Regardless, technology is booming, and its prevalence has made it almost common-place in the lives of children, adults, and students today. Being such, schools today may be changing their tactics to more effectively address their tech-savvy students. As a child, my natural world—with a healthy dose of imagination—presented me with challenges and problems to solve, but James Paul Gee, Professor of Literacy Studies at Arizona State University, noted something similar in an interview on the use of video games for learning. He stated, "(Video games) put you in a world where you have to solve problems....All a video game really is is an assessment." Gee believes that video games can provide a unique avenue by which students can learn, collaborate, and problem solve.
I have already told you what much of my childhood consisted of, but when it rained, or when it was too cold or dark outside, or when I was sick, I admit that I sometime picked up the controller. I entered the world of video games, or game, rather. There was only one game that could occupy my attention, and it did so for one year, the amount of time it took me to beat it. The game was...da da-da-da:
The Legend of the Dragoon. A single player, four disc adventure game consisting of dragoon warriors, spells, weaponry, and diverse characters. Civil unrest and resentment for past wars are threatening the current tranquility and harmony throughout the land. Harnessing the spiritual powers of the dragon, my band of characters travel through their world to maintain the peace. This game presented challenge after challenge and required me to manage resources, make decisions, effectively utilize the skills and abilities of my allies, and problem solve. At one point in this game, all of my merry men died in a battle. Believing that I had just lost months on effort and that I would have to start back at the beginning, I broke down into tears. No one had told me what "Save Game" actually meant...good thing I had still been doing that all along. Hearing my outburst, my mom directed me outside. I stood in the rain until I cooled down. Anyway, I digress. The challenges in this game, in addition to the characters and general fantastical awesomeness, was what secured my attention till I beat it.
My exploits with The Legend of the Dragoon allow me to believe that the use of video games, particularly problem solving games, in schools as a learning strategy is not only possible but that it could be very effective. Although this game may not be directly applicable to Biology—the subject I will soon teach—it does implicitly teach management of resources, strategy, the ramifications of one's actions, and endurance. These lessons can be applied to every aspect of one's life. Video games, much like my stomping grounds as a kid, can develop patterns of thought and perspective that serve to mold a young child's mind and influence behaviors.
I really enjoyed your comment and insight Jesse. I feel that I fear that there will be disconnect with the environment as technology begins to fill the space of going outside and playing with in the fields or in the woods. I like that you did have exposure to a game that gave you the optimisim that indeed games can be used to expand student learning. I like how you thought of the concpets you learned in playing The Legend of the Dragon. Learning to manage resources and overall process of strategy are important for children to learn. I feel that games have to be really planned and structured because as we both saw in Mr. Tomassi's class there ARE "bad games out there and it is important that we as teachers think really carefully and evaluate any games we incorporate in a lesson plan.
ReplyDeleteJesse,
ReplyDeleteWhen thinking about the diverse nature of video games, I tried to figure out which game style is most conducive to edifying players' mental faculties. I concluded that role-playing games, like the one you described, might be the most fit for educating players. Shooters, on the other had, which I most like to play, seem to me mostly useless with regards to education. RPGs often require players to carefully allocate resources and engage in some arithmetic. The lessons learned in these games can be applied in the real world, However, like you, I do not understand how any non-educational video games, even Legend of Dragoon can be used in the classroom.
It's interesting to me that while you enjoyed playing video games occasionally as a kid, you never really became hooked or obsessed. Interesting that you always preferred playing outside to playing video games..I feel like many times, video games have a bit of an addictive effect on those who get into them.
ReplyDeleteLooking back on it, do you feel you learned more playing outside than inside playing video games? While I don't necessarily feel that we as teachers need to incorporate it into our lessons, I believe play is a profound learning opportunity for people (young and old) - I find it interesting to consider the differences between learning derived from physical, outdoorsy play versus learning derived from digital, stationary play. By considering these differences maybe we can incorporate activities into our lessons that allow for similar types of learning.
I really think that people tend to be too easily dismissive of video games as tools for learning, and I liked how you were open to the possibility. I personally think that for some kids who don't have access to nature or travel or what have you, video games offer a way to escape reality in a way and use their wits to overcome obstacles. I can't wait to use video games, or at least technology in general, and I think educational technology and video games will be the next big leap in education. And if nothing else, being able to relate to your students by knowing the latest video games is helpful.
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