Learning with online gaming

Creating games

Creating and playing online games can help children and young people develop important skills like coding, problem solving and creativity.

Online games are popular with young people. A survey of over 5500 Australian high school students found 74% play games online. The Office of the eSafety Commissioner reports that 89% of young people played games online in the past year.

With this in mind, it's no surprise that many young people are also considering making their own video games.

Creating online games can be an opportunity for students to learn important science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills. There are game design competitions that are open to students in years 3-12, such as the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge.

Game for stage 2 students

In R U A Cyber Detective? students in stage 2 (years 3 and 4) take on the role of a junior detective working a case of stolen identities.

Students are challenged to use their digital citizenship skills in a range of mock situations that include chat rooms and using webcams.

At the end of the game students make a 5-point guide about staying safe online and receive a Junior Detective Award.

Learning how to code

Playing online games can inspire young people to learn how games are created. Learning how to code, or tell a computer what to do (also known as programming), can be an empowering experience for young people.

Coding supports the development of a range of digital skills, including:

• logical and computational thinking
• critical and creative thinking
• design thinking
• non-linear narrative and storytelling.

See the department's report, Coding and Computational Thinking. 

Learn how you can use Microsoft MakeCode Arcade to teach your students how to code and build a game online with this video from Cybermarvel.

Listen to Computational thinking for an AI world, featuring Professor Matt Bower from the School of Education at Macquarie University.

Technology for learning teacher resources

The Technology for Learning (T4L) program supports schools with the teaching and learning of ICT skills in NSW schools. You can check out T4L events, teaching and learning resources and its publication – magazine.T4L.