Making Educational Computer Games Educational

Shalom M. Fisch MediaKidz Research & Consulting 78 Grayson Pl. Teaneck, NJ, 07666 (201) 833-9415 mediakidz@lycos.com

ABSTRACT

Educational computer games provide an appealing context for engaging children in activities that deliver substantive educational content and customized feedback. However, creators of such games can only take full advantage of the power of the medium if the educational content is integrated effectively into the structure of the game. Drawing upon experiences in the creation of numerous reallife games and applications, this paper describes some of the considerations that must be taken into account in creating effective interactive games. These include: matching particular educational topics or concepts to their most appropriate media; placing educational content at the heart of game play so that children engage in the targeted real-world behavior or thinking as they play the game; and building feedback and hint structures in ways that support and scaffold children into challenging content.
Keywords

Computer games, design, content, education

INTRODUCTION

Leading scholars such as Seymour Papert [e.g., 15], Henry Jenkins [e.g., 10], and James Gee [7] have long argued that computer games provide a compelling context for childrens learning. Indeed, although the research literature on the effects of educational computer games is still relatively young and (perhaps as a result) not yet as extensive or definitive as the literature documenting childrens learning from educational television (see [4] for a review), several empirical studies have already shown evidence of childrens learning from educational computer games. For example, children have been seen to acquire knowledge in areas as diverse as prehistory and asthma education from playing relevant computer games [12, 16]. Analyses of existing games and case studies of individual
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. IDC 2005, June 8-10, 2005, Boulder, Colorado, USA Copyright 2005 ACM 1-59593-096-5/05/0006...$5.00.

users have lent additional support to the view that educational games can not only motivate children but also provide a framework for exploring and engaging with serious academic content [e.g., 7, 18]. Thus, it seems that well-designed computer games can serve as useful tools for both formal (i.e., classroom) and informal (i.e., outside the classroom) education. By the same token, however, it is probably self-evident that not all educational games will be equally effective, any more than all classroom teachers are equally effective. Notwithstanding debates as to whether interactive media are inherently conducive to education [e.g., 1, 11], it is clear that the simple presence of educational content in a game does not guarantee its efficacy. Rather, the educational power of any such game also depends on a variety of other factors. To take just a few examples: The educational content must be sound, age-appropriate, and presented clearly [e.g., 5]. The interface must be easily usable by the target audience [e.g., 14]. And the educational content must be well integrated into the game. The latter point is the focus of the present paper. It seems unlikely that anyone would disagree with the point that educational content needs to be well integrated into educational games. However, it is easier to say that this should be the case than to define what well integrated means, or to put the recommendation into practice. To lend insight into these issues, this paper draws upon user research and experiences in the creation of several existing games and applications to discuss some of the considerations that must be taken into account in creating effective educational games. Specifically, this paper focuses on three issues that are key to integrating educational content into computer games: (1) matching specific educational topics or concepts to their most appropriate medium; (2) placing educational content at the heart of game play, so that children engage in the targeted real-world behavior or thinking as they play the game; and (3) designing feedback and hint structures in

ways that support and scaffold children into difficult content.1

SELECTING MEDIA TOPICS: MATCH CONTENT TO

Experience has shown that interactive technology (and other educational media) can convey a wide range of educational content. Nevertheless, it is also true that each electronic medium carries its own particular strengths, so some topics lend themselves better to some types of media than others. By analogy, it is possible to create a clear, cogent science lecture about the nature of light and deliver it over the radio, but the same content might be delivered more effectively if it were accompanied by visual support on television or a computer monitor. Such issues carry clear and direct implications for the creation of educational computer games. For example, several years ago, I oversaw educational content for a preschool project whose components included a short-form television series and companion Web site. The educational goals of the project were to introduce children to a variety of preschool-appropriate concepts, on topics ranging from shadows to tangrams to mixing colors. Using the same characters and environments as the television series, the Web site presented children with a set of several interactive games. Each game dealt with the same educational topic as one of the episodes of the television series, although the game generally handled the topic somewhat differently. One of the first tasks for the online production team was to review the list of television episodes and select the topics that would also serve as the basis for games on the Web. We chose approximately half a dozen topics, one of which was balance. To address the topic of balance, we developed an idea for a block-building game: A Tetris-like screen would show the two main characters at the top, with one on the right side of the screen and the other on the left. The users task would be to choose blocks from a field at the side of the screen and use them to build a block tower that the characters could ultimately use as a bridge to reach each other. However, the array of available blocks would be designed so that users couldnt simply fill up the space between the characters completely; instead, they would have to arrange the blocks in ways that kept all of the blocks balanced as they built the tower. In our initial discussions, this idea seemed very promising; it struck us both as a valid way to address the educational content and as a game that young children would likely find fun and engaging. Yet, as we continued to develop the game, one of the members of the production team realized that we had overlooked an important point: When playing hands-on with real wooden blocks, childrens (and adults) judgments about balance depend on more than just visual or auditory cues. Indeed, some of the most useful cues are actually tactile that is, feeling a tower of
1

