More than just fun and games: assessing the value of educational video games in the classroom

The objective of this preliminary study is to investigate whether educational video games can be integrated into a classroom with positive effects for the teacher and students. The challenges faced when introducing a video game into a classroom are twofold: overcoming the notion that a "toy" does not belong in the school and developing software that has real educational value while stimulating the learner. We conducted an initial pilot study with 39 second grade students using our mathematic drill software Skills Arena. Early data from the pilot suggests that not only do teachers and students enjoy using Skills Arena, students have exceeded our expectations by doing three times more math problems in 19 days than they would have using traditional worksheets. Based on this encouraging qualitative study, future work that focuses on quantitative benefits should likely uncover additional positive results.