According to the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF), games can provide the skills for four main career pathways: strategists, organizers, entrepreneurs, and content creators.

via NASEF.org

In general, content creators are storytellers. They may be writers, artists, developers, or a combination of these. Learn more about becoming a shoutcaster, software developer, graphic designer, journalist, and more here.

via NASEF.org

Content creators can interact with games in many inventive and unexpected ways, especially as our world adapts to the changes brought on by COVID-19. For example, when the pandemic shut down all live concert venues, Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, a Brown University Ph.D. fellow and rapper, teamed up with other Providence-based musicians and the Brown Arts Initiative to present a series of concerts in Minecraft. The event intended to give students a break from Zoom events and provide a more immersive remote experience for the local community. Check out the performance here.

via Brown.edu

Thanks to games such as Minecraft, not only are new forms of online gatherings possible, but an entirely new generation of software development is taking shape. In her Forbes article “How Video Games Are Paving The Way For The Next Generation of Enterprise Software,” Katherine Kostereva notes that former software barriers for businesses are lowering as low-code/no-code software gains popularity. Low code/no-code platforms allow users to put together strings of pre-formed code, using them as building blocks to create something more complex. 

Kostereva writes that coding games “…give players the opportunity to practice problem-solving difficult problems in a low-risk environment. Furthermore, they provide instant and immediate feedback, so players can adjust their strategy as they go. These are two skills that are critical in software development. Video games pique students’ interest in programming and build technical skills simultaneously.” Essentially, the way most businesses code is changing, and numerous young people have already built many of the skills to develop software through educational video games. 

Whether players are looking to be software developers, artists, designers, journalists, streamers, or anything else that falls under the content creator umbrella, there are games to help them get there. Check out the list of games below that can spark an interest that leads to future careers!

via education.minecraft.net

Minecraft Education Edition

Minecraft has already been mentioned several times above, and for good reason. Besides being the best-selling game in the world, its special edition for education can teach just about anything, from math to biodiversity. As players code in environments of their own creation, the sky is the limit when developing future-facing skills.

via Scratch-MIT

Scratch

Developed by the MIT Media Lab, Scratch is a free online platform where anyone can use programming to tell stories or create their own games. Players can animate and design to their heart’s content! Scratch is a great primer for the types of low-to-no-code software mentioned earlier in this article.

via creativepro.com

Hex Invaders

The phrase “hexadecimal color notation” might not jump off the page as an exciting topic for a video game, but “saving the world from aliens” certainly does! Learn the ins and outs of hex color code while battling aliens for the future of the earth in Hex Invaders. As any graphic designer will tell you, understanding hex codes is a huge help for establishing and maintaining precise color preferences in the content you create.

Learn to Code

Created by Filament Games for client Publications International, Learn to Code is a game for all ages. The game includes a box set of books and a code creation app. Like many other content-creation-oriented game experiences, Learn to Code lets players learn pixel art, animation, and more, and tell their stories in their own way. Watch a trailer here.

RoboCo

Keep an eye out for RoboCo, our upcoming PC/VR robotics sandbox game that allows players to design and operate the robots of their dreams.  

More games for building skills:

The post Using Games to Teach Content Creation appeared first on Filament Games.

Science

via chemcaper.com

ChemCaper

ChemCaper is a chemistry adventure game designed by school teachers for students ages 10-14. ChemCaper has an emphasis on lore, narrative, and character, resulting in immersive and compelling gameplay. Players learn about chemical bonding and properties of the elements as they play as Roub Idyum, a Moon Being who, while questing to locate his people’s lost deity, receives the news that his homeland is under siege! ChemCaper is compatible with both Android and iPhone and is available on the Google Play store and App store.

via play.eco

Eco

Students take control of a delicate ecosystem in Eco. Players must make the most of natural resources to create a home and prevent a meteor from striking, all while they navigate a planet that reacts to everything they do. Eco not only teaches ecology, but a variety of other subjects too, like government and economics as players strive to help the environment flourish. Find Eco on Steam.

via beyondbluegame.com

Beyond Blue

E-Line Media collaborated with BBC Studios, OceanX, and ocean experts to create Beyond Blue, a game centered around deep-sea exploration and research. This fully voice-acted adventure allows players to act as marine biologists, use innovative new forms of technology, and appreciate breathtaking ocean views and wildlife. Students can step into the shoes of the main character, Mirai, and uncover what mysteries the ocean has to offer! Play Beyond Blue on Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Apple Arcade.

