I was a little skeptical at first but, the reading has its merit, and Pajama Sam has a friend named Darkness. I can see why starting with the full attention that his child gave the reading, he was able to see many other psychological learning and thinking lessons that were in the video game.
This is also a sign of the times because the author is an eloquent writer, presumably a great thinker. However, he struggled with the video games that many people deem simple mental activity. This led him to believe that there really is something to these video games.
I do like how he describes the hidden learning objectives in video games. Adaptation and the utilization of skills in new areas is a very real representation of one of the core ideas of learning: Application. During the course of a video game, a student of the game must understand how the controller works and apply these combinations of buttons to the game play.
There is also intrinsic motivation involved with video games. Once we start playing, we want to win. Therefore, the students attention is on the game and the processes that they must develop in order to beat the game.
This surprised me a lot at first, but now that it has been presented by a curious author I can see that it makes sense and is a real learning activity. The students identify with their character, allowing them to make a commitment to the game process. Just like in a classroom, the interaction with the student and the material presents problems that must be solved. The players also produce a unique version of playing the game just like a student writes an essay in a completely unique manner. Risk taking is something to instill in students because it allows them the opportunity to see that we can make mistakes and use them to learn from. Trial and error is something that occurs in all facets of life, including the world of video games.
Understanding that video games follow well order problems shows another very important similarity to generally accepted rule of education. We start with the basics and move on to more complicated combinations of the preexisting knowledge. This involves the rethinking of knowledge and readjustment of schemata.
The question that arises is then, how can we use this style of teaching, where the students are actively engaged and intrinsically motivated, into the classroom?
The TED talk explains some of these ideas. Games help us draw a parallel between real life and video game life. If the gamers can solve problems in game world, then they can solve them in real life. If we develop these skills in the game world we will become more able to solve these skills in real life.
However, many gamers aren't motivated by real life, they get more acceptance, excitement and praise in the on-line world. The games do help us evolve as problem solvers but we need to incorporate these skills into our communal relations and everyday life. This way we can benefit as a species from our acquired skills. So instead of using games to escape real world suffering, we should use our skills to help solve this ubiquitous problem.
Grahm, I love your comment about video games being able to tap into a student's intrinsic motivation. When we can get students motivated and interested in something, the opportunities for learning expand. I also think you make some important points in your concern of how we can use games in our styles of teaching. It's definitely an interesting issue, and after today's class, I think I have a better idea about the incorporation games. The Angry Birds example was great, but I am curious as to how games could be incorporated into humanities classrooms.
ReplyDeleteKatie made a great point about the intrinsic motivation. But yes, video games require thinking in new ways and solving very complex mind puzzles. Some games like "Uncharted" literally revolve around recognizing symbols and patterns to solve puzzles. While there are action levels, there is always puzzles incorporated into the levels. Also, the story is similar to a very expansive mystery, which I think could possibly have some benefits to story telling exercises. Also, there is a lot of real history incorporated into the story, and there are a ton of references to literature, which means to fully enjoy the story, one has to be well read. However, this alone would not obviously work, but maybe teaching a lesson along side a game like this could be beneficial in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed this blog post. Especially this quote:
ReplyDelete"There is also intrinsic motivation involved with video games. Once we start playing, we want to win."
Do you think more emphasis should be placed in the classroom on creating goals like this? For instance, what if we tried to reassure students that its ok to make mistakes, practice makes perfect, and doing that ultimately leads you to winning the game(in this game, the objective of course is to get that coveted A-grade!)? Or do you think this trivializes the classroom environment? While I tend to avoid too much gaming influence in my own methods of practice, there is no doubt in my mind that the motivation gamers feel when playing is something that is sorely lacking in the classroom, and it's something we as teachers should try and adopt. We need to try and figure out ways to make the materials we present more beneficial cognitively, as well as fun. What do you think?