Games in the classroom
Alexiei Dingli, Christian Bonello, Gordon Farrugia
Department of Intelligent Computer Systems
University of Malta
Malta
Email: alexiei.dingli@um.edu.mt , cbon0035@um.edu.mt , gfar0023@um.edu.mt
Abstract—The fundamental purpose of education according
to [1] is to guarantee that all students benefit from the learning
experience to the full, by ensuring their participation in public,
community and economic life. To achieve this, educators need new
methodologies which would help them reach these goals using the
most effective tools possible. A myriad of methods have been used
so far and the idea of fun learning through the use of games is
permeating through the educational system as being an effective
way of educating the students. In the following study, we will peep
into the future of education by seeing what educators and their
students think about it. We will see if they’re ready to put aside
more traditional methods whilst resorting to games as effective
teaching tools.
I. I NTRODUCTION
In the past couple of decades, the world has taken a huge
technological shift. Devices ranging from personal computers
to tiny smart phones are a common sight in nearly every
household. The internet too permeated our daily lives and in
fact most people have access to it at home, at work or even on
the go. It is interesting to note that in Africa, there are more
people who have access to the internet than they do to clean
water or even sanitary facilities according to [2]. Further still,
[3] claims that on a global scale, there are more people with
a mobile phone subscription than those who have access to
electricity or even to safe drinking water.
Therefore we are expecting the upcoming generations to
be much more tech savvy since they were introduced to
technology from a very young age. These children are very
accustomed to computers and consider them as part of every-
day life because, as Alan Kay said (according to [4]),
Technology is only technology if it was invented
after you were born.
Being introduced to technology at such a young age, chil-
dren tend to use these technologies with a familiar approach
and view such technology as an everyday object. In fact, [5]
states that students do not see anything wrong with using their
mobile phone during class. Further still, we’ve recently seen
countries ( such as Malta [6] ) proposing the introduction of
tablets in schools. The educator should take full advantage
of this and use technology to reach his goals in educating
his students. This technology can take various forms such as
electronic books, but one of the most popular form, especially
with children is definitely in game form.
A. Game Based Learning
Nowadays, children are opting more towards digital games
rather than more traditional forms of play. Digital games are
generally more appealing for a number of reasons. First of
all, there is the thrill that video games yield to the player
whilst allowing him to be in control of the game. This is
very significant for the child, since it allows him full freedom
(in a controlled environment) which is very different from
the controlled environment offered by his parents, teachers or
guardians. Games are also exciting; they are generally designed
to give the gamer an adrenaline rush without the need to get up
from the chair. They also give the user a sense of achievement;
the fact that one masters different levels and progresses through
different levels whilst performing challenging tasks, give the
user a positive sense of accomplishment. Therefore it is no
surprise that 97% of children play video games [7]. Digital
games are so popular that in the past years, games have grown
as popular as movies. In fact in 2009, [8] reported that for the
first time in UK history video games outperformed Hollywood
movies. Similar trends can be observed in other countries. [9]
even claim that the global video game industry will reach $82
billion by 2017. It is immediately evident that video games
form a huge part of todays market and as such, cannot be
ignored.
However, despite being so popular, games often struggle
to be taken seriously. [8] states that when critics want to
throw an insult at a film, they tend to say that it looks like
a video game. Most adults, still view games as a way to relax
and pass time, while some even consider them as a waste of
time. Such people still dont see the educational benefits of
gaming. [10] describes them as being ”popular but despised,
thought to be beneath serious evaluation”. This is because
in the past, games were only a means of having fun. But
with today advancements in technology, games have reached a
high level of interaction and sophistication. Their sound, image
and animation are very useful for picturing complex situations
without losing the fun of the game. In [11], Profs Van Eck is
quoted claiming that games are good to help practice inductive
reasoning, increase visual skills, improves the integration of
information from different sources and allow the players to
solve cognitive conflicts. Contemporary computer games and
those designed for proprietary systems like PlayStation and
Xbox, are pushing further into realistic simulation through
graphics, animation, sound and interactivity. The image of
the computer as a calculator has become quaint and dated.
