Gaming experience – Does it really shape cognition?
I would not say I had direct personal learning experience with digital game-based learning within an educational setting but rather from games bought by my family with which I interacted. Most of the games required pattern sequencing. Other than that there were mainly nintendo games from which I would say I learnt strategy, paying attention to clues and memory recall of experiences from previous levels or attempts and applying them in future instances for success. Whether or not I transferred knowledge is not clear however I could say that that coupled with my dance experience, which offered me abstract as well as organisational, process and logical constructs, developed my approach to educational tasks. Experience with other realworld games strategy based board games resulted in the same (monopoly, risk, battleship).
I approach not just educational but also life situations using skills highlighted above so I question did my gaming experience really shape cognitive strategies?
In my teaching experience I employed the use of a jeopardy game to review and deliver content. It was computer-based and was very successful in adding difference to the methodology as well as it was fun and interactive. However, for it to shape cognition I think much more has to be employed in gaming design and use within curriculum/instruction.
Kerry-Ann
Posted in: Week 05: Game-Based Learning
hall 6:07 pm on October 8, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Your post is an interesting; it caused to think of all those days as youth when I spent late night playing games. Also I remember going my friend’s house after school to play Nintendo games which caused me to get into trouble with my parents.
I have used jeopardy game to review and deliver content as you have done and I found it were useful.
khenry 7:25 pm on October 8, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Conroy,
I wonder at the transference from these activities and therefore the level of theoretical knowledge and application required for effective design to realise desired interaction and transference. As I mentioned, regarding your comment to David B’s post, I was not as hooked on Tetris yet I enjoyed Math and Science. I appreciate it more now. I can’t help but wonder if the design of the user interface was just not appealing to me at that age. So many elements and levels to consider! In Prensky’s paper on Digital natives Digital Natives he talks of how design an content must marry to suit users ‘The professors had made 5-10 minute movies to illustrate key concepts; we asked them to cut them to under 30 seconds. The professors insisted that the learners to do all the tasks in order; we asked them to allow random access’
Kerry-Ann