How Future Educational Games Can Better Combine Education with Entertainment

Education and gaming are two of the hottest tech startup fields today, but developers of educational games often face various challenges, such as insufficient funding or lack of interest from teachers. So, how can future educational games better combine education with entertainment? How should developers measure the effectiveness of such games? Are small startups more sustainable in this market? On January 15th, a group of industry insiders focused on the development of educational games held a panel discussion at GitHub's headquarters in San Francisco to explore these issues.

The panel, titled "Beyond The Oregon Trail: Using Research to Pave the Way for Better Learning Games," was hosted by EdSurge, an educational technology news site, and the Concord Consortium, a non-profit educational research organization. It marked Concord's expansion into the West Coast of the United States. Tony Wan from EdSurge served as the moderator, and 120 entrepreneurs, educators, and edtech enthusiasts attended the event.

Expansion of Educational Games — Far Beyond Math Games

The panelists emphasized the expansion of educational games in terms of subject matter, assessment methods, and practical applications. Sosnick discussed the variety of games now used in classrooms — beyond traditional math and history games, topics now include financial literacy, music theory, and more. John, a former creative director at gaming giant Electronic Arts (EA), noted that educational games have become increasingly engaging in recent years and believes that "commercial games paved the way (for educational games)."

"A good video game means a series of meaningful choices," John said, whether those choices are right or wrong. This is what distinguishes classic educational games like *The Oregon Trail* from games like *Math Blaster* — the latter is "just a drill on right and wrong," and choosing the correct answer is "neither meaningful nor fun."

Assessment of Educational Games

As games become more widely used in classrooms, effectively assessing student learning outcomes is essential. The panelists discussed the importance of providing teachers with actionable data. "If we can quickly push data to teachers that allows them to take immediate action, and help them analyze it, data can be extremely valuable," John explained.

Dorsey agreed, pointing out the difficulty and necessity of assessment data. "Making a game fun is easy, but telling you whether someone has learned something is no easy task."

However, simply piling up data tables is not very meaningful. During the Q&A session, one entrepreneur expressed concern that strict effectiveness monitoring might strip the fun out of games. In response, John noted that a key trick for developers to balance fun and learning is to "turn 'I'm monitoring you' into 'I'm congratulating you through data.'"

Lessons from *The Oregon Trail*

Educational games have come a long way since the pixelated games of the 1980s, but past successes still offer valuable lessons. "*The Oregon Trail* did many things right that we should continue to build on today," said Klodner. She believes this historical computer game introduced two key elements crucial to game effectiveness: role-playing and personal investment.

"*The Oregon Trail* clearly defined the player's role and felt very realistic," she explained. "Role-playing in a realistic setting is a completely different experience from reading explanatory learning materials." With the rise of online social games, she believes role-playing and online community experiences are likely to influence educational games.

Additionally, the panelists strongly encouraged entrepreneurs to build close partnerships with teachers. "When developing a game, it's critical to clarify the role teachers play," said Sokowitz. In his view, teachers are becoming increasingly proactive in selecting games for classroom use.

"We will see more and more software and content adopted at the request of teachers themselves," rather than being mandated by local or regulatory authorities, he explained. He believes that as educators become more involved in purchasing educational games, small developers will have significant opportunities to build close relationships with teachers, who are their primary consumers and users.

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