What is gaming?

Classrooms and Learning managers are embracing the changes in this the 21st century.

What is an educational game?
"An educational game, one designed for learning, is a subset of both play and fun. It is a melding of educational content, learning principles, and computer games" (Prensky, 2001). Digital game-based learning is organized to provide both education and pleasure. Play relaxes people, putting them in a receptive state for learning.

According to Will Wright who himself a game writer believes that "games should not be there to teach, but to motivate students into learning".

Interactive whiteboards, laptops, digital cameras, digital movie making and educational software.In this the 21st century these now are the "diverse set of tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store and manage information" Blurton (2008).

Resources within schools through ICT's are giving learning managers more options in the way that they "teach" a lesson. Research shows that students at all levels are responding to educational games. psychological research has shown that verbal information is in fact better remembered when accompanied by a visual image. Paivio (1971) believed that a learner would not be overwhelmed by multimodal instruction but can benefit from it.

Learners in this the 21st century spend many hours outwith school playing computer games. If asked about the characters in their game or rules the learner would be able to give step by step details. This 21st century child learns through many forms, "hands on" written and verbal instruction. They are learners who require more from the traditional education system. They want to be informed rather than preached to. They want teachers who are not disconnected from new technologies but those that are plugged in and ready to work in partnership with them.

Educational games and lessons combine the old with the new. Technology does not mean that students do not have to be literate in both numeracy and English, but does mean that with the new technology available, students have the opportunity to learn from a "hands on" approach to learning. Educational games have been developed for all key learning areas. These games become a concrete learning tool for students due to the "fun" way they are taught. We know that learning does not have to be fun but we also must understand that if learning managers use teaching strategies completely foreign to the student, it will take a lot longer for the learner to grasp the concept if they ever do.