Jiscgames

Y some teachers

Don’t computer games and perhaps why they should

Karl Royle

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Let’s not get hung up on

"Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music" -- Kristen Wilson, Nintendo Inc. 1989

They do tho, don’t they tho?• Far from turning teenagers into anti-social loners, video games help them engage with friends and

community, says a report.• The Pew Internet study of US teenagers found that few play alone and most join up with friends

when gaming.• It found that many used educational games to learn about world issues and to begin to engage with

politics.• The report also found that gaming had become an almost universal pastime among young

Americans.• The survey of 1,102 teenagers aged 12-17 revealed that 99% of boys and 94% of girls across the

socio-economic spectrum play some kind of computer or video game.• The most popular title was Guitar Hero, followed by Halo 3, Madden NFL, Solitaire, and Dance

Dance Revolution.• The study found that 52% of the teenagers played games that involved thinking about moral and

ethical issues, 43% played games in which they made decisions about how a community, city or nation should be run, and 40% played games where they learned about a social issue.

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7619372.stm A little under half of all teachers think that playing computer games can lead to young people developing antisocial behaviours. Futurelab 2009

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7619372.stm

Games in education

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How games are used in education…

Educational games

Cots

Mods

Virtual worlds

As media study

As a subject games design e.g. mission maker

As a tool for learning and curriculum planning because of them being part of the social fabric of children's lives

As a way for teachers to learn about problem based learning

Serious games



What about teachers?

35 % have already used computer games

49% think that they cause anti social behaviour

65% would consider using computer games

Why games don’t work in teaching situations but do work in learning.Caillois (2001) outlined six formal qualities of games: What’s good- what’s bad?• Freedom• Separateness (from events outside the rules) (Immersiveness )• Uncertainty of outcome• Non productiveness• Governed by rules• Make believe (not real)• Indeterminate completion time• Tendency towards complexity

Proven - Learning skills in games and games technology• Reflection

• Communication

• Hard skills

• Problem solving/ thinking

• Synthesis

• Analysis

• Metacognition

An example: Problem solvingClass room science

Situated Science in DoomEd - pedagogy of

purpose.. www.desq.co.uk/doomed

http://www.desq.co.uk/doomed

The mod is a bit short, but great though. i guess i even learned a bit 'bout chemistry and radiation! and yeah, that scene with the athmosphere, i first just turned on all of the oxygen, and thought it was done, because the speakerwoman stopped warning me. then i opened the door saw the zombies, first reaction: shotgun and BOOM the whole hall busts apart. man thats cool. maybe this is the next generation's way of school? i would dig it. learning, zombies, learning, zombies.”

Exelero (Wed 31st Jan, 2007 at 6:04:56am)

"Cheating" equals learning ?

• Internal cheats• External cheats and

independent learning strategies

• Each problem or decision point should come with further knowledge offered within a just-in-time framework, thus mirroring the world of project-based work.

Context is everything?

• ‘It’s in the Air’ Michael Wesch

So why don’t they?



The status of the technology being introduced

Technical status

Social status…good or bad ?

Learning status…



Responses to

the status of the

technology

selection of technology which had a high social status

challenging negative perceptions of a specific technology

utilisation of those with in-depth understanding of the learning potential of technologies to model to others.

movement from consideration of the technical status of the technology in isolation to recognition of the role played by its social and learning status



Capacity for innovation

Risk taking and experimentation

Leadership support

Openness and sharing

Recognition of individuals’ existing knowledge Mentoring others

Legitimisation

The degree of alignment between the innovation and the needs and concerns of

individuals and teams Meet the needs of teachers or pupils

Add to core activities of teams

Align with the overall strategic aims of organisations

Be underpinned by core educational values.

Skills, habits and leverage

for learning that crosses boundaries

• Situated literacy practices in Fifa 09

Rather than seeing games as a fun incentive for learning, some teachers viewed games as an integral part of many young people’s lives that it is the teacher’s duty to understand and to engage with in the classroom futurelab 09

Ofcom found that children’s bedrooms were increasingly becoming “multi-media centres”, with those aged 12 to 15 having at least six media devices in their rooms, including the internet, MP3 players, digital cameras and mobile phones.

Those aged eight to 11 had, on average, four devices in their rooms. Ofcom 2009

An example






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Conclusions

Teachers’ digital skills and habits

Learners’ digital skills and habits

Curriculum evolution

Moderating and mediating factors

Match and fit