Use of educational games to supplement traditional classroom lectures is purported by some researchers to increase interest, motivation, and retention, as well as to improve higher order thinking and reasoning skills. This paper reviews proposed benefits of using games as cognitive tools, and discusses the complexities of assessing those benefits.…

This book provides basic information and answers to help guide educators in developing an effective and meaningful educational computing program. Throughout the book appear boxed definitions pertinent to the text, examples of useful products, and necessary contact information. The guide includes the following sections: (1)…

This packet of student materials contains a variety of worksheet activities dealing with science graphs and science word games. These reproducible materials deal with: (1) bar graphs; (2) line graphs; (3) circle graphs; (4) pictographs; (5) histograms; (6) artgraphs; (7) designing your own graphs; (8) medical prefixes; (9) color prefixes; (10)…

PAR (Parents as Resources) consists of two professors and a social worker who are dedicated to helping parents work creatively and confidently with their children during the preschool and primary years. PAR has developed concrete instructional activities and workshops to stimulate the exchange of positive and pleasing experiences between parents…

A selective review of the literature on the socialization effect of games uncovers a varied and increasing number of hypotheses, but only little and scattered evidence. Direct studies of play and game functions are primarily in uncontrolled clinical reports. Therefore, a pilot study was conducted as a preliminary attempt to establish correlational…

Reading skill can be acquired in a natural and informal manner and in a variety of settings ranging from the school to the streets. Anyone who wants to learn to read or to develop his reading ability can do so if the following conditions are satisfied: (1) A person who knows how to read and wants to share his knowledge is willing to help. (2)…

"Zero to Three" is a single-focus bulletin of the National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families providing insight from multiple disciplines on the development of infants, toddlers, and their families. Noting that America's babies and toddlers live in a world full of television sets, VCRs, computers, videogames, and interactive…

Operational gaming techniques that are permeating the architectural profession are used to: elicit user needs, represent architectural realities in the classroom, understand the rationale behind complex design decisions, and model decision environments at many levels with coarse or refined data. (MLW)

Video and computer games have assumed a prominent role in the culture of U.S. children and adolescents. The paper examines the health effects of these games, suggests criteria upon which parents and teachers may evaluate the games, and notes some implications for health educators. (SM)

Explores elements of game design: entertainment, fantasy, nonthreatening reality, objectives, rules, opposition, hazards, outcomes; a rationale for using games in courseware; advantages of World Wide Web Instructional gaming: asynchronous learning opportunities, process data gathering, real-time interaction across geographically dispersed…

Discussion of the use of microcomputers by special education students highlights a study that compared the effects of a drill and practice program with an instructional computer game on the acquisition of multiplication skills among junior high and high school learning disabled students. (22 references) (LRW)

Considers the value and success of computer based marketing simulations from the standpoint of both instructors and participants. Distinctions are drawn between simulations and games; applications in higher education in the United Kingdom are described; future possibilities are suggested; and hidden costs in adopting new innovations are examined.…

Two studies to determine how students interact with two microworlds that reflect a constructivist view of learning investigated students' goals during interaction, strategies utilized to achieve their goals, changes in goals during interaction, and common patterns of interaction and learning. Concludes that well-designed games enable students to…

Describes KID DESIGNER, a project that emphasizes play as a lifelong learning process by teaching elementary school students how to design their own educational computer games that embed content from subjects studied in the classroom. Topics include constructivism; cooperative learning; project-based activities; prior learning; group dynamics; and…

This article describes the results of a survey of 93 final-year degree students concerning their views toward using Thavikulwat's DEAL: A Business Gaming Simulation. The focus is on students' perception of the usefulness of using computer simulation as a learning tool in a strategic management course. Certain comparison was made with other similar…