Computing today is less about rules and calculation and more
about simulation, navigation and interaction [12]. Games have
become so realistic that they can be used to simulate all types
of things.
We have seen flight simulators to help pilots train, med-
ical simulators to help doctors. Even the military is using
simulation programs to get the soldiers familiar with hostile
terrane. So why not also introduce these simulations in normal
classrooms as a teaching tool? Computer game designer Chris
Crawford argues in [13] that playing games to practice skills
is a vital educational function for any creature capable of
learning. Games are built in such a way to absorb the player,
and to become addictive. In this way gaming companies will
ensure that their games are hits and sell millions of copies. But
being so absorbed in a game means that the brain is giving it
its full attention and therefore one tends to remember a lot of
things from games. Leaning is constant in any game according
to [4], with or without the player’s conscious awareness. In
fact, the process of learning from games begins from a very
young age, from the very first games one plays as a child. So
it is only natural to continue this pattern of learning further
on in life. Nowadays, children are growing up playing video
games and so, they tend to develop certain skills which were
rare before such as the handling of a lot of information at
once. Therefore, children are probably more capable to pick
up things from game like activities than from strict structured
lectures. An educator should not try to force the students to
learn in a way in which they feel uncomfortable but rather opt
for something which are familiar with such as games.
Games are more intriguing than traditional lectures since
they get the players involved. This helps the students stay
alert and conscious of what’s going on around him. Also
the various elements of a game will offer a challenge to the
player. For example, when stuck in a difficult or tricky part
of the game, gamers tend to persist on tackling the problem
until they manage to overcome and succeed in solving the
problem. We see this all the time, players tends to repeat the
same level over and over again until they manage to finish it.
This does not generally apply for a challenge encountered in a
traditional homework assignment. Most students tend to give
up the question after a couple of attempts of trying to solve
the problem and move on to the next question. This might
highlight the lack of thrill of a traditional problem compared
to the same problem represented in a video game. Also, games
will generate discussions between the students. So inadvertetly
the player continues to learn even outside of the game when
he hears about the different approaches which other players
use to tackle the same problem. Games as educational means
will create a more interesting environment in the classroom.
Serious games have been proven to increase motivation and
the students desire to learn ([14], [15], etc). One of the best
ways in which one can motivate people is curiosity. Curiosity
makes the person want to know more, and this is perfect for
learning. In games one can create a series of tasks, one leading
to the other thus igniting the player’s curiosity on what’s
coming next. In this way the player continues to play the game
until he completes it. This also shows that setting tasks, goals
and achievements [16] is also another way in which one can
motivate people. In order to perform these tasks and complete
the goals, one has to solve a number of problems.
Games are also the perfect means to fill the gap between
the upcoming and previous generations. We’re particularly
referring to the big difference which exists between the educa-
tors and their students. Students in todays world are constant
bombarded with information, therefore they must be trained to
act and think fast in order to keep up with the environment
they are in. This is opposed to their mentors and educators,
who most probably were raised in a much calmer environment.
Children are accustomed to games that need fast reactions
and so they will immediately notice the stark contrast in the
classroom. That is why games in education can help keep
the students attention, because things happen at a faster pace
which is probably more familiar with students. Further still, if
a student feel overwhelmed, he can easily adjust the game or
play it at a pace which would suite his needs.
