Gaming

What do I think about gaming in the classroom?

I think that education is the most successful when the student buy-in and engage in the learning materials; this helps to facilitate a level of understanding that promotes their abilities to recall and use information later.   Prensky (2007) stated that “games, unlink traditional school study, also offer students be-a-hero goals that encourage players to persist in their efforts,” and that “the newest ‘complex’ games offer scores of hours of challenging problems of great complexity and sophistication—often much harder than schoolwork—that a player typically has to learn many skills to solve.”   The benefits of gaming in the classroom are enormous and although it does take some work on the part of the educator to tie them into the lesson plans as well as evaluation of the message the games are sending, the outcomes are worth the work.  “Research and experience have already shown that games can be applied very effectively in many learning contexts, and that games can engage learners in ways other tools and approaches cannot” (Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine, & Haywood, 2011, p. 22).   Johnson, et.al, supports that games “enhance skills in decision-making, innovation, and problem-solving” which are huge areas of higher order thinking skill development that are often missing in the standard curriculum due to the fact that they cannot be assessed by or for standardized tests.    Online games also offer the opportunity to develop and engage in research skills, “writing, collaboration, problem-solving, pubic speaking, leadership, digital literacy, and media-making” (2011, p. 23).    When these types of activities are part of the curriculum, they become an integral part of the educational experience and offer a real opportunity for student buy-in into their education. 

Along the lines of gaming for education, there are also virtual reality and computer simulations also emerging as educational tools. Computer simulations and virtual reality offer something to students that have never been imagined before: the ability to have “hands-on” experiences with concepts and models.  These technologies offer the ability to get up-close and personal with objects that they can’t in real life such as historical figures, foreign lands, and things as simple as atoms, molecules, and bacteria for learning.   Augmented reality is an amazing technology that allows for visual and interactive learning.  It is an active technology that allows for learning and assessment and engages students in virtual interactions that bring objects too large or too small to a scale that can be manipulated in the student’s personal space (Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine, & Haywood, 2011, p. 17).  This technology can be used in many areas of education, including chemistry, geography, and history. 

Several websites offer a variety of educational games that would be really excellent curriculum additions.    Knowledge Adventure offered several unique opportunities to engage students in learning activities.  “Bouncing Letters” was one of my favorites, it engages student in vocab/spelling practice as well as critical thinking and strategy.  This game is set up so that players can make word combinations using the letters the game provides, so it would be hard to use it on a specific vocab lesson because it doesn’t let the player choose which letters to use, but it does get the player to form words and use strategy to beat the levels.   “Math Man” is another pretty awesome game that is similar to old school Pac Man that engages students in math skill development.  The player eats a “?” and then has to eat the ghost that solves the question.  It is again a game that engages the player in strategy to eat the “?” first and then only eat the right ghost.    This site offers a variety of games in a variety of genre’s appropriate for elementary school aged students.  Some are better done than others, but the majority is educationally based.   One of my favorite simulation sites was the 3rd World Farmer game. It was so simple, but taught such an important lesson on economics, strategy, budgeting, and real life issues that I could literally not stop playing it. The graphic and interface itself could use some upgrades, but it provides such amazing lessons in a simple way.  Another worth mentioning is the Game Classroom  site. This site has a variety of resources for grades K-6 that are educational and engaging, but that aren’t what I think of as “games” in the traditional sense; however, still beneficial. 

References:

Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2011). The 2011 Horizon Report. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

Prensky, M. (2007). Sims vs. games: The difference defined. Edutopia: What works in education, Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/sims-vs-games