I was really excited about this topic as I thought I didn't really know as much about this topic as other technological tools for the classroom. What I was surprised to find out is that even at the elementary level, we are already using some great gaming sites for educational purposes! Many schools are already using these tools. Although, as stated in the Horizon Report from 2011, "the scarcity of quality educational games is impeding more rapid adoption", there could certainly be more educationally rich games available at the grade school level. Software developers need to remain focused on developing good quality software for elementary students.
According to Katie Salen (2005), "games work as rule-based learning systems, creating a world in which players actively participate, use strategic thinking to make choices, solve complex problems, seek content knowledge, and receive constant feedback, and consider the point of view of others". Salen, a game desiginer and professor, started the Institute of Play in 2007 to help students learn by playing games.
Gaming has the potential to reach students who don't respond to traditional teaching methods. For students who have learning disabilities, the chance to learn by playing a game may make the school day and their learning of content more relevant and fun.
I've had experience with Second Life, but found that it was just too time consuming for me at that point in my life. I can see the benefit of such an environment and depending on the field that you are in, the potential to use these technologies as teaching tools is amazing.
Augmented reality (AR) was also a relatively new topic for me, although I have an understanding of what it means and entails. I can certainly see the benefit in using something like the ARSights, in which students can take a virtual field trip to a 3-dimensional object, like the Coliseum in Rome and not only study where it is at (by using Google Earth) but also get to manipulate around the object to see it from different perspectives.
Students again, potentially have so much experience already with using something like the Xbox 360 Live with Kinect, a gaming system that uses augmented reality in the camera system. Bringing these tools into the classroom can only continue to enhance the environment for students. That doesn't mean that these tools are necessary for all students all the time. As educators, it is our responsibility to determine when using these types of technology is appropriate in the curriculum. As I mentioned before, these tools might have great benefit for only a small portion of the student population (like special needs students), but teachers need to be aware of their availability and their implications for the classroom.
Gaming sites explored:
Our students regularly use Starfall Reading to listen to and interact with stories of many different types. This is used primarily with our Kindergarten and first grade students. Students are able to navigate this site easily and they have little difficulty with figuring out what to do.
Our junior high science students have used the NDSU Virtual Cell Learning Environment as they studied the cells in physical science. Students after using the Virtual Cell then created their own cell model based on some of what they had seen during their experience.
Lastly, I explored Whyville. This site has been around for quite a while (in technology years), launching in 1999. Whyville is an online presence in which children can become a citizen and actively participate in different activities. They can create an avatar and interact with other members in a safe setting. It seems very similar to Club Penguin, an online presence sponsored by the Disney company. In Club Penguin, a monthly membership can be purchased and children can create their own "igloo" for their penguin, travel around the area and interact with other penguins. My own children have played Club Penguin in the past and really seemed to like it.
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I think that’s fantastic that you are using games at the elementary level! I’m sure the kids love it, and it’s great to introduce them to educational gaming at a young age. And as you said that gaming is great for students with learning disabilities, maybe students with these disabilities can be reached before getting into middle or high school.
ReplyDeleteI felt like Second Life was very time-consuming also. I had a professor once who required us to meet in Second Life for class, and the first time it took me almost the entire class period to figure out how to sit in the auditorium seat!
If you are interested in the Kinect, here’s a great site I use: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/kinectforwindows/ I am trying to promote use of Kinect in classrooms, especially now that there is a Windows-compatible version that just came out February 1. Here’s also a great advertisement (1 minute) that shows some of the ways the Kinect can be used in the classroom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_QLguHvACs
Club Penguin seems like something that would be popular now with the kids – there seem to be a lot of penguin movies at the theaters lately. I had never heard of this before reading your blog and will definitely take a look at it!
Michele,
ReplyDeleteYou are bringing up good points about gaming and education. At one time in my life, I worked as a training software developer, and found that creating the software is just as much fun as learning from it. I believe that students retain much more information if they learn it in some other fashion than reading and talking about it alone. As we know, some students do not pay full attention to the lesson, and do not participate thoroughly with the class. I experience this with adult learners too. I find that if students are involved with the lesson, whether it’s participating in the delivery or collaborating with each other in a group and sharing thoughts, they remember more about it.
This is where gaming comes in. I am not talking about Study Island because I haven’t seen a great result in my kids. They don’t seem to know much of the material and remember very little about the questions after they’re finished on the site. I am thinking more about the games we reviewed for this and previous assignments (DIIGO). To be honest, I really liked the web apps we researched earlier in the course. Below are a few of my pics, and I think they are free! My grandson is autistic, and loves the math games. They will be a huge help to him. He likes to learn on the computer, and we welcome the help for him. He’s very quiet and shy so he doesn’t interact with other kids often, but I think he would work with a team in a virtual setting.
IXL - Math
DimensionU - Math
Espresso Elementary - PreK-5 cross-curricular learning site - All
Since I work with some special need students and obviously my grandson, I am in agreement that special needs students really benefit from game usage with regard to learning. Kids with short attention spans are able to focus better on games for some reason. I read that somewhere this week, but can’t cite the article. I would love to see more research on the impact of gaming for them. My son is a special need (ADD/ADHD) kid. I think gaming reaches most kids, and sort of "breaks the ice". In lieu of this fact, gaming is a great way to bring all of the students together on a team project that would keep their interest. I think it will build relationships between kids that might not bond otherwise. This could spur a students’ interest in something they are not comfortable with but are willing to try, resulting in a big step forward.
I like the concept of AR for learning. Melding reality with creativity gives the students something they can relate to while also providing a creative approach that might keep them interested and involved. In my opinion, some of the VR sites in this week’s assignment were not as interesting as the 2D web type, but seem to have potential. Perhaps the developers are using older software to create the game, or are under a time constraint to produce it. There can be lots of reasons for choppy graphics and slow movement. It can be the website’s server speed, the user’s computer, the program requirements, and all of that must be considered. I am not convinced that kids would enjoy them as much as finer-tuned games, yet kids surprise me with what they like that I don’t.
I really enjoy learning about these unique approaches to learning and could see myself working again as an educational game developer and designer. Perhaps I have found my true vocation.