Game Changers | Canadian Education Association (CEA) - 0 views
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In 2011, game designer Jane McGonigal published Reality is Broken, where she outlined four simple rules that define a game: a goal, rules, a feedback system, and voluntary participation. Both Jeopardy and The History of Biology fit this definition, but clearly there is a difference between games that teach the recall of facts and those that teach higher-order thinking skills.
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esame Workshop, published a paper in 2011 called “Games for a Digital Age.” They distinguish between short-form games, “which provide tools for practice and focused concepts,” and long-form games, “which are focused on higher order thinking skills.” This is a useful first distinction teachers can use when evaluating games for use in the classroom.
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A theme that comes up with teachers who use long-form video games is teaching empathy. “When I first started teaching natural disasters in Grade 7, there were case studies in the textbook, or videos,” says Mike Farley, a high-school teacher at the University of Toronto Schools (UTS). “When we invite students to play a simulation like Stop Disasters or Inside the Haiti Earthquake, they are more immersed; there’s more of an emotional learning.”
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"Game Changers How digital games are creating new learning experiences Using games to teach discrete topics in the classroom is not a new phenomenon; however, games can also be used to teach higher-order thinking skills such as critical thinking, decision-making, creativity and communication. These so-called "long-form" games need to be contextualized by the teacher and woven into a robust curriculum of complimentary activities. Innovative educational gaming companies focus on developing high-quality digital content but also on the pedagogical implications of embedding the game in existing curriculum. Data collected from long-form digital games can be used to personalize instruction for students who are getting stuck on certain concepts or learn in a particular way. As games get more sophisticated, so must the teacher's understanding of the way students use them in the classroom."
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For those interested in applying characteristics of gaming to their teaching.