“Games are designed to generate a positive effect in players, and are most successful and engaging when they facilitate the flow experience” (Kiili, 2005).  In addition to the learner becoming engaged, he also becomes more motivated when he begins to experience a state of flow-nothing but what you are doing in the moment matters.  I know that to be true because I have experienced a state of flow when attempting a difficult position while practicing Hot Yoga.  All of a sudden I realize I’m in the perfect stance and I feel like I could stay there forever-no matter how difficult it becomes or how hot the room is.  When it comes to learning, I believe I have observed others experiencing a state of flow during an engaging learning experience.   Oblinger 2006 states “It is important to emphasize that games and play may be effective learning environments, not because they are “fun” but because they are immersive, require the player to make frequent, important decisions, have clear goals, adapt to each player individually, and involve a social network” (https://net.educause.edu).  While I do not have direct experience with “games” as educational tools, I do have experience with simulated learning environments,  that do require the learners to make educated decisions, which have an impact on whether or not they pass or fail.  And, I am here to you,  they take the learning environment very seriously.

http://www.simschool.org

If I were an educator of teachers, simSchool is definitely a tool I would use. 

“simSchool is a classroom simulation that supports the rapid accumulation of a teacher's experience in analyzing student differences, adapting instruction to individual learner needs, gathering data about the impacts of instruction, and seeing the results of their teaching.

simSchool is like a "flight simulator" for educators - a place where instructors can explore instructional strategies, examine classroom management techniques, and practice building relationships with students that will translate into increased learning.

Results of teachers experience are real, measureable, and include:  improvement in general teaching skill, improved confidence in using technology, increased belief that the teacher has the skills and ability to make a difference in a child's or an adult’s life, improvement in pre-service teachers' performance in teacher preparation courses and attitudes toward inclusion of special needs students, significant positive impact on the mastery of deeper learning capacities that comprise the readiness to teach, increased "staying power" on the path to the field of teaching acquired through rapid development of strong self-efficacy and resilience.  In these ways and more, simSchool enables transformational experiences for teachers to help them become more effective leaders in their classrooms and learning communities” (http://www.simschool.org/about).

 https://www.lumosity.com

I believe this game has the potential to help students improve, their speed, agility, memory, and attention span.  I played long enough to set a benchmark for my cognitive health.  Unless we constantly exercise our minds, as we age, we become less agile.  Luminosity is just one of many games one can play to exercise their brain, and there are others that are free-for example, MindDabble.com.   In reality, even young children can benefit from games that exercise their brain.  As I dabbled in the Luminosity environment, I was challenged to do things such as remember where birds were located on a page and what number was associate with the bird, or where colored squares were located in a pattern of several.  It was an interesting experience, and I will definitely investigate further for tools that can provide the same experience without cost, because, I believe that the more we exercise our brain, the smarter and more self-sufficient we become.

References

Kiili, K.  (2005). Digital game-based learning: Towards an experiential gaming model.  Internet and

Higher Education 8 (2005) 13–24.  doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2004.12.001

Gee, James Paul. “Learning and Games." The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and

Learning. Edited by Katie Salen. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on

Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008. 21–40. doi:              

10.1162/dmal.9780262693646.021 

Oblinger, D. (May, 2006).  Simulations, Games, and Learning.  Retrieved from:

https://net.educause.edu.