Learning through gaming - Conclusion

What have I learned through gaming?

I believe I have learned an enormous amount about myself, my children and how children learn in general. I have walked in their shoes and have experienced the emotions they do albeit in a more conscious manner.

Frustration:
In a classroom, a teacher will try to make students feel at ease and make the learning environment as pleasant as possible. A teacher will attempt to tap into all the different learning styles and use as many senses as possible. I have now encountered psychosocial moratorium. I have reached a level of risk that I would otherwise never been able to handle. I am going beyond my comfort and safety zone. What if I could create such an environment for my students? Would their learning be:
- more memorable
- deeper
- placed into long-term memory storage
- be seen as fun, not learning but be actual valid learning

Time on task:
In classrooms, time is very valuable. Many skills must be taught. Every activity must relate back to specific goals, related back to curriculum, related back to the Core Content Standards. Time matters. Every task has a purpose and must be accomplished in an efficient time frame. Class time cannot be wasted, it is too valuable.
Was the education I received from Sims 2 Deluxe valuable and worth the time I put into it?
I found it very difficult to find the time to play the game. The learning curve was huge in the beginning, but became smaller as I did more research and raised my confidence (= got help). In the back of my mind, I game myself a time frame to accomplish progress. In the end, I progressed and arrived to a point of comfort in the game. I felt my time on task was worthwhile.

Adults and gaming:
Gaming has tremendously changed over the past ten years. Now the gaming industry targets different groups. Today, games target athletes, girls, adult males, adult females and the elderly. Now gaming affects more social groups and age groups in our society. What is the effect of gaming on adults?

In the past, my opinion of gaming was that it was a waste of time. Now that I have actually attempted to play a game (for more than 5 minutes) and to understand how the game worked, I have a different appreciation for gaming. I now see gaming a relaxation tool, similar to television. What is the value of relaxation to an adult? In the adult world of schedules, work and home life, adults take very little time for relaxation, or personal time. Why? Mostly because there is always one more thing to do…..laundry, run to the pharmacy, check email, pay bills, go to a sporting event, walk the dog, …………….
Adults can greatly benefit from relaxation and escaping the “real world”. I stand corrected, playing video games (hand held, computer or platform) can help a person relax and ground themselves.

Learning:
It is always important to be an active learner/student. Students learn in many different ways, and by different means. Is it important for students to know they are learning?
In my opinion, it does not matter if they know they are learning at all times. Proof is, learning in video games is unnoticed.
I learned there are innumerous "unofficial" resources among children, on the web, in the bookstore, etc... Do we use them in schools? Actually, most schools block these sources and how many teachers allow students to use each other as resources? Many are adapting though.


Education and gaming:
Education is constantly changing. The era of sitting in rows and working individually has given way to work stations in the back of the classrooms (centers), lit circles, and enormous amounts of group work, where students learn from each other. It can be concluded that gamers have much success in this type of classroom setting because gaming is based on many of the concepts. Through socialization, gamers improve. An argument can be made that not all students are gamers. However, gaming has changed greatly in recent history. Gaming platforms are changing, targeting the athlete and the girls, whereas 20 years ago, non-athletic boys were targeted. A large amount of children across social groups and ages are gaming now.

There are many differences in education compared to 10-20 years ago. Today, many children have behavioral (anxiety, depression), education, social issues and physical limitations. Gaming allows children to start a game on an equal plane. A non athletic child can win an Olympic race. An athletic child can win at Big Brain Academy. A child can defeat or outperform a parent. Children succeed in games where they might not in the “real world”.

I believe that if teachers looked at the core of gaming and the skills required to succeed in gaming, they would be able to reach children that they would otherwise never reach.
As a teacher, I have found that understanding the processes of gaming has helped me understand my students. I have found, over my 12 years of teaching, that students have changed. I have found that students:

- are unable to understand time parameters
- don’t aim for perfection on first try
- expect to take “retakes” on assessments
- want to be entertained
- do not see the need for ongoing studying
- only do required work, they do not over and beyond

The reality is that students are still expected to reach a level of mastery in the various subjects. Proof of this is grades are still assigned; reading levels determined and state standards are still enforced by establishing Core Content Standards and by having students take state assessments.

Obviously gaming cannot be blamed for all difficulties in education. However knowing about gaming explains many behaviors in students. In games, it is always possible to start over if a gamer is unsatisfied with the way the game is going. Also, gamers pause the game, as often as needed, for many reasons: to do more research, to do other activities, to get help, etc…Then, the gamer picks up where he/she left off, renewed, recharged and better informed. While gaming, it is very easy to lose track of time. I was shocked to see that I had spent 3 hours gaming on a Saturday night. My shock was not only “real time” passing, but I had time reference in my game! My Sim had already gone to work for a week, thrown a party, learned how to cook meals, slept…things that in real life would have taken more than 3 hours. Time perception is altered in gaming. How can children adapt to real time when each game has a different form of time?
I am still trying to understand why students do not understand the need for studying? I am not “blaming” gaming, but I think that by looking at gaming, the environment where most children spent the majority of their time outside of school, can give a clue as to why students don’t think to study or review notes? I have found that children do not see the research they do as real “research”. When I tried to explain to my children that by talking to each other and looking up cheats they were researching they disagreed.
My conclusion: the key to learning is to not know you are learning. Make learning fun and interactive and children will succeed.

This school year, one of my goals was to add more “games” to my curriculum. Why? I found that certain students weren’t studying, something extremely necessary in a World Language classroom. Albeit my games were made of paper, Velcro or resembled “jeopardy”, students experienced success and had fun. Grades improved and the end product was that students, who in the past had been unsuccessful, were now able to converse, write and progress in French.

Some might argue that instead of instilling value and strict teaching techniques I am giving in and using an easy way out. To those I say: “What is my goal?” My goal is for my students to succeed. I am still encouraging them to study, and my standards are the same. I have not changed my tests. I continue to discuss study methods, additional resources, etc… However, in modern times of multiple social activities for students (including gaming) I have found a way for students to succeed by using skills that they excel in.

Conclusion:
It is important to look at the structure of gaming and its benefits. Gaming encourages children to be creative and thoughtful. Gaming encourages children to think outside the box, not simply follow rules. Gamers succeed by breaking rules, finding alternate outcomes, pushing the limits. As technology pushes us to re-invent ourselves as a society, gamers already understand where we are going and are adaptable. Had I not had the experience of gaming, I may have become a dinosaur in a world I didn’t understand. Now, I understand that some discomfort is acceptable, if not encouraged. By embracing the challenge of gaming, I am opening myself to learning from a student, who is the “sage” in the gaming world. I accept role reversal and challenge what I believed to be the norm. Gaming has made me more adaptable as a person, parent and teacher.