
by labsadmin

By Mohammed Bader
A lot of educational institutions want to make educational games. However, for some reason or the other, the majority of these games fail. In this article, I am going to try to explain why this happens.
Before we go any further, lets first make sure that you believe that games can be used as an educational tool.
Following are some points that will help you understand why you would want to make games out of educational material:
When an educational institution wants to make an educational game they usually make a big mistake of focusing mainly on the educational parts only and forget to include the fun element. Some don’t even make a game. They simply make a normal application with games UI and bright colors believing they made an educational game just
“Just adding the alphabet to popular games like Angry Birds or Temple Run might make parents more willing to whip out their credit cards, but it won’t necessarily teach their children how to read.”
MindShift: Guide to Digital Games + Learning by Jordan Shapiro.
A colorful UI is not a game by itself, however using it in a game does make the game look good.
This method is called chocolate-covered broccoli, by adding a game like UI to the application, it will definitely make it look good and interesting for students and children but as soon as they realise that the app is more about education than fun, they will immediately stop using it and turn back to a normal educational app.
If you want students to consider your educational game “a game” and be hooked to it then you need to focus on the fun part first before the educational part.
You must have noticed that many educational games use numbers or letters on their covers. These games weren’t made for children, they were actually targeting teachers and parents because that is the image of educational games in their minds.
To make a successful educational game, we need to first concentrate on making an interactive game design which is fun and attractive and then plan on how to mix this with education. Having a good colorful UI in the game is essential but it shouldn’t be the only focus.
Educational games can’t replace teachers, instead they help empower teachers, enhance their work and help them know the weaknesses of their students to help them overcome it.
Teachers should have an admin/teacher panel where they can view and assess the child/student’s performance and behavior analysis throughout the game. This will give the teacher a detailed report about the student’s activities, subject he/she is familiar with and the area he needs help with.
These solutions will better help you understand what educational games actually are:
After discussing all the positive aspects of games, do games have a negative side also? The answer is, yes they do, but they can be easily avoided by following some simple tips mentioned below.
Gamification is the use of game mechanics and game design techniques in nongamecontexts to design behaviors, develop skills or to engage people in innovation.