Friday, 5 April 2013

GAMES, SIMULATIONS AND VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS FOR LEARNING



       Squire (2011) defines games as ‘ideological worlds’ in that they instantiate ideas through implicit rules and systems and differ from simulations in that they give roles, goals and agency: elicit fantasies and design experiences to manage complexity and learning. Games are fun and engaging and promote learning and community. In addition, they develop levels of intrinsic motivation in learners as a result of the reward systems they have in place. Two educational games that can be integrated in the delivery of the lessons to enhance learning are Mind Maps and Scrabble.

MIND MAPS (www.mindtools.com).
            Mind Maps software can be manipulated and build by the instructor and created according to subject area. These help learners take notes, brainstorm complex problems, and think creatively (www.mindtools.com). In addition it enhances collaboration and lengthens attention span of the learners involved. Learners become organizers, taking action meanwhile being creative and productive.  Squire asserts that meaning making games are ‘productive in that players constantly construct goals, strategies and theories about the game system.’ Mind Maps epitomizes what a good educational game should be as it aligns itself with the characteristics outlined by Squire (2011). These include ‘players employ academic knowledge and understanding as tools for action, encourage community of learners (social interactions) where learners assist others, acknowledge different perspectives and inspire creativity (Squire, 2011).’ This game would be integrated in my lesson for learners studying essay writing. Learners will collaborate in this game to build body paragraphs for various topics of interest.

SCRABBLE  (http://www.merriam-webster.com/game/scrabble.htm)
            The word game scrabble offered online by merriam – webster.com promotes collaboration among learners. The game improves learners’ thinking and problem solving skills and promotes creativity. In addition, it increases the attention span of learners and as a language builder, build learners’ vocabulary and communication skills. I would incorporate this game as a culminating activity at the end of a lesson. Learners will create their word and give an example of how it is used in a sentence. This not only demonstrates that the learner knows a word but also that he or she understands the context in which it is used.
 
REFERENCES
Mind Maps (2013). Retrieved from www.mindtools.com
Scrabble  (2013). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/game/scrabble.htm
Squire, K. (2011). Video games and learning: Teaching and participatory culture in the digital
         age. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

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6 comments:

  1. Carolyn Hesher5 April 2013 at 17:06

    Hi Natasha - I appreciated your post and summary of Scrabble. I am a huge Scrabble fan! I have a copy of the game on my desktop, and play it frequently just to relax :) You know, with the focus on technology in education, I wonder if others sometimes forget that the simple 'card, board, and word' games that many of us grew up with, are still very good educational tools. I love word games, and have multiple variations of them on my computer, and in card and board game forms that I still play.

    As an educator, I might use Scrabble in an ESL class to teach the language through sight recognition of words. An idea for a 'twist' on this game (in board form) for ESL students, could be to cover Scrabble tiles with pictures of objects, and ask students to form links of objects that go together. This could help with comprehension and learning context also.

    Thanks for a great post!

    Carolyn H.

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    1. Nsel7 April 2013 at 20:27

      Hey Carolyn,

      You are welcome. Indeed sometimes we forget the simple games such as scrabble and boggle as we embrace technology in education. I like your idea on a twist on the game because I do believe this will enhance students' learning to a great extent.

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  2. Unknown6 April 2013 at 11:57

    Hi Natasha,

    Scrabble is a great game to use in the classroom. It is a fun game that learners can work in groups to create words. Learners will be building thier vocabulary and I like the idea of testing learners knowledge of the words by giving examples. I can see myself using this game in my future adult English language course.

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    1. Nsel7 April 2013 at 20:31

      Hi Duwed,

      I am glad you see the benefits this game will bring to you and your learners. I too plan to visit the website often and see how best I can integrate this apps into the teaching learning experience. Wishing you all that is good.

      Natasha

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  3. Anonymous7 April 2013 at 15:50

    Hi! Scrabble is definitely a great way to learn new vocabulary! I would also make sure they understood all of the words they played with through reviewing the words after they had played. Then I would try and reinforce any ten words they could remember from studying over the time period before the final and have them write down the ten words and use them in a sentence. The recommendation for using scrabble as a tool to help with vocabulary skills and social skills is a great one! Thanks for remind us that seemingly simple games like Scrabble do a world of good as an education tool!

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    1. Nsel7 April 2013 at 20:34

      Hi Yvonne,

      Thanks for sharing other great ideas on how to integrate scrabble in the teaching learning experience. I really appreciate it.

      Natasha

      Delete

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