#gamesforlearning

[tinkersale-blog]

Child's play - The best way to learn is to play games !

Play Games or Study ? It’s not surprising that when asked about the role of playing in children’s education, > 80% of the urban Indian parents with a graduate degree and above consistently regard it as of very high importance. Read the full article

[melyssawithay88-blog-blog]

Week 6 Response: Games for Learning

I'm actually currently taking a class called Learning With Video Games so I am very familiar with Kurt Squire's study on learning through video games. I personally love the idea of learning through playing. I think as children we all learned by doing and exploring things first hand and while playing. Adding video games to the learning curve now just enhances a child's ability to explore and learn. Being as how this is the 21st century, students are born into his world where information is at their fingertips and anything instant is what grabs their attention. 

In the article "Mad City Mystery", Squire talks about the pedagogy of a post-progrssive approach. The game based learning in science: post- progressive approach deals with having learners thrown into complex thinking tasks driven by authentic questions.

In my class learning with video games, our professor had us play Civilization V and this game allowed us to immerse ourselves into a world that we had control over and had to build. You can pick your world leader, pick your policies to adopt, build an army, build cities and ultimately battle for land. I think this game is right in with what Squire is talking about when students are now forced to make these decisions such as, "Do we build a city or build an army first?" This thinking ignites the players mind and you end up learning a lesson through the game play. 

Squire's essay delves into the question, can education keep up with today's digital world? Students are in a world with information overload. I really liked the section where he spoke about information resources in video games. Players use textual resources in pursuit of their gaming goals. "Video games provide their players situated experiences that they can draw upon as they decipher complex texts. " Players will learn as they play learn new vocabulary almost simultaneously and naturally without text book grilling. 

I think the way education is going we need to better incorporate technology and games for learning. Video games are seen as controversial but it should not be, but instead as a tool for improving skills. I hope the future brings about more open minds in education and use gaming for authentic learning purposes. We can use video games as a virtual field trip and just like regular field trips, students are to take away what they learned in an authentic playing field. 

[aybukegul]

Week 6: The Future of Games for Learning &CODA

Squire (2012). Chapter 10 & pages 228-234

I believe that many things that we have done for having an good profit commercial game should be implemented to educational games. As it is mentioned in the book, a good research in the market and finding best models to guide us are two key points for having better games.Besides that educational technologists should consider that how to combine meaningful learning with a good game play. From what I read a 'pew research' for my other class, teenagers especially after 11-12 yearns old use their cellphone a lot. I would think designing educational games which could be played in mobile devices could increase the number of students that play the game. However, carrying educational games from computers   to cell phones can decrease the diversity of the game mechanics and quality of the game design. 

  How to combine good game and meaningful data about learning

Good games support,

creative and novel solutions.

deep problems which will be approached from different angles.

evidence-centered design.

CODA- On researching the Effectiveness of Educational Invention.

I feel creating a game-based learning in which designers and teachers work together can work for educational aims. I remember from the previous chapters in the books, it is mentioned that educational games should be as polished as commercial games. And Those games will make an interaction among students, materials, and teachers.

I do like the examples that mentioned here;

" We cannot blame teachers for reading scores or dropouts anymore than we can blame farmers for diabetes" (p.231).

" Schools at least try to provide universal access. Further, whereas teachers promote children's growth, doctors rarely promote health, instead treating disease" (p.233)