Another reason that I changed my opinion about gaming and social networks in the classroom was my interview with my son and a few of his friends. In talking with them I saw how passionate they were about gaming. If you could somehow get them to have the same passion about learning that would be great. Maybe incorporating gaming and social networking into their education is a way to do that. When I showed them the game on 360Ed they were really excited and said that they would love to take a history class like that. Not only was it very informative to interview my son, it was also nice to sit and talk to him for two hours about something that he was very enthusiastic about. He wanted to talk to me which is a rarity these days. Teenagers are not very much fun!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
To Game Or Not To Game
This week’s assignment was very rewarding for me. I have never been a gamer and this week reinforced that for me. I tried to get onto Second Life a couple times to no avail. I took this as a message that I am not supposed to be a gamer. I did however research the topic quite thoroughly and found that I do see how social networks and gaming could be used in the classroom. Previous to this week I would have disagreed with using either of them in an educational setting. Here is the link to the articles about World of Warcraft that helped change my mind.
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Good post. It is so enlightening to listen to our kids talk about their passions, even if they are not our particular cup of tea. This summer I spent a very frustrating few afternoons trying to learn how to play HALO on the xbox360. But my heart got a little big lighter every time my 16 year old say, "Dudes, quit shooting my mom!"
ReplyDeleteLoved the news story too! I put it in the bibliography. Although I cited it from Live Science because it appeared there first. And it sounds more "science-y" than Fox. (Although I do thank them for bringing me American Idol!)
As you know I love games. I have had some success in the classroom with Whyville.net It is an educational site that kids can use that is safe and they earn clams ($$) for playing the more educational games. Many of the activites are sponsored by major groups like NASA, and Woods Hole Oceanigraphic (sp?)Institute. Check it out.
ReplyDeleteLisa,
ReplyDeleteAn educational game that my students are very excited about is carrotsticks. It is a game developed to help improve their basic math skills, something that I feel most students need help in. They can challenge their classmates or other students online. My district is very conservative and does not allow students to communicate online so I am not sure they would allow me to use whyville but I will definitely look into it.