It is estimated that an average young person plays 10,000
hours of gaming by the age of 21 according to [17]. [18]
claims that all those hours are enough to create an expertise
in the person, thus all those hours spent on video games while
growing up means that the brain of these children is more
prone to handle fast responses, multi-tasking and also parallel
processing. Studies [19] show that this generation is also more
capable of random access thinking. This is because the games
they play are no longer in a linear form but the player is free to
roam around. They are also more respondent to pictures and
graphics rather than text. Children tend to start playing the
game and explore the features of the game themselves rather
than reading the game manual beforehand. It is clear that this
generation is very different than the previous one;
Prensky once said in [4] that our students are no longer the
people our educational system was designed to teach. And so
one has to change the teaching methods to accommodate this
generation. In the traditional educational system, the students
are raised in a competitive manner, and are encouraged to
work individually, fighting for their grades. On the other hand,
games promote teamwork and bring the students together in
a competitive and cooperative way. This is very healthy for
a student as in the real working world one cannot work
individually but has to cooperate with his workmates while
at the same time competing with them. In fact, having persons
not being able to work together is a huge issue in the working
industry. This is very similar in sports, where in order to win
in a team game, one has to cooperate with his teammates
and work as a group so as to win against the other teams.
In fact, contrary to popular belief, games encourage a lot of
communication between players.
In massive multiplayer online role playing games
(MMORPGs) one can find a large social environment. In a
classroom, this helps to join the classroom together to get the
student to understand his classmates point of view. Simulations
can be used so that the students can use the theory they learned
in the class in real-world situations. In general, a student tends
to understand more during an application of the theory than
with just the theory. Also, practice makes perfect and hence
the more the student uses the theory in real life applications
the more familiar he gets with the theory and how to apply
it. It also gives him the experience he needs in the real world
outside the classroom. This is especially important in various
subjects such as science where certain experiments are too
space consuming and costly to conduct in a normal school
lab. Virtual worlds help students to get a whole view of the
world and not only the subject that they are studying. This lets
them explore various areas and helps them choose the one,
which they like the most. Virtual worlds also give a hands-on
experience of things. For example, in the past, students could
only debate politics, but with todays simulation games, they
can take control of a virtual cities (such as SimCity1 ). This
gives the students a real insight on what it really means to
run a government and therefore if they decide to pursue that
career, they will already have some experience.
Games teach a number of different things at once. Firs, a
game teaches a player how to do things. This is because in a
game, one is not only taught how to do things, but sees the
thing happening and has control over it virtually. This gives
more understanding as it gives the player experience and a full
view of what is actually happening together with a theoretical
viewpoint. Second, games teach what has to be done. In order
to reach an objective in a game, one has to go through a series
of steps. In this way, the player is understanding what needs to
be done in order to reach his objective. Third, the player learns
the reasoning behind what he is doing. When he performs the
various steps in order to reach as specific goal, he will be
able to see why he has done that step and so have a better
understanding of what is happening. Also he will learn through
experience why some approaches are better than others. Fourth,
he learns where he is supposed to apply certain approaches in
order to get the best outcome. This is relevant to real world
situations and therefore helping students to learn how to handle
different issues. Doing something that is not supposed to be
done would normally result in losing the game. However the
nice thing about games is that failure is an option which one
can afford to try. This shows that games, whether we notice it
or not, do teach us various things and if they are used correctly
can be very helpful to teach the academic curriculum.
So why are teachers still reluctant to introduce games in
classrooms? Mainly it is because they are not familiar with
these methods of teaching and prefer to stick to the old-
fashioned approaches. Also, there is a lot of pressure placed
on the teacher’s shoulders by the parents. Unfortunately, some
parents do not regard play as being a learning activity thus
they would view it from a negative perspective. This contrasts
a lot with schools such as the ones described in [20] where
play is a fundamental pillar of the curriculum. There is also a
lot of information missing on how to implement these games
and how effective these really are, as studies are still being
performed on serious gaming in the classrooms. Many adults,
who are accustomed to the traditional approach, think that the
problem is the student and not the method of teaching. Another
problem is the lack of games designed for the particular
syllabus. Games must be tailor made which is very expensive
and deemed as an unnecessary cost by the school. Commercial
games may hit some aspects which the educator is trying to
convey to the students but many times these veer off topic.
