming in Education

The idea of creating high-end video games that teach as well as entertain students continues to gain steam. Over at Indiana University Dr. Robert Appelman, the coordinator of technology education at the school, is leading a team of researchers gathering empirical data on the topic.

In early December, as part of that research, students from Jackson Creek Middle School visited the Bloomington campus to participate in the college’s study regarding video games. Researchers gathered various types of data, including information related to student affect, as the middle schoolers played a series of games.

As Dr. Bob notes in this video, students given homework see that gift as anything but fun. Yet, when they are given a video game to try, the students see the task as fun. At I.U., the critical educational research to meld the two together is definitely underway.

What seems to be very compelling about the IU work is the study of student affect as well as movement related to the games.

Indiana seems to be home to the study of such gaming trends. Earlier we reported on a conference held at Purdue University.