Isn’t it funny?
When we were younger are parents were always saying to get off the computer and get are homework done, but who would have ever thought that one day we can respond by saying the computer is my homework. In the horizon report one of the key trends developing is Game Based Learning. This trend is the most amazing trend to me, because who would have ever thought that we could actually learn from a computer game. Currently the most popular apps sold today are gaming apps such as Move the Turtle and Dabble and because of this teaching has really evolved in today’s society from learning out of a text and to interactive activities and the great part is, are kids finally being able to prove the parents wrong when they said video games will rot your brain. These games are not only fun to the gamer, but it will foster the gamer’s ability to learn collaboration and engage students in the process in learning. One thing we know about kids is if they enjoy it, then don’t change it by telling them it is good for them and this is beyond good for a learner. Students will develop cognitive skills, communication, problem solving and critical thinking and a safe learning environment away from failure. Games in the classroom will give the student an opportunity to be excited about their accomplishments and un-judge with failure. With so many great advantages of games in the classroom I cannot wait for the program to take off. Even though it might take three years and some older teachers might be hesitant of the new learning styles, I am confident that we will back away farther from the text and into a world of technology.
The thought of using video games in the classroom effectively seems like the perfect way to increase student engagement, while at the same time given the teacher something to look forward to teaching. All teachers are more effective when they are passionate and excited about the lesson they are instructing. and who wouldn't love to have video games in their classroom and for it to be a good thing. Love the idea...just want to see where it goes from here and how quickly it takes form in classrooms regularly.
ReplyDeleteJacquline, game based learning can foster collaboration as well as problem solving skills. For students that work best on their own, games allow them to also learn on their own. There are so many games that can be applied to any subject. While using games in the classroom, it will be up to the teacher to make sure they are drawing connections between the game and the content for student learning. Aaron is right that introducing games in the classroom is an excellent way to engage students in what they are learning.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with you games are a great resource for learning many different tasks and things that would be useful later in a child's life. Even the games before online play would have the students actively learning. I believe that games never actual rotted children's brains they just needed some outside time. Games are full of challenges, miseries, puzzles and now online collaboration which can help foster good behavior. The learning in the game category does not only take place in educational games it can take place in everyday mainstream games I would believe after talking to many parents that they don't mind if their child plays video games just as long as they got some exercise and did all of their homework for the night.
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