Week2DiscussionNotes

=Week 2 Discussion Notes=

toc

cutting edge
"argue that video games incorporate cutting edge learning principles into them"

"humans learn best when the experience you're giving them is goal driven ... that is when you have goals in it. They learn best when they get lots of feedback about how they are achieving those goals in experience. And they learn best when they are asked to reflect on how their reasoning about those goals is working in the situation, for better or worse. So you've gotta give them goals, gotta give them feedback and gotta get them to reflect on is this reasoning that I'm using in the experience in order to achieve thsae goalds how's it working and you have to let them share experiences with people who are more masterful than they are, so they can compare and contrast them"

from: Games Are Good For Learning...But Not Just Because They Are Games Presenter(s): James Gee Date: 8/17/2006 Time: 9:30 AM EST http://tinyurl.com/2sox9h

Teachers/Parent - controversy
Joel Bloch (Ohio State University) asked us to discuss the controversy over the value of gaming both as a teacher and a parent. He hasn't used gaming in the classroom, but has used it extensively with his daughter since she was about 2.

I've enclosed some links to a series of lectures on gaming that I've been following.

http://mediasite.com/presentation.aspx?p=11811 http://mediasite.com/presentation.aspx?p=16702 http://mediasite.com/presentation.aspx?p=16708&slides=true&q=Gee http://mediasite.com/presentation.aspx?p=16703&slides=true&q=Gee

Rita :

if you ask students what's the worst thing about a game they'll say "being too easy", whereas if you ask them what's the worst thing about a school task, they'll answer "being too hard". Which clearly shows the difference between the motivation and the engagement games provide for kids, who will definitely demand and welcome "hard work" to beat a game. And as teachers we cannot ignore this challenge posed by games, in a school which no longer caters for the needs of a new generation, a school which does not reflect cutting-edge discoveries

Joel Bloch

Are games too difficult environments for many teachers to use? Second Life too.

What is exciting today about blogging and podcasting is that they are simple to sue so that there are lots of teachers telling lots of stories about what they are doing.

When games are as easy and inexpensive to use as blogs and podcasts, I will feel more confident that we will see interesting things happening with games.

What we see more of with gaming is having students draw on their gaming experience as part of their learning experience rather than the kind of example Graham gives about designing a language learning experience in second life.

MUVE's replace other online learning tools?
Valentina Dodge:

SL is not a game, although it is very game-like. It is known as a MUVE (multi-user virtual environment) and has the following characteristics: 3D, online and synchronous.

Will it replace the fast evolving other virtual learning tools that some of us already use on a daily basis for (online) training/teaching and learning?

The more real-like, the more physical, the more alive will I guess lead to greater degrees of engagement. So a SL language school could easily bring a course/cook book alive

The in-built flexibility means this environment will also be useful for blended learning context (personalised review/more choice/real-world extension) SL language sessions could serve to reinforce in a "playful" way, extend the classroom experience and appeal to many learning styles - all issues that other virtual environments (normally educational) are also addressing but without the benefit of the physical part

To pick up on Kristi's recent query about MUVEs. Isn't what make SL different to MUD (multi-user dimension/dungeons or whatever that stands for really) is that SL emulates real life with fantasy included but is not based on elves and dragons and the computer controls needed to " move" are less PC geeky?

Interesting article http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/012001/inservice.php

Design
Joel: Are there gender differences in how boys and girls use games and how might that affect the learning environment?

Brenda Laurel wrote a very influential article a number of years ago that the competitive nature of much of on line gaming doesn't appeal to girls and therefore they do not use the computer as much as boys. She then went out and founded a company to design games for girls.

Much has changed since then and there are many other opportunities for girls to develop an interest in technology.However, I'm still interested in the issue as a design question. I once asked a researcher whether boys who liked World of Warcraft would find Second Life engaging. She replied that she really liked WOW. But that wasn't the issue. My eight year likes compettive games but a lot of her friends don't.

Second Life may not be a game, but it shares many of the design issues that games entail, so a discussion of one is relevant to a discussion of the other.

Karen Haines:

I am curious as to the similarities and differences between a MOO and Second Life. My very basic forays into MOOs on my own have been singularly unsuccessful and yet I read how effective they are in journals, etc. Can anyone comment? Does having the graphics in SL make a huge difference? - to the learning, do you think?