If you were to listen to a typical conversation between middle school students in a classroom, a subject that invariably pops up is that of video games. Currently, students spend their after-school hours playing games like Fortnite or Roblox. As a classroom instructor, I'm always looking for new ways to engage my students in the classroom. The use of games to enhance learning is clearly a way that I can take student's interests from outside of school and include them in what we are doing in the classroom. Like the Edutopia article Why Serious Games Are Not Just Chocolate-Covered Broccoli stated, "just because it's serious doesn't mean that it shouldn't be fun!"The biggest advantage that I see is that games engage students. This is not an "every student" situation, but most students in middle school become engaged through games. The idea of putting engagement before content in education (Prensky, 2005) resonates with me when thinking of digital games in learning. I can stand in front of students and discuss the amazing world of sentence fragments with them or give them the opportunity to try a game like Floyd Danger Adventure to recognize complete sentences and fragments. When I was a student a concept like this was taught with worksheets and practice. Now I can show them the concept and have them practice with a game.
Another terrific advantage that games bring to learning is collaboration.
On page 179 in Roblyer and Hughes, they point out the Tsekeleves et al. study which identified prominent benefits for learning from the inclusion of collaboration in both immersive and realistic setting using problem-based learning. Students love to work in groups or with a partner in the classroom. Games give them an opportunity to solve problems together and learn in a social setting that they crave.
Students often learn through shared experience. When students are all playing the same game, you can hear the conversation as they share what happened or how they did or any number of other details from the time spent at the keyboard.
Digital games can offer an instructor an amazing tool when working to engage students in the classroom. The games also offer an amazing tool to allow for student collaboration and shared experiences in the classroom. On top of all of that, games are just plain fun for students.
Resources
Farber, M. (2014, February 19). Why Serious Games Are Not Chocolate-Covered Broccoli. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/serious-games-not-chocolate-broccoli-matthew-farber
Prensky, M. (2005). Listen to the Natives. ASCD, 63(4). doi:10.4135/9781483387765
Roblyer, M. D., & Hughes, J. E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: Transforming learning across disciplines. New York: Pearson Education.
Hi Ben,
ReplyDeleteYour post made me think of my own childhood, when all I talked with my friends about was Starcraft and Counter Strike. While it's not always possible to use exactly same games the students play for learning (like Fortnight, although I would really like to try), gaming definitely brings learning to the students' level. I used Classcraft in my class and it was fun to see students talk about skills and gold even after school.
Hi Ben,
ReplyDeleteYour post made me think of my own childhood, when all I talked with my friends about was Starcraft and Counter Strike. While it's not always possible to use exactly same games the students play for learning (like Fortnight, although I would really like to try), gaming definitely brings learning to the students' level. I used Classcraft in my class and it was fun to see students talk about skills and gold even after school.
Aleksey Yoo
I like how you mention there's some peer to peer learning going on by talking about their experiences. Something I never really thought of until now. I agree with you and also mentioned in my post that gaming engages students since it is something they do on their off time. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteHi Ben,
ReplyDeleteI really like to listen to my students "help" each other in a game, especially one that they use on their down time. They are all trying to live in a world and not get "got" by the enemies. They watch out for one another and guide one another through the mazes through speaking to one another. The teamwork they have shown is incredible and more than what I see on the court or in regular class. I think we are on to something here.
From Kimberly Bearden
DeleteHi Ben,
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing the amount of engagement digital games create! Some of my students can be resistant or become bored with topics they may be struggling with, but when I give them the opportunity to use those skills in an online game, they are more willing to participate and learn! I love the flexibility of online games and the endless tools that are at our finger tips!
- Kristina Shain
Hi Ben! I really like your points on how games can really help with the collaborative aspect in learning. More often, there are plenty of shy students who have plenty to say and contribute to the learning process --- however, they don't have quite the right 'platform' to comfortably contribute. However, in many team-oriented games, the students themselves really rely on one another in order to maximize gamified elements (i.e. earn rewards/points, gain positive reinforcement, etc). But most importantly, I find that when students are enjoying these "serious games", this kind of learning experience presents them with challenges that almost perfectly align with their abilities to solve such problems --- and, in most cases, they're able to accomplish things that they didn't think they could in the first place. And, when concepts become clearer and the best method of solving problems become more obvious, students continue to improve upon their skills and knowledge, students increase their knowledge and learning strategies.
ReplyDelete