There has not been a time lately when walking in the mall, waiting to be seated in a restaurant, or riding in a car that I have not seen children with their electronic devices playing video games. As a parent I am guilty of purchasing these devices for my children. As a teacher if I want to spark a class discussion of tap into a useful and reliable source of information about the most recent games to be released I ask my students.
When facilitating these discussions I find that often times my most reserved students are engaged and contributing. I recall a student that refused to complete assignments in class. After several failed attempts I noticed their binder and there were several drawings of a popular video game, “World of Warcraft”. I asked them about the game and in 43 minutes, the class period, they explained to me the concept behind the game along with the characters’ name and their special powers. They explained how they “beat” the game several times and looked forward to the newest versions with the hopes of “beating” it also. From this conversation I knew that I had to somehow connect their passion for gaming with my curriculum. I offered them an agreement that if they complete the assignment in class I would allow them to play www.coolmath.com until the end of class. The games on this site though not specifically focusing on business teach strategy and sharpen decision making skills that can be used cross curricular.
In my quest I referred to a book from a previous class, Transforming Learning With New Technologies, as an excellent resource to educate myself about the use of gaming in education. I did not realize the amount of research and knowledge available on this subject. I found an interesting article in Science Daily addressing the effectiveness of this tool in teaching at. See link below: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090210134746.htm
After researching the topic and finding some useful websites the student moved to another school. I am still in the process of learning to incorporate games specific to my content to be used by my students. I believe games in education should be a supplement to the various deliveries and assessment of curriculum goals and objectives. As an educator I consciously try to offer variety in my delivery of content. I view gaming as an additional tool in my tool bag to prepare my students to be 21st century learners.
