Games, gaming and gamification in Education

Even today, people are still debating whether playing computer games professionally should be considered a sport or not. 

The truth is - it doesn't matter. According to the World Economic Forum, the global audience for eSports sits around 300 million fans. That's now officially enough people to render the question irrelevant. For all intents and purposes, eSports seems to be here to stay, attracting an ever-increasing number of players, viewers, advertisers, and support. 

In fact, eSports has grown in popularity so much that it's prize pool has now surpassed that of many popular sports. According to Business Insider, the US Open (2017, tennis) had the largest prize pool of all sports, at around 50 million US dollars. In second place, sits "The International 2017," an eSports tournament for the popular game Dota 2. The prize? 24.7 million US dollars. That's more than the Indy 500 (13.1 million) or the Stanley Cup (7 million).

The UCI professor of informatics and president of the Higher Education Video Game Alliance gave an overview of research findings from studies conducted over the past decade. Among the results:

Video gaming has significant positive effects on reading, reasoning skills and mathematics achievement.
Games align well with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). For example, one study showed improvement in STEM performance of more than a grade of difference when using games to learn instead of textbooks.
Video gaming results in 20% higher self-efficacy, 11% higher declarative knowledge, 14% higher procedural knowledge and 9% better retention.
Video games have a positive impact in areas like perception and attention, systemic thinking, ethical reasoning, collaborative problem solving and computer and technology fluency.

A group of Grade 9 students in Texas who substantially outperformed their district on a statewide standardized test all had one surprising thing in common: they all were members of the school’s Dungeons & Dragons club. A coincidence? Otherwise, how does a fantasy role-playing game produce improved test scores? The obvious explanation is that the club draws the bright kids who are already academically inclined. But many of the kids in the club at the Title I school had histories of struggling with academics.

At GDC 2019 later this month, Valve’s Principal Experimental Psychologist, Mike Ambinder will present the latest research pertaining to brain-computer interfaces—using signals from the brain as computer input. Ambinder says that BCI is still “speculative technology,” but could play an important role in the way players interact with the games of the future.


As time moves forward, the means by which users interact with computers have becoming increasingly natural. First was the punch card, then the command line, the mouse… and now we’ve got touchscreens, voice assistants, and VR/AR headsets which read the precise position of our head and hands for natural interactions with the virtual world.

A young, autistic game developer has showcased his innovative new project at Australia's largest gaming convention, as part of an exhibit putting diversity centre-stage.

Inspired by his experiences living with autism, Bradley Hennessey's experimental game, An Aspie Life allows players to experience life with Asperger's.

In addition to entertainment, Mr Hennessey said the power of video games to enhance empathy with others is undervalued.