(I started to respond to Dr. Shea’s post in a comment, but this ended up much longer than what I initially planned so I am making it a separate post. Sorry for the novel!)
I wouldn’t say that I’m opposed to using video games for educational purposes, but I do have hang-ups and I can understand why a lot of current teachers in our classroom expressed skepticism yesterday.
First of all, video games are not ready resources (at least for me) to integrate into my lessons, whereas films, tv shows, magazines and commercials are. I have a personal stash of movies and magazines, a Netflix account, access to Youtube and Hulu, and a dvd player in my classroom, as well as the ability to pull up websites on a large screen presenter. However, I do not have a gaming system nor am I an avid gamer. (For the first time I have been playing Mario Brothers on Wii in the past couple weeks, 5 years after everyone else! J ) It would take a lot of extra work for me to get to a point of comfortableness introducing something like video games into my classroom, whereas integrating film, television and advertisements would come much more naturally for me. I consume that type of media in my free time and have figured out lots of creative ways to use it in my teaching through taking this class. I also think that these other types of media have more universal appeal to my students. I can’t say the same for video games, but it’s not that I dislike them or don’t think they have a place. Plus, I am excited that some of my students who are gamers can gain literacy skills outside of my classroom. For me, that was the takeaway from reading these articles.
I also have hang-ups from a practical standpoint. My school district would never provide me with video game equipment or even software to create video games on the laptops I have in my classroom. I have enough trouble getting the textbooks I need. Then there is the issue of how I would use video games in a lesson or unit. One of the articles mentioned that video games can be used for educational purposes, in the sense of playing a game that introduces or deals with school-related content. (This is what I guess Oregon Trail would qualify as.) So, would I then introduce my students to a game that relates to English content or skills, have them each play on their own during class, and sit back grading tests? I just can’t conceive of this being the best way to use such limited class time. The article then presented the case study of an 8th grade class that made their own video game, which helped them learn narrative structures. I am certainly not opposed to this type of activity, but I would be hard-pressed to find time to fit a unit like that in the school year. None of this would matter anyway unless I had ready-access to the software for designing the game to begin with. So I guess my attitude towards video games is: not for my classroom, at least for right now.
If other teachers responded passionately about this it is because we have to draw the line somewhere, and this might mean that we have to draw the line at something that could be great, but isn’t for us right now. I don’t know if I speak for everyone when I say this, but as English teachers, we are the go-to people for any new program, fad, or idea. In the 6 years I have taught, my department has been on the receiving end of every new mandate that comes down the pike. This isn’t to say that other departments don’t get mandates, too, but everyone assumes that English teachers are the natural choice for everything new because we teach the most important skills: reading and writing. Nearly everything can be tied to reading and writing somehow, whereas connections to other disciplines can’t be made as easily. So, my department has been the first in line to integrate technology (Classrooms for the Future), integrate career standards, integrate character education, include a separate PSSA unit that reinforces the skills we struggle with on the PSSA, create common assessments, create lessons that use the Smartboard etc., etc., etc. This is not to say these aren’t great things, but this definitely detracts from a unified English experience where we focus exclusively on teaching the skills students really need. The more things that get added, the more things (and usually the most basic things) get taken away. I would have trouble using something new like video games just for the sake of using them. I have no problem trying out new ideas (I would be a bad teacher otherwise), but I resent novelty for the sake of novelty alone. Show me that video games are the best way to accomplish teaching specific skills to the largest amount of students, and I will be the first one to sign up. As teachers, we have to make choices about how to use our very precious and limited time with our students while also maintaining our professional responsibilities. For some of us, this might mean saying “no” to video games.
If someone offered me free software for my classroom and training on how to use it, I would have no trouble giving video games a try. In the meantime, I could see a great benefit to using or creating video games in a different subject area, like technology education or computer class. In my mind, it would actually seem more appropriate in those classes. If reading and writing skills are so important and video games could help students attain literacy, then English teachers shouldn’t be the only targeted audience for pleas on integrating them.
Perhaps we need to think in a different way about schooling. Instead of worrying about test scores and how it "fits", perhaps we should ask ourselves why are our students so disengaged with learning in our classes and how can we change that, especially if we want them to be prepared for the challenges of the 21st Century? Their future look to be more technological than ours and if we don't give them the tools and empowerment to succeed in that world, are we not failing them?
ReplyDeleteMaybe it would mean starting by merely valuing their video game worlds by referencing them in our class and allowing them to do alternative writing that could involve creating a video game or a film or any number of media texts. As we develop confidence and clout, we can then convince our schools to invest in resources that would support these literacies. Rachel's story of learning to read through video games is powerful and there are many more like hers that are often overlooked and ignored. I don't think we can ignore these powerful ways of learning and thinking anymore.
Here's a link to another book on gaming that you may find interesting and relevant: Reality is Broken: Why Video Games Make us Better and How they Can Change the World http://www.amazon.com/Reality-Broken-Games-Better-Change/dp/1594202850
Danielle - I agree with your argument wholeheartedly. I feel the same way about the lack of resources, time, and experience.
ReplyDeleteTim - I do think that you bring up a valid point that curriculums have to shift gears to meet our students' needs, which transpire in the technologically-saturated 21st Century. I just completed a Ed Psych class that emphasized the importance of finding students' interests and building on them. Yes, video games would be an example of this. However, I think a lot of leg-work and collaboration would have to ensue before we see video games being implemented into the secondary classroom...
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great novel (haha)... In all seriousness though, you made some valid points. A lot of us are very familiar with film, TV, and the media, that we can really see ourselves incorporating it into our curriculum. I think I am so skeptical because I do not know the first thing about video games (except the old school Mario Brothers). I guess it depends on what you know and what you have access too.
However, I was so shocked when Rachel told us about her dyslexia and how videos games truly helped her overcome this challenge. I guess I never looked at them to do such a thing for a young student...and it is necessary to incorporate whatever we can into our curriculum that is going to benefit our students.
I am still not sure where I stand with video games. I would definitely need training and some more questions answered. I think they would definitely appeal to our young males and probably a lot of females as well, but I have such a hard time with the rationales on film (I think I make them harder than they are), that I would not know where to start with a rationale on a video game.