How to use the typologies in the process of designing / deploying games for mathematical learning
This set of typologies was devised to serve as a tool for
researchers, designers, developers and practitioners engaged in the production
and use of games for mathematical learning. They are based on our diverse
experiences and practices in this domain. We hope you find them helpful in
your work, and welcome any suggestions for improvements. We envision several
scenarios in which these typologies can prove valuable.
I am a researcher / developer intending to design games for mathematical learning
While the typologies are not aimed at the actual practice
of software development, they have a lot to offer in terms of defining and
verifying the specifications for a game. Using the typologies, you will
formulate a clear description of the aims of your game, its educational
approach, target audience, style, setting and so forth. This will form the
basis of your design. After developing the game, you can return to the
typologies to verify that it meets your original requirements and perhaps
identify new potentials.
I am a teacher and I want to find a game suitable for my teaching plans
Using the typologies you can describe your needs in a
coherent and comprehensive manner. You can then communicate these needs to technology
providers, or use them as a litmus paper to evaluate commercial offerings.
I have designed / produced a game, and I want to deploy it as an aid for mathematical learning
The use of the typology in deployment is two-fold. Firstly this can be used to define the
deployment scenario, to enable a consistent descriptor to be assigned to each
case enabling comparisons to be conducted more effectively. Secondly the
typology could be used as a checklist of factors to be considered when creating
the deployment activity. For example, the typology foregrounds such issues as
"do the students have experience of games?" "what is the ratio
of devices to students?" "whose initiative is the activity?" and
from this the typology highlights the need to consider these aspects. Part of
the evaluation of the deployment will therefore also be an evaluation of the
deployment of the typology in the creation of deployment activities to
establish whether this has been of value in the creation process.
I am a researcher trying to understand the impact of a particular game in a particular educational context
Use the typologies as an initial descriptive framework. On
one hand, use them to describe the educational situation in which a game is
employed. On the other hand, use them to describe the qualities of the game
used in that situation. Identifying the correspondences and conflicts between
these two descriptions is a first step towards understanding the impact of the
game in the situation analysed.
What to do now
If you are a partner:
Please review the typologies carefully for inconsistencies
or gaps. Trace through the patterns and map them to your experience.
If you are the leading partner for one of the typologies:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike2.5 License. 
log in