Gaming

What do I think about gaming in the classroom?

Gaming in the classroom is not a subject with which I was at all familiar before this week’s readings. Sure, I was familiar with on line gaming, and games on social networking sites, but had not considered gaming for educational purposes very much. Prensky (2007) distinguishes the difference between simulations and games simply. Simulations are about the behavior of things or systems, while gaming is about a fun user experience. As this was the first article I read this week, I would have agreed with that differentiation and not though much more about gaming for education. After reading more about games and simulations, I would have to argue that they are much more than that. Games and simulations definitely have a place in the classroom.

ROAR, The Radford Outdoor Augmented Reality Project, uses GPS receivers on handheld devices to engage students, who adopt different roles, in collaborative games to promote teamwork and problem solving skills. Students also learn science or history content. The Powerhouse Museum Augmented Reality Application allows individuals to use their smartphones to explore Sydney, Australia as it appeared 100 years ago. The layars app can be downloaded for use on a smartphone. I have been unsuccessful so far in customizing the app in order to use it with the coordinates for Sydney, as identified on the website, in order to do some exploration of my own. The Future is Wild uses augmented reality and a user’s own imagination to learn more about animals and the world far into the future. A number of different components allow the user to view and review the materials in a variety of ways. YouTube has a number of The Future is Wild videos available for viewing.

Games offer students a variety of unique opportunities when contrasted with traditional classroom experiences. Games keep individuals engaged. Goals are generally part of the gaming experience. Prensky (2007) mentions the nature of games allowing users to “level-up” to improve and perfect their skills. This encourages users to persist in their practice, with the reward being the ability to move to the next level. Games often require the gamer to adapt and change strategies frequently, and the gamers progress provides them feedback on the decisions or changes they make. Gamers learn from their decisions. They also learn that they can make different decisions and receive feedback pretty quickly on those decisions and whether they succeeded or failed, and they can try again. Games give the gamer a sense of control over their environment. If used for education, games can give students more of a sense of control over their own learning experience.

Augmented reality is used for highly interactive and visual forms of learning. It has a unique ability to respond to human input, and it can be effectively utilized in scenarios where participating in the actual activity is prohibitive. Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine, and Haywood, (2011) note the power of augmented reality to allow users to construct their own learning and more easily transfer learning from one context to another. The ability to construct one’s own learning and relate it to prior learning makes the experience more meaningful to the individual.

Strangman and Hall (2003) reference research suggesting that students with learning disabilities who used simulations perform better than students with learning disabilities who did not use simulations. This could have significant implications in designing learning strategies for students with learning disabilities. The United States military has used simulations for years as a practical alternative to train their members. Chang (2009) cites military spokespersons claiming that simulations are the “next best thing” to real world training.

Gaming holds real potential for application in education and beyond. Gartner (2011) challenges businesses to take the opportunity for their world to emulate gaming rather than the other way around. The characteristics of games and simulations result in more engagement, and organizations can benefit by having more engaged customers and employees alike. As gaming becomes more prevalent in education, we will see it used more creatively in business and we will see a different education, business and world culture as a result.

References

Chang, Hiro (2009). Simulators always valuable in military training. Retrieved February 9, 2013 from http://www.army.mil/article/19599/

Gartner (2011). Gartner Says By 2015, More Than 50 Percent of Organizations That Manage Innovation Processes Will Gamify Those Processes [Press release].
Retrieved February 9, 2013 from http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/1629214

Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2011). The 2011 Horizon Report. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

Prensky, M., Sims vs. Games: The Difference Defined. Edutopia, March 9, 2007.
Retrieved February 9, 2013 from http://www.edutopia.org/sims-vs-games

Strangman, N., & Hall, T. (2003). Virtual reality/simulations. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved February 9, 2013 from http://aim.cast.org/learn/historyarchive/backgroundpapers/virtual_simula...