Chapter 7 focuses on the social aspect of gaming. Players spend a lot of time in the game tyring to reach the next level. Most players today play with groups of people online. They form groups with whom they play the game. Some of the players spend more time interacting with their group members about a video game thatn they do communicating at school in small groups. In some video games, such as EverQuest, the players need each other to help them make it through each level. He shows how much information and knowledge can be gained through collaboration, communication, and networking with people in the classroom as well as connecting with others on the internet.
Again, we point to the fact that states MUST find a different way to assess student knowledge. They also need to consider that in today's very connected world, why should students memorize the formulas to calculate area, volume, and/or surface area when they could very easily find the formulas online in just a few seconds. We are stressing the importance of communication and collaboration among the students but yet we assess them in EXTREME isolation. The writer points out that learning is not only social but also distributed. In other words, more and more we let other people and even some technologies do some of our thinking for us. Again, why does the government think that students need to have all of the answers locked in their brains while they themselves will instantly turn to a computer or an intern to find the answer?? Do as I say, not as I do.
Kelly, Heather and John
Thursday, April 22, 2010
VIDEO GAMES Chapter 6
Chapter 6 focuses on how video games allow the players to choose to play the "good" or "bad" character. By doing this, the content in video games either reinforces or challenges the players' taken-for-granted perspectives on the world. One of the downsides of video games is that sometimes the player gets so "caught up" in the different perspectives that they begin to have trouble distinguishing between the real world and the game world, such as the Grand Theft Auto series.
Cultural models are images, story lines, principles, or metaphors that capture what a particular group finds "normal" or "typical". These models only capture a partial view of reality and they must be taken in the context of the situation. People can apply their own cultural model to any and every situation. Cultural models can be applied to video games as well helping the player see different aspects of the "problem". He gave the example of the 2 video games created after 9/11 both with the same "plan" but handled in very different ways.
Cultural models are images, story lines, principles, or metaphors that capture what a particular group finds "normal" or "typical". These models only capture a partial view of reality and they must be taken in the context of the situation. People can apply their own cultural model to any and every situation. Cultural models can be applied to video games as well helping the player see different aspects of the "problem". He gave the example of the 2 video games created after 9/11 both with the same "plan" but handled in very different ways.
VIDEO GAME Chapter 5
This chapter deals with a double-edged sword. To be able to learn, students need overt information. However, they often have a hard time handling it. So, they need immersion in actual contexts of practice, but they often find these experiences confusing unless they have overt information and guidance. Hmmm. Instead of choosing one over the other, we need to practice both in school. As students are immersed in experiments and problem solving, teachers should assess their progess and then give out overt information at the time the students need it. Then, the information the students learn will be useful to them. We know that students don't learn information as well when it is presented/taught out of context, so why do teachers continue to teach in isolation? Students need to see real world connections with the information they are learning. On the opposite hand, there needs to be a major shift in what information the state feels students should know and then how to assess the students, ie, box-and-whisker plots. I have an extremely hard time making a real-world connection to box-and-whisker plots that the students would find relevant.
Another key point made in this chapter concerned fundamental skills. In video games, players get to practice basic skills at the beginning of the game over and over again so they will learn them well. This is essential for game play. Players must be able to perform fundamental tasks well in order to master harder tasks later in the game. In school, students rarely get to practice a skill over and over again before moving on to harder skills. This is a key reason why students struggle with reading, writing, and math in general. Instead of immersing students in meaningful situations where they can practice a few fundamental skills over and over, we move them along through curriculum at a rapid pace. Our students end up mastering very little due to mile wide, inch deep standards. Sure, we expose them to tons of skills, but if students cannot apply them in real-world settings, have we really taught them anything?
Kelly, Heather and John
Another key point made in this chapter concerned fundamental skills. In video games, players get to practice basic skills at the beginning of the game over and over again so they will learn them well. This is essential for game play. Players must be able to perform fundamental tasks well in order to master harder tasks later in the game. In school, students rarely get to practice a skill over and over again before moving on to harder skills. This is a key reason why students struggle with reading, writing, and math in general. Instead of immersing students in meaningful situations where they can practice a few fundamental skills over and over, we move them along through curriculum at a rapid pace. Our students end up mastering very little due to mile wide, inch deep standards. Sure, we expose them to tons of skills, but if students cannot apply them in real-world settings, have we really taught them anything?
