If you had told me about whether or not i saw the value of gaming in education. I would have given a straight forward answer of NO. I found it as a leisure activity that encouraged low levels of thinking and as a distraction. After my own practicum experience, the knowledge i have gained from the week 4 tutorial on gaming as well as further research i done on this topic my viewpoints changed.
What is a game?
Salen and Zimmerman’s (2004) definition of games stated it as a “system in which players engage in artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome” (p. 80).
Benefits of gaming
Through the class reading " A literature review of gaming in education". I only then started to realize its benefits within the classroom. These include:
1. Games are built on sound learning principles (McClarty, Orr, Frey Dolan,Vassileva & McVay ,2012).
2. Games provide personalised learning opportunities (McClarty, Orr, Frey Dolan,Vassileva & McVay ,2012).
3. Games provide more engagement for the learner (McClarty, Orr, Frey Dolan,Vassileva & McVay ,2012).
4. Games teach 21st century skills (McClarty, Orr, Frey Dolan,Vassileva & McVay ,2012).
5. Games provide an enviroment for authentic and relevant assessment (McClarty,Orr,Frey,Dolan,Vassileva,&McVay,2012).
1. Games are built on sound learning principles (McClarty, Orr, Frey Dolan,Vassileva & McVay ,2012).
2. Games provide personalised learning opportunities (McClarty, Orr, Frey Dolan,Vassileva & McVay ,2012).
3. Games provide more engagement for the learner (McClarty, Orr, Frey Dolan,Vassileva & McVay ,2012).
4. Games teach 21st century skills (McClarty, Orr, Frey Dolan,Vassileva & McVay ,2012).
5. Games provide an enviroment for authentic and relevant assessment (McClarty,Orr,Frey,Dolan,Vassileva,&McVay,2012).
Statistics on gaming in Australia
Through my week 4 pe3 tutorial we had a look at the statistics of gaming in Australia which intrigued me. I believe that as future teachers we need to have a look at current readings and statistics before the implementation of any resource in this particular case games.
The article " A literature review of gaming in education" identified various benefits of the use of games within the classroom. However i wanted to know of its negatives to help counteract it and better utilize this tool within the classroom.
Some of the main disadvantages of implementing games within the classroom include:
1. Time consuming as it is often up to the teacher to find out what basic skills and concepts are taught through the game design ( Morley, 2013).
2. Many students may want to play games in the classroom not because it makes learning fun but because they simply see it as an alternative to learning (Morley, 2013).
3. Students may not learn the concepts and skills in these games as they may have the intent on trying to win or successfully complete the game, that it looses its purpose (Morley,2013).
4.Post tests, debriefing questions and follow up tasks need to be developed for most commerical gaming activities (Morley,2013).
5. Costly through the addition of the software itself as well as the console if needed to play. ( Morley, 2013).
6. It can alienate other learning styles (Morley,2013).
7. Skills may be easier to transfer outside of games than specific content; however, content that is transferred outside of games tends to be limited and low level (Egenfeldt-Nielson, 2007).
Some of the main disadvantages of implementing games within the classroom include:
1. Time consuming as it is often up to the teacher to find out what basic skills and concepts are taught through the game design ( Morley, 2013).
2. Many students may want to play games in the classroom not because it makes learning fun but because they simply see it as an alternative to learning (Morley, 2013).
3. Students may not learn the concepts and skills in these games as they may have the intent on trying to win or successfully complete the game, that it looses its purpose (Morley,2013).
4.Post tests, debriefing questions and follow up tasks need to be developed for most commerical gaming activities (Morley,2013).
5. Costly through the addition of the software itself as well as the console if needed to play. ( Morley, 2013).
6. It can alienate other learning styles (Morley,2013).
7. Skills may be easier to transfer outside of games than specific content; however, content that is transferred outside of games tends to be limited and low level (Egenfeldt-Nielson, 2007).