Online Resource

http://www.copacabana-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/Get_Smart_Pages/Get_Smart.htm

I have been using the Get Smart website created by the Copacabana Public School for the past few years now and find it a fantastic resource in the primary classroom. The website is a compilation of web-based games and resources organised into school developmental stages and subject areas according to the N.S.W curriculum. The site has been created, and is maintained, by teachers at the Copacabana Public School in N.S.W. This means that the links are usually fairly appropriate for both primary students and syllabus requirements. As a busy teacher it is so helpful to have a lot of resources in one place that can be trusted for quality and appropriateness and that are already linked to the suitable grade level and subject area. However, it is still important to carefully look at the games and resources before deciding to use them with students. In my earlier post in response to the journal article by Scanlon, Buckingham & Burn (2005) I have discussed the importance of this evaluation by the teaching professional. Although the games and resources on the Get Smart website have been evaluated by a group of teachers I have found that not all of the games are highly educational. In addition different games suit different purposes such as revision, basic fact development or initiating new learning topics and engaging students through narrative. As result I would recommend that any teacher looking to use one of the games or resources should conduct their own evaluation. It is important to ascertain whether the resource suits a particular group of students in terms of their needs, capabilities and interest as well as determine if the resource will assist the students to achieve the desired learning outcomes. When evaluating the game or resource it may also be relevant to consider the school setting and technological facilities available.

By Kathleen Magann

Scanlon, M., Buckingham, D., & Burn, A. (2005). Motivating Maths? Digital Games and Mathematical Learning. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 14(1), 127-139. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

News Article Response

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/09/26/video-game-design-the-missing-ingredient

In this article author Allyson Peerman discusses the use of video games to take students beyond the role of technology consumer and into the role of producer. The article briefly addresses the perceived state of education at present. Many students are dropping out of school and many more are becoming disengaged whilst at school. Peerman refers to this trend as a crisis that must be overcome by seeking new technologies and pedagogies (Peerman, 2011 para. 1-2). This echoes my own pedagogical belief that students need to be engaged in relevant, motivating learning experiences that effectively draw upon current technologies in order to prepare them for their future roles in society. We must use 21^st century teaching to facilitate 21^st century learning. The Pew Research Center  reveals that whilst students may be disengaging with traditional schooling they are engaging with video games, with ‘approximately 97 percent of teens play[ing] some form of game in their spare time’ (Peerman, 2011 para. 3).

Peerman briefly outlines a program set up by AMD that engages students of science, technology, engineering and maths in game design and creation in order to show learning as well as develop knowledge and skills through the design process. Peerman claims that by designing games students can develop skills in ‘problem-solving, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication’ (2010 para.6) that are essential for many professions which the students may pursue in the future.

Whilst the article does not go so far as to show, through research data and statistics, that incorporating video game design into classroom learning activities will lead to increased student motivation and learning outcomes it does prompt the teacher reader to ponder and perhaps further investigate incorporating games and game design into their teaching and learning programs. The article encouraged me to expand my understanding of games in education from merely games in which students are users to games in which students are creators. I believe student created games have the potential to assist students to develop higher order thinking skills as well as sophisticated technical skills relating both to technology and the particular subject the game activity is being use in.

By Kathleen Magann

Response to a Journal Article

Scanlon, M., Buckingham, D., & Burn, A. (2005). Motivating Maths? Digital Games and Mathematical Learning. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 14(1), 127-139. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

There is no doubt that games have great potential in educational settings. Recent research such as the studies conducted by Kajamies, Vauras, & Kinnunen, (2010) and Kim, & Chang, (2010) has shown that games can motivate students and make learning relevant to their lives. However, as Scanlon, Buckingham and Burn reveal, educators need to be careful when selecting games promoting themselves as educational as not all are equal. Many of these so-called educational games are little more than traditional text-book, fact testing activities disguised in a game format. In these games the narrative usually has very little to do with the intended learning outcomes and real-life relevance of the material is often overlooked. The Scanlon, Buckingham and Burn article provides an important thinking point for educators keen to incorporate effective and relevant games into their learning programs.

