Online gaming is an epidemic that has taken over the youth of the world. With games like World of Warcraft, Diable, Starcraft, and other games created through Blizzard, children are spending more of their out of school time playing these games now than ever. According to an article on http://www.cracked.com/, the rate of growth of MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) is doubling every two years and there are currently around 10 million worldwide playing.
Since students are gaining passion about gaming and are only able to play when at home, why not move these gaming ideals of students into the classroom and help students to become passionate about learning at school through gaming. One such game, Evoke, was used by nearly 20,000 players in its 10-week run. The game was developed by Jane McGonigal and was a "crash course in changing the world". The game was introduced to high schoolers as an "alternate reality game that challenges players to solve big global challenges." (Boss, 2010). The link to the article can be found under references. To learn more about Evoke, click here. Games can also be introduced to students in order to help with homework and to keep up with their studies over the summer months of no school. Below is a short list of useful games for students:
- http://www.knowledgeadventure.com/
- http://www.starfall.com/
- http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/
- http://www.playkidsgames.com/
- http://www.4kids.org/games
- http://www.mathplayground.com/
Until next time, Fair Use and Its Use
- Lauren
References
Boss, Suzie (2010). Teaching Tools: Using Online Simulations and Games. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/online-games-simulations-teaching-tools
Wong, David (2007). A World of Warcraft World: 10 Ways Online Gaming Will Change the Future. Retrieved from http://www.cracked.com/article_15657_a-world-warcraft-world-10-ways-online-gaming-will-change-future.html
I personally am not a gamer nor know too many people who are; so I really don’t understand the draw to it. BUT, all my students are addicted to it...must be a difference in generations (I <3 Mario and Luigi).
ReplyDeleteI am open minded though to meeting them half way about their interests if it motivates, encourages, etc. their attitude in my classroom. I agree that it is imperative that we keep the students interest to reach them. I will definitely be introducing these websites to my students and do some investigating myself; its worth it.
Using games as education tools has many advantages in today’s 21st century learning environment. While they are engaging to most students, defined learning outcomes must be established so as to not render negative consequence. However, I believe that this is a delivery method that exposes the learner to the following possibilities.
ReplyDelete• they can be an online communication tool.
• allow students to learn with a digital tool with which they are familiar.
• can foster ethical thinking skills as players practice ethical thinking possibilities (Gilbert, 2010)
• leadership styles emerge in online gaming that carry over to real life circumstance. (Jang and Ryu, 2011)
Gilbert, S. (2010).
Ethics at Play: Patterns of Ethical Thinking among Young Online Gamers. In Schrier, K., & Gibson, D. (Eds.), Ethics and Game Design:
Teaching Values through Play. (pp. 151-166). doi:10.4018/978-1-61520-845-6.ch010
Jang, Y. and Ryu, S. (2011), Exploring game experiences and game leadership in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42: 616–623. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01064.x
It is well known that our student's generation love games! I myself have a middle school son and games are his favorite hobby. As educators we always have to find a way to motivate them and games are the way to do that. It is though very important to address games should be only used as a tool to reinforce concepts, not to replace instruction. This topic reminds me of when I used to teach Keyboarding. At the end of every lesson, the software that we used would allow students to play a game. To win the game, students had to type accurately and fast, and so students were well motivated to learn the appropriate keys to the lesson if not they would lose the game and that was very important to them. It was simply a challenge! They love challenges and games for sure.
ReplyDeleteNow here is a subject matter I could talk forever about. I have been playing these games now for over 12 years. I started playing one of the very first MMORPGs called Everquest and have been addicted ever since. My wife has had to endure this addition of mine for a while now and she has now joined me in the pleasures of MMORPGs. We both play World of Warcraft today and we really enjoy the time we spend in the game with each other and in the guild, online community, we are in. My students love the fact that one of their teachers play these games and understand the culture they are growing up in.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of different MMORPGs that could be used in a educational setting for students to learn from. One of those MMORPGs is an online world called Second Life. I know Sam Houston use to have an online presence in Second Life and use to use this to build a virtual community for the school.
Second Life is entirely user created. That is, Residents literally build the world together with the 3-D construction and programming tools provided for them, a process that resembles a group session of Lego building, except that it's done with people logging in from anywhere in the world (Wagner, 2007). So you could possible us this in your classroom to build an online presence with your students.
References
Wagner, J. (2007, February 01). The school of second life: Education online. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/school-of-second-life-education-online
Merriam, it is great that you are willing to get out of your comfort zone to reach your students. One of the signs of a GREAT teacher!!
ReplyDeleteLorin, the games definitely need some guidelines and structure. I have seen teachers that just give students a website and tell them to "play". While all the games are learning games, the students are just going to choose their favorites and not focus on the things they are actually struggling with. However, the confidence builder or being good at something can also be ery beneficial to struggling students.
Becky, great comparison! We used a game like that in keyboarding in junior high and it definitely made you want to learn the keys.
Arland, definitely a fun subject!! I just started playing a little bit within the last four years, starting with Diablo 2 and WOW. I can definitely see their addiction, but am still not sure how people overseas are dying in front of their computer screens because they forget to eat and drink. Definitely not that addicted!! :)While I haven't heard of Second Life, I will definitely look in to that game!!