Gaming in Education, Education through Gaming

I feel that incorporating gaming in education is a novel and fresh way of approaching the lesson. The fact that my group and I found this week's activities more fun since I could play games instead of racking my brains to enter stuff into the wiki at the "wiki-station" is testament to the fact that most of us would rather play then use our brain to deal with doing reports.

By providing this new platform from which the curriculum is taught, we attempt to change not only the student's perception of studying as something that takes up their play-time, but the public's opinion of gaming as something that takes up the kids' study-time. To marry both, would be a dream come through for teachers, parents and kids as everyone wins.

Jus like a trainee pilot trains for his first flight in a simulator, a student can attempt to apply what he or she has learned in the game. The opportunity cost of making a wrong decision, is simply to "die" or "fail", only to rise again to try the same activity over and over again until it is perfected. Nothing is lost and plenty of experience is gained, honing the child's abilities, strengthening their wings for the real world.


How to choose and use appropriate computer games in the classroom
(http://schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=tl&rid=1859)

The are of course minor points to look at in the use of computer games in the classrooms. I've gone to three stations so far and to be honest, I only like 2 of the games I've played. Everyone has his or her preferences, the reason why there's so many genres of games available. With such a wide spectrum to choose from, it is essential that we choose the right games for our kids. This will not only affect how receptive they are to the lesson via the game, but also how much information they are actually able to internalise from playin. That is, if they decide to play the game at all.

From the article, we see several issues raised regarding the use of gaming. I believe we have covered alot of this in our discussions. So I would just like to propose the set of keywords to look out for when selecting games for educational purpose:

1. Relevance - Is the game in line with the curriculum to be taught?
2. Cost - No money no talk. Enough said.
3. Ease of setting up - Does it take up half a room just to set up a system to play?
4. Appeal - No one is going to even want to play your game if it's not to their liking?
5. Suitability - Is the game for the right age group?
6. Ease of Play - Is it too simple of too complex? No on wants to play something that is too difficult to complete. Kids want to win.