ICT - Session 7

This week we played the FreeRice.com game at MxL. This is an English vocabulary game whereby 10 grains of rice is donated to the United Nations World Food Programme for every correct answer. In subsequent rounds of the game, the words were repeated and this provided the chance to correct previous mistakes that we made. FreeRice word power game will certainly challenge our students, increase vocabulary and improve pronunciation. Improvement in language skills will follow. In a way, it can be seen that ideas of charity and charitable organization are embedded and students can from this.

Learning pointers

1. Grading with Games : An Interview with James Paul Gee
(a) http://www.edutopia.org/james-gee-games-learning-video

Video games has a bright and growing future in our education system. It is especially so as it can engage our students and enhance learning through creativity and innovation. Traditional teaching methods, standardized curriculum and testing will have to be revamped to cater to the ground breaking potential of gaming and the new breed of digital-savvy students. Video games are seen as enhancing students’ problem-solving capabilities as they put them in spot and they are forced to solve. Games are also seen as a form of assessment as it also gives feedback. Assessment is not separated from learning. Students are seen as producing knowledge in gaming not just facts as they collaborate in groups and design games. Educators will have to take into account the benefits of gaming and redesign lessons that will promote students’ innovation and creative capabilities.

2. The Indiana University School of Education on students on video games.
YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv81g-bujS8

The Indiana University School of Education did a research on middle school students and found that they spend about 30 hours a week playing games. As opposed to the amount of time they spend on their homework, this is a disproportionate figure. The attraction of gaming is that students do not have to fear failing as it is on a trial and error basis. However, in education it is the front loaded system where students are provided information first followed by testing and this is daunting.

Over the past 3 weeks our game-based learning at the MxL was a fun-filled enriching and educating experience. Our class was exposed to wide-ranging experiences as we were transported to various “places” and “experiences as in Dafur, tennis court, Trauma Center, boxing ring just to name a few. Very often values and educational lessons are subtly embedded in game-based learning. It has many advantages in terms of cognitive, affective and psychomotor aspects. This cannot be delivered through the conventional way of teaching. Students learn values as they develop strategies, skills and tactics. They bond and share the fun as they learn with a group of fellow gamers. The challenge for educators is to balance the amount of fun and learning and design it such that with the appropriate teaching methodology, it benefits students.