Educational games should be challenging, fun, and, well... educational. Teachers should be careful to balance "fun" against productivity.

It seems that no modern education discussion can avoid the topic of whether educational games should be used as a teaching tool. Where you come down on the argument depends on what you see as the benefits and how those compare to the costs.

What are the benefits of educational games?

Well, advocates tout games as the only way to engage today’s distracted students in otherwise boring curriculum material. They can increase the time that students spend on learning activities, and they may communicate educational information in ways that are better absorbed by students. Asking students to explain the rules to games can also be a great way to improve executive function.

On the other hand, opponents worry that games may trivialize education, waste valuable class time, and further deplete students’ attention spans for “real-world” situations that are not necessarily as fun.

The best types of educational games:

The MOST efficient learning/study tools are ideally a complement to a student's interest in learning rather than a substitution. When a student is ALREADY motivated, so their T is high even without the game, a teacher can focus on the effectiveness rather than the fun of a study method. For example, they might use spaced repetition flashcards for learning—these are amazingly effective even if not designed to be as "engaging" as learning games.

Of course, every class is different, and every student has different needs for being motivated. (Some “problem students” might never study unless it is a game, meaning the game has a much higher t factor for them than for other students.) But teachers should be careful to weigh “fun” against productivity when choosing whether to use a game in their classroom.

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