Technology

via Time Tails on Steam

Time Tails

Time Tails is a point-and-click adventure game that follows the story of the two (cat) protagonists from the 80s, Ari and Zoe, as they time travel to the American Revolution. While a player engages in the narrative, a large focus of the gameplay is on 3D coordinate systems and how they work in game development software (perfect for building one’s future-facing skills in content creation!). The game also highlights a sometimes-forgotten figure in history, Sybil Ludington. Learn about American history, coding, and time travel with Time Tails, available on Steam today!

via Prime Mover on Steam

Prime Mover 

Build circuit boards to solve puzzles in a sci-fi world of charming pixel art and atmospheric tunes in Prime Mover. A unique feature of this game is that all of the puzzles within it are open-ended, meaning there are no single solutions – players of all skill levels can solve the same problems in different ways. This game builds a student’s logic and computer science skills, and along the way, they might just discover a little something about the Byte of Burden! What is that? Play to find out! Find Prime Mover on Steam. 

via Code Romantic on Steam

Code Romantic 

How to describe prettysmart games’ Code Romantic? Half dystopian YA visual novel, half computer science learning game. Robots are threatening the last of humankind, and teenager Mina Lovelace has a lot to prove, given her last name. Beginner programmers can learn C# and problem solve as Mina, all while trying not to humiliate her in front of her crush, Leon. The developers have noted that this game is suitable for age groups allowed to read Harry Potter and Twilight. Code Romantic is available on Steam now!

Engineering

via kerbalspaceprogram.com

Kerbal Space Program

Build rocket ships and launch aliens into space! In Kerbal Space Program, players learn engineering, math, physics, and more as they design and test their own spaceship creations. Players are also in charge of their resources and crew, with opportunities to learn management skills too. Help Kerbals explore new planets and moons, and make sure they stay alive – that astrophysics thing is no joke! Play Kerbal Space Program on Steam, Xbox One, and PS4.  

via Learning Factory on Steam

Learning Factory

Recipient of the Games for Change: STEM Your Game Challenge award, Learning Factory is a game about gathering data and engineering factories, all for the betterment of… catkind? Yep, that’s right – players must cater to the demands of cats as they work to master machine learning engineering. Renovate, design, and craft a way to a highly efficient factory and happy cat customers! Learning Factory is available on Steam. 

Math 

We didn’t forget about math! We just have a whole separate post full of math games here. 

For more examples of great games that teach STEM, check out our learning game portfolio, which contains games galore for teaching STEM to all ages. If you or your organization is interested in exploring the possibility of creating a custom educational game or app of your own, be sure to reach out!

When STEM and games collide:

The post Using Digital Games to Teach STEM (Part 2) appeared first on Filament Games.

via duolingo.com

Hear ye, hear ye! 

Sometimes students need to learn on the go or without the help of an entire PC setup, which is why we’ve created the list below of educational mobile app games to fit all types of teaching needs. Students can bring knowledge with them wherever they go with some of the best that the Google Play and App Store have to offer!

via codespark.com

codeSpark Academy

codeSpark Academy is a fun way to build STEM skills and future-facing skills in a vibrant world called Foosville filled with its inhabitants, the Foos. codeSpark features multiple puzzles and mini-games centered around coding, designed to appeal to all genders and all experience levels. This game has a notable unique feature: there are no words included, meaning anyone anywhere can play, and the game is set up to be played intuitively. codeSpark Academy requires a subscription and is available on iOS and Android.

