This paper examines the use of “pure” computer and video games in classrooms. It reports the findings of an ongoing informal survey of how and why such games are used as an integrated part of formal classroom learning. The paper presents a number of examples of the use of such games, and tries to determine likely trends in their use in such an environment. Of significance is an examination of the obstacles that teaching staff encounter in attempting to use such software during lesson times, and how some staff have overcome these obstacles. Read more...

"Educational computer games--they're not just for five-year-olds anymore," jokes School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) professor Kathleen Hansen as she navigates around the fantasy world of a computer game called "Neverwinter Nights" in her Murphy Hall office. Hansen, who has taught the Jour 3004 (Information for Mass Communication) course in the school for 25 years, has taken the course in a new direction this semester with the help of "Neverwinter Nights" and a research partnership with Nora Paul, the director of SJMC's Institute for New Media Studies.

The present study examined the long-term effects of a computer intervention for the development of phonological awareness in Dutch kindergartners. Native Dutch and immigrant children worked with the software 15 min/week during one school year. Following a pretest - interim test - post-test - retention test design, the effects on rhyming, phonemic segmentation, auditory blending, and grapheme knowledge were assessed. The intervention showed significant immediate effects on rhyming and grapheme knowledge. The time spent on the computer games also correlated with the learning gains for the experimental group. In the first grade, retention effects were demonstrated after 4 months of formal reading education. Read more...