Game-Based Learning

Game-Based Learning

Educational Games

Game-Based Learning (GBL) encourages critical thinking and improves student engagement, content knowledge, and inquiry skills. The University of Oklahoma’s K20 Center is researching the digital connection and its impact on student knowledge and processing skills. The data gathered can help researchers and educators create America’s next generation of learning tools.

The K20 Center – GBL Team is building on existing structures and partnerships to accomplish the following goals:

  • Increase the percentage of students who are academically prepared for college and future careers
  • Gather data on student motivation, content retention, and application of real time tasks
  • Contribute to the body of knowledge on what design elements and strategies make learning games effective

Educational Games

Game-Based Learning (GBL) encourages critical thinking and improves student engagement, content knowledge and inquiry skills. The University of Oklahoma’s K20 Center is researching the digital connection and its impact on student knowledge and processing skills. The data gathered can help researchers and educators create America’s next generation of learning tools.

The K20 Center – GBL Team is building on existing structures and partnerships to accomplish the following goals:

  • Increase the percentage of students who are academically prepared for college and future careers
  • Gather data on student motivation, content retention, and application of real time tasks
  • Contribute to the body of knowledge on what design elements and strategies make learning games effective

Available Games

Available Games

Operation: ELECT

SOCIAL STUDIES, COMPUTATIONAL THINKING

Operation: ELECT is a strategic social studies game of politics, press, and the election process. As a campaign manager, you’ll compute your way through five levels of government elections and help your candidate secure their spot in the history books.

GRADES 9-12

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Get a Life

COLLEGE AND CAREER AWARENESS

Students are in charge as they help their character "get a life" in this 10-15 minute, narrative-driven college and career awareness game. Get a Life is a playful way for students to learn about the cost of college, the education requirements of careers, how education can affect income, and how to deal with setbacks.

GRADES 7-12

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Mind Your Own Budget

FINANCIAL LITERACY

Uses engaging financial scenarios such as renting an apartment, starting a business, and even planning retirement. Students gain skill sets for lifetime money management like maintaining a budget, building a savings account, and understanding bankruptcy.

GRADES 9-12 + UNDERGRADUATE

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AWARE

WEATHER AWARENESS

Students play as an emergency manager for a fictional region beset by deadly disasters. They build structures, hire earth science and STEM professionals, and research new technologies to enhance their weather awareness and preparedness. The game also emphasizes budget and resource management.

GRADES 6-10

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Functions of the Machine

ALGEBRA: FUNCTIONS

Builds an understanding of the purpose and nature of mathematical functions through scaffolded problems. This game helps students to foster an understanding of proportional reasoning, covariational reasoning, and a process view of functions.

GRADES 10-12 + UNDERGRADUATE

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Deadly Distribution

STATISTICS: CENTRAL LIMIT THEOREM

The student is in charge of stopping the spread of a deadly disease through a small fictional nation. Deadly Distribution teaches students about sample distributions, confidence intervals, and the Central Limit Theorem as they collect data about infection rates and strategically apply vaccines and cures.

GRADES 11-12 + UNDERGRADUATE

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The Detective: Verona

INFORMATION LITERACY: CREDIBILITY

Blends digital game-based learning principle with a modern spin on the classic story Romeo and Juliet. After playing the game, students will be able to recognize unreliable sources and assess information based on five criteria: verifiability, objectivity, timeliness, detail, and authority.

GRADES 9-12

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The Detective: Bavaria

INFORMATION LITERACY: DATA INTEPRETATION

A modern spin on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Students will encounter real-world data interpretation tasks such as identifying qualitative and quantitative data, identifying primary and secondary sources, and discerning the implications of data and how it affects a hypothesis.

GRADES 10-12

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Potions!

STATISTICS: INFERENTIAL LOGIC

Students learn about statistical hypothesis testing by applying potions to fictional creatures and observing the results. Students select populations, choose portions to test, and then run t-tests. By selecting their own parameters students learn about the costs, requirements and limitations involved in experimental design.

GRADES 11-12 + UNDERGRADUATE

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Advance U: The TALENT Machine

MINDSET THEORY

An engaging way to introduce students to the concepts of neuroplasticity and mindset theory. Through the game, students will come to understand the brain's ability to learn and change and how their own personal mindset can affect their ability to learn.

GRADES 9-12 + UNDERGRADUATE

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Advance U: Learning Strategies

GOAL SETTING AND TIME MANAGEMENT

Blends game-based learning with cutting-edge psychology to teach students the concepts of goal setting and time management. Advance U: Learning Strategies gives players an authentic, real-world environment in which to apply these concepts as they work their way through a semester at McLarin Academy.

GRADES 9-12 + UNDERGRADUATE

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Paper Trail

BUSINESS ETHICS

Asks students to make decisions in an authentic, morally tenuous business environment. Similar to discussing an ethics case study, Paper Trail presents an instance of corporate corruption and challenges students to consider how they would behave if confronted with a similar situation.

UNDERGRADUATE + PROFESSIONAL

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Mission Prime

CALCULUS: FUNCTIONS

Focuses on identifying, modeling, selecting tools, and setting up functions to solve calculus optimization problems. Students focus on conceptual understanding and visual representation rather than calculation in this interactive puzzle game.

GRADES 12 + UNDERGRADUATE

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Perfect Strain

BIOLOGY: NATURAL SELECTION

Players take the role of a microbiologist in the far future, cleaning up a toxic Earth by breeding pollution-consuming bacteria. Students learn about natural selection, mutation, biological fitness, and common misconceptions about evolution in this real-time strategy game.

GRADES 10-12 + UNDERGRADUATE

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MACBETH

COGNITIVE BIAS

A strategy game that asks players to use their own judgement to make high-stakes decisions while avoiding common decision-making errors. By learning to recognize and avoid cognitive biases like confirmation bias, the fundamental attribution error, and bias blind spot. players thwart terrorist attacks around the world.

UNDERGRADUATE + PROFESSIONAL

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Contact Us

Dr. Scott Wilson

Associate Director; Director of Innovative Technology Partnerships

Javier Elizondo

Director of Game-Based Learning

Contact Us

Javier Elizondo

Game-Based Learning Coordinator

Dr. Scott Wilson

Associate Director; Director of Innovative Technology Partnerships