Diffission

Puzzle lovers will have more fun than ever learning math with Diffission! Available for free on iOS and Android, players will conquer fractions with a Fruit-Ninja-like precision. Swipe and slice through endless levels, creating a specific fraction by breaking a whole shape into equal parts.

via khankids.zendesk.com

Khan Academy Kids

Straight from one of the most renowned learning companies of our time comes Khan Academy Kids! Available on iOS, Android and Kindle Fire, this free mobile app contains a variety of activities and games to teach literacy, math, and social-emotional skills to young learners. Featuring a friendly cast of characters (to name a few, Reya the red panda and Kodi the bear), kids can read, sing, and play their way to a well-rounded education. 

via gethopscotch.com

Hopscotch 

Creating an app within an app? Hopscotch makes it possible! Students can program and create their own games and designs on this iOS app. This game provides players with an inside look at software development in a playful environment that encourages experimentation. Hopscotch requires a subscription to unlock all features of the game. 

via wibbu.com

Learn Languages with Ruby Rei

Duolingo isn’t the only app that can help students learn a new language right from their phones! From Wibbu, this iOS and Android Spanish language learning game follows main character Ruby Rei in an epic sci-fi/fantasy quest to find her friends and bring them home. This game has the look and feel of a PC adventure game, with no quizzes or tests to break immersion. Practice Spanish, solve puzzles, and build relationships with warriors, gods, and aliens alike! Players can access the first two levels for free.

via literacyapps.literacytrust.org.uk

Teach Your Monster to Read

Teach Your Monster to read is a phonetics game for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students, equipped with a progression of three levels of gameplay as young readers become more confident with sounds, words, and short sentences. Herd ducks, go on underwater excursions, and more with a cute and colorful cast of monsters and other creatures. Teach Your Monster to Read is available on iOS and Android, and is also available on PC or Mac as a free download on teachyourmonstertoread.com.

More on keeping digital learning fresh:

The post Excellent Mobile App Games for Education appeared first on Filament Games.

via Giphy

Whether AI is aiding teachers with assessments and cutting down on grading time, or helping to make education more accessible to all with tools such as AI tutors, or even detecting mental illnesses in a child’s speech, it is clear that the possibilities of AI and education are boundless. Research continues into the exponential potential of AI, along with consideration of its drawbacks and challenges when used in the classroom. But what are some recent developments when it comes to AI in educational games?

AI is responsible for a significant increase in demand for game-based learning resources, and as such, funding for game-based learning initiatives is on the rise, especially when it comes to resources for young learners and games to teach STEM skills. Here are a few examples of recent AI educational games that are heralding the next generation of game-based learning.

via TikTalk.care

TikTalk

With a playful name reminiscent of the popular social media app TikTok, TikTalk is a speech therapy AI system for elementary school students. This new technology intends to address challenges long observed by speech-language pathologists and their patients, and to make speech therapy less repetitive and more engaging. It was developed by speech-language pathologists and uses machine learning to tailor therapy to each patient more seamlessly than ever before. TikTalk contains games for patients to use out of therapy, making practice outside of the office enjoyable. 

Fingerspelling.xyz

Fingerspelling.xyz is an American Sign Language learning game that aims to address gaps in the early development among deaf and hard of hearing children. This free web browser game allows parents and children alike to work on learning the ASL alphabet and fingerspelling words. 

via jonathanprosperi.com

Zodiac

Switching gears from games powered by AI to games that teach about AI, Zodiac was developed by Filament Games in collaboration with NYU CREATE and CyberScape Studios back in 2019. This game teaches international middle and high school students all about AI and how it works by modeling AI concepts (such as machine learning) through gameplay. These concepts are embedded into a compelling sci-fi narrative, so learning about the inner workings of artificial intelligence is emotionally captivating as well as informative.  

More on AI and educational games:

The post Educational Games and AI (Part 2) appeared first on Filament Games.

via Giphy

What was that? An intangible voice whispered through the leaves and asked, “what’s new in game-based learning?” We’re glad it asked. Read on for less boos and more news!

