2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Paving Digital Infrastructure: Innovation Through an Educational Video Game Database

Presented at Computing and Information Technology Division (CIT) Technical Session 5

We are creating an educational video game (EVG) database for university faculty and industry instructors to help them find educationally valuable video games to use in their curriculum. In recent years, EVGs have become an increasingly used tool within higher education curriculum due to their potential for improving engagement and supporting active educational engagement. Our study defines EVGs as video games designed to help people understand concepts and learn domain knowledge. We have two research questions we seek to answer during the development of the database. Firstly, what patterns, trends, and gaps are found within the landscape of EVGs? Secondly, what characteristics do higher education instructors want in this database to help them find EVGs? This question allows the database to become a beneficial tool by filling the practical needs of academic faculty. Factors such as teaching style and communication take priority when gauging effectiveness, but most important are the tools the instructor selects for their course. The database created will be a collection of EVGs commonly found within university curriculum and workforce training programs to extend accessibility through ease of navigation. Creating this database has included an extensive sorting process, beginning with publishers of educational video games and cataloging specific information such as URLs for the respective publisher, the EVG’s given platform, the subject matter covered, and the total game time. So far, the collection includes a selection of 1,545 EVGs from 76 publishers. Of the 1,545 currently accounted for, 120 meet the requirements for higher education. We expect this number to grow significantly before presenting our work in progress. As more EVGs are used within curriculum, the creation of a useful EVG database will serve as an important resource—a tool for bolstering educational efficiency and access to resources for faculty and instructors.

Authors

Anthony Daniel Jones http://orcid.org/0009-0007-3137-4725 Texas A&M University [biography]

Anthony Jones is a studying engineering student and Project Lead for the LIVE Lab at Texas A&M University. His interest in research stems from wanting to learn about the research process and the opportunity of creating a tool for education. Joining the LIVE Lab in Fall of 2022, he gets lead a research team for the Database of EVGs and assist in research teams on the topic of Developing and Testing of Educational Video Games. Having presented or will present at conferences such as SERA (2023), Sigma Nursing Conference (2023), Frontiers of Education (2023).
Dr. Michael S Rugh http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0222-5719 Texas A&M University [biography]

Michael S. Rugh is an Associate Research Scientist for the LIVE Lab at Texas A&M University. He has a B.S. and M.S. in Mathematics and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction. He received the Graduate Merit Fellowship from the Association of Former Students and was the College of Education and Human Development Distinguished Honor Graduate for Fall 2021. He has had multiple years of K–16 teaching in mathematics and science. As a research scientist, he leads research teams to study the effects of products created by the LIVE Lab which include educational video games, apps, simulations, and virtual environments for learning and assessment.
Meet Mahesh Gamdha Texas A&M University [biography]

Meet Gamdha a freshman at Texas A&M University, majoring in Computer Science. Originally from India, Meet has a keen interest in the fields of Data and Machine Learning. With a passion for exploring the depths of Machine Learning, Meet envisions a future in research within this domain. Eager to contribute to advancements in the field, Meet Gamdha is dedicated to honing skills and knowledge during their academic journey at Texas A&M University.
Tristen James Norman Texas A&M University [biography]

Tristen Norman is an undergraduate research student studying Psychology (B.S.) and minoring in Neuroscience and Sociology at Texas A&M University. After producing an undergraduate thesis under the university’s English department in 2023, he joined the LIVE Lab to continue learning effective research methods. After publishing more papers and graduating in the upcoming spring, he plans on entering a doctorate program in clinical psychology to conclude academic pursuits as a licensed psychiatrist.
Rose Myers Texas A&M University [biography]

Rose Myers is an engineering student with the LIVE Lab at Texas A&M University.
Kailee Meek Texas A&M University [biography]

Kailee Meek is an undergraduate research student studying Biomedical Sciences (B.S.) and minoring in Psychology at Texas A&M University. She is working towards acceptance into medical school, with the goal of becoming a pediatrician. She has experience in various education scenarios, including volunteering as a teaching assistant and working as a tutor. She joined the LIVE lab to explore the benefits of evolving technology in various education scenarios while learning how to conduct effective research.
Amir Hossein Khazaei Texas A&M University [biography]

Amir Hossein Khazaei is a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in Visualization at Texas A&M University. With an undergraduate degree in Architecture, he specialized in incorporating video game algorithms, notably Wave Function Collapse, into architectural design. Currently, Amir is involved in designing educational video games as a graduate research assistant at the LIVE Lab, blending his background in architecture with innovative technologies to create impactful educational video games.
Sherry Minh Nguyen Texas A&M University
Ethan Thai Nguyen Texas A&M University [biography]

Ethan Nguyen is an undergraduate engineer studying Technology Management (B.S.) and minoring in Business, Computer Science, and Entrepreneurship. Starting in Fall of 2023, Ethan researches for the Texas A&M University LIVE Lab where he joined 2 team projects: Database of EVGs and Freedom Bridge. His interest in research stems from his boundless curiosity of video games and computer science.

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