Multiliteracies in ELA Classrooms

I really enjoyed the article “Good Video Games and Good Learning.” (Throwback: Oregon Trails! You have died of dysentery.)  I think Gee outlines a number of great reasons to support the value of integrating video games into the curriculum.

I completely with Gee, who writes, “school too often allows much less space for risk, exploration, and failure” (35). We have talked about risk-taking in various courses in the Education program. It is essential that teachers support students in taking chances. Video games encourage learning from mistakes; when you fail at a level within a game, you try something different, you persevere until you succeed.

At the end of the article, Gee poses a question to the reader: “How can we make learning in and out of school, with or without using games, more game-like in the sense of using the sorts of learning principles that young people see in good games every day, when and if they are playing these games reflectively and strategically?” (37).

I found an article on edutopia that considers this question. “A Neurologist Makes the Case for the Video Game Model as a Learning Tool” outlines benefits of video games, because of the release of dopamine, and how to use these benefits in education. Judy Willis states that modeling the classroom like a video game and, thus, providing opportunities for “incremental progress feedback at students’ achievable challenge levels pays off with increased focus, resilience, and willingness to revise and preserve toward achievement of goals” (Willis).

It is really fascinating to consider the ways our students’ brains could benefit from both incorporating video games and also adapting our classrooms to make learning more like playing a game.  Willis writes, “When learners have opportunities to participate in learning challenges at their individualized achievable challenge level, their brains invest more effort to the task and are more responsive to the goals” (Willis). If they are given the opportunity to work towards “desirable goals within their range of perceived achievable challenge… [they can] reach levels of engagement much like the focus and perseverance we see when they play their video games” (Willis). Not only can our students learn from playing video games, but we can also learn from the way video games engage our students.

When I taught ESL in Okinawa, I used modifications of TV game shows and video games in the classroom. I remember playing a version of Jeopardy on the blackboard in school. Now, technology allows us to do so much more; creating my own version of ESL Super Mario (on power point… my tech skills are moderate, at best) was definitely a highlight of teaching in Japan, especially when I saw my students engage with the material.

My last thought, in reference to something I just read on Cat’s post about video games adapted into film. On my practicum, student’s had the option to create anything they wanted for their final project, as a way to demonstrate their learning. I had 2 boys create a video game commentary (they recorded themselves playing the game and talking about things they saw, relating it to their topic). They were not in love with the project at the beginning but when video games came into the picture, they were engaged and went above and beyond the expectations for the assignment.

Works Cited:

Gee, J. (2005). Good Video Games and Good Learning. Phi Kappa Phi Forum, 85(2), 33-37.

Willis, J. (April 14 2011). A Neurologist Makes the Case for the Video Game Model as a Learning Tool. Edutopia.

Sarra, Blog Post #2