User:Vtaylor/Active learning/Serious games

#IWishMyTeacherKnew... how to play video games that I play.

Games are all about systems thinking. Game-based learning is a great classroom tool because it allows for interdisciplinary learning through contextualized critical thinking and problem solving.

Games are a tool that teachers can use to do their jobs more effectively and more efficiently. Games provide a different approach to developing skills through self-reflection and iteration of particular skill sets. Games offer experiential learning through context and simulation. Games can also offer an engaging interdisciplinary learning space.

System thinking - the player is tasked with learning a combination of actions and responses. The game does one thing. The player responds with another. In order to beat the game, the player needs to master the system.

David Dodgson takes a dim view of learning games, with good reason. Most educational games aren't very good games and they aren't educational either. Many are no more than rote practice with cute sounds and gratuetous animations s and constant lame feedback - "Well done", "Good job", ... after every trivial arithmetic problem answer gets old and slows down the rate of practice problem completion.

Better to integrate actual well constructed compelling games into the curriculum.

• gamification is the application of game-style elements, such as points, levels and challenges, to a non-gaming context (e.g. the language classroom) whereas game-based learning is about the actual use of games in the learning process as a source of and an inspiration for learner language.

• parts of a game are: goal, challenge, core mechanics, components, rules and space.

Using game-play that aptly fit curriculum design.

• Challenge is constant
• Everything is interconnected - interactivity - Learning needs to be a dialogue. learning needs to be interactive because they need to own their own solutions. If the student doesn’t generate his or her own answers, the quality of retention is severely debilitated
• Failure is reframed as iteration
• Learning happens by doing
• Feedback is immediate and ongoing - informative feedback provides instant explanations about why an answer is right or wrong.
• Everyone is a participant
• It feels like play

STORY: A game as a classroom assistant As one of the work stations in a kindergarten classroom, several computers were set up with math games. Each child has and individual account so that their session (usually 15-20 minutes) is personalized. The game problems build on the previous sessions and keep presenting new challenges that are just at the appropriate level reinforcing current skills without being too easy or too difficult. The child's progress is tracked so the teacher can provide individual or small group instruction.
... The game wasn’t doing the teaching, but rather reinforcing the concepts that had already been taught. The games were classroom management tools, providing engaging practice for some students while she worked with others. They enabled more personalized face-to-face instruction by making it more efficient.

Types of games (genre)

• puzzlers
• role-playing
• drill and practice
• strategy
• sandbox games - Mindcraft

Choosing games

• duration - short-form (usually less than 20 minutes, long-form - multiple sessions, game tracks and remembers prior sessions

• playability - If the game is too complicated, they’ll spend more time trying to play than they do learning from playing. the games are tools to make your work more efficient and effective. Make sure you’re using the game, and that the game is not using you. And make sure you explain to your students how and why the game fits into the larger context of the classroom.

• simple and elegant with clear rules helps maximize classroom learning time. One good question to ask the play-testers: “What would your classmate learn from this game?” That helps determine if students understand what they’re supposed to be learning.
• level of difficulty,

Activities

• make a strategy guide written to help a classmate win the game.

Games - web-based, free

• Duolingo, maker of the popular smartphone language learning app, also makes a web-based version that will work on any laptop

• games like The Republia Times belong to a category that’s often called “Social Impact Games.” These are games designed as simulations of real life situations. The mechanics of the game are organized with images and stories in order to make the underlying patterns in our present culture more apparent. They are essentially interactive essays and social commentaries. Or, from a teacher’s perspective, they are simply games that can be used as texts.

• Lightsail - web-based responsive literacy platform

Resources

• Graphite
• Educade - lesson plans and teaching tools
• Games and Learning reports on the opportunities and challenges facing those seeking to unlock the educational power of games.