AECT Audio Archive

Creating game-based learning environments or experiences using games such as SimCity, Age of Empires, ZooTycoon, and Railroad Tycoon is becoming an increasingly tenable, valuable, and popular instructional method. To help educators integrate these types of games the researcher has developed three types of activities that correlate to research on how learning occurs within game based learning environments.

Advergames are becoming a common practice on many organization’s websites. Yet, advergames are not in alignment with many instructional endeavors. However, Aldrich (2005) has called mini-games the “mosquitoes of the educational simulations ecosystem” and argues they may have a big impact on education. If mini-games are to have a significant impact they need to be examined for their potential effect on learning. The advergame traits that could be incorporated into mini-games for e-learning are: short in duration, easy and fast to download, easy to play, and exciting yet challenging.

“Modding” is a gamers’ term used to denote production activities in ‘modifying’ existing videogames for new contents or storyline created by the gamer(s). This year’s theme for the 3^rd Instructional Gaming Symposium is “Modding for Serious Play.” We would like to provide a venue for researcher and educator- modders to present their research and development activities related to game modding (for serious play) to the AECT community.

This round table offers the accumulated wisdom of three years of teaching Windows Movie-maker at the college level. Common problems will be presented, together with instructional solution found to be helpful in overcoming these problems. Common or parallel problems with other software products will also be represented.