Minnaar 1 Chloe Minnaar Case 3 EDCI 270 4 November 2013 Case 3 Report Spent is an online, educational game that

puts school children in a certain situation. The student is a single mother, who just lost her job. First, the student has to choose what kind of job to pursue, and the three options are just above minimum wage. Then, the student has to make several life choices that are very difficult, based on this low paying job. For example, the student has to choose if she wants to live close to the city, and pay high rent, or live far away from the city and pay for gas. The salary of the single mother is low and the student has to find a way to make it through the month. The goal of this game is to raise awareness about the millions of people struggling to make a living and take care of themselves each month in modern America. Personally, I would not use this in a classroom setting. I think it would be useful as a current event, or perhaps a homework assignment to raise awareness about the people struggling in America. Overall, it is educational. It brings new information to children who are unaware of situations like these. Not all students can relate to the type of situation the person in the game is in, so this puts things in perspective for them. It forces them to think in a new way that they have not have to do before. Also, it motivates the student. It is more active than sitting at a desk and listening to a PowerPoint or lecture. But, I do think serious games are useful in a classroom, just not this one in particular. Research has shown that serious games are in fact, beneficial to students in modern classrooms.

Minnaar 2 The journal written on eludamos talks about the traditional classroom settings and how serious games can foster new ways of learning. In a traditional classroom setting, students are taught facts and information through memorization. With serious games, students can be taught, trained, and educated (eludamos 2010). Also, serious games can reach people of all ages, not just pre-schoolers and elementary school children. As I noted earlier in the report, certain branches of serious games can be used as a motivator for all school children, K-12 (eludamos 2010). The journal written by professors at the University of Skovde write about skills that are created from these games and why they are useful. In this case, a whole eighth grade cannot go and observe the life of a single mother who is having difficulty supporting herself and keeping her family afloat. Also, it would be expensive to take children to a soup kitchen to volunteer. So, sometimes it is more appropriate to find a serious game that could accurately represent this situation (University of Skovde 2007). While this is a valid reason to use serious games, some educators look over the fact that serious game can be used to develop new skills and foster new knowledge in children (University of Skovde 2007). Some of the skills that can be acquired from serious games are: learning and the ability to remember information more vividly, analysis, insight and strategic skills, spatial skills, and spatial skills (University of Skovde 2007). So, it is able to foster many different types of skills, it is not limited to just learning new information. In conclusion, serious games are useful in the classroom, although I do not believe this one was an appropriate classroom activity. Again, I think it should have been used for a homework assignment or at home project for students to analyze and write a report about the situation the single mother is in. If these games are looked into and chosen for appropriate lessons, they can be useful in a class. Not all games are used solely for entertainment. Specifically, these games put school work and fun together. It allows the student to learn in a

Minnaar 3 new and exciting way, that captures their attention. Also, if it is too time consuming or expensive for a class or multiple classes to take a field trip, they would benefit in a positive way from a serious game.

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References Backlund, P., Johannesson, M., & Susi, T. (2005). Serious Games- An Overview. University of Skovde, Sweden. Bente, G., & Breuer J. (2010). Why so serious? On the Relation of Serious Games and Learning. Eludamos. Journal for Computer Game Culture, 4 (1), p. 7-24.