B. Gamifying the classroom
Therefore instead of using digital games, one can gamify
the classrooms. This is the process in which techniques used in
game design are used for non-gaming activities. The educator
can turn a lesson in the classroom into a game. This helps to
make education more fun and engages the students more as
these methods raise motivation. Gamification is already being
used in many industries. Therefore there is already proof that
this method works. Also, as argued before, creating games is
very costly while employing gamification to teaching methods
1 http://www.simcity.com
is relatively cheaper. There are various methods in which
gamification can be implemented [21]. The most common is
to use achievements, objectives, challenges, rewards, leader
boards, levels and other game features. A very useful method
is to assign points to various tasks. For example points for
participating in class, points for completing the homework
correctly, etc. Then assign a level to a certain amount of points.
For example, for every 100 points you advance one level. Then
at the beginning of the semester each student starts at level one
and advances as the year continues. At the end of the scholastic
year, the level that a student has achieved would reflect the
final end of year mark. This engages the users competitiveness,
with class mates and even with themselves. People have a
natural competitiveness in them, they want to be the best and
game designers use this to make their games more appealing.
Therefore when implementing gamification, one has to use the
same approach as games. This competitiveness makes the user
give his utmost and to try again when he fails.
Gamifying education does have its disadvantages. First,
traditional teaching tends to move at a slower pace since the
teacher has to reach as many children as possible while games
move at a very fast pace (practically at the speed of the player).
The classical approach to teaching relies on the fact that the
student tackles the problem in various ways and takes his time
to solve a problem. Unlike games, the real life does not have
a reset button and neither does it has a pause button. With
gamified solutions, one has to engineer in the game, space
for concentration and critical thought. Another disadvantage
of gamifying lessons is that some subjects might be hard
to gamify. Thus students might opt more for those gamified
subjects rather than the others. Also this method might curtail
creativity as the student is following the game path and not
building a path of his own.
C. Research amongst students
A survey was thus conducted amongst 300 students at
secondary, post-secondary and tertiary level. This results in
a confidence level of 95% with a margin of error of ±%5.
The survey was done in order to understand the views of the
students with regards to using serious games in the classroom
and gamifying their lessons.
First of all, it transpires that most students at secondary and
post-secondary level did not encounter the term serious games.
In fact only 6% and 27% respectively answered that they did.
On the other hand, most of the tertiary students (65%) knew
the meaning of the term. This might imply that students at
secondary and post-secondary level are not exposed to practical
examples and most of what they learn is probably regurgitated
straight out of the textbooks.
When asked about the benefits of introducing games in edu-
cation, secondary and tertiary students agreed with an 83% and
an 87% respectively whereas the majority of post-secondary
students disagreed (64%). This result can be interpreted in
various ways. Most probably the secondary students are avid
gamers and they would definitely wish to have games in
their classroom as an extension to their home entertainment.
Tertiary students probably appreciate the educational benefits
of serious games in the classroom (especially with respect to
simulators, case studies, etc) thus they would support this idea.
Post-secondary students are probably focused on getting their
certificates in order to continue their studies. Most probably
they’re overwhelmed with work so they’ve abandoned their
gaming life whilst they’re not appreciating the benefits of
serious games in class.
With regards to gamifying the lessons, all the students
agreed. In fact on average, 80% of the students at all levels
agreed with this suggestion. This shows that most of the
students would prefer to change the delivery of the lectures
with something more interactive which is similar to a game.
In fact, they believe that by gamifying the lesson, the students
will increase their own attention. Unfortunately, there doesn’t
seem to be many teachers who are adopting this approach.
At secondary level, only 32% of students said that they were
presented with a gamified lesson, at post-secondary there were
none, and at tertiary level, only 5%.
On a general question, which asked whether serious games
and gamification should be used in education, once again there
was a general consensus whereby 82% of respondents replied
positively. Its interesting to note that 98% of secondary stu-
dents agreed which shows the strong link between secondary
students and gaming which was mentioned before.
Another revealing question is the one which asked at what
level of education did students meet serious games or lessons
presented in a gamified way. 80% of the respondents replied at
primary level, 10% at secondary level, 8% at post-secondary
level and 2% at tertiary level. This implies that educators
think that games should be used with smaller children and
not with older ones. It also suggests that students are meeting
these games outside of their educational institution since in the
previous answer, none of the post-secondary students declared
that they were being taught using this approach.
