Learning Science Through Computer Games and Simulations (2011) / Chapter Skim
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6 Bringing Simulations and Games to Scale
6 Bringing Simulations and Games to Scale
Pages 105-118
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From page 105... ...
Some barriers, such as the lack of viable business models and inadequate attention to consumer testing, limit development and sales of games in both formal and informal learning contexts. At the same time, there are barriers to marketing educational games that are unique to formal education.
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From page 106... ...
Uncertain about the potential sales revenue of educational games, these companies have made few efforts to develop educational games and have not established distribution channels to market them, either to schools or to the public. A variation of this model would tap the knowledge and marketing expertise of textbook publishers as a way to develop and distribute science games.
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From page 107... ...
by a weak interface. This extensive consumer testing during the development process is likely to be as important with educational games as it has proven to be with purely commercial games.
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From page 108... ...
Finally, the Kauffman Foundation has distributed educational games to schools by encouraging game developers to place older or demonstration versions of their games on state-financed laptops distributed to middle school students in Maine and Michigan. The developers obtained free exposure and potential sales for commercial variations of the same games.
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From page 109... ...
In 2009, educational game companies reported having sold only about 200-300 school site licenses for each game, reaching less than 1 percent of the 99,000 public schools in the United States. Marketing Barriers in Higher Education Markets for educational games in higher education have more in common with general consumer markets than with K-12 markets.
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From page 110... ...
Likewise, Muzzy Lane Software has sold site licenses for Making History to only about 250 schools, but was able to sell 40,000-50,000 copies of the consumer version when selling directly to the public. Parents are the primary purchasers of educational software aimed at younger children, and, as shown by the sales figures above, they continue to play a role in purchases of games targeted to middle school.
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From page 111... ...
In this approach, the corporate sponsor provides some immediate revenue to the developer of an educational game even if sales to preteens and adolescents are slow; it could buy time to implement other marketing strategies to reach this group. Adults make up a large segment of the general public market, potentially providing a source of sustainable revenue to developers of educational games (Mayo, 2009b)
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From page 112... ...
observed that a business model of modest up-front investment in game development followed by long-term returns appears to be working for a new group of small-scale educational game developers, such as Muzzy Lane Software, 360Ed, Tabula Digita, Numedeon, and Software Kids. These companies have sold tens of thousands of copies of educational games.
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From page 113... ...
Lacking expertise in these areas, funders have invested millions of dollars in educational games that have reached only a handful of players -- because they were not fun to play or were not effectively marketed or distributed. Nonprofits could carry out a rigorous screening process to decide which games to fund and at what level -- just as commercial publishers do.
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From page 114... ...
advocates a decentralized pathway to scaling up educational games by building on the burgeoning independent games movement. He notes that a typical commercial game has only a few weeks either to recoup its investment in retail outlets or to find itself consigned to the remainders bin.
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From page 115... ...
identified several state policies that might encourage wider use of simulations and games, including revising curriculum purchasing procedures that currently focus on textbooks to facilitate statewide software and hardware purchases. She advocates focusing state educational technology plans on the goals of ensuring statewide availability of computer hardware and software and broadband access, eliminating firewalls while maintaining security, and assisting in the distribution and marketing of educational games.
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From page 116... ...
At these schools, data would be gathered to evaluate the effectiveness of games in helping students achieve educational standards and the types of assessment data that can be gained from games. Other topics that could be explored in these schools include identifying the types of knowledge teachers require to use games effectively to support science learning; the financial costs of hardware, software, and teacher training, and how to budget for these costs; the roles of games in supporting informal learning after school, at home, and with peers; and the potential for collaborating with public radio and television stations.
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From page 117... ...
A few small commercial publishers have successfully marketed educational games to parents and children. Parents could potentially constitute a large market for increased sales of games and simulations designed for science learning.
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