blocks waver or wobble slightly when it is in danger of falling down. We had built analogous visual cues into the design of the game (e.g., seeing a block wobble for a few seconds before it would fall), but everyone on the team agreed that these cues would not be as effective or compelling as the tactile cues that we could not truly replicate online.2 Could we have built the game anyway? Certainly. Would it have been a fun game? Probably. However, we recognized that even though interactive building games hold educational value in other ways (e.g., to promote creativity), our game probably would not convey lessons about balance as effectively as simply playing with real wooden blocks. Thus, rather than spend our limited resources this way, we decided to maximize the educational bang for our buck by dropping the idea of the balance game, and developing games on other, less tactile topics instead. DESIGNING GAMES: MAKE EDUCATIONAL CONTENT INTEGRAL TO GAME PLAY When educational computer games were first introduced for widespread use, many rudimentary games were little more than some form of academic drill and practice (e.g., multiplication problems, spelling exercises), with correct answers rewarded by an animation of, e.g., clowns or fireworks. Thus, the actual game play was not terribly different than doing a series of pencil-and-paper arithmetic problems in school, although the payoffs were more entertaining. Indeed, while technology and graphics may be far more advanced today, the same type of underlying approach nevertheless still appears occasionally today (e.g., in electronic toys that present children with decontextualized arithmetic problems and reward correct answers with music or sound effects). This approach undoubtedly carries some level of motivational value, encouraging children to engage in the drill and practice in order to see the animation or hear the sound effects. However, it is far from an optimal treatment of the content, and it is rather limited because it relies on what the education literature on student interest refers to as seductive details that is, appealing elements that are inserted alongside educational content with the intent that childrens interest in these elements will make the educational content more compelling and memorable. Unfortunately, research on lectures and textbook readings has suggested that seductive details do not work; children exposed to such material tend to remember the appealing elements but not the intended educational content [e.g., 6, 20]. In fact, from a long-term perspective, this sort of approach could even inadvertently promote negative
2

Other issues, such as appeal and usability, are also crucial in designing educational games, but they are beyond the scope of this paper. For discussions of these issues, see, e.g., [2, 5, 14].

It might have been possible to replicate these tactile cues with some sort of nonstandard interface, such as a device that could vibrate in the users hand. However, we did not have the option of employing such devices in this project, because we were designing the games for a Web site that users would access through a standard computer and mouse.

attitudes toward the educational content, if children come to see the educational content as the work they have to slog through to get to the fun stuff. Content on the plotline A far more powerful approach is to place the educational content at the heart of engaging game play, so that children employ the targeted academic skills and knowledge as an integral part of playing the game. One obvious example of this sort of approach can be found in the various incarnations of SimCity, where players learn about macrosystems and civil engineering by directly experimenting with different variables and observing the outcomes that result. Within the domain of educational television, an analogous approach is referred to as content on the plotline [e.g., 9] (cf. the related discussion of distance in [3, 4]). Content on the plotline means keeping educational content integral, rather than tangential, to the narrative storyline of a television program for example, using a bit of science or literacy to supply the crucial clue that solves a mystery. Research has suggested that children recall the educational content of a television program better when it is on the plotline than when it is present but tangential to the central storyline [8, 9]. In the same way, it is equally important to keep educational content integral to game play when designing computer games. The act of playing the game should draw directly on the knowledge or skills that the game is designed to foster in its users (a point to which I will return shortly). In addition, as Luban [13] observed with regard to puzzles in non-educational, narrative-based games such as Myst-Riven or even Resident Evil 2, puzzles need to be to be integrated carefully into any surrounding narrative of the game, so that the user experiences the puzzle as a natural fit, rather than bringing the action of the game to a sudden halt while he or she attempts to solve the puzzle. It is important to note that merely placing the educational content prominently on the screen is not the same as making it integral to game play. For example, I recently served as educational consultant for the development of a Web site about health and hygiene, aimed at preschool children and their parents. One of the games that was proposed in the sites early design document was a series of virtual jigsaw puzzles that, when assembled, would show images of good hygiene practices (e.g., proper hand washing). Such activities can hold some merit, since there is some value to showing examples that model good practices. However, it would not have been the most educationally powerful way to address the content, because the mental skills at work in solving a jigsaw puzzle (such as problem solving and critical thinking) are not the same as the skills needed for proper hand washing. Instead, I suggested creating games that would help children practice and develop healthy habits more directly. For example, one idea for a game might have the mouse control an onscreen toothbrush to scrub all the hidden bits of plaque off a characters teeth. Or another might be to show several characters with colds, and have children use the mouse to race to cover each characters nose with a tissue before he or she sneezes. Admittedly, games like these would not be

