The Problem With Educational Video Games
A view from a high school "gamer"
The Periodic Table is daunting for many students. It is such a small table with information packed into it. Each element in the periodic table contains a myriad of data. On the other hand, for every pokemon you capture in a Pokemon game, there are a ton of different stats and characteristics related to each capture. You need to understand the information in both a chemistry classroom and a Pokemon game. One is intimidating, but the other is exciting for students.
An identical relationship can be seen between Minecraft redstone and formulas in various science subjects. Minecraft redstone is a set of items in Minecraft to help you with automating tasks. There are many different redstone items that can only work as expected if you place them in the right place. For this, you need to know how each redstone item works and how it works when placed near another redstone item. Similarly, there are many formulas you have to know in a science classroom. Each formula has multiple variables, and just like in Minecraft, you need to know what each variable represents and how it affects other variables. And again, like the previous example, Minecraft redstone mechanics are more interesting to learn than science formulas.
As you can see, every video game teaches something. The only issue is that it introduces concepts that only apply to that virtual world. The way the information is presented significantly impacts how exciting it is to learn. The power of these games comes from the fact that you learn through experience. But in a classroom, you get taught all the information first through lectures/lessons. These games might be very effective, but not all educational video games are as effective.
Goals For Educational Video Games
To be helpful in a classroom, I believe two main goals need to be achieved.
- Be educational — All video games teach concepts, but these games have to help with specifically real-world concepts. There needs to be some sort of real-world educational factor within the game. Without that, it will just be a regular one. There are two ways a game can be educational. The game can either teach the skills or help with practicing the skills.
- Be entertaining — I think we can all agree that an educational video game has to be fun to play because it is finally a game.
These are two simple goals that are easily achieved by regular video games. Why are there not that many effective educational ones though?
Why Most Educational Games Are Not Successful In Meeting These Goals
It’s simple. It all boils down to not many resources being spent on making the game. Here is why.
Our chemistry class uses a tool called Learn360 which contains videos and activities. Even though this isn't really an educational game, I count it as one because it has the same aims. It would be very effective and meet these goals if it weren’t for one thing. Bugs. It’s littered with them everywhere. There are many issues; some are as critical as marking a correct answer wrong. When using this software, noticing a wrong answer is highly frustrating as a student. I am never sure whether it is a mistake I have made or the software. This makes it less educational and less entertaining. It loses the educational aspect because there is no proper way to know if you have the right or wrong answer. But even if there were no bugs in this game, it still would not be as entertaining.
Another problem with educational video games is the lack of high-quality graphics. Sometimes these games have poor graphics quality. This might seem like a minor issue regarding the effectiveness of the games. But have you seen any regular video games with very poor images? Consider video game remakes. They are prevalent. However, they sometimes don't have any new content in them. Why is it just as entertaining though? More than the plot of the game, I feel it has to do with the improved quality of the game.
Additionally, I feel that more effort and energy is directed towards games for younger kids. There are tons of educational games available for elementary and middle school students for various subjects. To name a few
- ST Math (Only goes up to 8th grade)
- Prodigy (Only goes up to 8th grade)
However, high school students and even students pursuing higher education still enjoy playing games. There are already many educational games available for elementary and middle school students. Of course, there might be a few exceptional ones for high school students, but there are still not as many compared to the ones for younger students.
When you search for educational video games for high school subjects, you can’t find as many games. I was trying to find a game that lets you practice naming organic chemistry compounds, but I could not find good ones. Most apps only contained a few functional groups, while some looked like they came straight out of the 1970s. I still tried those apps, but the app's quality was around the same as the look. In the end, I realized it was not worth digging around any longer, and I resorted to just practicing problems from my textbook. The point is that there is a need for high school level educational games and more resources need to be spent in that sector.
Addressing all these issues will significantly improve the quality of educational video games and their market. With more fabulous graphics, fewer bugs, and more of these games available for students pursuing higher education, these games will skyrocket. There are a handful of educational video games that already do these. But those are only the tip of the iceberg.
Educational Video Games We Can Look Up To
ST Math, as mentioned earlier, is a great one. We used this software in my elementary school. The goal for the game is straightforward. You have to help a penguin cross the screen. There will be a puzzle in the center of the screen, and when you input your answer, the penguin will attempt to cross the road. However, the difference between this and other educational games is two things.
- The answer type is not always a number that you type into a box. There are various other ways you can input your answer in this game that makes it interesting.
- If you enter an answer, it shows the consequences for that. An example would be when choosing how many quarts are in 2.5 gallons. The correct answer is 10, but regardless of what answer you choose, there is an animation that continues to fill the number of quarts you picked, and if you get it wrong, the path leading to the end of the screen is blocked, as you can see below.
And obviously, this game has no bugs inside. This shows that the developers of ST Math whole-heartedly want to provide a proper resource for students and teachers.
Another amazing educational video game is Variant: Limits. This is a game to help teach various calculus topics, such as limits and asymptotes. Even though I have not tried this, based on screenshots of the game, I can see that this game addresses the last two issues mentioned above, which are games for higher-level subjects and improved graphics. The graphics look fabulous in this game, and even though I can't speak for the effectiveness of the education in the game, I can tell the developers of this game want to provide a resource for teaching calculus in a fun way.
These are not the only educational games that are great. These are some others that are pretty effective as well.
- Minecraft: Education Edition (Various Subjects)
- Prodigy (Math)
- Sine Rider (Graphs)
- Bond Breaker 2.0 (Sub-Atomic Science)
- Atomas (Elements of the Periodic Table)
As a programmer and someone interested in game development, if I were to create an educational game to teach projectile motion and various concepts relating to that here is how I would do that. I would make a game similar to angry birds where you are given some variables, and you would need to solve for the angle of inclination. And the way to input your answer would be to manipulate the curve. There will probably be much harder and more manageable levels before and after this. This is just my idea, though. Just like how there are many rules and mechanics for games, there are many possibilities for educational games. We need to put more resources into them to make those a reality.
