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Research and discussion concerning instructional video games
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[…] The main reason for inclusion in the top 10 was the impact a game had on the educational gaming field. Some of these are getting rather long in the tooth as far as games go, yet their impact is still being felt in educational research that was foundational or continues to be published. On the other hand, new titles are coming out all the time and this list may well change in the future. The criteria for inclusion were simple. The game must be free and preferably available online. Some of the g […]
Thanks for the list John. I was fortunate to talk with Matt W. (now back at MIT) about Revolution earlier this year and many of the points he brought up are now echoed by Arden. I haven’t taken the time to play around in Arden yet, but there is still so much potential with the NWN toolset.
Thanks again.
paul
Hello John,
i think the Game “Global Conflicts: Palestine” is a candidate for your list. Well, it´s not free, but €20 isn´t really expensive…
http://www.globalconflicts.eu
best regards and congratulations for your great blog!
Jonas from http://histucation.wordpress.com
Paul – yeah, I mostly gave more weight to games with good research value over play-ability. Most of the free games developed on a large scale have involved researchers trying to figure out the intricacies of incorporating pedagogy in a videogame.
Jonas – I indeed considered GCP, but like you say it does cost money, so I left it off the list. Perhaps it could go in an honorable mention category.
JR
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[…] he also puts together some fine pieces and resources like Top 10 Education Video Games, gives us the truth about “Virtual Shakespeare”, follows how virtual worlds are spewing […]
[…] author, and speaker specializing in educational technology and instructional gaming has put out his Top 10 List of free educational games on his blog, Educational Games […]
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[…] America’s Army franchise in recruiting efforts. Recall that I included America’s Army in my Top 10 Free Educational Video Games earlier this month. Besides serving as a recruiting tool, the game instills values such as teamwork […]
Have you seen Travian? http://www.travian.com/ I’ve glanced at it but my kids haven’t played it yet. I emailed the developer to ask a question and he called me from Munich!!
Take a look at Stu’s Double Jeopardy – completely free and otally configurable. Best Jeopardy game going around for classrooms.
[…] January 12, 2008 In December, John Rice at Educational Games Research blog posted his list of the top 10 free educational games. Are there others you would add to the […]
[…] Whyville is a STEM-based academic virtual world (VW), where students can login and play at educational games with other kids around the country. I’ve encouraged teacher use of Whyville in my district, and listed it on my Top 10 Free Educational Videogames. […]
[…] The Top 10 Free Educational Video Games (John Rice) […]
Do you have any suggestions for HIGH SCHOOL level Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry games. Most of what little I’ve been able to find is at middle-school level.
Thanks.
sls
@Sharon: I’d try AquaMoose 3D, available here:
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/elc/aquamoose/
Also Logo, Scratch, and Alice can be used at higher grade levels to create games that integrate math content. This involves considerably more work on the part of students, but that’s kind of the point.
JR
Just read your post for the first time, looks great:) Gonna have a look at the rest of your blog!
I was looking for a list like this for research purposes. Thanks for sharing:)
I am looking for a game that can be used by undergraduates in groups which relates to making life choices. I was hoping for some software that would actually allow them to develop their own game. Any suggestions?
Interesting list.
I think MMORPGs were helpful in learning basic economic principles, if that counts for anything.
[…] The Top 10 Free Educational Video Games « Educational Games Research What the games are, urls for the host, learning objective stated, the type (modificaiton, executable, etc) and a comment.Great survey of what’s available and why it might be useful. (tags: games gaming free educationalgames education) […]
Excellent, great resource for showing my children. Fun online games while sneaking a little education in 🙂
Thanks for this comprehensive list, it’s great!
[…] Games Research, The Top 10 Free Educational Video Games One site’s take on the best out […]
All parents want their children to play and learn in safety, but sitting in front of a television is not the alternative most parents seek. Rather than simply watching a screen and being “spoon-fed” a constant stream of input, children benefit from the use and manipulation of real, tangible educational wooden toys.
[…] The Top 10 Free Educational Video Games « Educational Games Research […]
In Vedoque, we make free educational games. Originally, we make the games in spanish. But now we start to make them also in English. In our English Blog (http://envedoque.blogspot.com) we comment how we did it. You can play our first englist game in http://www.vedoque.com/games/game.php?j=paint-vedoque-game.swf. New english games coming soon.
I agreed with you
Hey, in the spirit of asalinasci’s post, I found this language learning game. It’s called Polyglot – the link is above. Kind of interesting, but doesn’t really seem like it’s for kids.
You might want to consider looking at DimensionM from Tabula Digita. While the game series are mostly for sale, there are some free demonstration versions (which are really a full game (or mission as we call them), that folks can download and play. I’m not sure if that qualifies under the catagorization of the top 10 free educational games, but they are worth a look.
The emphasis is on Math and they are researched-backed. University of Central Florida conducted reserach with Orange County Public Schools (FL – Orlando) this past school year with some very positive results. Their research brief is posted on the website.
Thanks
Steven
Hi Steve. I’m a big fan of Tabula Digita and have blogged about them several times. Thanks for pointing out the research brief. You’re right, Dimension M doesn’t qualify for inclusion in this list, as it’s not free. Check out this post I wrote about U. Florida and Dimension M back in Jan.
JR
good thank you
[…] to incorporate gaming into your curriculum? Check out this great list of free video games and this list of websites that have more games to supplement teaching in your classroom. Possibly […]
I like the America’s Army game. It’s FREE!
Nice list. I love SimCity and Arden. Those games rock!
[…] is a 2007 blog article, but I feel it is very relavent today. BTW Educational Games Research is a great blog. I added it […]
Please exam the following free games made available by the Federation of American Scientists
Immune Attack http://www.fas.org/immuneattack aims to teach high school immunology and general biology
Discover Babylon http://www.Discoverbabylon.org targets middle school students with a humanties focus of ancient Mesopotamia
I wonder if anyone can help me? I run a online business selling consoles and educational video games. I am looking for a suppler who can support me with there product for various consoles such as PS3,Nintendo Wii, and XBox. Please can anyone help?
[…] The Top 10 Free Educational Video Games is my favorite part. EduGames assembled a list of downloadable and free games that could be potentially used for learning purposes. […]
I really like the idea of the new gaming systems and I am sure to be back for more help and some suggestions.
Thanks for sharing. Truly, video games are good for the players. It can boost the player’s cognitive skills.
Cool video games. I also agree some games do improve cognitive skills. The commercial game civilization was close to being an educational for me years ago.
wow… Very nice post, Thanks for share 🙂
Nice collection
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[…] post on the Top Ten Free Educational Video Games caught their eyes, and the guys were familiar with a couple of the titles. They had worked with Dr. […]
I don’t know about any one but i got these educational video games from your site, thanks
[…] The Edu Games Blog has a great resource in its post Top 10 Learning Games, which seems targeted toward middle school and high school […]