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Research shows that play is incredibly important for early childhood development. Elementary school classrooms often ring with student laughter. However, we sometimes need reminded that the “serious learning” conducted at the collegiate level doesn’t, by default, have to be seriously boring or superbly stressful. College learning can also be fun, entertaining and engaging. Students’ knowledge retention rates have been shown to increase when learning games are implemented in class (Barclay et al. 2011). Students play games such as Portal 2, — arguably a physics learning game in itself — on their own time to unwind. And yet, a learning game doesn’t have to have spectacular graphics or complex game play to be fun and effective. For example, The Blood Typing Game does both! The following resources highlight several aspects of electronic learning activities for use both in and out of class. By all means, if you get excited, create your own game. Continue reading
