I have played games on the computer and through video games before and sometimes I do enjoy how fun they can be, but I have never been a "gamer" in the sense that I am a bit add when it comes to just sitting and playing games on a machine and I get bored quickly. I do not think games should be played for hours because I think it eventually becomes a waste of time. As far as games being considered educational I feel that it depends on the type of game and the purpose. There are some sites like National Geographic that have games that can be fun and educational both. The iPad also comes to mind and a lot of what we have on the ones we use are fun but also can contain some educational value for students. I think there is a time when you can let kids play these games because it is still reinforcing or even teaching them new ideas, but it gives them an opportunity to have some fun as well. Taking video games away from children is never going to happen, but monitoring what they are playing especially at school is a good idea and really focusing on how much time you are allowing for this type of activity is important. There is a time for fun and games and in this time as long as the teacher knows what is involved with the game a little bit of gaming would be ok for students. As teacher however we should emphasize other ways to spend time as well because you do not want your students going home and playing video games all day with no exercise or learning to play games that are not electronic.
Depending on the age of students and how creating a video game would go along with a unit you are teaching, letting them create their own game might not be an awful idea. It would be appropriate to monitor the type of game the student is creating, but if you had them make a game that went along with the unit you could have the other students in the class play them and it would be letting them use what they know and teach the other kids through their game. This would be a fun way to incorporate technology but also just to show them the amount of work and time that goes into making the games that they play. With the right supervision, planning, and tools this activity could be fun for a classroom to use.
The idea that students would be doing something in a classroom, including making a game, that a teacher would not monitor is foreign to me. I think your concerns along that line are possibly odd - but then maybe that depends on what "monitor" means.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, you are right on target that games would have to be supervised, if they were used in an educational context. I appreciate your openness to the possibility of using games in your classroom.
In general, the way I see game use unfolding through using game design in developing educational programs, rather than extensive use of existing commercial games.
Time will tell. Watch to see how it develops. :-)