Impact of video game experience and gender differences in educational video games

Despite the emergent research of educational video games, video gaming experience and associated gender disparity are two important factors that have been overlooked when determining optimal learning environments for educational video games. For those who lack experience, educational video games may tax cognitive load and preclude informal learning benefits. This pilot study compared five males and five females when playing an educational video game. The results show males improved more in posttest scores when compared with females. When demographic information was further dissected, males were much more likely to have experience with video games when compared with females. The study and analysis of these two factors in conjunction help to discover implications for design that lead to future advancements in learning through educational video games.