Does playing video games Does playing video games improve children’s learning?improve children’s learning?

Presented by Yohan Kim

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Students’ attitude to game and learning

Video games and metaphors of learning

Effects of playing video games

Exploring new identities and new

practices

Obstacles to the use of games in school to

overcome 2

ContentsContents

“When kids play video games they experience a much more powerful form of learning than when they are in the classroom… The secret of a video game as a teaching machine isn’t its 3D graphics but its underlying architecture. Each level dances around the outer limits of one players abilities, seeking at every point to be hard enough to be just doable”

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Gee (2003) writes:Gee (2003) writes:

The military was one of the first to recognise the potential of games for training.

The US military has developed a video game called America’s Army which is used as a tool for recruitment. Free to download for anyone interested.

BackgroundBackground

Students’ attitude to games and Students’ attitude to games and learninglearning

Students’ attitude to games and Students’ attitude to games and learninglearning

In 2002, $16.9 billion with 3.3 million games consoles being sold in the UK alone [ELSPA 2003]

Digital gaming is a $10 billion per year industry, projected to reach $29 billion by 2007.

Whether or not we play games, gaming has become part of our culture

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Gaming industryGaming industry

A 2001 survey [ESA] produced 4 main reasons for game play:

1. It’s fun -87%2. Games are challenging 72%3. Games are an interactive social

experience that can be shared with friends and family 42%

4. Games provide a lot of entertainment value for the money 36%

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4 main reasons for game 4 main reasons for game playplay

Possible source of learning aggressive behaviour

- The General Aggression Model - The Catharsis Theory Reinforcing stereotypical views of people Addiction Also, teachers and parents were reluctant

to set aside time for playing video games because these skills were not part of the assessment criteria.

Negative effects of gameNegative effects of game

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Examples of addictionExamples of addiction

* In order to understand the potential of vide games for learning we need to consider what is meant by learning.

Acquisition metaphor: learning as the acquisition of knowledge

Participation metaphor: learning as participation in a community of practice

Video Games and Metaphors of Video Games and Metaphors of LearningLearning

Shaffer et al (2005) argue that video games WILL transform education

Video games are important because they let people participate in new worlds

They let people think, talk and act in new ways.

Inhabit roles that are otherwise inaccessible to them

Video games and situated Video games and situated understandingunderstanding

These virtual worlds are what make video games such powerful contexts for learning.

They support the development of situated understanding

Video games and situated Video games and situated understandingunderstanding

Video games are a social phenomena Video games as a set of social

practices Video Games and Community of

Practices Improving ICT skills Shaffer et al call them epistemic

games

What video games provide usWhat video games provide us

Developing games that simultaneously • build situated understanding

• effective social practice

• powerful identities

• shared values

• ways of thinking is no easy matter

What Epistemic Games can enhance?What Epistemic Games can enhance?

Two broad aims:1. To promote the spiritual, moral, cultural,

mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society

2. To prepare pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.

*Excellence and Enjoyment strategy launched in 2003

The National curriculumThe National curriculum

National surveys conducted primary and secondary teachers and school children aged 11-16.

3 different games used for case studies.

Proved commercial games can be used for education.

Futurelab researchFuturelab research

1. Generational divide between teachers and students in respect of computer games play.

2. Teachers and students are open to the idea of using games in formal curricular contexts.

3. Similar perceptions about the advantages and disadvantages of using games between the groups

4. The main barriers of using games are not matching with the curriculum or assessment, but technical issues

Key messages from surveysKey messages from surveys

Prensky (2001) argues the difference between computer learning and book learning:

Twitch speed vs conventional speed Parallel processing vs linear processing Graphics first vs text first Random access vs step by step Connected vs standalone Active vs passive Play vs work Payoff vs patience Fantasy vs reality Technology as friend vs technology as foe

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The new & oldThe new & old

Recent research has looked at whether video games can support learning in schools• McFarlane et al, 2002 encountered a number of obstacles

to the use of video games in schools1. difficult for teachers to identify the relevance

of a video game to the curriculum2. difficult in persuading other stakeholders of

the potential benefits of video games3. lack of time for teachers to familiarise

themselves to the game4. the amount of irrelevant content or

functionality in the game5. the amount of time for teachers and students

to orientate themselves22

Learning with games inside Learning with games inside schoolschool

Teachers recognised that these games could support children’s learning of• strategic

• planning

• communication

• application of numbers

• negotiating skills

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Learning with games inside Learning with games inside schoolschool

Pros and cons of playing video game has identified in regard to learning.

Playing computer games is encouraging young people to learn in different ways from those valued in the school setting.

Video games provide a model of doing in order to learn, rather than learning in order to do.

Learning is at its most vibrant when it has relevance to the learner (McFarlane 1997)

If right amount of support given, both by teachers and parents, games can be the most effective learning tool for pupils.

ConclusionConclusion

1. Elston, C. (2007) Using ICT in the Primary School, London: Paul Chapman Publishing

2. Gee, J. (2003) Highscore Ecucation: Games not school are teaching kids to think. Wired, 11, 5

3. McFarlane, A., Sparrowhawk, A. & Healde, Y. (2002) Report on the Educational Use of Games. TEEM [Teachers Evaluating Educational material]

4. Merlin, J. (2006) All in the Game, Education Guardian

http://education.guardian.co.uk/elearning/story/0,,1969493,00.html [Accessed on 29/3/08]

5. Shaffer, D.W., Squire, D.D., Halverson, R., & Gee, J.P. (2005) Video Games and the Future of Learning. http://eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/29/8e/85.pdf [Accessed on 29/3/08]

6. Teaching with games: Students’ attitude to game and learning –Topline Survey results http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/project_reports/teaching_with_games/TWG_students_survey.pdf [Accessed on 29/3/08]

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ReferencesReferences