Authors Maguth, List, and Wunderle write about the ways to integrate video games in a classroom/school environment. They mention that today’s youth is fully immersed in technology — specifically engrossed in the video game culture. Consequently, educators can use video games to enhance students’ learning experience. In general, video games require its players to problem solve and to consent adapt to new environments. The article talks about social studies teachers who used the Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings game in a seventh-grade world history class, and noticed the game’s positive impact on students’ learning. They chose to incorporate this video game into the classroom because the game addresses phenomena such as geography, perspective taking, cultural difference, and economics. In the game, players learn to build kingdoms, create armies, and defeat enemies. Teachers then ask students to reflect on their gaming experience, and to compare and contrast their experience while playing to concepts taught in the classroom. This allows students to apply and evaluate content discussed in class. In addition, author Ladson-Bilings’s article focuses on addressing the needs on African American students because she believes that they have been poorly served by schools. The teachers who contributed to Ladson-Billing’s paper taught low-income African American students and their teaching philosophies were similar; teachers functioned as learners in the classroom and encouraged their students to act as teachers. Furthermore, Ladson-Balling writes about the importance of culturally relevant teaching and describes that culturally relevant pedagogy relies on three criteria: academic success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness. Students need academic skills in order to be active participants in a democracy. Moreover, African American students should be able to express themselves freely and comfortably; for example, one teacher allows her students to use their home language while they were acquiring standard English. Finally, students should be able to critically analyze society — to be able to point out its forthcomings and drawbacks; teachers can help students achieve this by providing multiple perspectives on a variety of social and historical issues.
I appreciated reading Maguth, List, Wunderle’s article. During my K-12 education, my teachers never asked or encouraged students to play video games; in fact, teachers naturally assumed that playing video games was a hobby and gaming did not belong inside of the classroom. However, I definitely recognize video games’ positive effects on students’ learning and I firmly believe that teachers should not ignore the fact that nowadays students’ interests consists of using technology-based products. Furthermore, I think that video games could be used to compliment or reinforce the topic discussed during a lecture. For example, an teacher who discusses race and gender inequalities in the classroom, could assign his/her students to play a video game that addresses these same issues; the video game may portray the female characters as inferior to the males or less powerful than the males. Consequently, students will better understand how these crucial concepts play out in a day-to-day situation and I believe that they will naturally have the desire to participate in classroom discussions.
Questions:
- Did anyone have teachers who assigned them to play video games?
- What video games do you think have educational potential/can be used to reinforce concepts taught in a K-12 classroom?
UWP 104D 