Videogames and Education

Kurt Squire

Wed., June 09, 12:00–1:30, Great Hall

As videogames mature as a medium, educators have taken an interest in using them for learning. With the technological sophistication of videogames (real-time 3D graphics, physics, virtual worlds supporting thousands of concurrent users), it’s easy to overlook the social dimensions of videogames. These qualities which include meritocratic values and broader participatory structures are changing students’ expectations of media, and creating models of learning incongruous with the factory model of education. This talk provides a brief framing of these issues and then highlights design-based research attempts at creating learning systems appropriate for the digital, interactive age, based on work with videogames played on mobile devices over the last 3 years with thousands of students. The resultant educational paradigm reinvigorates visions for breaking down the walls of the classroom, as students solve authentic problems and participate in social institutions and structures that go beyond school. The emerging paradigm suggests a new model of citizenship, one that seeks to empower students for taking ownership and responsibility over their local environs.