Virtual RealityGaming in Education

 Game-informed learning “suggests that educational processes

themselves should be informed by the experience of gameplay—a tenet similar to the principles of contemporary active learning approaches such as constructivism and problem-based learning (PBL)” (Begg, Dewhurst, Macleod, 2005).

• Benefits: Gaming in education is not only motivational and entertaining for students but also has the ability to promote creative and critical thinking as well as an array of skills such as problem solving, 21st century, and social.

• Challenges: Gaming is primarily viewed at entertaining and fun. How can administration, teachers, parents, and game designers be convinced that there is the potential for high level learning to take place?

Melissa DeBackerAugust 2010

  

Properties of an Effective Constructivist Learning Environment Incorporating Educational Gaming

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Met

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Socially

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Social Change

Inquiry-Driven Learning

Context-

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Engagement

and Motivation

21st Century Skills

Benefits of Incorporating Educational Gaming

Engagement and Motivation Gaming can serve as a catalyst for intentional learning through challenging but not frustrating valuable play. Students will learn what they need to know in order tosucceed in the gaming.

Inquiry-Driven LearningProgressing throughout the gaming by using self-reflection and regulation; personal experience and interests; problem solving and discovery leaning.

Socially Negotiated Learning“Many video game scholars maintain that video game playing is often a deeply social experience and that well designed games can provide a learning environment that facilitates socially negotiated learning” (Wagner, 2008).

Benefits of Incorporating Educational Gaming

Reflection and Metacognition Reflection outside of game play can result in students making connections to authentic social, academic, personal ideas, changes, predictions and outcomes.

Social Change Video games can... disrupt and change fundamental attitudes and beliefs about the world, leading to potentially significant long-term social change (Bogost, 2007).

Context-Embedded Learning“Video games are able to provide students with a context that allows them to learn by doing, remain in a state of flow, explore microworlds that allow easy transfer of learning, develop situated and distributed understanding, exercise new identities, and benefit from role-playing” (Wagner, 2008).  

Benefits of Incorporating Educational Gaming

Challenges of Incorporating Educational Gaming

One might think the biggest challenge is in the designing of the games. No need to worry in 2008 the “United States Department of Education itself awarded a grant of $9.2 million to the Education Development Center, a non-profit education research organization, to study how video games can be used in middle school science instruction in the classroom” (Nagel, 2008).

Government money has also bee invested in the designing of educational sound games.

Research reveals that one of the biggest challenges in the incorporation of video games in education is getting teachers to learn and accept the fact that today’s students learn differently then themselves. “Digital Immigrant teachers assume that learners are the same as they have always been, and that the same methods that worked for the teachers when they were students will work for their students now” (Prensky, 2001).

The following graphic is an adaptation of a chart created by Ian Jukes, The InfoSavvy Group and Ted McCain, Cystar (2008), outlining a comparison of how the digital native prefers to learn to how the digital immigrant prefers to teach.

Challenges of Incorporating Educational GamingDigital Native vs. Digital Immigrant

Student vs. Teacher

Challenges of Incorporating Educational Gaming

Educating teachers on how students learn in the 21st century is of upmost importance for the transition to a teacher facilitated, student centered 21st Century Learning Environment.

How can teachers be informed, motivated to accept change, and implement 21st tools in the classroom? How can teachers be convinced that gaming does have learning benefits?

Professional development, follow-up and experience in: gaming, how students learn, 21st century skills, learning from students and a Leap of Faith based on research, evidence and experience.

Lessons Prior to Gaming

“A person cannot have technological capabilitieswithout some knowledge,and thoughtful decision-making cannot occur without an understanding of some basic features of technology” (Becker, Hodge, Sepelyak , 2010).

Transfer of Technology Information

Example of Individual on-line Gaming: USAtestprep

Example of Multiplayer on-line Gaming:DimensionU

Meeting the Standards

Future Classroom Presentation standards NCATE, ITEA, CTTE Standard 1, 2, 8: Standard 1 The Nature of Technology; Standard 2 Technology and Society; Standard 8 Learning Environments.

Lessons, Activities and Gaming Student standardsNETS Standards 5, 6 : Standard 5 Digital Citizenship (a,b); Standard 6 Technology Operations and Concepts (a)

References

Becker, J., Hodge, C., Sepelyak, M. (2010) Assessing technology literacy: The case or an authentic, project-bases learning approach. Retrieved July 4, 2010, from http://www.genyes.com/media/freeresources/assessing tech_literacy_whitepaper.pdf

Begg, M., Dewhurst, D., and Macleod, H. (2005). Game-Informed learning: applying computer game processes to higher education. Innovate 1 (6), 1. Retrieved July 1, 2010 from http://www.innovateonline.info/pdf/vol1_ issue6/Game-Informed_Learning-__Applying_Computer_Game_ Processes_to_Higher_Education.pdf

Bogost, I. (2007). Persuasive games: The expressive power of video games. Retrieved July 1, 2010, from http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11152

Jukes, I. & McCain, T. (2008). Closing the digital divide: 7 Things education & educators need to do. Retrieved July 3, 2010, from http://www.committedsardine.com/handouts/ctdd.pdf

References

Nagel, D. (2008). New alliance to research gaming in math and science education. Retrieved July 2, 2010, from Campus Technology: http://campustechnology.com/articles/2008/10/new-alliance-to- research-gaming-in-math-and-science-education.aspx

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants ll: Do they really think differently. Retrieved July 4, 2010, from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20- %20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.pdf

PowerPoint Template (2010). Circle flow template. Retrieved July 1, 2010, from www.presentationmagazine.com

Wagner, M. (2008). Massively multiplayer online role-playing games as constructivist learning environments in k-12 education: a delphi study. Retrieved July 1, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Research/NECC Research_Paper_Archives/NECC2008/Wagner.pdf

Teacher Resources

Microsoft Office Word Document

Microsoft Office Word Document