To get some exposure to what is out there, how it can be used and the kind of impact it can have, enjoy the experience below.

1. Discussion : Personal gaming experience

When I started thinking about digital game-based learning, I had a flashback to a lame learning game I played in Entrepreneurship in Junior High School. It was a game that involved running a basic business (hot dog stand). Although it was lame, I remember it. It was something different from what we were normally doing in school.

For the introductory discussion, post a flashback of your own to a personal experience you have had with digital game-based learning (not necessarily as an adult), and give a quick evaluation of the experience on the blog.

2. Discussion : Review a game.

In the interest of understanding games we decided it would be only fair if we asked you to play one. Your next task is to choose a game from the list to play seriously review on the  blog as if you were an “Educational Venture Analyst” (EVA). If you have another game you would like to review please make sure you add a link so everyone can find it.

To start, please take a quick look at each prompt, and then select one to review. Once you have made your selection, post your review of that game in the reply section on the team pics page. Give us a quick idea of why you chose that one and what in what context it could be used. Flex those analyst muscles. Feel free to engage in discussion with others based on their posts as well.

• A game that focuses on putting you in the shoes of someone who is unemployed, a single parent, and is trying to get through the month. It involves a series of decisions, and includes facts along the way, pointing out the implications of your choices.

 

• A simulation that focuses on decision-making and consequences that occur immediately following a disaster (in this case, the Haiti earthquake), through one of three perspectives: a survivor, a journalist, or an aid worker.

 

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  A game that focuses on traditional hunting skills in Nunavut.

 

 

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  A game that focuses on the reality of trying to survive in a 3rd world country. What crops do I plant? What disaster is going to hit next?

 

• This game is used by the US military to help in finding a place in it’s ranks.  Your scores are not private – they are viewed by the US military.

 

 

• From looking at a crime scene to creating a stem cell line to doing a hip replacement this site has it all for learning about science.

 

3. Wiki Contribution: Class Picks

Go to the wiki page we have set up for the week, and post one or two links with a short description to games that you would recommend for educational purposes.

4. Wordle Contribution: New Directions

Go to the New Directions page and read through developing areas of digital game-based learning for adults. Then, please post your thoughts and predictions in the comments section found at the bottom of the New Directions page.