Gardens of Time Post #1

What makes some activities interesting or fun?

            The interaction and sense of accomplishment are what makes games interesting or fun. For example, in Gardens of Time getting to the next level opens up more artifacts and scenes in the game. There are mini goals within the game to help accomplish the big objectives with each level. This captures the gamers interest because they can accomplish small tasks as they get to the bigger tasks, which gives them a sense of winning and accomplishment.

According to the article, Why Video Games are Good for Learning, video games are open-ended, allowing for goals and projects that meld the personal and the social. It is another reason games are found interesting or fun. In Gardens of Time, we are presented with making our own garden, while accomplishing goals set by the game. We have the choice of what we would like to put in our garden, as well as, the tasks we would like to complete and in what order they are finished. It’s the autonomy that also allows gamers to enjoy playing. They decide what goals or missions they want to accomplish and when. They are in charge.

 How can we maximize instruction without sacrificing instructional quality?

            We can maximize instruction without sacrificing instructional quality by having certain basics in the lesson, game, activity, or instruction being demonstrated. Those qualities entail:

1.      Using critical thinking skills

2.      Insert mini-goals to give encouragement to accomplish bigger objectives

3.      Immediate feedback

4.      A challenge or problem

5.      Choice/autonomy

Whether in a game or in a classroom, I believe that instruction should include the previous five qualities.

How do games and gaming motivate kids? Are these motivational factors transferable to learning?

            As I stated before, accomplishing mini-tasks gives kids the motivation to complete the bigger tasks. I believe this is transferable to learning. In my own classroom, I’ve noticed that if a student understands one section or worksheet in class, they are motivated to learn another section, if not the whole chapter. Also, immediate feedback is just as important. I’m learning how important it is within my own classroom. It can motivate and encourage students to understand their mistakes and correct them for future assignments.

How and when do skills transfer from gaming to other contexts?

            Skills learned through gaming are transferred to other contexts whenever there is a situation or obstacle to conquer, whether that is a topic in school or a financial issue. Any skills learned can be applied to many different areas or contexts when necessary.

Another reason presented in Why Video Games are Good for Learning are that video games create action-and-goal-directed preparations for, and simulations of, embodied experiences. As I was saying above, video games present situations or obstacles that have consequences. As in life, every choice has a consequence. Therefore, skills learned in games are relevant to all other contexts.

What are the long term, longitudinal effects of gaming?

            The long term effects of gaming are interesting concepts to ponder. I notice that if I play a game for a period of time and then stop playing it for months, I can easily pick up where I left off—still knowing all the controls and secrets/passages I learned while playing.  Why is this? Well, I believe it’s because I enjoyed learning the ends and outs of the game while I was playing it. Therefore, it triggered something in my brain to where it wasn’t a big deal to remember. It was something I enjoyed. Another example is riding a bike. That is a skill you never forget how to do. You may be rusty and need some practice, but it takes no time to start riding like you did when you stopped last. So, I believe that the skills learned in video games will stay with the player for a very long time. Also, the player can use these skill sets learned in the game to succeed in life’s obstacles.

Is the problem with educational games one of design, or social context?

            I believe that the problem with video games is not one of purely design or social context. The problem is the over-use of games. Kids don’t go outside and use their imagination as much as they did when I was young. They mainly stay inside and watch TV or play video games. Video games aren’t bad; however, I don’t think that gory or extremely violent video games are necessary. There is no point in having that violent of a game. The other issue is the social context. Although there is many benefits and positives for the social contexts in video games, it shouldn’t be the only source of socialization. Kids need to have face-time with their friends, and not over a television or computer screen.  It’s this over-use that I believe causes our kids to be too dependent on getting answers rather than taking the time to figure the problem out.

What is the relevance of learning from gaming upon school performance?

            Kids can learn a lot from gaming. It is an assessment and learning device all in one. With gaming, students are engaged and interacting with learning rather than listening and observing instruction. The interaction and activities keep the students involved while teaching them, whether blatantly or subconsciously. In this growing technological age, gaming is the key recreation for kids. Most would rather play video games than play outside. It’s amazing how obsessed kids can get with a video game after figuring out how to beat it. This can be used in education to benefit our students.

How do children’s developmental stages affect their approach to technology?

            I have a cousin, whose six year old daughter plays WOW (World of Warcraft), along with other games like Halo. She likes to play with the characters, without really paying attention to the goals presented in the game. She just does her own thing, while her dad tries to direct her in the game (he’s a big gamer). I think the younger the kids are, the more focused on what they want to do in the game rather than winning the game. As they mature, kids start wanting to win and beat the game. Adults learn to enjoy the game (not necessarily having a focus of beating the game or doing their own thing, but just enjoying playing the game and learning what to do).

What are the benefits of gaming for the development, collaborative and communication skills, and kids’ fluency with information technologies?

According to Why Video Games are Good for Learning, video games create situated meaning and opportunities for cross-functional affiliation. This means that kids have to learn the diction and language of the game they play, as well as learn how to collaborate and communicate with other kids/adults in the game. In the gaming world, it doesn’t matter what your race, gender, ethnicity, etc. is, and the only thing that matters is your skills set. Teams succeed or fail in multi-player games based on the strengths of teammates and the communication involved between players (i.e. PK, means personal kills). These games promote technology, collaboration, communication, and development (hand-eye coordination) skills.

