Gaming is not something I do. Before this course, I was not totally convinced of the educational values gaming had to offer learners. I basically viewed gaming as a time-consuming activity that was for entertainment purposes only. Granted, I knew serious games had value as simulation tools and training videos, but Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) games seemed to be what kids did after school (and well into the night), not in the classroom. In my own teaching, I hadn’t given much thought on integrating gaming into my classroom. The popular games students are playing at the high school level would most likely be deemed inappropriate for school. Can you imagine Call of Duty being part of your lessons?
After viewing videos by James Paul Gee and Kurt Squire and reading research on game-based learning (GBL), I’m wondering why educators have not embraced videogames in their teaching on a much wider scale. In James Paul Gee’s 13 Principles for Learning, Gee believes games are effective learning tools because they empower learners, provide good problem-based learning opportunities and create deep understanding (2013). The Ministry of Education promotes 21st Century Learning where students use educational technologies to apply knowledge to new situations, analyze information, collaborate, solve problems, and make decisions, all of which can be achieved with game-based learning. Squire calls games “possibility spaces”, where we get good at new things and become new kinds of people (2011). The literature and research on gaming in education has been steadily mounting over the years, but on the whole, the education sector has been slow to embrace game based learning. So, what’s taking so long?
I believe a whole generation of educators are completely in the dark when it comes to the games themselves, let alone how to implement them into their teaching. Is it because educators like me, who are not gamers, feel ill equipped to bring videogames into their classroom because they do not understand the games themselves? I admit I did not “get” the appeal of Minecraft until I watched a video from a Gamifie-Ed webinar called Drakkart- Why Minecraft Inspires Me. Drakkart is a gamer who has provided tutorials on YouTube videos on all aspects of Minecraft play. Drakkart , with the help of two young gamers, very eloquently explains why Minecraft has such a great appeal to so many. Minecraft is a world simulation game (think of is as a virtual lego set but with much more going on) that is all about being creative. Like most games, the more you play the more you get better and the more complex you can get with your creations, with possibilities being endless. A separate website and resource was created just to support educators using Minecraft. MinecraftEdu was set up to show how the game could be used in classrooms. I immediately thought of Minecraft being more suited to elementary curriculum, but after searching for YouTube tutorials, I realize this is a multi-age game that has avid gamers from all over the world. The time is drawing near for me to jump in and give Minecraft a try. I feel like a complete “newb”, but on the other hand, I do know where to find support for my first foray into the gaming world with Minecraft.( Google search About 309,000,000 results). "If this is something your kid is passionate about you owe it to them to take an hour or two to figure it out," says Joel Levin, co-owner of TeacherGaming LLC, creators of MinecraftEdu(Ward, 2013). I’ll rephrase this and say, “If this is something your students are passionate about you owe them an hour or two to figure it out and maybe give some hard thought on bringing gaming into the classroom.”
After viewing videos by James Paul Gee and Kurt Squire and reading research on game-based learning (GBL), I’m wondering why educators have not embraced videogames in their teaching on a much wider scale. In James Paul Gee’s 13 Principles for Learning, Gee believes games are effective learning tools because they empower learners, provide good problem-based learning opportunities and create deep understanding (2013). The Ministry of Education promotes 21st Century Learning where students use educational technologies to apply knowledge to new situations, analyze information, collaborate, solve problems, and make decisions, all of which can be achieved with game-based learning. Squire calls games “possibility spaces”, where we get good at new things and become new kinds of people (2011). The literature and research on gaming in education has been steadily mounting over the years, but on the whole, the education sector has been slow to embrace game based learning. So, what’s taking so long?
I believe a whole generation of educators are completely in the dark when it comes to the games themselves, let alone how to implement them into their teaching. Is it because educators like me, who are not gamers, feel ill equipped to bring videogames into their classroom because they do not understand the games themselves? I admit I did not “get” the appeal of Minecraft until I watched a video from a Gamifie-Ed webinar called Drakkart- Why Minecraft Inspires Me. Drakkart is a gamer who has provided tutorials on YouTube videos on all aspects of Minecraft play. Drakkart , with the help of two young gamers, very eloquently explains why Minecraft has such a great appeal to so many. Minecraft is a world simulation game (think of is as a virtual lego set but with much more going on) that is all about being creative. Like most games, the more you play the more you get better and the more complex you can get with your creations, with possibilities being endless. A separate website and resource was created just to support educators using Minecraft. MinecraftEdu was set up to show how the game could be used in classrooms. I immediately thought of Minecraft being more suited to elementary curriculum, but after searching for YouTube tutorials, I realize this is a multi-age game that has avid gamers from all over the world. The time is drawing near for me to jump in and give Minecraft a try. I feel like a complete “newb”, but on the other hand, I do know where to find support for my first foray into the gaming world with Minecraft.( Google search About 309,000,000 results). "If this is something your kid is passionate about you owe it to them to take an hour or two to figure it out," says Joel Levin, co-owner of TeacherGaming LLC, creators of MinecraftEdu(Ward, 2013). I’ll rephrase this and say, “If this is something your students are passionate about you owe them an hour or two to figure it out and maybe give some hard thought on bringing gaming into the classroom.”
Drakkart-Why Minecraft Inspires Me
A bit long but well worth watching if you are confused about Minecraft
Resources
Gee, J.P.(2013). Principles on Gaming. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aQAgAjTozk
Nerdgraph. Ten well- kept Minecraft secrets. Infographic. Retrieved from: http://www.nerdgraph.com/10-well-kept-minecraft-secrets/
Squire, K. (2013). Design for Learning [Video Games & Learning] Week 1. Video 2/8 (Squire). YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzfY1N4FxsQ
21st Century Learning. Ministry of Education. Retrieved from https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/dist_learning/21century_learning.htm
Visual.ly. Minecraft Mania: Gaming in Numbers. Infographic. Retrieved from: http://visual.ly/minecraft-mania-gaming-numbers
Ward, M. (2013). Why Minecraft is more than just another video game. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23572742