Saturday, November 1, 2008
Reflection Journal #9: Gaming Project
I am not much of a gamer, but every once in awhile I do find them entertaining. I never really thought of games as being very educational or mind stimulating, but doing this project really changed my perspective. While experimenting and testing out different games I realized that they really make you think and the animations or the content makes you want to keep playing. Although addiction could be a very dangerous thing, I think when it comes to educational games, being addicted for a little while couldn't be too harmful. I still don't think violent war games or violent car games are very educational but when actual math or science is involved, I believe students can learn a lot. I do feel as though teachers and parents should be very cautious of the age level and content presented in the games. In my future teaching career I think using video games to teach math could be very fun and entertaining for the students. I know that when growing up do the normal worksheets did not catch my attention for very long and even made me dread doing math. However, playing this games was very mind stimulating and grabbed my attention even as a college student. I think depending on the material and the content in the games, video games are a great way to help students learn.
Gaming Project
In our math time, we have been practicing various addition problems. As a way of using different methods to learn how to add, we will be using a computer game called Save the Apples! In this game, students must correctly answer the addition problem given in order to help the monkey cross the river with his basket of apples. If the answer is incorrect, the monkey's apples fall into the river and are eaten by a crocodile. While both entertaining to watch the animations, students should also find the challenge of saving the monkey and apples to be compelling and fun.
In a BBC News article titled, Video games 'good for you', it said that video games help to stimulate the mind and also improve vision. Researchers Shawn Green and Daphne Bavelier said, "Video game playing enhances the capacity of visual attention and its spatial distribution." Studies were done by the researchers that compared gamers versus non-gamers and the results showed that gamers had much better results in tasks that involved attention and vision. Therefore, researchers also say, "Although video game playing may seem to be rather mindless, it is capable of radically altering visual attentional processing."
5 Questions Parents May Have
1. Is there any inappropriate content?
No, the game is completely child-friendly. The content on the game directly addresses the math we have been learning in the classroom. Also, the animations on the screen are fun cartoon animations that are not at all violent or explicit. The children are helping the monkey to cross the river without getting its apples eaten by the crocodile. Even with this, the monkey and crocodile never come in contact and therefore the game does not show any violence.
2. Why does my child need to practice math using a computer game?
As studies show, when children are engaged in a game type setting and are being interactive they are able to focus better. Also, through the animations their attentions will be grabbed and thus help them to want to actually practice math. In trying to help the monkey across the river will encourage them to work through the problems and solve them correctly. This is both a fun and educational way to learn.
3. What if my child wants to play at home? Won't this get addicting?
If they want to play at home, that's great! Yes, the game could get addicting but because it's educational and they will be learning it's not a bad thing. There are tons of other educational games online, that include topics in science, reading, spelling, etc. Although they may be playing games, there is a lot of learning and brain power incorporated into them. Therefore, you shouldn't have to worry about their knowledge going to waste, because they will be using it throughout these games.
4. How much time will this take during the school day?
The good thing about this specific game we are using is that students can play for however long or short they want. We will be using this game only during our scheduled math time. However, many times we will also be doing other activities and using other ways of teaching math, not just computer games. Computer games are just one of the various methods to help students learn and to give them a different way of learning.
5. Is the content suitable for my child?
The game we will be using, along with many other games, have settings that can be altered. There are many different levels, such as easy, medium, hard, etc. that can be chosen to the student's best interest. Also, some games have timers in order to stimulate a student's mind even more. Therefore, no matter where the child may be, just beginning or a little more advanced, the game will have content suitable for each individual.
In a BBC News article titled, Video games 'good for you', it said that video games help to stimulate the mind and also improve vision. Researchers Shawn Green and Daphne Bavelier said, "Video game playing enhances the capacity of visual attention and its spatial distribution." Studies were done by the researchers that compared gamers versus non-gamers and the results showed that gamers had much better results in tasks that involved attention and vision. Therefore, researchers also say, "Although video game playing may seem to be rather mindless, it is capable of radically altering visual attentional processing."
5 Questions Parents May Have
1. Is there any inappropriate content?
No, the game is completely child-friendly. The content on the game directly addresses the math we have been learning in the classroom. Also, the animations on the screen are fun cartoon animations that are not at all violent or explicit. The children are helping the monkey to cross the river without getting its apples eaten by the crocodile. Even with this, the monkey and crocodile never come in contact and therefore the game does not show any violence.
2. Why does my child need to practice math using a computer game?
As studies show, when children are engaged in a game type setting and are being interactive they are able to focus better. Also, through the animations their attentions will be grabbed and thus help them to want to actually practice math. In trying to help the monkey across the river will encourage them to work through the problems and solve them correctly. This is both a fun and educational way to learn.
3. What if my child wants to play at home? Won't this get addicting?
If they want to play at home, that's great! Yes, the game could get addicting but because it's educational and they will be learning it's not a bad thing. There are tons of other educational games online, that include topics in science, reading, spelling, etc. Although they may be playing games, there is a lot of learning and brain power incorporated into them. Therefore, you shouldn't have to worry about their knowledge going to waste, because they will be using it throughout these games.
4. How much time will this take during the school day?
The good thing about this specific game we are using is that students can play for however long or short they want. We will be using this game only during our scheduled math time. However, many times we will also be doing other activities and using other ways of teaching math, not just computer games. Computer games are just one of the various methods to help students learn and to give them a different way of learning.
5. Is the content suitable for my child?
The game we will be using, along with many other games, have settings that can be altered. There are many different levels, such as easy, medium, hard, etc. that can be chosen to the student's best interest. Also, some games have timers in order to stimulate a student's mind even more. Therefore, no matter where the child may be, just beginning or a little more advanced, the game will have content suitable for each individual.
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