Double Entry Journal #1

     "They can, in turn, use their real-world race, class, culture, and gender as strategic resources if and when they please, and the group can draw on the differential real-world resources of each player, but in ways that do not force anyone into pre-set racial, gender, cultural, or class categories.”  (Gee, 2012)

  

      This quote from Why are Video Games Good for Learning? caught me off guard, because I never thought about games like Halo, Runescape, or the video game they mentioned—World of Warcraft—would be an avenue to cut through the wall of discrimination, and allow people to focus on the positives of what makes them unique rather than the fact that they are different. I watch my husband play live multi-player games and it never dawned on me the brain power necessary to be successful at such games. Communication, spacial reasoning, logic, and strategy are just a few of the skills needed and are improved upon by playing these games. The political issues, such as race, gender, and ethnicity, are very rarely ever brought up during a game. It is a group of individuals thrown together, whose only thought is to obtain the goal of winning. All are working together towards a common goal, which makes everything else unimportant. Each group member can draw from the strengths of their associates, such as in the workplace.

     This article somewhat changed my ideas of the connection between video games and learning. I believe that video games can be tools for learning, but I think that it is, more often than not, used to replace reality and de-stress. I never considered that video games could be used for learning skills that are necessary for the workplace. Students need to learn these concepts before they graduate high school, and little do they know, that the popular games they’re playing are subtly teaching them these skills. If done in school, students often rebel at working with other people. They focus on differences, rather than the group goal. In a video game, they don’t even consider the differences of their teammates.

 

“This issue of marrying personal and “in game” goals, leads to the issue of identity. Video games are all about identity The player “plays” some character; the player takes on, carries out, and identifies with some special identity in a virtual world.”  (Gee, 2012)

 

            This kind of confused me. I like the concept of marrying curricula goals with personal goals to teach students (which the author references this concept in the article). I think that will definitely entice and engage students’ learning. However, I’m not sure how a game, such as The Sims, where the player has the autonomy of creating personal goals, as well as finish game goals, will motivate players to play the game more.

            This quote only confirms my thought that real-life relevant problems and/or projects are what is needed in school. If educators can teach students these facts through video games, then I say that will be a great way to learn for the students. They will be able to keep their identity and solve problems that will/does relate to their lives. Also, I like the idea of these types of video games in middle school, when students are trying to figure out their identity and place in the world. These video games could encourage students to do the right thing and problem-solve, especially when their character/avatar faces consequences that they don’t have to in real life.

  

“This essentially means that the player must figure out the rule system (patterns) that constitutes the simulation (the rules that the simulation follows thanks to how it is designed). The player must discover what is possible and impossible (and in what ways) within the simulation in order to solve problems and carry out goals. Achieving these goals constitutes the win state for the player.”  (Gee, 2012)

I like this quote a lot. I think that this quote really explains what I was talking about previously. Students can use their character to explore and test their boundaries without doing it in the real world. This will show them what is possible and impossible for their own personal character to achieve in life. For example, they may play a game where their avatar would have to steal to survive, and thus, will run from the cops. Then, the student could understand how much work it is to survive with a life-style like that of a thief.

           I believe that this article confirms and somewhat tweaks my perception of video games in education. I think that video games should be used and are very engaging tools for learning. However, I don’t know how I could implement it with math concepts. The problem I see occurring is not having time to play a game for learning, when we mainly have to teach students in order to prepare them for standardized tests. Maybe I’m just being a “negative Nelly”, but I don’t see it happening, in my case with math, unless it was a game that incorporated multiple objectives of mathematics (hopefully this class can show me a way to do it effectively and efficiently).

Gee, J. P. (2012, November). Why are Video Games Good for Learning? Retrieved January 19, 2013, from Academic Colab: http://www.academiccolab.org/resources/documents/MacArthur.pdf

Other resource:

What Video Games Have Taught Us

 

 

Tassi, P. (2012, June 14). A Gallery of Life Lessons Learned from Video Games. Retrieved January 19, 2013, from Unreality Magazine: http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2012/06/14/a-gallery-of-life-lessons-learned-from-video-games/

 

 

 

Introductary Post

     I'm Heather Summers. I'm from Fairmont, WV, but I live in Morgantown. I'm a math teacher at North Marion High School. I plan to learn a lot from this class. Hopefully, I can learn how to make an educational math game, so that my students won't be bored with lectures (especially my Algebra Support students). I used to be a big gamer, but since I started college, I'm definitely not a "gamer" any more. However, I like to play sudoku and logic games on my free time.

     I believe that most video games, like Grand Theft Auto, are a waste of time. I do know that some games are quite entertaining and educational. My school actually has a Globaloria class, where students create educational games as a summary at the end of the year. I believe that, like everything, some things must be in moderation.

 

The Impact of Video Games in Children's Learning of Mathematics

      I picked this research article because it relates to my field of study, as well as, its impact on students. The research conducted in 2012, showed that video games had a positive learning effect on the students who used them compared to the students who didn't. However, video games was not the sole-method of learning, but an additional activity for students.


Three major events that occured the year I was born:

January 24: Serial killer Ted Bundy is executed in Florida.
February 15: The nine year Soviet occupation of Afghanistan ends when the Soviet Union announces that all of its troops have left the country.
June 13: The wreck of the German World War II battleship Bismarck is located 600 miles of of the coast of France.