Fostering science education objectives with teacher-made computer games

Abstract

The new generation of learners in today's schools is accustomed to a digital world. The students are surrounded by visual stimuli and are becoming proficient in areas not on the test! Their new ways of learning offer challenges to traditional teaching methods, and opportunities for creative use of their new skills and interests. In this minisymposium we will give a brief overview of digital game-based learning, its philosophical and practical origins, values of play for general educational development as well as for science learning, and ways to approach the objectives of science education through use of games for teaching and learning. Values and types of educational games will be discussed, as well as general guidelines for development. Several Cyprus teachers have developed classroom learning games using computer technology. This paper culminates with their descriptions of how they constructed the learning devices for lessons on endangered species and introduced species.