Simulations are "model(s) of a real-world system" and educational games "are designed to help learners achieve specific learning objectives while at the same time providing a motivational environment" (Clark & Mayer, 2011, pp. 374, 376, 378). Quality, objective research still needs to be done in order to determine the effectiveness of games and simulations in the classroom. It has been determined that simulations are quite valuable in the medical community, however, as they provide repeated options to practice medical procedures that are decreasingly practicable on people due to improved healthcare management (Clark & Mayer, 2011, p. 373). Clark and Mayer describe six principles to guide the development of quality games and simulations, one of which I demonstrate below.
Games & Simulations Principle #2: Make learning essential to game progress.
As a child, I remember playing the game "Forever Growing Garden" (FGG) on a computer my dad brought home from work. FGG "consists of selecting seeds, etc. and taking care of them in order to later sell your crops on the market and flowershop (were [sic] you can also make flower-arrangements, etc.)" (Moby Games, n.d.). While working with this simulation-game combination, players learn what is needed to create a fertile environment for crops. This adheres to the second Games & Simulations Principle as it is essential to learn how to take care of crops in order to be successful at the subsequent market. An article written near the time FGG was published discounts the game as "a great example of how useless and misconceived experiments in new digital media can often be" (Rosenberg, 1994). The author claimed it was expensive to use the simulator and that actual pots and seeds were a better alternative. Changes in technology have caused the game to be less expensive, though it does not appear to still be in publication. I would counter the claims of the author by saying that the ability to accelerate time in the game makes FGG quite valuable, enabling the observance of plant life cycles during real-life atypical seasons and ensuring that fertile conditions are achievable.
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References
Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2011). E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.
Moby Games. (n.d.). Forever Growing Garden. Retrieved from http://www.mobygames.com/game/forever-growing-garden/
Rosenberg, B. S. (1994, April 10). Desktop Gardening [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.wordyard.com/dmz/digicult/garden-4-10-94.html