(Two interesting blogs to follow that deal with ICT developments and policies worldwide are Insight: observatory for new technologies and education blog and EduTech: a world bank blog on ICT use in education)
The use of video games as an educational medium has been an interesting area to investigate. I have incorporated online and digital games into my classroom practice for some time now. The majority of my games focus on problem solving, higher order thinking and cooperative learning, although some do have an overt curriculum base. These games have proven a successful part of my classroom practice but I have never had an evidence based manner in which to justify their inclusion. As a result of this unit of study I am now on my way to being able to provide that evidence based justification.
I have often found that games that are overtly curriculum based have gotten bogged down in instructional content and have quickly lost the children’s interest and motivation (Wright, 2010, n.p.; Young, 2008, n.p.). Games such as I Spy and Rush Hour Online engage and motivate the children while they develop high level problem solving and cooperative group skills through trial and error, without a fear of failure (Masie, 2007, n.d.). I have discovered some online SOSE/Science games that effectively blend content with game play and intend to start a del.icio.us list for these games now that I recognise their importance.
Given my use of online games I need to heed Adam’s (2007, p. 33) exhortation to start intensive internet awareness programs with early to middle primary students instead of accepting the current practice of waiting until upper primary or early high school. I have always spoken to the children about online safety but there needs to be a more structured program for school wide implementation on a development continua basis. The school at which I am employed has a very limited ICT committee which researches new technologies, such as Interactive Whiteboards, movie creation etc. The committee does not deal with the ethical or accountability issues of online interactions and games incorporation in the classroom. I will be lobbying to have the size and mandate of the committee expanded to develop school wide policies and programs on internet awareness and game play as part of the curriculum.
Currently, despite expanding research acknowledging the educational value of the shared problem solving and peer interaction of game play, education policy and curriculum documents still have a narrow vision of ICTs and are only just starting to look at incorporating new media such as social networking (American Association of School Librarians, 2007, p.3; National Curriculum Board, 2009, p.12). This narrow and slow to change focus is evidenced by the entries on the, which is well worth following. Until Australian Curriculum developers investigate the use of games in the curriculum, individual schools need to ensure that their practices in this area are justifiable and pedagogically sound. The expansion of the current role of ICT committees seems like a logical place to start.
Given that I have already been approached by school administration to justify why my students are playing games in class time, I was pleased to discover that instruments are being developed to gauge the educational value of games. Given that the Australian Government’s No Child Left Behind policy includes a focus on increased accountability, mandated curriculum and teaching methods based on “gold standard evidence base” the use of some sort of standard evaluation system for games will become increasingly important (Luke and Woods, 2008, pp.2-10). Consequently, one of the first jobs for an expanded ICT committee would be to investigate evaluation instruments such as those suggested by Hong et al (2009, p.433-434) and Royle (2007, p.4). The Hong et al. instrument is very complex and it may well be simpler to start with Royle’s online star matrix which is available for parents and staff to view.
In a primary school setting games integration can, and is, being done successfully already, albeit without any formal documentation of the practice. However, when it comes to high school practice video games usage becomes more problematic. With increasingly mandated curriculum, broken into distinct separate disciplines, strong practical impediments to the use of video games exist despite the volume of suitable games available for the high school age bracket. This is evidenced by the games chosen for the Futurelab research project (Sanford et al., 2006, p.9). Truly challenging computer games, that stimulate higher order thinking, traditionally involve players for extended periods of time, not just until the next bell. High schools are not currently set up for cross-curricula integration and there are sure to be conflicts of interest as to who should give up content delivery time to implement games to stimulate general thinking skills. Clearly, to make widespread inclusion of video games possible some fairly major changes to high school pedagogy would need to occur.
In my own personal, primary school context my main aim is to promote the use of video games to develop thinking and social skills by expanding the size and mandate of the school ICT committee. The initial focus of this expanded committee would be twofold:
· To develop an easy to use, widely accessible, games evaluation instrument that will meet accountability demands, and
· To develop a school wide developmentally appropriate program on internet safety and awareness.
(by BurnBabyBern)
Well done! It is so exciting to read emerging views regarding gaming and education, especially when I watch my 15 year old son sit for hours at a time ‘educating’ himself with the latest Xbox purchases.
ReplyDeleteIt is unfortunate that this level of interactivity and engagement cannot be harnessed within the confines of the high school curriculum. I agree with you that for this to happen major changes to the pedagogy would have to occur. But before this can happen I think there has to be a mindshift generally. My initial reaction to the Xbox was that playing games was an entertaining but fairly educationally benign way to fill a couple of hours. When I actually sat down with my teenager and watched , listened and even participated in the technology, I began to see promise for moving beyond entertainment and even for serious learning purposes in the school curriculum.
Of course, different types of games will work better and be better suited to different learning goals than others. Some video games have huge learning potential and the fact that they motivate and engage children simultaneously is a bonus feature. Some of these ‘game’ features that could be used to support effective learning are interactivity, competition and collaboration, simulation of experience, sequencing and open endedness.
If support can be provided by the profession, then games could be increasingly recognised and used as tools for teaching. Though it is important for educators to remain critical and evaluate their usefulness and implications, I believe it is very worthwhile to explore how these games could be part of an exciting and effective learning systems within high school curriculums.