Games and Kinesthetic-based activities (muscle memory) can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom.

Transmedia is one way to incorporate games and activities in a structured way.  A successful example of this is teaching vocabulary using ‘The Electric Company’ program.

Games can also be used as a tool to teach writing and story development.  While, there seems to be a debate between narratology and ludology, I believe that you can’t separate them, and that you need rules in order to learn narrative.

I believe the best way to apply this to the classroom (and as a way to bridge these two concepts) is through the use of ‘quests’.  Quests are a form of narrative and gameplay where the player’s actions affect the outcome of a story.  Quests have inbuilt rules (e.g. ‘you have three lives’), motivation (e.g. ‘save the princess’), and consequences (e.g. ‘game over’).

A quest-based game can be a motivating tool for teaching early years literacy. An example is my 80 Days Project.

For my latest research results, please visit my Conferences & Workshops page.