The game, which is part of the McGraw-Hill Practice suite of hands-on, experiential learning games, was tested in schools across the country, including Georgia Perimeter College, Collin Community College in Texas, California State University, San Diego State, Richland College in Texas and Clayton State in Georgia.
Professor Jason Seitz of Georgia Perimeter College said the game helped his students tie all of the concepts in his course together to develop a deeper understanding and knowledge of the subject. "With an engaged classroom, I can spend less time transferring facts and more time exploring implications," he said.
Despite the negative press that video games sometimes get, they're changing the way subjects are being taught in classrooms across the country. According to a March 2012 survey of teachers, 32 percent use games two to four days per week, while 18 percent use them every day. An overwhelming 70 percent of teachers agreed that using digital games boosts motivation and engagement, and 62 percent of teachers said that games make teaching easier.
Dave McCool, president and CEO of Muzzy Lane Software, said the challenge with serious games is to make them both fun and educational. While there have been proven benefits of using games as part of educational curriculum, educational games aren't flooding the market.
"The fact that 'Oregon Trail' and 'Carmen Sandiego' still stand out after 30 years isn't great from the perspective of how powerful good, serious games can be," McCool said.
McCool's team is expanding "Government in Action" to work on iPad and Android tablets to take advantage of touch controls. The iPad version of the game will make its debut at the 2013 SXSWedu conference in Austin, Texas.
"Educators seem to have more tools available to them than ever before, and there's no doubt that, when appropriately utilized, technology has the capacity to enhance the classroom experience," Tierney said. "The key, of course, is to familiarize and excite teachers to maximize its use in the most positive way."
As is the nature of gaming, "Government in Action" has been designed to be addictive. Instructors have found that students will replay the game again and again to explore myriad options, as well as to compete on the leaderboard.