Beyond Nintendo: design and assessment of educational video games for first and second grade students

“This has resulted in a general improvement of students’ motivation and marks [5].”

“Research studies reported that positive effects such as positive interdependence, faceto-face interaction, sharing, caring and support developed among students when they played together (Strasburger and Donnerstein 1999; Prensky 2001; Durkin and Barber 2002; Rosas et al. 2003).”

“In fact, the kinds of intellectual skills these games foster look very much like those that one sees as the focus of critical thinking programs: interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation (Henderson, Klemes, & Eshet, 2000; Rosas et al., 2003).”

“An additional study revealing the power of games in education took place in Chile [16].”

“…using computer games for education and training produces greater learning outcomes and/or learner satisfaction than conventional forms of instruction (e.g., Ricci et al., 1996; Yip & Kwan, 2006), other researchers have not found these benefits (e.g., Ebner & Holzinger, 2007; Rosas et al., 2003).”

“Year Source Title # of Citation Rosas et al. (2003) Beyond Nintendo: Design and assessment of educational video games for first and second-grade students 2003 Computers and Education 406 Boyle et al. (2016) An update to the systematic literature review of empirical evidence of the impacts and…”

“Precisely, there are many studies that highlight the benefits of using serious games in the classroom [27,49,32] as they aid to improve the spatial abilities, promote interactive learning, motivate learning through challenge or, even, can act as simulators (players can practice without real consequences).”

“Some examples of educational games that are often used include Prime Climb, which aims to teach number factorization [5] or Magalú, a game where players practice language and communication skills, and mathematical [6].”

“…present improvements as some studies indicated that the daily practice of digital games in the school environment improves overall school skills (Rosas et al. 2003), and these skills are dependent on several cognitive processes (e.g., working memory, planning, making decision, processing speed,…”

“It is suggested that digital games can be a useful tool in supporting learning [15].”

“The effectiveness of computer games in class was confirmed in the aspects of learning, motivation and classroom dynamics [12].”

“Extant research on video gaming may examine what adolescent or elementary students learn as a result of inhabiting and collaborating in a virtual world (Abrams, 2009; Alberti, 2008; Din & Calao, 2001; Rosas et al., 2003) and may consider gamer Discourses and interaction within the virtual world (Steinkuehler, 2006).”

“New teaching/learning techniques need to be defined, which can arouse the emotions of young visitors, stimulating their imagination and curiosity.”

“Others have made similar claims about the need to educate teachers on how to implement GBL (Becker, 2007; Ketelhut & Schifter, 2011; Rosas et al., 2003).”

“…games are based on a one-to-one interaction between the child and the computer, and sometimes suggest the use of head-phones, the children might be driven into social isolation behaviors (Rosas et al., 2003) and their involvement in social or motor activities could be reduced (Stoll, 2000).”

“In sum, one of the greatest concerns among K–12 educators continues to be aligning the games to curriculum requirements (Gros 2003; Rosas et al. 2003; Squire et al. 2005; Baek 2008; Kebritchi 2010).”

“Some works [55]–[57] focus on first language primary reading skills (among other fields) for young children and showed positive results, but does not focus on reading long texts, focusing instead on more basic skills, such as individual word reading.”

“The result of the study shows that it was positive support for learning by integrating game design into teaching with fun [ 13 ].”

“Computer games have a number of negative connotations associated with them including that they are conducive to negative personality traits and behaviours (Rosas et al., 2003).”

“Moreover, the repetitive nature of many video games is key to promoting the acquisition of procedural or behavioral health knowledge [48].”

“Higher motivation, attention, and concentration have been related (Rosas et al., 2003) to the perception that an activity is “fun” (i.e., visually and cognitively attractive to children).”

“The digital game as an instructional tools would support and strengthen: school achievement, cognitive abilities, motivation towards learning, and attention and concentration [27][30].”

“And a variety of reports and papers discuss and theorise the new learning opportunities afforded (Barab et al., 2005; de Freitas, 2006; de Freitas & Levene, 2004; Dempsey et al., 2002; Dowey, 2001; Gross, 2003; Holsbrink-Engels, 1997; Jayakanthan, 2002; Jenkins & Squire, 2003; Rosas et al., 2003; Sandford & Francis, 2…”

“In addition to embodying a range of pedagogical strategies, one of the most pertinent features of games is their ability to motivate and engage, or their ―holding power‖ [22].”

“Frostig Developmental Visual Perception Test was adapted by Sökmen (1994). Test-retest reliability was found to be .”

“Moreover, the nature of the repetition of video games can be one of the key mechanisms of action for promoting knowledge in children and changing their behaviors (27).”

“[8]a foreign researcher , has organized past research which studied digital games as teaching aids.”

“For example that there are six elementary schools in Chile studied mathematic and took exam via Gameboy [ 15 ]; two senior high school in Kyoto treated Nintendo Dual Screen (NDS) and PlayStation Portable (PSP) as formal learning tools to support classroom instruction.”

