Video Games In The Classroom

By Andrew Stanley

Begin!

Table Of Contents

Video games start to shape classroom curriculum

Serious Games: Incorporating Video Games in the Classroom

Video-Games in the Classroom

Conclusion

Video-Games in the Classroom [Summary]

Big names like MIT, Microsoft, and the Electronic Software Association are investing resources in trying to get educational games into the classroom.

Building video game literacy among teachers is a huge step in getting educational games into the classroom.

While most current games are geared toward boys, gaming appeals to both boys and girls.

Challenging and thought provoking games are needed to be educational.

[Citation]Chaptman, D. (2004, January 19). Video-Games in the Classroom (WTN News). Retrieved June 23, 2009, from http://wistechnology.com/articles/513/

Video-Games in the Classroom [Summary]

Games are already part of the curriculum in modern schools across the nation

According to a study at a Waltham, Mass. Middle school, students that played the physics game that went with the class outperformed students who used the traditional curriculum by 20 percent

Video-Games in the Classroom [Reflection]

[Quote]“The kinds of people who become teachers aren't game-players - they are teacher-pleasers. Game players tend to be a bit more counter-culture. A lot of people say it's a frivolous waste of time. We’re trying to get them to open their minds.”

[Eureka Moments]

Educational games need to be challenging to be effective.

We need to open the minds of those unfamiliar with games.

Kids generally spend more time playing games than watching TV.

An interesting look at how many respected institutions and experts believe in the benefits of gaming enough to make it a research priority.

Serious Games: Incorporating Video Games in the Classroom [Summary]

School children have never experienced a world without networked technology.

Their brains have been shaped by the world that they have been brought up in and schools need to modernize to work with them.

The majority of games out there were designed for entertainment, not education, but that is changing.

Having students design games is an even more engaging experience.

Serious Games: Incorporating Video Games in the Classroom [Summary]

[Citation]Annetta, L. A. (n.d.). Serious Games: Incorporating Video Games in the Classroom (EDUCAUSE Quarterly) | EDUCAUSE. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/SeriousGamesIncorporatingVideo/157412

A game that teaches students about the cycles of the moon by allowing them to have control over the simulation of lunar cycles.

Serious Games: Incorporating Video Games in the Classroom [Reflection]

[Eureka Moments]

School children are used to interacting with technology on a daily basis and don’t understand why that stops at school.

A huge limitation is the lack of teacher and administrator’s technological knowledge.

Current students’ brains are likely to have been shaped by very visual, rapid-movement, hypertexted environments.

[Quote]“The K–12 educational community has yet to embrace gaming theory even though studies have suggested students as young as second grade opted to play a geography video game rather than go to the park.”

This article gets into some of the more technical aspects of video games in the classroom and why they appeal to this generation.

Video games start to shape classroom curriculum [Summary]

Some teachers are relating material to popular video games to help the kids understand.

There are also popular video games that allow the students to assume the roles of historical figures.

Some experts feel that the way schools are set up lend themselves well to video games.

Some teachers have regular meetings with game developers to help create fun and educational games.

Video games start to shape classroom curriculum [Summary]

[Citation]Yusuf, H. (2008, September 18). Video games start to shape classroom curriculum | csmonitor.com. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/09/18/video-games-start-to-shape-classroom-curriculum/

Less than 1% of schools teach with video games, but experts expect that number to go up in the near future.

Video games start to shape classroom curriculum [Reflection]

[Quote]“If you, as a teacher, are satisfied with engaging only 15 percent of your students, then you’re failing the majority,” says Mr. Dubbels. “The big idea is to identify what students are already invested in, and that’s video games.”

[Eureka Moments]

Games create a need in kids to figure something out.

Video games can better track the student’s understanding of a subject better than traditional teaching.

The real hurdle is teaching parents and teachers that something fun can be educational.

A middle ground between the previous two articles. Technical information presented in an easy to understand way.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it seems like video games are a valuable learning tool and will only become more valuable in the future. It appears that many children and a few adults have already realized this. It is up to use as future teachers to find and utilize the most effective methods of teaching our students and to push past any preconceptions we may have about the medium.