In my current role as a casual teacher I have had the opportunity to see into many classrooms and learn which sites teachers and students are using. Often I have observed sites similar to those described by Scanlon et.al which simply put text-book style mathematical questions into a completely unrelated narrative. The Scanlon et. al article stimulates thinking and discussion around a key aspect of the role of any educator, evaluation. It is essential for educators to evaluate any tool or material before it is included in a teaching and learning program. I believe that evaluation, in all its forms, is what sets educators such as teachers and teacher-librarians apart as professionals. We are constantly evaluating ourselves, our students and other classroom resources so why would we not evaluate the games our students are being exposed to in learning activities?

In their article Scanlon, Buckingham and Burn specifically focus on educational websites that are increasingly employing game formats in order to teach mathematics and motivate the student user. Although clearly of the opinion that the ‘motivational power [of games] can be harnessed to sweeten the bitter pill of educational content’ (Scanlon, Buckingham & Burn, 2005 p.127-128). The article authors stress that not all games are of equal educational value and therefore should not all be held in the same regard. Scanlon, Buckingham and Burn initially refer to some of their previous research which looked at using games in educational settings to increase motivation of learners. Less effective uses of games in the classroom were found to include those being used for drill and practice tasks, as a reward for completing other work or merely as ‘window dressing’ (Scanlon, Buckingham & Burn, 2005 p. 128). Despite this the authors claim that game formats may allow mathematics to be brought into real-life context or at least a motivating context (Scanlon, Buckingham & Burn, 2005 p. 129). They discuss an example of a grocery shop scenario game in which students are able to use their mathematical knowledge related to money in a real-world simulation (Scanlon, Buckingham & Burn, 2005 p.129). In these types of games the narrative is connected to the learning outcomes and therefore would be a useful addition to an effective mathematics program. This example is contrasted with a discussion of two websites claiming to be of educational value. One of the websites features arcade style games involving space creatures and other fantasy objects as a background for mathematics questions that appear to have nothing to do with the graphics and sounds on the game (Scanlon, Buckingham & Burn, 2005 p.129). The other website discussed in the article involves students in a narrative world in which they progress through stages by answering mathematical questions. Once again the mathematical questions have no relation to the narrative and simply need to be completed in order for the story to progress (Scanlon, Buckingham & Burn, 2005 p.132-133).

The Scanlon et.al article also echoes the comments made by Daniel Floyd (???) that there is a divide between educational games and games made for entertainment. Whilst the edutainment games may appear at first glance to resemble education in an entertainment package many, such as those identified by Scanlon et. al, are really no more than  ‘a traditional revision aid, albeit dressed up through the addition of animated film clips’ (Scanlon, Buckingham & Burn, 2005 p.134) and as such have limited capacity to support educational outcomes. It would seem too that students are not being fooled by these games. They are usually fully aware of the fact that the narratives offered by these games are extraneous to the educational content (Scanlon, Buckingham & Burn, 2005 p.135-136) and often skip through certain parts of the narratives featured in many games. We must not underestimate our students and assume that just because learning is roughly dressed up as fun, students will not see the costume.

As members of the educational community we should be demanding more of the creators who design these games. We need to carefully evaluate any educational resources before exposing students to them. Any educational resource, regardless of format, needs to be carefully evaluated for its place and value in an educational setting. Subsequently a determination need to be made of its strengths, weakness, age appropriateness, prior knowledge and skills required and relevance to identify where and when it would be of best use. While skills in evaluating educational resources are essential for all educators they are absolutely vital for a  teacher-librarian whose role include sourcing and supplying quality, effective, educational resources for teachers and students to maximise learning outcomes across the entire school community. In addition I believe that we need to discuss our findings, both good and bad, with colleagues in order to foster a strong discussion around games in education and increase not just our knowledge of good resources but also our own evaluative skills. Finally I believe that educators need to provide feedback to the designers on educational games to ensure that the games produced in the future match the needs of 21^st century learners.

