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Future Research

       During my high school and even college level studies, I noticed that I could spend weeks, months, or even years studying certain topics, but have very little ability to hold the information long enough for the test.  If I was lucky, I could retain it for the exam, but not so lucky in using the information for something later in life!  This was when I decided there had to be a better way to learn/teach.  I tried many different styles of learning that I found in books and tried suggestions given to me by my teachers.  I discovered that I was a tactile learner, who needed repetition until I didn’t even have to think about the information, since it became automatic.  I started working full-time while finishing my undergraduate degree.  I began looking into certifications and had taken several, just to be disappointed in the classes and books on how to learn the information for those tests.   

       This is when my true search began, and led me to apply to my current degree program.  From my experience of being an avid gamer, I believe that there is great merit in the idea that games should be used for education and more.  I can remember the first game that I ever played, I can even remember many aspects of it even though I think I spent a grand total of two- three hours playing it over fifteen years ago at this time.  There are very few memories in my life that I can recall as vividly as games.  Upon reflection, this led me to do some preliminary google searches into what is in the literature about gaming and gamification. This research led me to talk with some of our faculty in COE and I discovered there were quite a few students out there that are interested in the same area.  Those people are also getting Master’s and Ph.D’s in LDT, so I decided to do some more research into the degree and gaming.

       Upon arriving into the M.Ed. for the LDT research Master’s, I was really intrigued by using gaming and gamification in different contexts.  The majority of my research to date has focused around the topical area of gaming.  I have researched topics such as bullying within gaming, technology integration and gamification.  I have primarily focused on how gaming can be integrated into various settings from the classroom as an educational tool to integration for business settings.  I believe I am at the crossroads where I will need to identify a setting for the context that I wish to begin my future studies of gaming.  I believe that by utilizing DBR (design-based research), I will be able to balance sufficient academic rigor with relevance (Reeves, 2011).  The next step in my future research plan is to determine the exact genre of gaming/gamification I would like to study.  I believe that gaming would be the most promising path for me to pursue with the topical area being serious educational games.

       Serious educational games can include simulations, virtual worlds, basically any immersive game with an educational intent that can have fun elements but they are not the reason for the game (Ulicsak & Wright, 2010).   The research questions I am interested in are: What is the relationship between entertainment value and educational effectiveness within a serious educational game?  What are the long-term effects of heightened levels of flow from games?  What are the long-term effects of heightened levels of intrinsic motivation from games?

       Some may be wondering what the purpose of this research is.  This research would help fill in gaps in the literature on these particular topics.  I have not come across literature that answers the aforementioned questions.  The answers to these questions could help guide the use of the particular instructional tools.  For example, if the research states that artificially heightened levels of flow and intrinsic motivation are detrimental for students, then later research could hone in on the sweet-spot for how much is best.  Creating flow and intrinsic motivation junkies would not be beneficial for society as a whole, with the exception that there would be room for lucrative companies to capitalize upon that which would hurt everyone overall. Whereas, if the research reveals that we can’t find a cap for the benefits of flow and intrinsic motivation then researchers should strive to find out where the delineation is where these turn from beneficial to detrimental.

        Once these gaps have been filled, I believe that it will be one more step closer to being able to more effectively educate people in general.  Not only will this aide in better education with superior retention from current models, I believe this allows for happy more enriched education that empowers people to live in the present with a more rewarding life instead of seeking games for escapism (McGonigal, 2011).

   

 

 

References

 

McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world. (Kindle edition): 

                  Penguin.

Reeves, T. (2011). Can educational research be both rigorous and relevant. Educational Designer, 1(4), 1-24.

Ulicsak, M. (2010). Games in education: Serious games: A futurelab literature review. FutureLab.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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