the same as physically brushing ones own teeth or covering ones own nose. However, over time, repeated play could help children develop a mindset toward recognizing the importance of these practices in real life, too. When educational content is truly integral to game play, the two function together seamlessly. The game provides children with a compelling reason for engaging in the educational content, and the children exercise the targeted skills and knowledge naturally in the course of playing the game. In addition, on an attitudinal level, this approach encourages children to see the educational content as fun and useful not because (as in the case of seductive details) the content is presented alongside other elements that are appealing, but because they are having fun and achieving goals by using the educational content itself. Maximizing educational impact within constraints Of course, the practical constraints of production mean that it is not always possible to create the ideal game that would best carry the targeted educational content, or to replace games with stronger ones. Short of replacing games completely, thoughtful tweaking of the design of a game can also help to boost the degree to which it encourages children to think about the targeted educational content. Consider another example regarding the preschool health and hygiene Web site: For budgetary reasons, one of the games needed to use an existing game engine for a matching game in which children would turn over virtual tiles to look for images that match each other (as in the card game Concentration). As is typical of such games, the original design for the game required children to look for pairs of identical images (e.g., two images of soap or toothpaste) a perfectly good idea for a game, but as above, the activity of looking for identical images did not map directly onto any real-life hygiene behavior. Recognizing the budgetary constraints that prevented us from replacing the game, I suggested that we might be able to use the same format in a slightly different way that would be a little stronger from an educational perspective: Instead of looking for pairs of identical images, we could have children look for pairs of images that go together, such as soap and hands, or toothpaste and teeth (or a toothbrush). In that way, playing the game would not simply require preschoolers to think about the visual content of the images, but also to think about the real-life functions of the objects shown. Although this still would not be as educationally powerful as having children practice the targeted behaviors (even virtually), the change did help to strengthen the game to the degree that was possible under the parameters set by the practical constraints of production. SUPPORTING GAME PLAY: E N H A N C E LEARNING VIA FEEDBACK AND HINTS Assuming that both educational content and game play are age-appropriate (rather than too young), it is unlikely that children will come to a game with a perfect understanding

of the educational content or that they will be able to solve the game perfectly on their first attempt. Thus, when creating a game, it is important to consider, not only the basic structure of the game itself, but also the feedback given in response to incorrect answers or when players request a hint. Feedback for wrong answers From an educational perspective, feedback provides an opportunity to support childrens learning of unfamiliar educational content by scaffolding them into successfully solving a problem/game [e.g., 17] (cf. Strommen & Alexanders [19] discussion of scaffolding in Microsofts interactive Barney doll). Feedback should not be designed to simply reveal the right answer after childrens first wrong guess, since that would prevent them from continuing to try to figure out the right answer. (Depending on the nature of the game, however, it may be appropriate to reveal the correct answer after the third or fourth wrong guess in a row.) To scaffold childrens performance and learning, feedback for each wrong answer should be designed to provide a bit of additional support for children as they continue to try to figure out the right answer. Many games miss this opportunity by responding to wrong answers with something along the lines of a standard Sorry try again. Although this sort of response may encourage a child to continue to play (and eliminate a response option if the child is playing via trial and error), it does not address the underlying difficulty that caused the child to give the wrong answer in the first place. A more effective and useful piece of feedback would help children understand why their answer was wrong, or point them gently in the right direction. For example, Revelle et al. [17] discuss a Sesame Street game in which Big Bird asked children to find a triangle. After a childs first wrong answer, Big Bird said, Find a triangle it has three sides. The response to a second wrong answer was, Find a triangle its shaped like a piece of pizza. And so on. Similarly, in the health and hygiene Web site discussed earlier, careful consideration was given to the feedback that would be built into a Simon-type bathtime game in which children would try to duplicate the order in which a character scrubbed various parts of his body. Each time children duplicated the sequence correctly, another action would be added, thus allowing the game to continually build upon the childs ability and extend the challenge a little further. If the child clicked on the wrong body part, the voice-over narration would explain the mistake (e.g., Sorry, Kandoo washed his feet next) and allow them to start over with a new sequence. Alternately, if the game were idle for a given period of time (e.g., because a child failed to understand the task or stopped clicking before the end of a sequence), the voice-over would encourage an attempt by saying, Go ahead -- can you click on the same things Kandoo did? If, following that prompt, the child continued not to respond, the game would repeat the animation of the current sequence with the prompt, Lets watch again. See what Kandoo does, and then you do it too. In this way, the game would continually challenge

