Effectiveness of games towards educational learning.

• Main Author: Lee, Esther Xiao Ying.
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/48704
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Computer games have become increasingly important and widely used in educational settings. This paper reviews the effectiveness of computer games towards educational learning.Games are designed with various theories in mind. A review of those theories, which includes activity theory, cognitive load theory, discovery and narrative hypothesis, is done. Reasons are put forth why and how games improve learning, like the induction of flow during games. It is found that games have several benefits, including increase in motivation and self-efficacy. Possible limitations of using games in education include resistance from students and parents, lack of facilities required for implementation of the games and lack of training for teachers. Directions for future studies are also discussed.