We all know that students are engaged by games, but many don't know that games are also a highly effective way to both teach and assess competencies. Games support the growth of 21st century skills: analytical thinking, creativity, innovation, collaboration, and problem solving. They provide immediate feedback to the student and the teacher, they create an environment where failure has limited consequences and students are inspired to master each concept before moving on. Each student's learning experience can be tailored and personal, and teachers can focus their energy where they are really needed.
Games4Ed grew out of the realization that while games can transform a classroom, they face an almost insurmountable task getting into classes in the first place. Mitch Weisburgh, co-founder of Academic Business Advisors, knows better than most people how difficult the US education market can be for the uninitiated. He and Games for Education co-founder Larry Cocco made it their mission to tear down those barriers and establish collaborations between educators, researchers, game developers, publishers and policy makers to further the use of games and other immersive learning strategies in schools to help the education sector fulfill the mission of preparing all children to become successful 21st century learners and citizens.
Games for Education began by gathering more than 25 representatives from different sectors of the gaming and education community, and looking into what makes a good game, what models are sustainable for developing, deploying, and supporting games, and what research practices support continuous improvement and effective decision-making from educators, among other questions.
Today, we are helping develop frameworks for selecting and developing high quality education games, models of sustainability, interoperability with school systems, additional research into the tranformative nature of games, and competency assessment.
Contact Mitch Weisburgh to find out more.