Gaming In The Classroom

This was a very interesting discussion and it’s a topic that is being brought more and more to the forefront.  Mr. Gee had some tremendous ideas and compared it to traditional learning in a way that makes me think forms of video games with educational backing indeed need to be transitioned to the classroom.  The way this generation of kids is growing up with the technology available to them truly makes them digital natives.  If using these media tools in daily life is part of their routine, then some continuity must cross over into the classroom.  I am not saying playing Madden all class, but there are many games that practice money management skills, city and community planning, and running a business to name a few.  All helpful in learning skills for when school is completed. 

            I don’t think games in the classroom should take the place of all educational teachings, because you need someone facilitating and leading the class weather text teaching or game based teaching.  I do think it could be interesting as well as educational to incorporate curriculum-based games in class to allow the students another aspect to learn and apply the material.  One that is interactive, provides instant feedback, and supports collaborative problem solving.  I don’t feel that having video games in the classroom steps over the line of “edutainment.”  As I stated before these students are from the digital native generation.  Its how they are wired and using technology for learning and outside of school is part of their lives.

            In the paper “Good Video Games and Good Learning”, Gee discusses his learning principals in relation to gaming, and a couple of them struck a cord with me.  The principal: Explore, Think Literally, and Rethink Goals can be applied to students in and out of the classroom.  Not going 100 mph to finish the task but exploring findings involving a subject or assignment, thinking and examining it, and then possibly rethinking what you may have thought before and changing your view.  That’s a part of daily living.  Another was customization, stating “not just about self pacing in school, but also about real intersections between curriculum and the learners interest, desires, and styles.”  The learner can customize what they are going to do first in the assignment, and learn about it the way they function best, as well as use several modalities to maximize learning and store it long term.  Something the Mr. Gee stated in his online interview was the comparison between game manuals and textbooks.  A person may be playing a game and want to know how to do something or find how something works, they can go to the manual, read, and then apply it.  The manual is the textbook.  In science class the textbook is so dry and not very interesting until you see some examples where the material can be applied.  I think what I am learning so far in my Master’s experience is how much the use of media tools can help make a lesson flow as well as engage the student, compared to when I was in school and many teachers just stood up at the front of the room, lectured, then told you what page to go to in a huge textbook.  I feel many of Gee’s examples as well as his opinion of a move for acceptance of video games in the classroom for an educational tool are on point and I can see myself using lessons including games or finding games that can teach what the curriculum calls for.  I think that is where we are as a society.

            I do plan on finding a place at certain times for video game type learning in my classroom.  It won’t take the place of me being the teacher, but maybe once a week or a couple assignments a term; games could be used as the educational tool.  It would be interesting to assess how the student learns the content doing it this way instead of the classic teaching model.  I liked how Gee discusses how students like to be producers and not just consumers.  There are times when the student may teach the class and teacher how something may work or the program can do this or that.  The main objective that I see happening is we all will be learning together.  Sometimes only a few students get what a teacher is presenting.  This way there is constant feedback, on demand information, and community discussions such as the comment section on a blog or wiki.  I am learning a lot that I will be able to apply in my teaching career and I realize things are changing so learning how to use media tools in class will be crucial.