In a post on Spotlight: Digital Media and Learning, David Shaffer lifts the discussion out of the parameter that assumes because games are fun they are good for learning. I think the ‘fun’ reasoning does not give kids enough credit for wanting to learn and think. Shaffer’s post gives deeper reasons to expect games will have important roles in the digital learning future rolling for education:

All too often, discussions of games and learning go down a familiar path: games are fun, and learning should be fun, so games should be good for learning. The more sophisticated version of the same argument goes: games are motivating, and motivation is an important part of learning, so we can use games to motivate players to learn.

In my own work, I have argued that while games often are fun, that isn’t what makes them games. Now, a study from the University of Rochester shows a similar result. Richard Ryan, one of the psychologists on the team, argues that:

‘The psychological ‘pull’ of games is largely due to their capacity to engender feelings of autonomy, competence and relatedness.’

The study found that these psychological forces at work in many good games are far more powerful in keeping players interested in the game than players’ feeling that the game was ‘fun.’

Perhaps more illuminating:

Players reported feeling the best when the games produced positive experiences and challenges that connected to what they knew in the real world.

In a post on Spotlight: Digital Media and Learning, David Shaffer lifts the discussion out of the parameter that assumes because games are fun they are good for learning. I think the ‘fun’ reasoning does not give kids enough credit for wanting to learn and think. Shaffer’s post gives deeper reasons to expect games will [...]