Bringing STEM to Students with Mobile Technology (EdTech Magazine)

A lack of access to higher-level STEM courses for K-12 students is a large contributing factor to the lack of diversity in STEM fields. As a step toward learning equity, organizations like the National Center for Women and Information Technology and Learning Undefeated’s mobile STEM labs bring a new classroom to the student, no construction required. These labs-on-wheels bring robotics, flight and drone simulation, 3D printing, VR and AR, and more technologies to the front steps of schools, hoping to spark and nurture students’ curiosity in fields such as aerospace engineering. Though not a permanent fix for systemic inequalities in STEM education, mobile STEM labs hope to introduce students to new technology and game-based learning to not only pique student interest in STEM fields but to sustain it. [READ MORE]

Applying game-based learning to animal disease preparedness (Science X – phys.org)

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas A&M University College of Architecture have joined forces to create Project S.W.A.R.M. (Strategic Widespread Agricultural Response Management Simulation). This project centers on developing a simulation game to teach farmers and other agricultural professionals how to manage animal disease outbreaks. Animal disease outbreaks can cause economic turmoil, food scarcity, and in some rare cases, outbreaks of disease in humans too. The developers want to use this game as a preventive and preparative measure, and also to create a space where players can learn through failure. [READ MORE]

Gaming, simulation teach how to manage difficult airways (VAntage Point)

According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, “a difficult airway is defined as the clinical situation in which a conventionally trained anesthesiologist experiences difficulty with facemask ventilation of the upper airway, difficulty with tracheal intubation, or both.” These difficulties can be life-threatening when they occur in the operating room and require quick and careful action by medical professionals. Dr. Jessica Feinleib, an anesthesiologist at VA Connecticut Healthcare System and VA’s SimLEARN national course director for Out of OR Airway Management, wanted to develop a new way to teach medical staff how to deal with difficult airways, which resulted in the creation of the DAARC (Difficult Airway Algorithm and Rescue Cricothyrotomy) game. Like the aforementioned Project S.W.A.R.M., this app game aims to prevent tragedies and teach through a safe environment to learn and fail. [READ MORE]

Sims Creator Uses Blockchain, AI in New Video Game About You (Bloomberg)

Imagine a game that allows you to map your own mind, to catalog and delineate your memories. You won’t have to imagine much longer, because the original creator of The Sims franchise, Will Wright, is partnering his studio, Gallium Studios, with blockchain gaming platform Forte Labs Inc for his upcoming game, Proxi. Proxi allows a player to encapsulate memories in “snow globes,” describing them with words and images. Everything a player creates in this game will become their very own NFT. The game aims to promote self-discovery and to encourage people to take the (sometimes anxiety-provoking) plunge into learning more about themselves. [READ MORE]

Q&A: Wisconsin Teachers Talk ‘Shipwrecks!’ Game Design Fellowship (PBS Wisconsin)

This winter, students will be able to plunge into the waters of the Great Lakes and investigate shipwrecks beneath the depths — all from the comfort of their classrooms and homes. Last academic year, Field Day and PBS Wisconsin Education brought on fourteen Wisconsin teachers for their Shipwrecks! Game Design Fellowship. These teachers co-designed the game and also sought feedback from their own students, who were given the opportunity to play-test it. In this interview, two educators explain why Great Lakes education is important — and why video games are a great tool for education! [READ MORE]

More game-based learning news:

The post What’s New in Game-based Learning – October 2021 appeared first on Filament Games.

Throughout video game history, students have stood out when it comes to developing unique games and encouraging innovation in the industry. While developing educational games, students are finding new ways to refresh and reimagine various subjects and specialized skills, tell vital stories and histories, and embed learning into engaging gameplay. Check out the list below for examples of recent and upcoming student-created games! 

via cbc.ca

Terra Nova

Concordia University alum Maize Longboat recontextualizes a story of first contact in North America between Indigenous people and settlers by placing it in the future, rather than the past. In Terra Nova, a two-person platformer Longboat created for his master’s thesis, one player plays as a character named Terra, an Elder Earthborn land keeper, and the other plays as Nova, a youthful Starborn inventor. After a spacecraft crash lands, their lives intertwine. The winner of the 2019 Best Emerging Digital or Interactive Work at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Terra Nova teaches Indigenous history through storytelling set in a distant future. Learn more about how this game was made here, and read an interview with the creator here.

