Paper Abstract - Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen

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ABSTRACT

Games and Learning: The Case for the Trojan Horse

Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen

The principles and ideas of learning have been a topic of big interest for centuries. However it seems that society has not changed considerable since the traditional school was formed in 17th Century. This despite scholars arguing intensely since the mid-eighties about the promise of post-modernity and its consequences for the individual. The network society should have profound impact on the learning paradigm but still schools stand the test of time.

Games can be considered one of the finest champions for the new learning paradigm evolving around the individual, handing over power from the holder of knowledge to the seeker.

Games are in many ways a bringer of the future for learning and it is not sheer chance that have led our children and youngsters to the darkness of the net cafés. Games hold the potential for transforming learning if applied correct and not annexed by the traditional learning paradigm. Sadly this has far to often been the case with teachers, parents and academics trying to exploit the fascination of games. In principle there is nothing wrong with trying to explore the learning potential of games or even making games for facilitating kids learning. A noble task indeed but a task that is far too often doomed to fail due to a lack of understanding games, play and learning. All these are not easily combined but if you are to be successful you must first of all cast away the old mechanical learning paradigm. Learning is not about putting things into people's head but can rather be understood as a process of involving the user in different contexts. In situated learning this is argued through examples from original societies where learning is still a relation between master and pupil. The pupil is slowly being led into a profession by being part of the profession's context.

Games have the potential for creating such environments. It has seldom been done but some of the more successful games actually draw on some of these factors. A lot of boys have a dream of becoming a pirate for example. So what better idea than put him in a pirate's shoes and slowly let him master the tools of the trade. Of course this is not easily done, after all firing a cannon demands physical strengths and ability. And so it does raising a sail. However in the post-modern society tasks and work are increasingly becoming something very different than what is present in the physical world. It is actually possible to simulate and play with a lot of these things on a computer, for example being a business tycoon, running a hospital, being a major, hacker, dancer, rock star or hooligan.

It could with some reason be argued that this is not relevant for younger age groups, but I disagree. Although the games cannot be as complex, it is still important to implement the learning in a relevant context. In Denmark, the association for fighting cancer made a game called Foodman. The goal in the game was to stay healthy by not eating the wrong food, however none of the kids actually made this connection when it was later tested in a supermarket. They still bought the wrong food and there awareness of eating healthy food was not raised. The game did not successfully link the learning to the everyday context, but did instead focus on delivering pieces of learning.

So how do we make these games? Has it already be done and how? Is it at all relevant to call them games anymore or are they something different? It seems that many of the learning games are not games at all, but rather teaching programs with sugar on top.

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