Teaching With Games - Resource Page

Attached is the resource page I will be providing at the upcoming Ohio Educational Technology Conference in Columbus, Ohio.  I hope it is useful for those educators who are just getting started using games in the classroom and want some place to begin their research and planning.   

ESRB Ratings:

To learn more about the Entertainment Software Ratings Board and the ratings they give to popular video games, go to www.esrb.org.  There you will find detailed information on how games are rated, what each rating means, and lists of popular PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and PC games and their ratings. 

Online Resources:

The websites below offer excellent information about games, the gaming industry, and current gaming trends.  Each of the sites below also provides great weekly podcasts discussing current information about gaming. 

www.gameinformer.com

www.ign.com

www.gamespot.com

www.joystiq.com

Print Resources:

Most of the books below can be found on Amazon.com for less than ten dollars!  It is worth the time to consider a few of these titles if you plan to use video games as a teaching tool in your classroom.

Bissell, Tom. Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter.  New York: Pantheon Books, 2010. 

*Chatfield, Tom.  Fun Inc.: Why Gaming Will Dominate the 21^st Century. New York: Pegasus Books, 2010.

*Gee, J.P. What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. New York: Palgrave

                Macmillan, 2003.

*Hutchison, David. Playing to Learn. Connecticut: Teacher Ideas Press, 2007. 

Kent, Steven L. The Ultimate History of Video Games. New York: The Rivers Press, 2001.

Krawczyk and Novak. Game Development Essentials: Game Story and Character Development.

McGonigal, Jane.  Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change The

               

                World. New York: The Penguin Press, 2012.

Melissinos, Chris. The Art of Video Games: From Pac-Man to Mass Effect. New York:

               

                Welcome Books, 2012. 

Poole, Steven.  Trigger Happy: The Inner Life of Video Games. London: Fourth Estate, 2000.

*Prensky, Marc. Don’t Bother Me Mom—I’m Learning! Minnesota: Paragon House, 2006

*Sheldon, Lee. Character Development and Storytelling for Games. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2004

Simpson, Elizabeth S.  “Evolution in the Classroom: What Teachers Need to Know About the Video

                Game Generation.”  Tech Trends: Vol. 49, Number 5. (2005).

Squire, Kurt. “Changing the Game: What Happens When Video Games Enter the Classroom?” Journal of

                Online Education: Vol. 1, Issue 6.  Aug/Sept 2005.

Games:

Below is a list of some of the games that I used in the Great Literature/Great Games course.  Be sure to check the ESRB ratings before using any games in your classroom. 

Bioshock (Xbox 360/PS3)

Skyrim (Xbox 360/PS3)

Call of Duty: World at War (Xbox 360/PS3)

Mass Effect 2 (Xbox 360/PS3)

Heavy Rain (PS3)

Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360/PS3)

Fallout 3 (Xbox 360/PS3)

I am Alive (PS3/Xbox 360)

Lost in Shadows (Wii)

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)

Journey (PS3)

Flower (PS3)

The Unfinished Swan (PS3/Xbox 360)

Metagame: The Game Debate Game (Card game available on Amazon.com through Local No. 12)