Breakout session on serious games

December 22, 2006 2:59 PM

The Federation of American Scientists will participate in an exciting breakout session featuring its ground-breaking work in the field of serious games. Serious games are showing early promise as advanced learning technologies that can improve student learning. The Federation argues that serious video games have the power to motivate children to learn rigorous content both in and out of school while potentially taking advantage of gaming platforms that are already in millions of households across the country.

Presenters will include FAS president Dr. Henry Kelly; Dr. Dexter Fletcher, a leading authority on advanced techology in military education and training at the Institute for Defense Analysis; and teachers from DC's McKinley's Technology high school, which has been piloting prototype serious games with its students.

Working with game designers and major foundations, the Federation has already developed two prototype games:

Discover Babylon, a game for 8-14-year-olds, uses "realistic digital environments to engage the learner in challenges and mysteries that can only be solved through developing an understanding of Mesopotamian society, business practices, and trade." (For more information on this game, click here.

The other serious game, Immune Attack, "combines realistic depictions of biological structure and function with advanced educational technologies to provide an introduction to basic concepts in immunology for high school and college students. Students are motivated with a series of increasingly difficult challenges in a compelling gaming environment in which success depends on an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the human immune system." (For more information, click here.

These games combine advanced gaming platforms, virtual reality, intelligent computer tutors and other technology. Their proponents argue that they can increase student engagement in learning, help teachers adapt to their individual needs, keep track of student performance, identify areas where students need conceptual help, and support high academic standards. The problem: They're expensive to develop, mainline gaming companies are not exactly leaping into the market, and little foundation and government funding is available to support their widespread development.