How to select a game can be tantamount to :what do the students need ? How will they benefit from it?
For example (Tom’s class) they may find words too difficult so imagery is the element to look for in the game and in this case it was Kodu instead of Scratch:
”More pupils will choose Kodu – More pupils will choose Kodu over Scratch and I feel this is because Kodu is a visual based platform that allows pupils with lower reading ages and literacy issues to easily design and create their own game. There is no complex language used and all choices are clear, bright and easy to read. I also believe that more pupils will choose Kodu as it is 3D”
The matter of “what the game needs to represent” is also very important to figure out, and comes down to teaching methods used. (Jon’s class)
The game does not necessarily have to contain all the details of the subject; for instance you could make sure that the core of the subject is introduced in other classroom activities and then use the game as an environment where students put their knowledge to the test in interesting ways. (Eric’s class)
But it can also work the other way around – the game can introduce the details of a subject and allow students to experiment and interact with it, which can be followed up with discussions and presentations in the classroom where students get a chance to reflect on what they experienced in the game or by designing it (Jon’s class and Ros’s class).
”Wide variety of games – Pupils will be a creating a wide variety of games and stories. Pupils will be given the option of creating their own world, characters, terrain, enemies and objects through the aid of their school project booklets”. (Tom’s reflective Blog)
In the UK coding is already part of the mathematics curriculum as well as ICT skills and in Sweden form Autumn 2018 programming will be incorporated into the revised curriculum, making this project a front runner in how to prepare for it.