Video Games and Education

I've never really thought about using mainstream video games as educational tools. However, after reading both of Gee's articles, I can definitely see the connection. It's almost insane that schools teach students to memorize and not how to actually use the information in the real world. With that in mind, I played three different games to find what a player/student would get out of the game.

Brainiversity

Brainiversity is a really fun "educational" game. I say educational in such that it works on spelling, math, and memory skills. The player is timed and has to answer as many questions possible in the time correctly. The game isn't the usual work done in school, but rather put to a much more fun atmosphere.

Third World Farmer

Third World Farmer is an online game where the player conducts a family in a third world country to try to survive for as long as possible. This game is a great way to add a hands on feel to what the third world reality is really like. The player controls what crops to plant, animals to buy, barns and other buildings to build, and to choose when to give medicine to a sick family member. They also choose if the children go to school or not. If the player is lucky, in one year a family member won't die or the family won't be robbed if they made any money at all.

Call Of Duty

When most people look at the box of Call Of Duty, they probably think it's just another violent game. However, there is a lot more to it than most people think about. In the online portion of the game, the player creates or is put on a team of other actual people. At that point the team strategizes how to use the environment around them and the best course of action to take to beat the other team. It also teaches how to quickly think of another strategy once the other team starts to penetrate or be in the lead. If the strategy the player and team doesn't work, they work together to get past the frustrations and work cooperatively on planning a new one. There are many choices that can be made as a team and with the environment. On top of this, the game also teaches communication and people skills, even in a virtual world.


Connecting "playing" with technology and school-based learning is a great idea. It brings freshness and the new age to the classroom. Most children can relate and learn a lot from video games that they probably don't realize. For most, including myself, school and fun don't usually coincide. It also helps relieve the students from just memorizing, to actually use the concepts learned and use them in a real world like situation.

Information Literacy

Literacy has taken on many more meanings in recent years. Usually when someone thinks of literacy, they think of being able to read or write. However, being literate means a lot more. A person now needs to be not only able to read and write, but extract information and use it as well as being able to use a computer.

One component of being able to use a computer is to use PowerPoint effectively. Students need to be taught how to use PowerPoint because it is a great tool and by the time college, or perhaps even high school comes, they are expected to know the program well. Since the program enhances the classroom experience by giving a visual to what the speaker (teacher) is explaining, it can be used in early grades (as in 4-8 grades). The students at this time can also learn how the slides are supposed to look like as long as the teacher knows how to effectively use the program. By the time students begin to use PowerPoint on their own, they will have a basic idea on how it is supposed to be used. PowerPoint also is a great tool to teach students how to give speeches. The program is not meant to have every single word written out, but basically an outline of important information the speaker will say.

With teachers and students becoming knowledgeable on how to use PowerPoint, an article like PowerPoint Is Evil will never be true. Scoring Power Points gives a great outline on how to create a great slideshow that will enhance any classroom or speech. I think, at least from my own experience, PowerPoint brings a lot to the classroom. I'm the kind of person who will zone out from just listening to someone talk, however PowerPoint keeps me interested by stating what is going on and lead to what is important and what notes to take. At times, the graphics and perhaps an animation halfway through keeps the audience engaged.

Blogging

I have never heard of schools using blogging as a classroom tool, but I can see why. There are a lot of good prospects for blogging in the classroom. Students can express their own ideas freely and other students can help build on those ideas. Teachers and students can encourage and learn more about those students who do not like to speak up in a regular classroom setting. Blogging can also be an outlet for those with different learning styles. For some students, perhaps discussing a book or an idea in class wouldn’t work for them. Blogging can be a visual tool for them to better understand what is happening in the classroom. Older students may be able to bring in the “real world” view of what they are learning about. Pictures, news articles, and so on can be linked in their blogs and discussed which would cause students to see how what they are learning about relates to the the “real world.” However, blogging does have a few things teachers need to be aware of. First of all, some students may not feel comfortable sharing their own ideas, whether in the classroom or in a blog. Also, student safety is a huge factor. The internet is an open playground for anyone and people may be able to read the student’s blogs. Of course, there is also the limitation of students being able to have access to a computer.