Distinguishing Edutainment and Gamification

Game based Learning vs. Gamification from the Higher Education Students' Perspective

The term Edutainment, has been fabricated by combing the two words “Education” and “Entertainment”, and as this term expresses, this concept provides educational entertainment or entertainment-education. That means this let the student to learn subject matters with entertainment, so that the students get attracted to learning rather than getting used to learning through the teacher centered learning concept. Under this novel concept called “Edutainment” there comes a couple of new ways of teaching like Game Based Learning and Gamification. These concepts can be applied to enhance the learning procedure of students in various age levels. Hope this basic introduction gives you an understanding of Game Based Learning vs. Gamification in higher education from Computer Science students' perspective.


WHAT  GAMIFICATION  IS  NOT...

Gamification is not edutainment, nor is it games-based learning. Often it seems that the spaces of edutainment and games-based learning get mixed up with gamification. Edutainment is the use of  entertainment devices or activities used to teach school based subjects or concepts. 

Video Game Developers and Ethical Obligations

This is the main question: Do game developers have ethical obligations?

Now main problem with the question is how simple it was to answer: Yes. What would've been more interesting is all the other moral and ethical questions that have permeated the industry throughout the years.

For example:

1. Violence and video games
2. Women's portrayal in video games
3. On-disc DLC or Day One DLC
4. DRM (Such as always online or limiting installs)
5. Sexuality in games (homosexual relationships in games)
6. Sex in games in general
7. Censorship in games
8. Incorrect information conveyed 
9. Inappropriate ways and unethical methodologies used

• 
  
• Now apply the main question to these following ones:

1) What are the main arguments from both sides of the issue?

2) Which ethical theory plays a more prominent role in the issue, Social Contract theory or Divine Command theory? Explain.

3) Explain Utilitarianism and show what a Utilitarian response to your question would look like? Could a Utilitarian argue for both sides of the issue?

4) Explain both versions of the Categorical Imperative and show what a Kantian response to your question would look like.

5) Explain Care-ethics and show what a feminist response to your question would look like.

6) Explain your own answer to the question and how it relates to the ethical theories from the course. Are you a multiple-strategies Utilitarian, a Kantian Absolutist, a blend of Social Contract theory and Care-ethics, or something totally different?

So while this is a rather simplified look at ethics and morals and how they relate to video games, it does bring up a the fact that video games are no longer the 'kids toys' that they were marketed as back in the 80's and that there are a lot more mature and important issues that now come along with our pastime.

Ethics is hard. It’s damn hard. And the difficulty is primarily in it’s application.