I have some mixed opinions about gaming in an educational environment. As the textbook discussed and from my own experience, gamers are usually people who call Halo or Call of Duty for hours at a time. This often results in a warped view of reality; they are angry or tend to experience more violent outburts of rage than their peers who do not play video games. I know the textbook mentioned that this stereotype is not true, however, all stereotypes have some basis in fact. I understand the basic uses and educational value of gaming, however, it still makes me nervous to put kids into some other reality. Unlike my view about virtual worlds, I actually support the use of gaming in the classroom because it can reinforce curriculum to an extend where practice and drill could never accomplish. This type of experience, like John Dewey a little under a century ago, offers students a great way to practice skills and facts in a positive fasion. Gaming connects the classroom activities with what studnets are doing at home. Most students, according to the textbook, are gaming to some degree. Gaming would create excitement and energy because students can easily relate to that type of experience and would create a positive learning environment. I think back to my own experience with gaming, especially the Oregon Trail. I really enjoyed learning about the frontier and the struggle it was to make it out West during the 1800s. I admit, however, that it was more about the game than learning. I didn't learn the material until afterwards when I could connect the dots. Teachers, if they chose to use gaming in the classroom, need to be sure to connect the game with the material because educators cannot assume students will have that type of cognitive ability.
In all honesty, I see very little value in having students create their own minigame. The value I do see, however, would be that students could take ownership of the game and material in a more meaningful way than just a word search or puzzle. Students could feel a sense of ownership toward the game and material that would require them to put forth good work. The textbook said it could take about 2 - 3 hours of class time, which is probably a low estimate in reality. My other concern is that it would take such a long time to create that the valuable class time already stretched thin could not take an activity of that length. In a middle school setting, that would take almost a whole week to complete. I prefer my students to not reinvent the wheel and just use a game someone else has made. Using another persons game might be a little risky, but if I just want to use it for review, then making a minigame is out of the question. Making a minigame would be meaningful to students, it would gurantee the educator of the appropriateness of the game, and, finally, it would be an experience students would likely not have somewhere else. It is very doubtful students would create their own game outside of the classroom, so this might be an experience that would create excitement and develop a positive attitude toward school and education.
These are just a few of my thoughts about gaming, education, and the experiences of students.
No comments:
Post a Comment