Going to school in World of Warcraft. Observations from a trial programme using off-the-shelf computer games as learning tools in secondary education

The use of commercial, off-the-shelf computer games as teaching tools is an interesting possibility, but one that may alter the teacher’s role. Unlike specially adapted, game-like educational software, students’ attitudes toward the learning potential of computer games may be very different in the p...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mats Wiklund, Love Ekenberg
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Stockholm University Press 2009-06-01
Series:Designs for Learning
Online Access:http://www.designsforlearning.nu/articles/18
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spelling doaj-89bb42efda8b4280958a0d2e8d387ec12020-11-24T23:13:09ZengStockholm University PressDesigns for Learning2001-74802009-06-0121365510.16993/dfl.1818Going to school in World of Warcraft. Observations from a trial programme using off-the-shelf computer games as learning tools in secondary educationMats Wiklund0Love Ekenberg1Stockholm University, SwedenStockholm University, SwedenThe use of commercial, off-the-shelf computer games as teaching tools is an interesting possibility, but one that may alter the teacher’s role. Unlike specially adapted, game-like educational software, students’ attitudes toward the learning potential of computer games may be very different in the presence or absence of an accompanying teacher. The purpose of this work is to investigate whether commercial, unmodified computer games have potential as a tool for learning enhancement, whether varying properties of game genres have an impact on study results, and how the students perceive the teachers role in a learning environment using computer games. Twenty-one students, all of them participants in a longer-term trial programme in game-based education, were interviewed concerning their perceptions of the learning environment, their preferred game genres, and the outcome of their studies. Our findings show that this form of learning results in significantly increased knowledge. It also appears that accompanying teacher activities are important, especially when successfully linked to in-game activities.http://www.designsforlearning.nu/articles/18
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Mats Wiklund
Love Ekenberg
spellingShingle Mats Wiklund
Love Ekenberg
Going to school in World of Warcraft. Observations from a trial programme using off-the-shelf computer games as learning tools in secondary education
Designs for Learning
author_facet Mats Wiklund
Love Ekenberg
author_sort Mats Wiklund
title Going to school in World of Warcraft. Observations from a trial programme using off-the-shelf computer games as learning tools in secondary education
title_short Going to school in World of Warcraft. Observations from a trial programme using off-the-shelf computer games as learning tools in secondary education
title_full Going to school in World of Warcraft. Observations from a trial programme using off-the-shelf computer games as learning tools in secondary education
title_fullStr Going to school in World of Warcraft. Observations from a trial programme using off-the-shelf computer games as learning tools in secondary education
title_full_unstemmed Going to school in World of Warcraft. Observations from a trial programme using off-the-shelf computer games as learning tools in secondary education
title_sort going to school in world of warcraft. observations from a trial programme using off-the-shelf computer games as learning tools in secondary education
publisher Stockholm University Press
series Designs for Learning
issn 2001-7480
publishDate 2009-06-01
description The use of commercial, off-the-shelf computer games as teaching tools is an interesting possibility, but one that may alter the teacher’s role. Unlike specially adapted, game-like educational software, students’ attitudes toward the learning potential of computer games may be very different in the presence or absence of an accompanying teacher. The purpose of this work is to investigate whether commercial, unmodified computer games have potential as a tool for learning enhancement, whether varying properties of game genres have an impact on study results, and how the students perceive the teachers role in a learning environment using computer games. Twenty-one students, all of them participants in a longer-term trial programme in game-based education, were interviewed concerning their perceptions of the learning environment, their preferred game genres, and the outcome of their studies. Our findings show that this form of learning results in significantly increased knowledge. It also appears that accompanying teacher activities are important, especially when successfully linked to in-game activities.
url http://www.designsforlearning.nu/articles/18
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