via englishcomplit.unc.edu

Underdepth

In 2020, students in Professor Gabrielle Calvocoressi’s Poetry Stylistics and Professor Courtney Rivard’s Storytelling and Game Development courses could no longer meet together at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Greenlaw Gameroom, so they took to combining poetry and game development remotely. One of the results of the parallel-taught classes is Underdepth, created by students Molly Hanna and Noah McFarlane. The game is centered around a character named Saddie, who is now living underground due to a climate crisis and is searching for a lost loved one. Featuring a branching storyline with choices and different endings, the game also incorporates elements of renga, a poetic form that necessitates collaboration. 

via toplay.ca

TO Play

Created in 2020 and set to launch in 2022, TO Play is an adventure game about water privatization, urbanization, environmental racism, and Indigenous water and land values in Toronto, Canada. TO Play began as a thesis project at Ryerson University, where creative director and producer, Ria Kapoor, and lead game designer, Ryan Spooner, wanted to explore the possibilities of social and environmental advocacy through video games. In the game, players will explore Toronto, both above and below ground, and learn about Toronto’s combined sewer system and its Lost Rivers. Watch the TO Play pitch here!

via wlrn.org

Money Moves

Though this is a game in its earliest stages, it’s one to keep an eye on. Samya Zia recently won the 2021 NFTE National Investor Pitch Challenge after pitching her educational video game, Money Moves, this summer. The 19-year old Florida International University student plans to teach financial literacy and concepts such as investment, scholarships, loans, and more through gameplay. Watch Zia’s full pitch to learn all about the upcoming game here. 

via glifwc.itch.io

Growing Up Ojibwe

Set in Northern Wisconsin and designed by the University of Wisconsin-Stout student and 3D environment artist Eleanor Falck, Growing Up Ojibwe involves collecting firewood, spearfishing, harvesting manoomin, and learning from family and other community members along the way. The game is designed for use in middle school classrooms, containing teachings on Ojibwe treaty rights, tribal sovereignty, harvesting practices, language, and more. Play the game free on itch.io, and learn more about the development of the game here. 

Ako: A Test of Loyalty

Last year, four University of Texas – Austin students, Ashley Gelato, Michael Rader, Izellah Wang, and Alex Aragon, were given a challenge. History professor Adam Clulow wanted to know if it was possible for the group to create “a fully functional, historically accurate video game across the course of a single semester.” From this experiment, Ako: A Test of Loyalty emerged. In this interactive novel with branching storylines, the main character Kanpei Hashimoto, a young samurai, navigates life before, during, and after the Akō incident. Since the creation of this game, Professor Clulow has written an essay about how the game and its student-creators changed the way he thinks about teaching history. 

More on students and game development:

The post Student-Created Educational Games appeared first on Filament Games.

via Giphy

As we march further on into autumn and towards the end of the year, we thought that the intersection between video games and medicine could use another examination! In this post, we’ll investigate how video games allow clinicians and researchers to gather data and encourage public health participation, how they can provide learning opportunities to medical students and professionals, and generally how they function on the inside of the medical field. Turns out, video games are an excellent resource for training, experimentation, research, and more!

Video Games as a Large-Scale Research Tool

Thanks to video games, medical professionals can gather research on a larger scale than ever before. For example, FoldIt, a puzzle game developed by the Center for Game Science at the University of Washington, crowdsources research. By playing the game, which involves folding and building proteins, users can contribute to drug development and the structural understanding of diseases such as HIV, cancer, and Alzheimer’s. Learn more here about how FoldIt is being used to fight COVID-19. 

Similarly, Sea Hero Quest (Deutsche Telecom alongside GLITCHERS, UCL, UEA and Alzheimer’s Research UK) was a game that conducted the “largest study of spatial navigation abilities,” and was “played for a combined total of over 117 years by 4.3 million people around the world, providing scientists with data that would have taken traditional dementia research 176 centuries to collect.” Following the success of the first title, Sea Quest VR was introduced in 2017. Watch the video below to learn more about how Sea Quest VR is used as a research aid!