By Kathleen Magann

Floyd, D (DATE). “Brain Training” Video games and Tangential Learning. Youtube video accessed via QUT Blackboard?

Kajamies, A., Vauras, M., & Kinnunen, R. (2010). Instructing Low-Achievers in Mathematical Word Problem Solving. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 54(4), 335-355. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Kim, S., & Chang, M. (2010). Computer Games for the Math Achievement of Diverse Students. Educational Technology & Society, 13(3), 224-232. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Video Games For Exercise?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snYM2Artq9M

Video games as I remember them were games that you sat down to play. They were based around hand controls that didn’t require much movement or to exert much energy, unless one felt the urge to shout at the screen. The notion of sedentary video games came crashing down when Nintendo released the gaming console the Wii. From personal experience with a Wii console, you stand up, move about and can become quite active through many of the games that have been designed to be more interactive than previous, more traditional computer and video games.

One game in particular, Dance Dance Revolution has been adopted by Lincoln Middle School (Todd, 2008) as a game used during physical education to help build up the physical fitness of the students. How is this educational? Executive Director Shellie Pfohl of the President’s Council of Fitness, Sport and Nutrition (President’s Council of Fitness, Sport and Nutrition, 2011) states that if children are physically active, they have greater classroom performance.  She continues to state student concentration levels increase while also becoming better behaved. Lieberman (2006) states that dance games help to improve leadership skills and keep absenteeism low. Lieberan (2006) also stats that students have greater enthusiasm for physical education. I know that from personal experience, I would have been excited to attend my physical educational class if I knew we were to play video games.

The game Dance Dance Revolution has also been adopted by 765 schools in Virginia (Yi, 2006) to motivate students to exercise and help combat obesity. It is clear from this that video games are creeping their way into other areas of education. I speculate how long it will be before the Dance Dance Revolution game is thrown into the physical education store room to collect dust along with all the other trends and games that did not work.  How long before students become bored with it? 

(Jacqui Long)

References:

Lieberman, D.A. (2006). Dance games and other exergames: What the research says. Retrieved October 4, 2011 from http://www.comm.ucsb.edu/faculty/lieberman/exergames.htm

President’s Council of Fitness, Sport and Nutrition. (2011, August 29). Using Video Games to Get Fit [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEnBOJqnVWM

Todd, J. (2008, July 17). Dance dance revelution in gym class [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snYM2Artq9M

Yi, M. (2006). Playing games in school: using videos helps students love to learn their lessons. Retrieved October 4, 2011 from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/02/20/CLASSROOM.TMP&ao=all

Transforming Pedagogy with Gaming

Currently my pedagogy is based around the idea of motivating students to become life long learners and helping them to build a bank of skills flexible enough to be able to function successfully in society. Williamson and Futurelab (2009) state “…that games are preparing students to be successful workers and citizens in the 21^st century.” (p. 2). As gaming fits well in my pedagogy, transforming my pedagogy to include gaming will not be difficult, but a challenge to find the right balance between using games to motivate and stimulate students’ engagement to learn and just playing games for enjoyment.

Computer games, video games and gaming consoles cannot simply be included into teaching pedagogies. They need to be carefully planned for and implemented into class lessons and units of work. To successfully include computer games, video games and game consoles into the classroom learning they need to be in context for students and their learning needs (Williamson & Futurelab, 2009). I cannot modify my pedagogy simply to include gaming. It must be put into a context that students can understand. If there is no context for using computer games, students may miss the point of what is trying to be taught (Williamson & Futurelab, 2009). Many games are built around a narrative, a story to be played out by the gamers themselves, thus providing a rich literacy-learning context (Partington, 2010). Many games “provides a wider lexicon of texts into the English and Media classroom” (Pelletier, 2005, as cited in Partington, 2010, p. 74). For example, the popular game, The Sims is being used through iPods to teach students fictional characteristics and how fiction works at Cape Fear Middle School in America (Nerdscience, 2009). I hope to include narrative based games as part of my pedagogy as they host a rich context for more traditional literacy learning (Lindley, 2005).

