Educational Video Game Executive Breaks Down How Games Can Impart Real-World Skills
Educational Video Game Executive Breaks Down How Games Can Impart Real-World Skills
Educational Video Game Executive Breaks Down How Games Can Impart Real-World Skills
By Elizabeth Dohms-Harter
September 23, 2020
Summary
As personal and handheld devices like smartphones, tablets and Chromebooks become more prevalent, the market for educational video games is expanding, says an executive with a Madison-based video game development company.
Jennifer Javornik is vice president of sales at Filament Games, which has produced such games as «Take Off!,» «Smithsonian Science,» «Scholastic W.O.R.D.,» «Saving Lives!,» and «Mission to the Mesozoic.» Javornik, a founding member of the Wisconsin Games Alliance, said there are demarcations between traditional video games and educational games. Games designed to educate in particular are supposed to foster feelings of confidence, get the users to hone their skills and help them feel engaged.
The goal of the educational games, she said, is that the skills learned there will be transferable to the real world. For example, consider iCivics, an educational project Filament has worked on that was founded by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
O'Connor believed that games could be a way to educate more people about how government worked and encourage participation in voting. Today, the iCivics platform has more than 21 games available for free on its website.
Reference
Dohms-Harter, E. (2020, September 23). Educational Video Game Executive Breaks Down How Games Can Impart Real-World Skills. Retrieved October 04, 2020, from https://www.wpr.org/educational-video-game-executive-breaks-down-how-games-can-impart-real-world-skills