Blending video games with learning: Issues and challenges with classroom implementations in the Turkish context

The research design for this study focuses on examining the core issues and challenges when video games are used in the classroom. For this purpose three naturalistic contexts in Turkey were examined in which educational video games were used as the basis for teaching units on world continents and countries, first aid, and basic computer hardware and peripherals, in primary, secondary and higher education contexts respectively. Methods employed in the data collection include observing lessons, taking field notes, interviewing students and teachers, saving online discourse data, and collecting student artifacts and reflections. Findings identified issues related to (1) the design of the video game environment, (2) school infrastructure, (3) the nature of learning, the role of the teacher and classroom culture, and (4) engagement.  The formal learning environment is surrounded with a culture of vision and mission, an interest of stakeholders, a framework of curriculum and other constraints. Although numerous studies have evaluated the impact of video games on achievement (eg, Corbit & DeVarco, 2000; Cordova & Lepper, 1996) and motivation (eg, Malone & Lepper, 1987; Tüzün, 2006), research studies in this area have failed to consider the importance of the learning context. There are few video game studies (eg, EgenfeldtNielsen, 2004) that were designed around the constraints of the learning context, such as strategically aligning the learning tasks with the needs of the learners. Examining the utilisation of video games in real-world educational contexts under these constraints will likely inform teachers and instructional designers about how video British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 38 No 3 2007 465–477 doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00710.x  Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. games can be meaningfully and realistically blended with conventional learning environments. Related literature The younger generation is characterised as being different from the older generations. Frand (2000) identifies this generation with the following essential characteristics: computers and the Internet are a part of their life, staying connected through technology is essential, multitasking is natural and doing is more important than knowing. With these characteristics, it is not surprising that this generation does not respond to traditional teaching approaches such as lecturing, as Prensky (2000) argues. Advocates point out that video games match the characteristics of the younger generation, who grew up playing video games, and that they can be integrated into classroom learning to connect with this generation (eg, Gee, 2003). According to Van Eck (2006), educators have followed three approaches for integrating video games into their classrooms: having educators or developers design games from scratch, having students design games from scratch and integrating commercial offthe-shelf (COTS) games into classroom learning. As Michael and Chen (2006) point out, the adoption of video games in the classroom largely depends on teachers and school administrators, who need to be convinced of their usefulness by being presented with concrete research showing that they do a better job than current teaching methods. There seems to be much propaganda about the use of video games for learning recently, and as Sefton-Green (2005, p. 419) emphasises, ‘the absence of empirical observations or audience studies or good industry-based research only helps the texts float free in this speculative ether.’ Much of the research related to video games and learning focused on achievement and motivation, used traditional methodologies like experimental designs, and was conducted in the US context. Although these studies have been valuable and show the significance of the medium for education, we need studies that go beyond and show its use in authentic classroom contexts that embrace more naturalistic design methodologies and examine the issue from an international perspective. Only after that can researchers show the true merit of the medium to teachers and administrators. This study is unique in that it tries to target three areas simultaneously. It contains three naturalistic studies in which educational video games were used as the basis for teaching units on world continents and countries, first aid and basic computer hardware and peripherals in primary, secondary and higher education contexts in Turkey respectively. The goal of this study is to examine the core issues and challenges of when video games are used in the classroom.