Dynamic Learning with Games
by Dr. Merle Marsh
Hold Tight to that Mouse Button
Video games as teaching tools
Games and competitions are fun and motivating. Kids could have told us that well before the digital age, for classroom enthusiasm ignited when teachers announced, "Time for Travel (the traveling around the classroom math competition) or Twenty Questions or Beat the Clock."
"This isn't school, it's fun," said the kids. Enter the computer game, an evolution of sorts from the traditional classroom game. "Cool," said the kids. Enter the video game. "Wow!" said the kids.
"Is this just a passing fad?" asked the adults.
In the early days of computer games, challenges such as Oregon Trail and Lemonade Stand captured students' attention, but other phases of computer-assisted instruction were so boring that computers in education began to get a bad name. With the advent of the video-type computer game, naysayers shouted, "Too violent. Not educational. Too solo." But those who looked carefully at students' use of computer games found that well-developed games encouraged interaction and cooperation. The content, after all, could be appealing without being violent. Besides, there was evidence that standardized test scores rose for those students engaged in game-based learning.
Just watch a group of adults being sorted into Hogwarts' houses by the Sorting Hat game on a PDA or a child taking on the challenges of an interactive game. Then envision students listening to a lecture or completing photocopied worksheets in a classroom. Unless the lecturer is a dynamic one or the worksheets are truly ingenious, games are sure to win when it comes to attention and motivation.
Perhaps that's why today's games have found their way into classrooms from preschool through graduate school and into homes for remedial and enrichment use, along with entertainment. They're not only on computers and the Internet, but also on those tiny digital devices that seem to sprout from kids.
Game-Based Learning Fits in Well in Our Digital Age
It's fast moving, interactive, multidisciplinary, engaging, and fun. Instant feedback provides rewards to motivate progress, while sound, graphics, and text bombard players with multi-sensory input. Educational games encourage learners to diverge from linear learning to learning that is not "one size fits all".
As game design and technologies move forward, few would be surprised if educational games do not claim wider acceptance as teaching tools in classrooms, businesses, and homes. The library of educational games is sure to expand so that they can be used for a multitude of purposes and for individual, small group, and large group instruction. The possibilities are limitless. Already on the market are games that allow kids to communicate with each other, games that teach dancing skills, and games like Peter Packet that have inspired learning communities.
Think Packetville
Consider Peter Packet, a game that was born when an executive at Cisco Systems asked programmers to design a video-type game for "Bring Your Daughter to Work Day." The result was a learning adventure featuring not only what Cisco Systems is all about—packets, routers, and computer systems—but also action-packed content that featured careers and community service. The game became an immediate hit with the girls and later with all students groups, elementary though college, that tried it.
The success of Peter Packet led to Cisco's development of the Packetville site (www.cisco.com/go/packetville), which opened in July. Packetville's three educational games are populated with a gang of eccentric characters including Peter and Penny Packet; Byte, Penny's canine companion; and a unique assortment of heroes and villains. Peter and Penny attempt to outsmart viruses, hackers, online interference, and overloaded systems while delivering digital messages throughout the world.
Packetville features student areas (Packet Riders for ages 8-11 and Hacker Busters for 12-14), as well as sections for teachers, parents, and club advisors. Games, lessons, and activities involve skills from language arts to fine arts to the sciences. Students take off from what they've learned in the games and let their creative juices soar. While they're learning about how to avoid a nasty virus, for instance, they may be exploring a community in India or visiting with a marine scientist.
Learning More and Enjoying It, Too
Why do kids and adults seem to learn more through games? Some say it's because we enjoy the games so much that we continue to play them. Some say it's the interaction and involvement. Or perhaps it's that we are learning at our own speed and in our own way.
Whatever it is, the latest evolution of education games is ready and waiting for us to catch up.
References:
- Goss, Begonia, The Impact of Digital Games in Education, First Monday: Peer-Reviewed Journal on the Internet,
http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_7/xyzgros/
- Freeman, Joel, Game-Based Learning: How to Delight and Instruct in the 21st Century,
http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0454.asp
- Mitchell, Alice and Carol Savill-Smith, The use of computer and video games for learning: A review of the literature
http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2004/11/13/why_use_computer_games_for.htm
- Prensky, Marc, Do They REALLY Think Differently
http://www.marcprensky.com/
- Prensky, Marc, What Kids Learn That's POSITIVE From Playing Video Games
http://www.marcprensky.com/
- Tapscott, Don, Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation,
http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/jan98/feat_6/digital.html
- Wilson, Eric, Employees discover that work is all fun and games
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/08/04/1059849328545.html
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