children when they were correct, explain their missteps when they were wrong, and provide prompts and supplementary information if children had difficulty following the task. Help The above examples reflect support that is given automatically when children offer incorrect answers or fail to respond at all. The same basic approach can also be used when children actively use a help button to request hints, too. Like automatic feedback, hints should support both game play and childrens learning of the underlying educational content; rather than simply revealing the correct answer, they should lead children in the right direction to help them discover the right answer for themselves. As in the above examples, hints also should be leveled that is, when children ask for a second or third hint, the hint should be bigger than the first one they received (because, presumably, requests for additional hints signal that the children are more stuck). When designed under this sort of approach, the feedback delivered in a game becomes more than merely feedback about right and wrong answers. It becomes an important learning tool that can provide support to a child who is struggling with a particular concept, at the precise moment when the child need the help. SPRINGBOARDS FOR LEARNING: EXTENDING LEARNING VIA OFFLINE ACTIVITIES Perhaps one of the greatest forms of impact of an educational game can actually arise offline, long after the computer is turned off. Computer games can provide a motivating context for introducing children to new concepts, topics, and skills that they can continue to explore subsequently through offline reading, discussions, or activities. In some cases, games may stimulate offline activities in the midst of game play itself; Squire [18] reports instances of young adult students turning to textbooks for information that would be useful to apply while playing Civilization. In other cases, games can serve as springboards for postgame activities or discussions with parents or peers. These activities may be spontaneous and unplanned, spurred on by the children themselves if their interest has been sparked by something in the game. Indeed, such offline activities may even prove to be educationally richer than the game itself particularly if the game was not originally designed to serve as an educational experience. Alternately, these offline activities may be conceived and planned by the creators of the game, and supported through materials supplied alongside the game on a Web site or CD-ROM. For example, in addition to online games, the health and hygiene Web site also included health information for parents and personalizable materials that could be printed out to help promote good practices and avoid the sorts of battles that children often wage with their parents over issues such as washing hands or going to bed on time. Thus, the online bathtime game discussed earlier was accompanied by parent tips for minimizing arguments

over baths, as well as a printable, personalized coloring book that modeled good hygiene and safety practices for the bathtub. As Yotive and Fisch [21] have observed with regard to hands-on outreach materials based on educational television series, offline ancillary materials have the potential to extend the educational value of a computer game in several ways. First, time spent in follow-up discussion or activities represents additional time that children spend thinking about and engaging in the educational content. Second, parents, books, or other resources can supply information that extends beyond the amount or depth of information presented in the original game. Third, although one of the strengths of computer games lies in their ability to provide individualized experiences and feedback, the fact remains that they are a mass medium, so there are limits to the degree to which the experience of the game can truly be tailored to the developmental level of each individual user. By contrast, parents, teachers, and peers are well aware of the needs and abilities of individual children, so they can provide additional support or extend the experience in ways that are well suited to a particular child. By providing ideas and tools for these sorts of ancillary activities, producers of educational games can facilitate the process, to increase the likelihood that their games will be used in the most beneficial way possible.
CONCLUSION