Serious Video Games, VR, and Public Health Initiatives 

Even before the pandemic, researchers were exploring serious video games as avenues to increase vaccination rates, especially for influenza. A 2020 study found that a serious video game increased a group of adolescents’ interest in getting the HPV vaccination. In recent years, research has shown that the use of VR may help young children regulate their emotions better during vaccination, and that the use of VR may encourage those who normally do not seek a flu vaccine to reconsider. Though a relatively new tool for public health experts and workers, serious games and virtual reality are promising methods for increasing vaccine education and coverage. (Virtual reality is handy for many other medical applications as well!) 

For aspiring public health professionals or just those curious about the role of vaccines, there are a host of educational games on pandemics, from the CDC’s Solve the Outbreak to The Vaccination Game developed by students and scientists at the University of Oxford and Goldsmiths and the University of London.     

Video Games for Medical Education

Video games for medical education offer students and professionals a zero-stakes place to practice procedures, surgeries, and more. Simulated emergency situations in these games aim to diminish the likelihood of emergencies or errors in real life, as well as increase the preparedness of medical staff. Filament Games’ own Saving Lives! is a game that implements American Heart Association Guidelines for CPR and gives players practice giving chest compressions and using an AED. 

Companies such as Level Ex and Osso VR are creating immersive training experiences for dermatologists to surgeons with the help of simulation and VR games. When tested by physicians in 2016 and 2017, Night Shift, an adventure game that takes place in an E.R., results showed that the game helped medical staff effectuate trauma triage better than those who didn’t play. 

There is surely more innovation to come as the relationship between medical training, research, and video games continues to grow. We’re excited to see what the future holds for digital medicine, VR training, and beyond!

More innovative educational game applications:

The post Games as Digital Medicine (Part 2) appeared first on Filament Games.

Instant Intergalactic Exploration: VR and Field Trips to Space

In this age of VR, field trip destinations are limitless. A classroom, any room, can become the moon. Or Antarctica, or a farm, or the depths of the sea. VR Explorations, developed by Filament Games for client Publications International and distributed by CostCo, contains six hardcover Encyclopedia Britannica books, each book supplementing an included Android and iOS-compatible immersive VR experience. These experiences include touring famous international landmarks, the savannah, coral reefs, and more.  

But the benefits of VR don’t stop at instant travel. According to Shailey Minocha, professor of learning technologies and social computing at the Open University in the UK, research has shown that students are more analytical after incorporating VR into their education. Anna Alford, a primary school teacher also based in the UK, found that after her students used VR to experience history and explore space, VR learning also boosted their creative writing skills. Imagery, similes, and metaphors came to students’ minds easily to describe their new environments.

Art, Simulation, and Creating New Spaces

Museums and art galleries, while great places to learn, can also become microcosms for elitism and gatekeeping. Costs, nepotism, and gender and race homogeneity are several reasons why not all students may feel welcome or be able to enter spaces like art museums. Simulations and VR are tools that help to cut through elitism and exclusivity in art spaces. Now, it’s easy for artists to create their own virtual spaces and gain new audiences for their work with applications such as ArtSteps and ArtGate. Art lovers can explore exhibitions of all kinds from their homes with apps like GalleriesNow. 

via Occupy White Walls on Steam

Occupy White Walls, a simulation game available on Steam, allows artists and gamers alike to build a virtual art gallery. This free game allows artists to upload their work into the game, and contains an AI curator to help users with decision-making while designing their own galleries.

In simulated galleries, artists are in control of creating their own spaces and defining those spaces. Full of Birds, a 3D art gallery experience created by Ashlee Bird featuring the artwork of Sarah Biscarra Dilley “encourages the user to explore what it means to be ‘in’ a space, and how we, as Indigenous women artists, choose to maintain and recreate, or bend and reshape, spaces and places through our creation.” To experience an art gallery like never before, download Full of Birds on itch.io.  

via https://abird.itch.io/

The Environment and the Space We Live In

When discussing the nebulous and malleable term “space” in this article, we think of rooms and buildings, of intergalactic wonder, but we also can’t help but think of the earth — the spaces on this planet we occupy. How might VR/simulated environments impact a learner’s relationship to nature? Research suggests that games, particularly in VR, help a player to cultivate curiosity and empathy towards the land one lives on.  

