Evolution (Axel)

Games and/or play have a symbiotic relationship with the field of education. Anastasiadis et al., (2018) defines play as a common activity that is excellent for all ages from children through adulthood. While as previously mentioned by Cheng et al. (2015) (as cited in Krath et al., 2021) a game is any structured play with rules, goals and challenges for the purpose of entertainment. Shortly after birth children become enthralled with and are constantly encouraged to play. We see this in education as well, at an early age “free play” is part of the curriculum, pre-primary programs even have daily play-time percentage mandates to meet. As these children enter lower-elementary we see further development across motor and social skills. They begin to turn what used to be “free play” into structured games (tag, hide and seek, etc.). Engaging in play is an important mediator for one’s learning and socialization through life and can be used as a way to enhance one's learning procedure (Anastasiadis et. al., 2018). Generally, this transition from play to structured games continues with age. Children begin to engage in organized sports or other structured leisure activities, and physical education programs in school become more structured to suit the interests and needs of developing adolescents.

Educators have long been interested in leveraging the appealing nature of play and games for educational purposes (Plass et al., 2020). The benefits of incorporating games and education have been well documented, Zeng et al., (2020) states that educational games transform the learning environment, heightening interest for students by enabling them to learn by doing and improve their abilities. Furthermore, educational games can make learning more enjoyable and effective (Zeng, et al., 2020). This dates back well past the current video/digital realm to the time of non-digital games and beyond. Non-digital dice and card games have a long history dating well past a time when pirates ruled the “seven-seas” yet they are still staples in mathematics curriculum and classrooms today. Their engagement relies on unpredictability and the notion of chance. Simple dice and card games evolved into board games; these games still often involve dice, cards, and chance, but also incorporate more complex rules or strategies. Board games have long been considered valuable educational tools, and have recently enjoyed a resurgence in popularity (Plass et al., 2020).

Digital “video” games date back into the 1970’s, and have been evolving ever since. The growing availability of personal computers led to the development and popularity of early educational software (Oregon Trail, Reader Rabbit, Number Munchers, etc.) in the late 80’s early 90’s (Plass et al., 2020). This rush was further exacerbated by the advancement of widespread broadband internet in the mid 2000’s, bringing graphical enhancements and the ability for players to participate anonymously worldwide (Plass et al., 2020). This trend has continued to evolve, year after year as the rapid advancement of digital technologies has led to them becoming integral parts of our daily lives. As a result, digital games are prevailing globally, becoming parts of our social and cultural environments (Anastasiadis et. al., 2018). As they provide engaging and interactive environments, digital games are now considered a powerful social, technological, and cultural force that cannot be ignored (Anastasiadis et al., 2018).