I was excited by the idea of learning about Gaming in Education this week, because, like many people, I think that games can be really fun. While I can’t recall ever playing games in High School, I can imagine that it would have been an exciting addition to learning in any class. As a future teacher, I feel that gaming, when used effectively, can be a fun way to increase student motivation and help students learn or review concepts and skills. I see it as being a great way to supplement other forms of learning or create a space for students to explore concepts in context. Before using a game in a class, I would probably consider the following:
- What are students learning from this game? Both explicit content and skills as well as the “hidden curriculum”within
- What type/genre of game is most appropriate for what I want students to learn?
- What was my own experience of the game?
- How can I encourage students to think critically about the implications of this game?
- How can the game be most effectively integrated into a lesson/unit/course?
- Are there any considerations or concerns regarding accessibility or appropriateness for the chosen game?
While games can be useful for helping students learn content in a variety of courses, another way I can see myself using games in English classes is by presenting them as texts to be analyzed by students. I have seen this done in an English class during my field experience where the students were reading interactive stories (which I would describe as a type of game) before creating their own. There are video games on the shelves in this room, suggesting the use of video games as texts. Furthermore, our field experience instructors also told us about a course they are designing that combines New Media with Computer studies through video games. I think games provide lots of opportunities for learning because they are enjoyed by many students, and just like books they utilize literary and visual strategies to communicate certain themes, whether or not the reader/player realizes it. Games are most definitely a form of storytelling, and often one that affords the reader some agency over the story that is told. I think there are questions you could ask of almost any game to encourage students to analyze the way they “read” the game while they are playing it, and how the game uses specific features to engage players. Following this analysis, they could put this knowledge to use by designing or creating their own game.
Here are some example questions that I might want students to consider if I were to use the “Bad News” game in a class:
- What tone does the game employ when engaging with the reader? How does this affect how you play the game?
- What does the overall design of the game (colours, fonts, images) suggest to you?
- To what extent does the game give you choice? Does the game make you feel like you have more or less choice than you actually do in the final outcome?
- What strategies does the game use to motivate you while you are playing it?
- Does the game aim to change the reader/player? How does it do this?
- What role are you taking on in this game? How do you know? How does this make you feel?
- What story is “Bad News” telling? What values is it promoting?