Kelly, Heather and John
VIDEO GAME Chapter 4
In general, people rely on past experiences to think about new situations. "One good way to make people look stupid is to ask them to learn and think in terms of words and abstractions that they cannot connect in any useful way to images or situations in their embodied experiences in the world. Unfortunately, we regularly do this in schools."
In school, we often teach students using generalizations. They may be asked to memorize certain words or phrases, but the students may have no idea how to actually do anything with these words. Often times, students cannot even carry on a conversation with these school terms, because all they know is a dictionary definition. Students need to be in situations where they use the information they are taught. Otherwise, it does not make sense to them, and they may never know how or why they will need it.
The author points out that when speaking with teachers about video games, he often gives them a video manual or strategy guide and asks the teachers how much they understand. The teachers often get frustrated. They can read the words, but they can't visualize the information in a way that makes sense. This is what happens to our students when we ask them to read a science textbook, for example. It's all just words. "Good" students can memorize these words and repeat them on a test, but it still does not make "sense" to the students. This is why many school children can pass test but still cannot apply their knowledge to real problem solving. We've got to make what they are learning meaningful by creating real or imagined worlds where children can have experiences to use and apply what they learn. Just like you can't learn how to cook by reading about it and watching shows on TV, you can't learn to be a scientist by reading a textbook and memorizing facts for a test.
Kelly, Heather and John
In school, we often teach students using generalizations. They may be asked to memorize certain words or phrases, but the students may have no idea how to actually do anything with these words. Often times, students cannot even carry on a conversation with these school terms, because all they know is a dictionary definition. Students need to be in situations where they use the information they are taught. Otherwise, it does not make sense to them, and they may never know how or why they will need it.
The author points out that when speaking with teachers about video games, he often gives them a video manual or strategy guide and asks the teachers how much they understand. The teachers often get frustrated. They can read the words, but they can't visualize the information in a way that makes sense. This is what happens to our students when we ask them to read a science textbook, for example. It's all just words. "Good" students can memorize these words and repeat them on a test, but it still does not make "sense" to the students. This is why many school children can pass test but still cannot apply their knowledge to real problem solving. We've got to make what they are learning meaningful by creating real or imagined worlds where children can have experiences to use and apply what they learn. Just like you can't learn how to cook by reading about it and watching shows on TV, you can't learn to be a scientist by reading a textbook and memorizing facts for a test.
Kelly, Heather and John
VIDEO GAME Chapter 3
Lessons we can learn from video games about teaching and learning:
1. Learners must be enticed to try, even if he or she already has good grounds to be afraid to try.
2. Learners must be enticed to put in lots of effort even if he or she begins with little motivation to do so.
3. Learners must achieve some meaningful success when he or she has expended this effort.
Video games provide an environment where learners can take risks, but real-world consequences are lowered. Children cannot learn in a deep way if they have no opportunities to practice what they are learning. Yet, at the same time, children must be motivated to engage in a good deal of practice if they are to master what is to be learned. However, if this practice is boring, they will resist it.
Passive learning-rather than active, critical learning-will not lead to much power and empowerment in the contemporary world, however much it may suit one for a low-level service job. Learners need to try skills that are challenging, but not "undoable."
1. Learners must be enticed to try, even if he or she already has good grounds to be afraid to try.
2. Learners must be enticed to put in lots of effort even if he or she begins with little motivation to do so.
3. Learners must achieve some meaningful success when he or she has expended this effort.
Video games provide an environment where learners can take risks, but real-world consequences are lowered. Children cannot learn in a deep way if they have no opportunities to practice what they are learning. Yet, at the same time, children must be motivated to engage in a good deal of practice if they are to master what is to be learned. However, if this practice is boring, they will resist it.
Passive learning-rather than active, critical learning-will not lead to much power and empowerment in the contemporary world, however much it may suit one for a low-level service job. Learners need to try skills that are challenging, but not "undoable."
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