“The fact that there are research findings showing that educational games can be as effective as non-gaming approaches, with regard to the achievement of Mathematics related objectives, [25,10] allows us to infer that not only specially-designed educational games but also general-purpose commercial games can contribute…”

“The fact that digital games teach while making you have fun and depend on abilities contributes to the positive manners the students towards the lessons (Klawe, 1999; Rosas et. al., 2003; Prensky, 2003; Papastergiou, 2009).”

“Play constitutes an important part of children ’ s cognitive and social development (Csíkszentmihályi, 1990; Durkin, 2010; Piaget, 1951) and it therefore represents an exceptional learning experience (Rosas et al., 2003).”

“Rosas et al. (2003) indicated that game-based learning enriches learners with the value of learning and creates an educational environment consistent with students’ interestoriented motivation, producing the experience of ‘edutainment’.”

“Repetition promotes long-term learning [43], and thus may foster generalization of its effects to adolescents’ daily lives.”

“Learning with DGBL is fun and enjoyable (Ebner & Holzinger, 2007; Mokka et al.,2003 ), motivating (Becker, 2001; Cai et al.,2006; Ke,2009 ; Mokka et al.,2003 ; Natvig & Line,2004 ; Rosas et al., 2003; Wishart, 1990) and engaging (Cai et al., 2006; Rosas et al., 2003).”

“Moreover, some years ago, there were different experiences with the introduction of using video games as educational tools, for example, the ones presented in [14] or [16].”

“…al., 2006; Klawe, 1998; Ke & Grabowski, 2007; Lopez-Morteo & Lopez, 2007; Moreno, 2002; Owston, Wideman, Ronda, & Brown, 2009; Papastergiou, 2009; Rosas et al., 2003; Yip & Kwan, 2006), promoted learner's motivation in 4 of 16 studies (Klawe, 1998; Lopez-Morteo & Lopez, 2007; Rosas et al., 003;…”

“…games promote the development of skills such as strategic thinking and creativity, offering appropriate and adaptive feedback and the embedding of cognitive strategies that can reduce task time, increase achievement and have a positive effect on student learning (Booth, 2009; Rosas et al., 2003).”

“When new technology is employed in the classroom, there is evidence of a link between ICT-enabled activities, a good attitude toward mathematics, increased mathematical learning, and students' performance [16], [17].”

“Academic benefits include video games which can support and strengthen school achievement, cognitive abilities, motivation towards learning, attention and concentration (Rosas et al., 2003).”

“…findings exist, however, and many researchers have documented learning gains and increased motivation as a result of serious game, mobile learning, and other technology-oriented interventions (Rosas et al, 2003; Mitchell & Savill-Smith, 2005; Kukulska-Hulme & Traxler, 2007; Liu et al, 2011).”

“Rosas et al. [30] found that the use of games in the classroom, via portable handheld devices, led to improved motivation and learning for math and reading in primary school.”

“Games in education have also become increasingly popular in recent years, especially for children and have proven to be beneficial for academic achievement, motivation and classroom dynamics [1].”

“…and theory on video gaming suggest that, for children and adolescents, video game playing can be motivating and rewarding (Chute & Miksad, 1997; Rosas et al., 2003; Smith & Wilhelm, 2002) and can have potential academic benefits (Alberti, 2008; Din & Calao, 2001; Gee, 2003; Greenfield, 1984;…”

“By way of example, Rosas et al. (2003) designed video games for the incidental teaching of reading comprehension, spelling and basic math skills to first and second grade children.”

“…2014; deHaan, 2019; Engerman et al., 2019; Gee, 2003; Gerber & Abrams, 2014; Hanghøj et al., 2020; Hawisher & Selfe, 2007; Nash & Brady, 2021; Rosas et al., 2003; Schaffer et al., 2005; Squire, 2011; Steinkuehler et al., 2010; Steinkuehler et al., 2012; Van Eck, 2008; Wolf & Perron, 2003),…”

“Rosas et al. (2003), for example, found that educational video games positively influenced learning and motivation.”

“A basic assumption in this paper is that games can be used for learning mathematics, a belief that is supported by several researchers [11] [12] [13].”

“Further, Rosas et al. (2003) implemented specifically designed video games in disadvantaged schools in Chile for Year one and two students and focussed on measuring the impact on learning in maths, spelling and comprehension.”

“Some studies incorporating video games have reported improved spelling and reading skills [3] and increased student motivation [4] at elementary grade levels (K-2).”

“In addition, games can increase motivation in learning and attainment [23].”

“Extensive and varied research has been conducted on e-gaming in education as a whole (Garris, Ahlers, & Driskell, 2002; Margolis, Nussbaum, Rodriguez, & Rosas, 2006; Rosas et al., 2003; Shaffer, Squire, Halverson, & Gee, 2004; Squire, 2006).”

“Educational games (here defined as a physical or mental contest played according to specific rules, with the goal of amusing or rewarding the participant; Noemí and Máximo, 2014), digital or physical, effectively engage and motivate students to learn, unlike a strictly conventional educational environment (Rosas et al…”

“Moreover, video games are not only for fun, as they may also be effective as educational tools, especially if they are based on the curriculum [12].”

“Games have demonstrated the ability to teach while providing a motivating and interactive environment [10] are effective with children [7] and can be as effective as face-to-face instruction [6].”