An example of such a game is Along the River of Spacetime, a 2020 game created by designer, writer, artist, and Ph.D. Elizabeth LaPensée (creator of When Rivers Were Trails and other titles), musician Jordan Thomas (Exquisite Ghost), and translator Perry Bebamash. The VR adventure is inspired by Indigenous Futurism, and players learn Anishinaabeg land practices, ecology, astronomy, and quantum physics as they work to restore the river in Nkwejong (Lansing, MI) by activating stars and creating constellations. 

Another example is “an immersive virtual reality experience about climate change” created by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) utilizing the Sony PlayStation platform, Dreams. This game allows participants to physically see their carbon footprint in a simulated environment. The creators hope that this new perspective on carbon emissions through VR generates greater interest and a greater understanding of climate change. 

Into the Past, Into The Future (and into the Metaverse?!)

Historically informed video games allow students a simulated step into the past. Oculus and Filament Games’ Breaking Boundaries gives players an inside look at the lives of scientists Jane Goodall, Marie Curie, and Grace Hopper. VR enables players to explore each scientist’s real-life work environments and an up-close and personal view of their work.

On the other end of the spectrum, VR allows players access to spaces in the future. For example, the VR experience NeuroSpeculative AfroFeminism “uses video, virtual reality, and medical imaging to explore Black women’s contributions to science while raising issues of identity and perception as well as the experiences of women of color through the lens of technology, society and culture.” This three-part narrative created by Hyphen-Labs and set in Neurocosmetology lab sends a player on a journey through the metaverse while exploring subjects of neuroscience, Afrofuturism, memory, representation, and metacognition. Tour the game with one of its creators here.

Evolving Educational Spaces

Simulation and VR games are changing learning in the classroom and at home. VR specifically is changing how students absorb information, as learning concepts transform into tangible spaces to visit and explore. A creative and visual aid, VR gives students the opportunity to learn by doing, to step into another’s shoes and into another place. Days of memorization and regurgitation on a page are over — increased engagement and empathy are just a couple of the transformative powers of educational video games. Easily adaptable to the ever-changing educational system, games keep us all moving forward and connected in shared space with one another.  

Take another step into the future of game-based learning:

The post How Digital Games are Changing Educational Space appeared first on Filament Games.

via Giphy

Previously, we’ve covered some shiny new educational games and gaming organizations that help build 21st century (future-facing) skills. From content creation to project-based learning, video games teach skills that are useful for a wide variety of careers. To further investigate how video games help us all grow, we asked our team to tell us about games from their childhood that helped them learn vital skills and discover their passions and interests. Take a trip down memory lane as members of our staff recount the games that sent them down the path they are on today!

Nicole Remily, Marketing Assistant

“Hooked on Phonics! My dad used it to teach me how to read and I knew how before I started kindergarten!”

via amazon.com

Lydia Symchych, Game Designer

“JumpStart Adventures 3rd Grade Mystery Mountain. I presented it to the design team earlier this year. A lot of the facts and information from the science/social studies activities are still stored in my brain somewhere.”

via u/RenegadeReddit on Reddit

Alex Yaeger, Visual & Interaction Designer

“I have always enjoyed city-building games. Even RTS games inevitably became de facto city-builders to me. Through them, I gained a comprehension that taxing a populace to oblivion does not increase revenue, stunts growth, and inevitably leads to decay and long-term ruin. The temptation to extort my citizens for some grand public-works project was short-sighted and started me on the road to understanding that centralized command-economies are doomed to fail.”

via Giphy

Allison Salmon, Senior Game Designer

“I played a lot of a Commodore 64 game called Agent USA. It taught me a lot about US geography, names of state capitals and a love of train travel.” 

via C64-Wiki

Brandon Pittser, VP of Marketing and Funding Development

“It’s not directly a learning game, but mine would be Timelapse! You could fairly say that it wears its Myst influence on its sleeve – well okay, it’s basically just Myst. But the difference is that Timelapse is set in fictional settings inspired by actual ancient civilizations, so you learn about Ancient Egypt, the Maya civilization, and the Anasazi civilization. The story starts on Easter Island, and the setting was so cool and otherwordly to me that I was totally blown away when I discovered that it actually exists! I’ve maintained a lifelong fascination with Easter Island and its Maori statues, solely because of my exposure to this game.”

via myabandonware.com

Are there any games on this list that you recognize? If you’re feeling inspired from all the nostalgia, and you or your organization is interested in exploring the possibility of creating a custom educational game or app of your own, be sure to reach out!

