Make school learning game-like

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/09/09/f-videogames-education-learning.html

Video game format offers a more interactive ‘observe and demonstrate’ style of education, opposed to the traditional ‘memorize and regurgitate’, which is concluded by numerous studies. In this news article, three pioneers in education field have started to use video games as teaching tools of great power in their classrooms.

"We're looking at the notion of how to equip kids in the 21st century to be flexible, adaptive learners."         — Katie Salen 

As Henry Jenkins (2009) mentioned, the participation gap existing between traditional classroom and knowledge for youth to fully participate in the world of tomorrow should be one of concerns for today’s educators. How can we bridge the gap using new media technologies? An access to immersive learning can be built through virtual situations by video games, whose complexity of variables is not far from the reality. Students are participating in a vivacious and varied community while playing. Besides ‘Learn through game play‘, letting students ‘learn about games’ is also a good option open to teachers. Students in the Digital Media Academy developed multiple skills such as creativity, planning, organization and teamwork while acquiring knowledge of game design, all of which prepare them well for any career they will choose in the future.

"To keep pretending that we can leave it out of the classroom, I think, is a grave mistake.… It's not a marginal pursuit anymore. We've got to start thinking about games with all the tools of analysis that are available to us."        —Darren Wershler

Video games as powerfully motivating digital environments still have enormous potential to be explored. However, the biggest challenge facing the educators and designers is how motivational components of popular video games might be integrated into instructional design. Just in September, Obama announced educational game challenge to call for good videogames to reinvigorate education of the USA.The future of a good game is not merely an addition to classroom teaching. It needs potential to replace the traditional classroom with a more game-like learning place where students are more engaged with learning and conduct learning in a more spontaneous and self-directed way. This is a huge job involving joint efforts of educators, game designers and administration of the country. (Posted by Ronda)


Reference

Jenkins, H. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: media education for the 21st century. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press.