Contributed by Organizations or Campuses; Articles, Papers, and Reports; Games and Gaming; and Learning
Scavenger Hunt Enhances Students' Utilization of Blackboard
| Title: | Scavenger Hunt Enhances Students' Utilization of Blackboard (ID: CSD4640) | | Author(s): | Dianne C. Jones (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater) | | Source: | The MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT) | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2006) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | Distance education courses present some unique challenges for both students and instructors. One of the first challenges students experience occurs when they try to navigate through the technology environment itself. While it is true that traditional-aged students are much more technology savvy than ever before, their acumen in technology does not ensure that they will automatically understand how to navigate a technology-driven learning environment. As students initially learn how to work in a distance education learning environment, they can become frustrated because of the time it takes to "get around." When this happens, the instructor often has to spend a great deal of time responding to a variety of trouble-shooting questions. Regardless of the distance education courseware in use or the level of sophistication with technology that a student has, problems typically surface with each new course. As a strategy for addressing this issue proactively, the author created a solution that was specifically designed to highlight the technology skills needed throughout the course. The goal was to reduce the amount of frustration that students often felt as they learned the new technology so that they could focus more readily on course content. The solution was the development of a preliminary assignment -- an on-line Scavenger Hunt -- that prompted students to learn or review all the technology-related skills they would need in the on-line course in a fun, non-threatening and purposeful way. The use of the Scavenger Hunt game has made the use of a web-based course management system, like Blackboard, less threatening for students and has significantly reduced the need for additional instructor time to deal with technology-related issues throughout the course. | | View this resource: | |
Video Games and the Future of Learning
| Title: | Video Games and the Future of Learning (ID: CSD4140) | | Author(s): | Kurt Squire (University of Wisconsin-Madison) | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2004) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | Will video games change the way we learn? We argue here for a particular view of games—and of learning—as activities that are most powerful when they are personally meaningful, experiential, social, and epistemological all at the same time. From thisperspective, we describe an approach to the design of learning environments that builds on the educational properties of games, but deeply grounds them within a theory of learning appropriate for an age marked by the power of new technologies. We argue that to understand the future of learning, we have to look beyond schools to the emerging arena of video games. We suggest that video games matter because they present players with simulated worlds: worlds which, if well constructed, are not just about facts or isolated skills, but embody particular social practices. Video games thus make it possible for players to participate in valued communities of practice and as a result develop the ways of thinking that organize those practices. Most educational games to date have been produced in the absence of any coherent theory of learning or underlying body of research. We argue here for such a theory—and for research that addresses the important questions about this relatively new medium that such a theory implies. Video games and the future of learning | | View this resource: | |
Let the games begin: Gaming technology and entertainment among college students
| Title: | Let the games begin: Gaming technology and entertainment among college students (ID: CSD3808) | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2003) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | The goal of this study was to learn about college students' use of video, computer and online games, and to determine the impact of that use on their everyday life. Surveys were randomly distributed to college students at a wide range of two-year and four-year public and private colleges and universities in the continental United States. All of those surveyed reported to have played a video, computer or online game at one time or another. Seventy percent (70%) of college students reported playing video, computer or online games at least once in a while, and 65% of college students reported being regular or occasional game players. College student gamers' reported hours studying per week were similar to those reported by college students in general. Gaming is leading today's college students toward considering interaction as a routine component of entertainment. | | View this resource: | |
Games Find Home in the Classroom
| Title: | Games Find Home in the Classroom (ID: CSD3678) | | Author(s): | Jane Wakefield (BBC) | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2005) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | According to researchers at Futurelab, a British nonprofit investigating how technology can be used for innovative learning, video games have the potential to be highly effective tools for holding students' attention and teaching them about a variety of topics. This sentiment echoes recent findings of the London Institute of Education, which said video games have educational potential. "Games teach life skills such as decision making [and] problem solving," according to Futurelab's Martin Owen. One company, Lateral Visions, saw an opportunity in the educational potential of video games and developed an auto-racing game called Racing Academy. In it, players build and maintain the cars they race, using data to try to improve their performance. The game allows players to use chat rooms to exchange information and ideas, and Owen finds this aspect of the game particularly promising for developing student learning. Futurelab researchers who have been testing the game in two secondary schools have had a positive response from most students, and the researchers have generally been supportive of using the game to enhance learning. | | View this resource: | |
Games 'deserve a place in class'
| Title: | Games 'deserve a place in class' (ID: CSD3486) | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2004) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | Researchers at the Institute of Education at London University contend that the study of computer and video games has a place in the academic curriculum just as do studies of film, television, and literature. The findings are based on a three-year study in the United Kingdom of games and their influence on education. According to Caroline Pelletier, manager of the project, "Games literacy is a way of investigating how games are means of expression and representation, just like writing or drawing." Andrew Burn, associate director of the Institute of Education's Centre for the Study of Children, Youth, and Media, called games "a legitimate cultural form that deserve critical analysis." Burn noted that, according to the study, a key element of the value of games is allowing students to create their own games. Researchers did acknowledge, however, that in the often male-dominated world of gaming, many of the girls in the study felt left out. Research fellow Diane Carr said that girls "have little motivation to play and remain disengaged." Representatives of the gaming industry praised the researchers for "intelligently" addressing the "cultural, social, and educational value of computer and video games." | | View this resource: | |
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