Games and Education: Designs in and for Learning

We live in a time of educational transformations towards more 21st century pedagogies and learning. In the digital age children and young people need to learn critical thinking, creativity and innovation and the ability to solve complex problems and challenges. Traditional pedagogies are in crisis and many pupils experience school as both boring and irrelevant. As a response educators and researchers need to engage in transforming education through the invention of new designs in and for learning. This book explores how games can provide new ideas and new designs for future education. Computer games have become hugely popular and engaging, but as is apparent in this book, games are not magical solutions to making education more engaging, fun and relevant.

Games and Education explores new designs in and for learning and offer inspiration to teachers, technologists and researchers interested in changing educational practices. Based on contributions from Scandinavian researchers, the book highlights participatory approaches to research and practice by providing more realistic experiences and models of how games can facilitate learning in school.

Hans Christian Arnseth is Professor of Learning and Digital Technologies at the University of Oslo. Currently he is head of research at the Department of Education. In his research he studies the various ways digital technologies transform learning, cognition and identity across formal and informal contexts.

Thorkild Hanghøj is an Associate Professor in game-based learning at Aalborg University, where he co-directs the Center for Applied Game Research (CEAGAR). His research focuses on the educational use and design of games with special emphasis on game-related literacy practices and the role of the teacher in facilitating games.

Thomas Duus Henriksen is an Associate Professor in Internal Communication and Organisational Processes at Aalborg University. His research focuses on how organisational processes and development is mediated through the use of tools, learning games, and other artefacts that affect how an organisation functions, and has been published in Development and Learning in Organizations.

Robert Ramberg earned his PhD in cognitive psychology at the department of psychology, Stockholm University and holds a position as Professor at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University (Technology Enhanced Learning and Collaboration). Ramberg also holds a position as research director at the Swedish Air Force Simulation Center (FLSC), Swedish Defense Research Agency.

Staffan Selander is PhD and Senior Professor in Didactic Science at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University. A major part of Selander’s research during the last 10 years has focused on designs for learning, knowledge representations and digital learning environments, including games for learning.