Sunday, September 19, 2010
Quest2Learn’s Katie Salen talks with fellow game designer Nichole Pinkard, founder of the Chicago-based afterschool program Digital Youth Network about the philosophy behind Quest2Learn and how game design can be applied to learning in the classroom.
Response to Video, by Karen.
Game designer, animator, and Executive Director of Institute of Play and Quest2Learn, Katie Salen believes a game designer and a good teacher both aspire to create an effective learning environment. Manhattan public school, Quest2Learn uses digital media and game design as the primary means for accomplishing educational goals, with video games and other technologies at the centre of all classes and learning experiences.
Salen states that a game has a very particular goal that is set, and progress towards that goal is scaffolded and ordered in such a way that the player is given a challenge that is just out of reach, but is also given the tools to reach that challenge. She posits that a good teacher ultimately does the same thing. A game designer is constantly thinking "what does the player need to know right now?" and "what variety of experiences that I can give my player, based on their learning style?" Again, this is exactly what a good teacher should be doing.
With compelling evidence that gaming is a significant and pervasive youth activity, we should be embracing the potential "good" that video games can bring to our classrooms. De-contextualised learning leads to boredom and disengagement, whereas games can provide extreme self-motivation and enhanced productivity. A good game is just at the outer edge of the player's competence, creating a challenge that is ultimately achievable, but one that requires higher order thinking and problem-solving. Another positive aspect of games is that they encourage the development of cooperation and trust, and enhance social relationships through collaboration and team work.
A learning environment that affords students opportunities to create and construct knowledge through integration of technology, combined with a pedagogy that promotes contextual problem solving and critical thinking provides me with much food for thought, and a desire to pursue and embrace the concept of video games as an acceptable and credible medium for learning in schools.
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I agree with Katie Salen’s comment about game designers and good teachers both wanting to create effective learning environments. The platforms that game designers and teachers use are different but they share some of the same objectives. Both of them want to engage their clients and have them learn from the experience.
ReplyDeleteThere is little doubt that our current learners need to be motivated to learn as very few have this intrinsically. While I understand that game playing is motivating for students (Sandford et.al, 2006), it is not clear to me, as a non-gamer, why they are so motivating or engaging. For the most part games are not relevant to their real life experience nor do they automatically appear to be part of an authentic learning experience.
Prensky (2001) lists 12 characteristics that make video and computer games engaging. This list is important for teachers to consider when designing learning experiences because if we can incorporate more of these characteristics into our classrooms it is likely that will have more engaged and motivated students.
The first characteristic relates to fun, and fun is important in the learning process as it creates relaxation and motivation (Prensky, 2001). One of the reasons for disengagement of our learners is that they perceive learning and fun as mutually exclusive processes. As teachers we need to provide opportunities for students to have fun while learning, which may mean adding video games to our toolkit along with other suitable fun learning experiences.
Teresa
Sandford, R. Ulicsak, M., Facer, K., Rudd, T. (2006). Teaching with games: using commercial off-the-shelf computer games in formal education, Retrieved 30th September, 2010 from,
http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/project_reports/teaching_with_games/TWG_report.pdf.
Prensky, M. (2001). Fun, Play and Games: What makes games engaging. From Digital game-based learning (Mc-Graw Hill , 2001). Retrieved 7th October, 2010, from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Game-Based%20Learning-Ch5.pdf