Games for Impact Great examples

Inanimate Alice http://inanimatealice.com/ is a born-digital, ever-expanding transmedia storyworld that tweens and teens can read/play online for free and (soon) on a number of platforms. They then use the assets (music, sound, images, interactives) and a range of tech tools, along with the story framework, to create their own interactive stories and simple games.

The novel began as an entertainment, an exploration of... more »

My 501c3 non-profit company, Seekers Unlimited, makes custom-designed interactive, immersive analog games that are adaptive to any learning situation or environment, whether they have computers or not.

I have been involved with larps, or Live Action Role Playing, for nearly 30 years. Although most people think of larp as a hobby where you play-pretend medieval warriors with foam swords, it is so much more than that.... more »

Froguts Inc (www.froguts.com) is a leading provider of biology and science simulations for K-12 & Higher Education. Our computer simulations of dissections and labs for K-12 and higher education engage students with immersive and interactive 3-D simulations of anatomy and physiology. We believe integrating virtual labs into schools and home use significantly enhances content retention. We are working to ensure more schools... more »

Since 2008 Jennifer Ann's Group has been preventing teen dating violence through video games. Our "Life.Love. Game Design Challenge" rewards game developers for creating video games about teen dating violence (TDV) without using violence in the game design.

ABOUT THE LIFE.LOVE. GAME DESIGN CHALLENGE
We will be launching our 7th Life.Love. Game Design Challenge on February 15, 2014. Over the years we have received entries... more »

Consider this scene: Jamie, a boy in Holly’s class, keeps calling Lucy “fat”. Lucy tries to argue back, and then they end up getting into an argument (normally in the classroom). Eventually Mr Williams (their class teacher) will tell them off, but they still keep on arguing, but more sneakily – sitting down and giving each other hostile glances. Holly thinks that afterwards they feel angry with each other, and a bit resentful... more »

Verb Challenge Spanish is a verb conjugation puzzle for iOS. It helps students to master the conjugation of the 100 most common verbs in the 5 most used Spanish tenses. The game helps students to practice and improve their conjugation exclusively through its game mechanics leaving behind boring mechanical drills, flashcards and multiple choice exercises.

 

Trailer:

Games can be used for "Return to Learn" following concussion. The "Treasure of Bell Island" game, developed by Blue Marble Game Co, challenges and assesses progress of recovery of attention, memory and executive function skills following concussion or for those with ADHD. Both Concussion and ADHD challenge and impair a student's ability to learn and process information. Students can use games to help build skills that... more »

Mission US (www.mission-us.org) is a series of innovative role-playing games, available free online, that engage middle school students in U.S. history by putting them in the roles of peers from the past. Produced by THIRTEEN in partnership with the American Social History Project and Electric Funstuff, Mission US is part of a larger initiative by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), under its American History... more »

Math Snacks games were funded through NSF to address the math concepts sixth grade students often struggle with. Games are free to play online at mathsnacks.com. Researchers are currently engaging in a large randomized control trial to investigate impacts on math content, teaching quality and self efficacy of the learner. So far, students playing games in class spend at least half as much time playing the games on their... more »

LGBTQ on Campus is a pair of role-playing training games that
assists college and university communities in creating a safe and
supportive campus for LGBTQ students. In the games, educators and students engage in a series of virtual role-play conversations with emotionally responsive avatars and learn how to respond when someone makes a biased comment, be supportive when a student comes out as LGBTQ, recognize warning... more »

While technically not a game, it is an incredible simulation that needs to be duplicated to represent other disasters in order to provide greater understanding surrounding reality, preparation, recovery, etc. Simulation asks - What decisions would you make as an earthquake survivor, aid worker, or journalist in Haiti after the earthquake?

 

http://www.insidedisaster.com/experience/Main.html

To help in the discussion, you might be interested in this Wellcome Trust compiled list of all the academic research relating to games: http://ludodemia.pbworks.com/w/page/67607594/Welcome%20to%20Ludodemia

Videogames provide a promising way for sharing research results with adult audiences, thereby increasing the impact of knowledge Law of the Jungle is a free game developed at Harvey Mudd College that translates insights from the social science research on what it will take to protect tropical forests. Geared toward Grade 11 through adults See rulechangers.org

With the UNEP calling it a global water crisis the need for better understanding of water and sustainability has never been greater. In an effort to bridge the gap in understanding this game event seeks to engage 11-17 year old students in taking control of a water supply in a fictional world of "Aqua Republica". More details at http://curtin.edu.au/ecochallenge.

Avoidable harms (pressure ulcers, malnutrition, dehydration, falls etc.) in health and care systems are a huge problem in human and financial terms. Small changes to the way that care is delivered at the frontline can have a huge impact on clinical outcomes and finance. However, it is is difficult to effect behavioural changes in such large and dispersed organisations.

The Nutrition Game is a board game with supporting... more »