Hello folks -
As the leader of the "Gaming" Birds of a Feather discussion, I thought it would be valuable to open up a blog thread to collect various thoughts and opinions people have about exploring gaming as a tool for educators. Funny thing here - although I teach digital technology to secondary school students all day, it is for a very different reason that I took on this role. I really strongly believe in the power of play and the depth of its engagement and what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls "flow". Gaming, it sems to me, offers a wonderfully flexible way to engage learners and yes, it just might not hurt at all, especially compared to the intricacies of more academic approaches to teaching and classrooms and lessons, etc. Since I teach quite a wide range of students it has become increasingly apparent to me that less academic students need a different approach at times to academic learning. Gaming, it seems to me, may hold opportunities that other classroom alternatives simply cannot offer. Re: those who vigourously oppose the concept of games as teaching tools I ask - "What are you afraid of?" Having said that, I can realistically see limitations to how games are built, used and "marked".... and now its your turn.
In our Birds of Feather discussion I would love to hear from a variety of points of view... please start that ball rolling now... and the door is open for you to take the discussion wherever you wish.
cheers, Peter French
Keywords: educational alternatives, engaging students, Gaming, play
Comments
Hi Peter,
I have heard quite a bit about Second Life and read even more about it online http://del.icio.us/qdsouza/SecondLife but I have only been in it a few times, and my computers always crash. It is probably for the best because it would be more like a third life for me. I am interested in the potential of MMORPG as a virtual learning environment for its eLearning potential.
The one game that I have played more often is Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero 2, I can't wait for 3 which is coming out soon. My brother in-law own the gaming system and we play as an extended family. We are all in our thirties, so if someone was looking into the room where we are playing the game, they would probably laugh. The game is so immersive and creates flow. I really get a sense of rythm when I am playing the game with my fake guitar and pounding the keys that represent chords.
Only if game companies could make a piano game similar to this. If I was to go back into my past and think of all those piano lessons that my parents paid for "Piano Hero" might have worked out much better.
Good morning - thanks for the comment but here is where you get to shake your head and I get to eat a small serving of humble pie.... even though i am leading this discussion I never play games (okay - I play text twist but that probably makes it all even worse LOL LOL) - I am really bad at it and I don't usually use blogs although I am really enjoying this experience and in truth was looking forward to waking up to the collaborative power of blogging.
So - what on earth does MMORPG (I suspect its something about role playing games....????).
How do you see this type of game fitting into the educational spectrum?
Are you currently using games to teach - if so, how?
A Provocation for you...
I recently read Waterloo University's Annual Report on Engineering for 2006 and saw several comments which made me think of how to use games to accomplish educational goals. Comments like -
"We need to stop treating non-linear systems like monsters."
"One of the keys to better education is making the classroom more interactive: changing classes where professors give notes and students take them. There are effective ways to give up some control at the blackboard, to have the students develop concepts interactively."
"Seeing engineering principles in action is essential to learning."
Although these ideas are from a unviersity environment I think they can influence our thinking for elementary and high schools, too. Your thoughts?
I see myself pretty strongly as sitting in the camp that would suggest very few commercially available console/pc games are terribly educational. I am a strong believer though in simulated experiences, and believe technology will play a huge role
in allow students to simulate and experiment with situations that they couldn't or wouldn't be able to in real life. Is this "gaming" - I'm not sure.
Of interest to some may be the recently announced OSAPAC licensing priorities for 07-08 to support the Ontario curriculum K-12. Of particular note is the planned call for software to fill the need in "Senior Science - Interactive Physics". This is an area where I can very much see a role for good simulation software that borders on gaming...
./tim
MMORPG = Massively multiplayer online role playing games. Examples are World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings, and Second Life. I am no expert on Second Life by any means. What I have been reading about different sorts of educational interactions in SL are really thought provoking.
Let me share a little:
Second Life in Education wiki - http://jokay.com.au/
As a possible place to deliver PD - http://jokay.com.au/2007/03/25/touring-sl-with-konrad-and-sean/
Online Gaming Here to Stay
http://www.techlearning.com/blog/2007/04/online_gaming_here_to_stay_do.php
Students Presenting a Poster Session with Teacher in Second Life
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2007/04/best-practices-conference-in-sl-may-25.html
Education: Especially Universities and other Institutions with Islands in Second Life
http://www.simteach.com/wiki/index.php?title=Second_Life_Education_Wiki
In-World
http://slbestpractices2007.wikispaces.com/
Tim -
As a guy who spent over 20 years in the advertising industry I guarantee that perception governs reality and yes, the name definitely gets in the way! People have a difficult time seeing things they think they know and understand from new points of view. Simulations, digital models, - whatever we choose to name them could have quite a powerful impact on their acceptance (assuming they really do the job we need and THAT, as they say, is a whole other discussion!)
P.
I'm working at revamping the grade 12 Computer Science course at our school next year. I'm looking at having the students develop computer games as the main theme for the course. I'm curious to know if there are other teachers out there doing the same thing.
Cheers,
Ian!
I've been giving this some thought since the Birds of a Feather session. While I don't play games myself, I have two teenage boys who have grown up with them and, as a byproduct, me too!
