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In large measure the authors agree with Tobias and Fletcher's (2012) comments stating that clearer operational definitions of game features are needed to enable research on games and learning. The authors cannot accept that games are a subset of simulations, preferring to identify instances when games and simulations overlap and when they do not. The authors caution that research focused solely on cognitive processes risks missing fundamental environmental dynamics and their rich interactions with the intentional dynamics of situated cognition. The authors point out that their specific review of games and academic achievement is complemented by the broader survey of dependent variables reviewed by Tobias and Fletcher.

Do video games show demonstrable relationships to academic achievement gains when used to support the K-12 curriculum? In a review of literature, we identified 300+ articles whose descriptions related to video games and academic achievement. We found some evidence for the effects of video games on language learning, history, and physical education (specifically exergames), but little support for the academic value of video games in science and math. We summarize the trends for each subject area and supply recommendations for the nascent field of video games research. Many educationally interesting games exist, yet evidence for their impact on student achievement is slim. We recommend separating simulations from games and refocusing the question onto the situated nature of game-player-context interactions, including meta-game social collaborative elements. (Contains 2 tables.)

Wise technology integration is not simply a matter of selecting to use, but a matter of how to effectively use technology in context within the curriculum. Technology integration cognition should thus be thought of as pedagogical design thinking that involves critically examining the affordances of learning technologies and then strategically applying them to teach particular subject matter ideas within a specific classroom context. To better describe such teacher cognition concerning technology integration, this study proposes TPACK-L, an expanded framework for teachers' technology integration knowledge, by adding the principles of learning theory to the existing TPACK framework, and delineates what this pedagogical design thinking looks like in the context of a specially designed card game, CARD-tamen™. This study also addresses the issue of how to measure technology cognition in-the-moment during card play. Situated cognition served as the framework to assess using card gameplay in context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In large measure the authors agree with Tobias and Fletcher’s (2012) comments stating that clearer operational definitions of game features are needed to enable research on games and learning. The authors cannot accept that games are a subset of simulations, preferring to identify instances when games and simulations overlap and when they do not. The authors caution that research focused solely on cognitive processes risks missing fundamental environmental dynamics and their rich interactions with the intentional dynamics of situated cognition. The authors point out that their specific review of games and academic achievement is complemented by the broader survey of dependent variables reviewed by Tobias and Fletcher. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Do video games show demonstrable relationships to academic achievement gains when used to support the K-12 curriculum? In a review of literature, we identified 300+ articles whose descriptions related to video games and academic achievement. We found some evidence for the effects of video games on language learning, history, and physical education (specifically exergames), but little support for the academic value of video games in science and math. We summarize the trends for each subject area and supply recommendations for the nascent field of video games research. Many educationally interesting games exist, yet evidence for their impact on student achievement is slim. We recommend separating simulations from games and refocusing the question onto the situated nature of game-player-context interactions, including meta-game social collaborative elements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]