Using Digital Games as Assessment and Instruction Tools

Combine hard work and deep fun in classrooms with digital game based learning. Students of the always-on generation gain information through different technology and learn differently than generations before them. Discover how to incorporate digital games in the classroom and use them to craft engaging, academically applicable activities that address content standards and revitalize learning for both teachers and students. Consider the platforms and technology setups in your school to make intelligent gameplay decisions. Analyze digital games to assess them for efficiency, suitability, and difficulty for students.

Benefits

• Gain practiced guidance for implementing digital games for the classroom.


• Consider research and theory that confirm the power of play in childhood development and learning.


• Explore the positive and negative characteristics of different digital gaming platforms for learning.


• Review classifications of games, including the prime educational uses for short- and long-form games.


• Examine the different types of assessment, how they can factor into digital games, and the roles facilitators and students play with each.

Contents
Introduction: The Gamer in All of Us
Chapter 1: Finding Good Digital Games Where to Look
Chapter 2: Evaluating and Field Testing Digital Games
Chapter 3: Gaming and Instructional Assessment
Appendix: Discussion Questions References and Resources

Ryan L. Schaaf is the assistant professor of educational technology at Notre Dame of Maryland University and a faculty associate for the Johns Hopkins University School of Education graduate program-the same program he graduated from with a master of science in instructional technology and technology leadership in schools. With over fifteen years in the education field, Ryan has been a teacher, instructional leader, curriculum designer, and a technology integration specialist in Howard County, Maryland. In 2007, he was nominated for Maryland Teacher of the Year.

Ryan has published numerous research articles related to the use of digital games as an effective instructional strategy in the classroom in New Horizons for Learning and The Canadian Journal of Action Research.

Ryan is developing and instructing face-to-face, hybrid, and online courses for both Notre Dame of Maryland University and Johns Hopkins. His passion is presenting sessions and keynotes about the potential for gaming in the classroom, the characteristics of 21st century learning, and emerging technologies and trends in education.

Books include Making School a Game Worth Playing: Digital Games in the Classroom and Reinventing Learning for the Always-On Generation: Strategies and Apps That Work.

Ryan is happily married to his beautiful wife, Rachel, and has two little boys that are his pride and joy. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, exercising, gardening, and volunteering in local schools. To learn more about Ryan's work, follow @RyanLSchaaf on Twitter.