As the above examples illustrate, creating an effective educational game entails much more than simply creating an engaging game and building in age-appropriate educational content. Considerable thought and planning is required at every stage of design and production, to match content to appropriate media, to intertwine content closely with game play, to support learning through a carefullycrafted structure of feedback and hints, and (in many cases) to create support materials that will help to extend childrens learning beyond the time that they spend in front of the screen. When executed well, this meticulous effort can pay off. Both systematic research and anecdotal evidence have demonstrated that educational games can hold significant benefits for children enriching knowledge, fostering skills, and stimulating motivation and interest. Such impact does not arise by magic, but considering the potential payoff for children, it is effort well spent.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

2. Druin, A. (ed.). The design of children's technology. Morgan Kaufman, San Francisco, CA, 1999. 3 . Fisch, S.M. A capacity model of children's comprehension of educational content on television. Media Psychology, 2 (2000), 63-91. 4 . Fisch, S.M. Children's learning from educational television: Sesame Street and beyond. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 2004. 5. Fisch, S.M. Characteristics of effective materials for informal education: A cross-media comparison of television, magazines, and interactive media. In M. Rabinowitz, F.C. Blumberg, & H.T. Everson (eds.), The design of instruction and evaluation: Affordances of using media and technology (pp. 3-18). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 2004. 6. Garner, R., Brown, R., Sanders, S., & Menke, D.J. Seductive details and learning from text. In K.A. Renninger, S. Hidi, & A. Krapp (eds.), The role of interest in learning and development (pp. 239-254). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 1992. 7. Gee, J. P. What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. Palgrave-MacMillan, New York, NY, 2003. 8. Goodman, I.F., Rylander, K., & Ross, S. Cro Season I summative evaluation. Sierra Research Associates, Cambridge, MA, 1993. 9. Hall, E.R., & Williams, M.E. Ghostwriter research meets literacy on the plot-line. In B.J. Wilson (chair), Formative research and the CTW model: An interdisciplinary approach to television production. Symposium presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Washington, DC (1993, May). 10. Jenkins, H. Game theory: How should we teach kids
Newtonian physics? Simple. Play computer games. Technology Review. (2002, 29 March). Available at

http://www.techreview.com/articles/02/03/wo_jenkins0 32902.asp.

In addition to drawing on the published research literature, this paper owes a tremendous debt to the many talented producers and researchers with whom I have collaborated over the years. Their work has greatly influenced the ideas discussed here, and, more importantly, has given rise to numerous pieces of educational media that have benefited children.
REFERENCES

11. Kozma, R.B. Will media influence learning? Educational Technology Research and Development, 42 (1994), 2, 7-19. 12.Lieberman, D. The researcher's role in the design of children's media and technology. In A. Druin (ed.), The design of children's technology (pp. 73-97). Morgan Kaufman Publishers, San Francisco, CA, 1999. 13. Luban, P. Designing and integrating puzzles in actionadventure games. Gamasutra (2002). Available at www.gamasutra.com/features/20021206/luban_01.htm. 1 4 .Nielsen Norman Group. Usability of Web sites for children: 70 design guidelines based on usability studies with kids. Nielsen Norman Group, Fremont, CA, 2002. 1 5 .Papert, S. Does easy do it?: Children, games, and learning, Game Developer (1998, June), 88.

1 . Clark, R.E. Media will never influence learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 42 (1994), 2, 21-29.

16. Paquin, M. Effects of a museum interactive CD-ROM on knowledge and attitude of secondary school students in Ontario. International Journal of Instructional Media, 29 (2002), 101-111. 17. Revelle, G.L., Medoff, L., & Strommen, E.F. Interactive technologies research at the Children's Television Workshop. In S.M. Fisch & R.T. Truglio (eds.), "G" is for growing: Thirty years of research on Sesame Street (pp. 215-230). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 2001.

18. Squire, K. Replaying history: Learning world history through playing Civilization III. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Indiana University School of Education. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 2004. Available at http://website.education.wisc.edu/kdsquire/dissertation. html. 19.Strommen, E.F., & Alexander, K.J. Learning from television with interactive toy characters as learning companions. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (1999, April). 20.Wade, S.E., & Adams, B. The effect of interest on sensitivity to importance and learning. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA (1989, March). 21. Yotive, W., & Fisch, S.M. The role of Sesame Streetbased materials in child care settings. In S.M. Fisch & R.T. Truglio (eds.), "G" is for growing: Thirty years of research on children and Sesame Street (pp. 181196). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 2001.