More on educational games of times past:

The post The Educational Games of Our Youth appeared first on Filament Games.

via Giphy

Why Use Games to Teach Collaboration?

How can co-op gaming work to fill pedagogical gaps? Multiple studies have shown that collaborative learning can build a variety of professional and interpersonal skills — critical thinking, communication, leadership, accountability, and positive interdependence, to name a few. Co-op game collaborative learning can work to help foster these skills as well as help students increase their grades and their sense of social belonging. A 2018 study found that multiplayer video games boosted the “social and motivational inclusion of at-risk students.” In comparison to traditional group-learning methods, video games can increase interest and morale, and therefore, academic and social participation. That’s a win-win situation!

Considerations for Collaborative Gaming in the Classroom

However, not every co-op game may be of use in the classroom, and there are important environmental and design considerations to take into account before using multiplayer games as a learning tool for students. In an article for ACMI, Dr. Matthew Harrison, lecturer in Learning Intervention at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, postulates that there are “ideal conditions for collaborative learning” that can be reached while introducing video games in the classroom – this involves both game design and all the people in the room. Dr. Harrison notes a couple of different ways to reach these ideal conditions. 

Firstly, he asserts that feedback must be given frequently both in the game and from a student’s peers and teacher. This way, players can more easily track their progress and figure out their individual roles within the team. Dr. Harrison also proposes that game design is critical in helping students recognize their roles within a team. If a game is designed without collaboration in mind, one student could, at best, take on a leadership role, or at worst, dominate the game and leave no roles for other students to fill. As an example, he states that side-scrolling games that limit scrolling until all the players are moving together are ideal for collaborative learning, as they mandate that all players contribute to the tasks at hand. Lastly, Dr. Harrison asserts that teachers should always be available to answer questions and help students with the mechanics of gameplay, the goals within the game, and the learning objectives targeted through the game.

Though it takes some more coordination than simply telling students to pick up a controller and work together, when implemented thoughtfully, multiplayer games and learning can be the perfect match.

Games That Teach Collaboration and Academic Subjects – All In One!

Educators or anyone else on the lookout for an educational multiplayer game to use in a classroom or just with friends– look no further! The following games teach both collaborative skills and academic subjects at the same time.

Annenberg Classroom’s That’s Your Right is a single and multiplayer game that teaches players all about the Bill of Rights. This easily accessible card game is free to play on a web browser, along with free lesson plans and other resources for educators. This game provides a collaborative space for students to solve problems together and work towards shared goals – fostering key collaborative skills which are directly transferable to other aspects of one’s career and life.

Rainbow Agents is a cooperative programming game available in both the New York Hall of Science in Queens, NY, and the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, CA. Each player controls an AI character, tending to a community garden through planting and watering plants. Created with inclusive game design principles in mind, this in-museum co-op game encourages students to create a lush and biodiverse garden, powered by teamwork! 

Games and Teambuilding in the Office

Games and collaboration can combine to make teamwork work beyond the classroom, too! Along with the potential to boost morale and grow stronger connections between co-workers, one study found that newly-formed small groups of adults who played video games together for 45 minutes were 20 percent more productive than another group that was assigned traditional team-building activities. The researchers noted that their results indicated that games may be the most optimal and effective way to team-build in the workplace. They also found that even the participants that were new to gaming benefitted from playing video games with their groups.

Playing video games in a work setting is an opportunity for employees to have fun and accomplish goals together in a low-stakes environment. Co-op games (and augmented reality games, too, among others!) present an unconventional and refreshed opportunity to connect and improve work performance. A team that plays well together, works well together!

No matter who you are or what you do, teamwork really does make the dream work – and gaming can put you on a fast track towards that dream! Dreaming of creating a custom educational game or app? Let’s talk!

More on the power of collaboration:

The post Using Digital Games to Teach Collaboration appeared first on Filament Games.