Educational Technology Innovation and Impact/Edutainment/Educational Geography Games

There is a vast array of Educational Geography Games available to both parents and educationalist aimed at developing and improving the geographical knowledge and awareness of individuals. Games have been created to satisfy the need to make learning fun, in a subject area that at times can become dry or bland games can reinvigorate the learning experience. Games have the advantage of turning repetitive activity that is vital to memory retention into a competitive activity with the possibility of experiencing the winning sensation whilst learning.

The games can provide a fun learning environment for all ages from baby through all the key stages leading to adulthood. Games have been designed to be extremely flexible and can cover complex or simple topics. The games can provide a learning environment that covers specific geographic locations to enhance the learning at a localised level or can be broad enough to cover the countries of the world.

Card games range from the more traditional games like ‘snap’ where two pictures or words that are the same produces a winning combination, to the more modern and probably more complex card game of ‘Top Trumps’. This game of cards comprises multiple ranges of data a covering a range of attributes of a geographical location. Players compare information at random with the highest or best value winning the hand.

Board games invariably contain the element of travel across a country or region taking account of key locations, places of interest and climate. Some more strategic board games involve the capture of territory and enable the player to understand what the economic drivers are within individual countries or areas.

Puzzles can be in picture format or words. Pictures can be used to associate wildlife, plants and landscape to countries of origin. Word searches can provide the learner with a test of memory or logic.

Touch ‘ n ‘ Learn systems can be used from the earliest age to help associate places with names. Young children can make good use of this type of equipment to build up a basic understanding of geography.

Interactive maps allow learners to find out in great detail about specific areas of the globe. Often these are supported by computer software that contains a database of information that can produce very detailed facts to help inform the learning process.

Finally on-line games give the learner the opportunity to pit their skills and knowledge against another player anywhere in the world. A good example of this can be found at Geosense

References:

http://www.educationallearninggames.com/geography-games-us-states-2.asp (accessed 02/05/2006)

http://www.geosense.net (accessed 02/05/2006)