James Paul Gee's article on video games and his clip on Edutopia were interesting to me for a number of reasons. The point he made about video games constantly assessing the player really hit home for me and it made me think a lot about the types of video games that people play.
I want to start doing some research about the types of games that people play and how they assess their players. The ways in which these games apply inside knowledge as well as how they might require the use of external knowledge. As my experience with games has been relatively limited to puzzle solving, SNES and Zelda, I'll probably start with those. If it means I get to play Street Fighter II Turbo or WordTris for hours on end, I can't say I'll be complaining!
While I see the entertainment value and learning intrinsic to video games, I still have difficulty seeing how they can be applied to classroom teaching. Maybe having a WoW playing student read some WoW Science Fiction novels then comparing them to some classic Sci-Fi that might relate, like Tolkein. It's easiest for me to relate my topic of English to video games through ways of improving literacy, maybe incorporating discussions about how reading can be integral to game functions would surprise my gamer students enough to get them to assess themselves differently. I know too many self-professed gamers who claim to hate reading then go to their game shop to pick up several magazines and game play manuals; something they claim they aren't really "reading," implying that employing reading as a skill does not count as exercising their literacy.
History would be the simplest thing to employ video games into. There are plenty of empire building games and historically set, though inaccurate, games. Having students design games around their understanding of historical events would be a really fun activity to employ towards the end of the year when students are beginning to get antsy and whine for summer. Also as a way to relax from exam pressure and practice their knowledge.
I think incorporating games into my classroom would be interesting, but I remain cautious about it. It certainly is a way to engage students who might otherwise be bored.
More on life later,
~Ren
Isn't it funny how people think that "reading" only applies to books? I've heard people say, "I don't read." Then if you ask them what magazines they like they'll have a whole list for you. It's like reading is associated with nerdiness, and people don't want to admit they do it. I like the idea of covertly getting students who "hate reading" to read without realizing how much reading they're doing and how many skills they're developing as a result.
ReplyDeleteRen, you make a really good point about using video games to improve literacy. I had been struggling to see the connection between video games and English (I think other subjects could incorporate them more easily), but I am starting to see the potential.
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