While reading the first article this week, it really made me realized how useful games in the classroom could be. The example of the history class was very interesting. Personally, history was my worst and least favorite subject in school. If I had used a game similar to the one mentioned in the article, I would think I would have enjoyed it a little more. It does sound like that particular game would be difficult for someone who didn’t have knowledge of basic history terms and concepts, but once getting a hold on those, it would probably be easier. Of course, as the article mentioned, games don’t appeal to everyone and one game won’t appeal to an entire class.
Using games in the classroom sounds like it would encourage and facilitate critical and complex thinking. The games have students encountering problems, thinking about situations and working through them. If the students are really enjoying the game, they probably won’t even realize they are doing all that. Proper monitoring is needed so that the student does not become overly frustrated and might want to give up.
Being a Montessori teacher, I found the mention of the connection with Montessori education interesting. It is true that we urge the students to go in the directions they want with some limitations. Games allow students to “pursue questions of intellectual interest”. Within the game they have the freedom to pursue other activities and take the game in the direction they want. It does sound as if some games would fit nicely with the Montessori curriculum. I agree with the conclusion of the article though, when Squire stated that first there needs to be a good educational system in order for educational games to flourish.
Diner Dash update: I have had a pretty busy week with parent/teacher conferences and haven’t had much time to play, so therefore I haven’t made much progress. However, I was talking to my roommate, who is a pretty avid gamer, and she asked to download the game to her computer. She plays it much more often then me and she is already on level 28! She mentioned that she had a trial of Diner Dash on her laptop when she first got it but that ran out, so she had had some experience with the game before. Anyway, I’m not sure if the key to her success is that she had played the game before and is more of a gamer than myself, or the fact that she seems to play for longer stretches of time. She also happens to be a part-time waitress! It is funny because she said playing the game reminds her of work.
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Hi Samantha! Thanks for responding to my blog. I thought i'd return the favor =) I totally agree with you that if we, as teachers, could integrate more video games into our classroom experience then our students would definitely feel more excited about coming to school and even more eager to learn the material that may otherwise be a on the "drier" side. I also feel, like you do, that we have to monitor things very closely when we allow for more non-traditional forms of technology into our classes. Some students may see this as a means to exploit one another, the assignment, or even the technology itself. I think if we monitor it closely and play an active role, everyone can benefit from this new type of learning tool. Great blog!
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