Monday, July 21, 2014

Video Games and Learning

In my last class we discussed the link between video games and learning. This is a really fascinating and very relevant subject. After all, who doesn't like video games? Not only do most students play video games, but they play them with a determination and a willingness to learn that is often unseen in the classroom. Many educators are trying to tap that enthusiasm by using educational online games, so I decided to check out a few social studies games from BBC's interactive games website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/games/). I played quite a few including Gladiator: Dressed to Kill, Mummy Maker, the Elizabethan Spying Game, and Iron Age Life. These games were alright, but in many respects I believe that they fell short.

James Gee writes in his article "Good Video Games and Good Learning" that video games are so wonderfully engaging for a variety of different reasons. However, these educational games do not evoke the same qualities as video games do. I will discuss three here. Firstly the absence of lateral thinking. For example, most of the educational games listed above involved a lot of reading followed by short quiz like questions. You had to answer the question correctly in order to move forward. While this did provide an alternative manner of providing subject information, the format was remarkably similar to the lectures and quizzes of typical classrooms. There was not a lot of room for exploration or lateral thinking, both of which James Gee suggests should exist in abundance for an engaging video game. Furthermore, the students were not involved enough in the game to adopt a new identity - something which Gee also describes as necessary for a good video game. He writes, "players become committed to the new virtual world in which they will live, learn, and act through their commitment to their new identity" (p5). There is no opportunity for the development of any such identity in the short, superficial educational games I explored. Finally, there is no space for system thinking. Most of these games are about facts, not relationships of various concepts and the type of higher order thinking that most of us want our students to engage in.

Perhaps I am being too harsh. Perhaps if played by the appropriate age group these games would be interesting and captivate the attention of students. However, I found it all too tempting to click through the long texts, especially once I know I had the right answer. History is a fascinating subject and I think with better educational video games could be created. We need games that give students not only the three qualities above, but also games that are pleasantly frustrating, provide smart tools and distributed knowledge, allow for a sense of agency, and encourage risk taking. This may be a tall order for educational video games, but the benefits of an engaging, educational video game would far outweigh the costs. I remember being completely engrossed in a video game called civilization revolution in high school that allowed you to play as a civilization of your choice. You had to fight wars, create infrastructure, develop culture, and generally learn about the various components necessary to a civilization. A game such as this, with a more specific history focus, may be much more useful for engaging students.

4 comments:

  1. Samantha, I agree wholeheartedly with your critiques of some of these games. I played many of the same ones and found that the interaction they allow was uninteresting and simple. It certainly didn't have the depth that many leisure video games offer users. If someone could find a way to make games cover content AND be entertaining, I'd be more open to the idea of integrating them into a classroom. Gee's points about the low-risk of games and the interaction they offer is true, but I think you are right in observing that that is not always enough to make the game worthwhile in school. Nice post!

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  2. Ms. Stemmer,
    It sounds like you did a good amount of video gaming research prior to writing this post. This is essential to make an informed decision about incorporating educational games into your lessons.
    You did a great job of breaking down the flaws for the games you played and how they do not meet your or even Gee's expectations for educational video games. Have you checked out Mr. Khalid's blog post on the matter. He played Assassin's Creed which seems maybe a little bit more on par. Have you played it before?

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  3. There is most definitely a distinct difference between educational games and video games that people play in their free time.

    We have now had two days at our summer placement where our class has spent time in the computer playing educational math games. These games have horrible graphics, are basic in concept, and are not entertaining or challenging. Students do not try to get the answer right they just click all the options as quickly as possible. For one game students actually found that if they clicked random answers faster and eventually got the right one instead of thinking and getting the right one on the first try actually resulted in students getting higher scores. They found this out in less than 5 minutes. It was absolutely incredible and disheartening. Just think if that online game had been a standardized test that students now have to take on the computer. With every random click your assessment as a teacher is negatively affected. This is terrifying to me. Anyways, back on subject, who creates good educational video games? What kind of training do those people have? Are they educators or programmers? I think we have to think about the benefits of having video games that are both educational AND good quality games. We also have to think, like you mentioned, to apply the strategies of good video games to education (without necessarily including the games).

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  4. Hello Ms. Stemmer! From your post it seems like you should come up with your own history video game! You have fantastic ideas for what an educational and fun history video game would entail. Personally I've never played a history video game in class but as someone who was not very engaged in my history classes, I would have loved this!

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