If I am to incorporate gaming into my pedagogy and include it in lessons and units of work, I must teach students how to play and learn from these games as shown through the example given above. Such learning fits under the umbrella term media and digital literacies. According to Australian Communications and Media Authority (2009), digital and media literacies are the “ability to access, understand and participate or create content using digital media” (n.p). Technology cannot be simply placed into the classroom and be expected to do all the teaching (Hobbs, 2011). To incorporate gaming successfully as part of my pedagogy, I must modify my current literacy teaching to include digital and media literacies. It is important that I do so as a significant prerequisite of successful participation in society and the digital economy is to be able to understand and confidently navigate digital media and its services. (Australian Communications and Media Authority, 2009). 

To keep game based learning in context, I will endeavor to use technology that is familiar with students and has versatility in the classroom.  I currently have very little knowledge of video gaming and very little experience with game consoles. My childhood, although I had a computer and some computer games, did not revolve around these games. It has only been recently that I have explored the world of the Wii and its addictive nature. I have over this time come to understand how children and youths can become addicted to gaming, as I have formed somewhat of an addiction to the Wii. The computer, iPod and Nintendo DS console show great potential to motivate and help educate students, as many students already own have a computer, iPod or DS console at home. I will endeavour to become familiar with the technology listed above through exploration, professional development and collaborate with other gamers. I will continue to stay updated with new gaming developments and research through Futurelab and the MacArthur Foundation Digital Learning Projects to help keep gaming in context with student learning.

While it may seem simple enough to transform my pedagogy though game exploration and continuous development and integrate digital and media literacies into my current teaching practises, including game consoles into the classroom and library is very costly. It is not cheap to equip each student with a gaming console of any kind, so I must start small. “It is better to be successful at making one small change than unsuccessful at making one big change, or many small changes” (Dezuanni, 2010b, slide7). I will build up a collection of gaming consoles over time, as my personal budget and any other funds I can acquire will not allow for large expenses at once. If I am to transform my teaching pedagogy to include gaming I will need training. I was taught to educate in the traditional format: teacher up the front of the room, students behind desks. I feel confident to give gaming “a go”, but to really maximise its potential, I believe training would be most beneficial. I would do so through the aforementioned professional development and keeping informed of new gaming developments and research.

I feel that through acquiring game consoles students are familiar with, teaching digital and media literacies, finding games that fit within the context of what is being taught, keeping costs low and game training I can transform my pedagogy to incorporate gaming. I believe I will be able to continue to motivate students to become life long learners and help them to build a bank of skills flexible enough to be able to function successfully in society though gaming.

(Jacqui Long)

references:

Australian Communications and Media Authority. (2009). What is digital media literacy and why is it so important? Retrieved October 6, 2001 from http://www.acma.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WEB/STANDARD/1001/pc=PC_311470

Clifford, J. (2008). Game consoles remain classroom rarity. Retrieved October 7, 2011 from
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26199898/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/game-consoles-remain-classroom-rarity/#.ToVT4E_tUro

Dezuanni, M. (2010b). CLN647 Innovative pedagogies, transforming institutions and mapping future directions: Lecture 11 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_75617_1%26url%3D

Exciting new approach to classroom learning. (June 11, 2010). [Video file]. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSJ5LwAXxLk&feature=related

Hobbs, R. (2011). Empowering learners with digital and media literacy. Knowledge Quest (39)5, 12-17.

Nerdscience. (2009, October 5). iPod Gaming in the classroom: A student's perspective on her SIM. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoCz9KxZNvY&feature=related

Partington, A. (2010). Game literacy, gaming cultures and media education. English Teaching: Practice and critique (9)1, 73-86.

Williamson, B. & Futurelab. (2009). Computer games, schools, and young people: A report for educators on using computer games for learning. Retrieved September 19, 2011 from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_75617_1%26url%3D