However the level of scepticism is still quite high amongst
students. When asked whether gamifying the lessons can have
a negative effect on education, 40% said that it would. This
shows that some of them still view games as being something
distinct from education.
Finally, when asked whether enough importance is being
given to games as a means to educate, nearly all students
(92%) think that serious games and gamification are beneficial
and that more investment should be made to introduce these
methods in the classroom.
D. Research amongst teachers
A survey was conducted amongst 128 teachers teaching
at primary, secondary, post-secondary and tertiary level. The
survey was done in order to understand the views of the
teachers with regard to using serious games in the classroom
and gamifying their lessons.
It is interesting to note that 78% of primary, 64% of
secondary, 45% of post-secondary and 56% of tertiary teachers
replied that they’ve heard the terms serious games or gami-
fication. Once again, we can see reflected in these statistics
the idea that games are for the younger children. Further
still, its interesting to note that more than half of the post-
secondary teachers did not encounter these two concepts. This
reinforces the interpretation we gave earlier which states that
students at post-secondary level are focused on the heavy
curriculum and have no space for gaming elements. This is
a pity when considering that it could easily enhance their
learning experience. It is also disappointing that at tertiary
level, a substantial chunk of the lecturers have not heard about
these concepts either.
With regard to games in education, 96% of primary and
84% of secondary teachers believe that games are beneficial,
but only 12% of post-secondary and 34% of tertiary educators
agree with this statement. Our interpretation is that most
educators at a higher level still believe that games are adequate
for younger students and not for their students. Unfortunately
this is a mentality change which will take time to change. It
is also reflected in the question asking whether gamification
techniques will help to keep the student’s attention. Whereas
97% of primary and secondary students agree with this state-
ment, only 60% of post-secondary and tertiary educators agree
with it. It seems that when students make the transition from
secondary to post-secondary education, the time for games
finishes as they enter into adulthood. Obviously this is our
interpretation of the results.
Unsurprisingly, when asked about the use of gamification
techniques, 94% of primary teachers use them. This falls to
55% in secondary schooling and down to a mere 4% at post-
secondary level. Tertiary level is at 12%. What’s surprising in
these results is maybe the secondary school result; when one
considers that in the previous question, 97% of teachers agreed
that gamification can help in the classroom yet almost half of
them don’t use them. On the other hand, it is positive to note
that 85% of new teachers are being taught about serious games
and gamification techniques.
When asked about the negative effects of gamification, only
5% at primary level and 26% at secondary level believed that
gamifying the lesson might have some negative effects. At
post-secondary level, this rose to 81% and at tertiary level it
went down to 33%. Once again, the high percentage at post-
secondary level is very surprising and reflects the theory which
we mentioned earlier.
The results of the second questionnaire coincide with the
results of the first questionnaire. It shows how serious games
and gamification techniques are being implemented in the pri-
mary sector but are still lacking in the other levels especially in
the post-secondary sector. It also shows that people who do not
use these methods are skeptical about their advantages while
people who are using them think they are beneficial. Again we
see that educators think that more investment should be made
in order to implement these methods in the classrooms.
II. C ONCLUSION
As one can see, both students and educators tend to believe
that serious games and simulations are beneficial and are
definitely a better learning tool than traditional methods. But
as argued in the previous section, it still is not viable to
implement these games in the classrooms. For serious games
and simulations to be introduced into schools, governments
must help educational institutes financially so that they can
afford them. Also, the industry must develop more of these
games and make them more easily available. An alternative to
these can be gamifying the teaching approach. This approach
is much cheaper but then one would lose a lot in terms of
exciting teaching material (such as simulators, etc). However, [21] G. Zichermann and C. Cunningham, Gamification by
one will still get the students attention and make the lessons Design: Implementing Game Mechanics in Web and
more interactive than with the traditional approach. After all, Mobile Apps. O’Reilly Media, 2011. [Online]. Available:
http://books.google.pt/books?id=zZcpuMRpAB8C
both these methods have their disadvantages and are still being
[22] S. Segan, “Hands on with the $20 indian android tablet,” November
tested in various schools. However, as technology becomes 2012.
available with projects such as [6] and [22], we would expect
to see more proliferation of serious games and gamification in
the classroom.