I was trying to think how we, as educators, could capitalize on the characters and story lines that are already out there engaging kids rather than reinventing the wheel. However, each time I went that direction I ran up against what Tim has said ....... is there really any educational value other than in the 'doing' of the game?
I whole heartedly agree that we need objects that are teacher inspired - ie coming ultimately from the needs of meeting curriculum and needs of students - and co-partnering with talent of young people aleady creating these kinds of things
It's interesting that we are suggesting the word 'simulation' - this was one of the buzz words in executive training several years ago.
Not to get hung up on semantics, but maybe we do need to talk about what we perceive the terms to mean.
To me, simulation is about using technology to allow students to experience and manipulate thing/situations that they couldn't otherwise do. Using the Physics example I touched on above, allowing students to experiment with the "unexpermentable" elements would be a big plus. The piece of software I miss most is The Incredible Machine because it was true simulation - it allowed students to freely construct their own machines is a very open ended manner. A piece of physics software might allow them to manipulate variables like gravity, time, inertia, friction, etc and see in real-time, the impact.
At its worst, simulation is boiled down to multiple choice/choose your own adventure type interaction that is far less engaging.
When I first learned to program a computer is fundamentally shifted my understanding and relationship to technology - it freed me to realize that I was in control (to an extent) over this medium and how I approach it. Really good simulation should be able to do the same thing over content in a variety of disciplines. Geometer's Sketchpad is a good example, when used to encourage exploration of geometric concepts of this idea...
There are several ways to categorize learning objects. I think that simulations are one of them. I guess I would say that all types have a place and value depending on what you want to accomplish and how well they are designed.
The theme that I am wondering most about is how we might create a framework that will help us create objects that have value. I like the phrase "teacher inspired" that Pam used. Value is definitely tied to serving pedagogical ends within the context of an activity/object that is interesting and engaging enough to motivate students to find that value.
Could a sort of clearinghouse be created in which teachers submit object storyboards (design specifications) that developers could go to to select objects to develop. The developer and storyboard author might be supported by a collaborative work environment. Are there enough teachers with object ideas and enough developers willing to build them? It seems that everyone is at the limit of what they can do. Is there time and interest on the part of teachers and developers to do this out of an interest to contribute to the profession or perhaps some recognition?
I'm glad we're having some discussion around simulation because as we talk we get a clear understanding of what it is we want this kind of gaming/simulation environment to be in our schools. I really like Don's practical ideas and especially the idea of building a storyboard clearinghouse. The issue will be the time and will of the contributors. I'm sure George Siemens would have something to say about how our present system doesn't have a model for this kind of sharing. I'm not even sure we have, at present, the expertise in the teacher community to storyboard these kinds of things? Or do we?
We certainly have people who know what needs to get done and a path way to get it done. It's almost like we need an intermediary who can interpret the expectations and pedagogy into storyboarding.
I've been watching some of the video clips on United Streaming. While not the kind of thing we're talking about since there is little if any interactivity, there are companies building little vignettes to teach. And, a company like United has put a lot of them together to build a business model that is selling. So .... just perhaps we can figure out something here?
Is there a role for subject associations in the scheme of things? It is my understanding that some subject associations are very active in developing resources that are shared within the "community of practice". We heard that the Peel Board has allocated resources to developing objects (to some extent). There may be others doing the same. A framework for developing storyboards, object production and collaboration could be made available pretty easily.
Hello folks -
A couple of reactions & thoughts
a) re: subject associations... they are very involved in establishing the "Enduring Understandings" of a course - these, it seems to me, are a logical beginning of Learning Objects. Others will work too, but it seems that these are a solid start. Having said that, there are also all of the myriad "building blocks" which each teacher creates / adds / adjusts as they develop and deliver curriculum..... makes it all rather daunting!
b) I am reading this web site and its very helpful as an introduction for those of us new to learning objects
http://ilearn.senecac.on.ca/lop/ I read the Information section and tried various elements available through the site - the maze is interesting as it highlights various aspects of learning objects. The abstract conceptualization flash piece is definitely more theoretical but interesting and thought provoking. I am still going through it in order to better understand what all of this is about - I suggest it as a beginning of an understanding of what we would all need to understand in order to make this or any other resource workable.
c) "games" or "digital experiences" / adventures / explorations / or whatever it is we end up calling them come in so many depths, complexities and degrees of rigour that I believe a gaming resource would have to segment them at least by grade level and probably by digital requirements so that a user would be assured of technical compatibility. User interface design would also hinder or assist and could possibly be another criteria - seems we'd need a kind of category charting system. But I may be getting ahead of myself here.
Question - does a game have to be long and complex? Could a game be as simple as a single learning object expressed through an interactive media? What makes a digital activity qualify as a "game"? Must it involve "roles"? Try exploring the seneca site - go to Information, go to the Action Maze - would you consider this to be a game? Defining what this powerful term with such extreme negative and positive connotations involves seems very important to me as I try to come to grips with all of this.
P.
I just found a site sponsored by NASA where students play a game to teach them concepts in physical science and the Moon while assessing how much they learn while playing the game. This seems to be the type of learning we are aiming at here. I haven't played the game yet, but I decided to share in case anyone is interested. I will place a copy of the link in the "Resources" section of this site.
Here's the link: http://selene.cet.edu/