R EFERENCES
[1] C. Cazden, B. Cope, N. Fairclough, J. Gee, M. Kalantzis, G. Kress,
A. Luke, C. Luke, S. Michaels, and M. Nakata, “A pedagogy of
multiliteracies: Designing social futures,” Harvard Educational Review,
vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 60–92, 1996.
[2] J. Lazuta, “Mobile phones transform lives in africa,” Voice of America,
Januray 2013.
[3] C. S. Consulting, “Putting global mobile in context,” Tech. Rep., May
2012.
[4] M. Prensky, Digital Game-Based Learn-
ing. McGrawHill, 2001. [Online]. Available:
http://books.google.com.mt/books?id=XBwiAQAAIAAJ
[5] D. Cameron, “Playing serious games in journalism classes,” Asia Pacific
Media Educator, vol. 1, no. 11, pp. 141–149, 2001.
[6] C. Scicluna, “Malta parties fight ”tablet war” as election nears,” January
2012.
[7] M. Irvine, “Survey: 97 percent of children play video games,” The
Huffington Post, September 2008.
[8] T. Chatfield, “Videogames now outperform hollywood movies,” The
Guardian, September 2009.
[9] J. Gaudiosi, “New reports forecast global video game industry will reach
$82 billion by 2017,” Forbes, July 2012.
[10] S. Poole, Trigger happy: videogames and the entertainment
revolution. Arcade Publishing, Incorporated, 2004. [Online]. Available:
http://books.google.com.mt/books?id=8NGzkDOZljIC
[11] D. Kaufman and L. Sauvé, Educational Gameplay and Simulation
Environments: Case Studies and Lessons Learned, ser. IGI Global
research collection. Information Science Reference, 2010. [Online].
Available: http://books.google.com.mt/books?id=e9ikSBumKtYC
[12] S. Turkle, Life on the screen: identity in the age of the Internet, ser.
A Touchstone book. Simon & Schuster, 1995. [Online]. Available:
http://books.google.com.mt/books?id=f5HSkPJ-Go8C
[13] C. Crawford, “The art of computer game design,” 1982.
[14] G. J. Leach and T. S. Sugarman, “Play to win! using games in library
instruction to enhance student learning,” Research Strategies, vol. 20,
no. 3, pp. 191–203, 2005.
[15] K. L. McClarty, A. Orr, P. M. Frey, R. P. Dolan, V. Vassileva, and
A. McVay, “A literature review of gaming in education,” 2012.
[16] J. J. Lee and J. Hammer, “Gamification in education: What, how, why
bother?” Academic Exchange Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 2, p. 2, 2011.
[Online]. Available: http://www.gamifyingeducation.org/files/Lee-
Hammer-AEQ-2011.pdf
[17] J. McGonigal, “Video games: An hour a day is key to
success in life,” The Huffington Post, February 2011. [On-
line]. Available: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-mcgonigal/video-
games b 823208.html
[18] M. Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success. Little, Brown, 2008. [On-
line]. Available: http://books.google.com.mt/books?id=3NSImqqnxnkC
[19] J. Palfrey and U. Gasser, Born Digital: Understanding the First
Generation of Digital Natives. BasicBooks, 2008. [Online]. Available:
http://books.google.com.mt/books?id=LlFNT1ER4scC
[20] K. Salen, R. Torres, and L. Wolozin, Quest to Learn:
Developing the School for Digital Kids, ser. The John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media
and Learning Series. Mit Press, 2011. [Online]. Available:
http://books.google.com.mt/books?id=pkYMTmHDDUYC