Multiliteracies in ELA Classrooms

Blog post #2

My sister’s fiancé is a serious, serious gamer. He has friends he socializes with more online, in Ventrilo, than he does face-to-face, and when he does see his friends in person it is frequently to play games beside each other in LAN parties. He becomes so engrossed in these alternate realities that he even forgets to eat. Admittedly, I have tsk-tsked and haughtily wagged my finger at his hobby, wondering why he doesn’t do something more worthwhile. After reading this article, I began to question what I mean by “worthwhile”. Why do I consider the hours he spends on games to be a waste of time, especially after this article outlines all the different kinds of learning that occurs in gaming.  I then asked my husband what he thought about it, and we talked about how he enjoys games, but feels like it’s a waste of time because he has nothing tangible to show for all the hours he put into this virtual reality. At the end of the day, there’s no short story written, or pictures from a day outside, or a drawing in a sketchbook. Why did he and I both consider learning, in which there is no concrete end-product, a waste of time?

In my practicum school, the teachers were frequently frustrated because the students in the school were overall very mark-hungry. Many of the students in the school only cared about getting an “A”, but showed complete disregard for the learning that needed to happen in the process. I was a lot like these students growing up. I worried and stressed about my report card and so did my parents. I could work hard in a class and only manage to get a “C”, but that “C” would not be as highly regarded to my parents as a class in which I put in very little effort to get an “A”. To them and to me, the end product was more important that the mistakes and successes I encountered along the way. A quote in this article that resonated with me was “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 everyday, when and if they are playing these games reflectively and strategically?” (37). I think this question is really important because schools do need to make learning more game-like, in emphasizing that learning is fun and the end result not as important as the process.

Blog Post #2

The Gee article “Good Video Games and Good Learning” presents the value of video games in a new light.  Gee explains that the value of video games lies not in the games themselves, in their potential for educational application, or in their explicit educational content.  Instead, the value of video games to education is how we as teachers can apply game-like qualities to enrich the classroom.

Gee suggests that “good” games are constructed based on 16 different principles.  These principles are included as follows: identity, interaction, production, risk taking, customization, agency, well-ordered problems, challenge and consolidation, “just in time” and “on demand” instructions, situated meanings, a pleasantly frustrating tone, encouragement of systemic thinking and exploration, smart tools and distributed knowledge, the cross-functionality of teams, and a focus on performance before competence.

Of these principles I am most interested in the concept of encouraging students to take risks and focus their efforts on performance before competence.  Gee writes that “school too often allows much less space for risk, exploration, and failure” (35).  The format of video games allows students to explore that which they know and apply it immediately in a relevant context.  Students are focusing on the process and their performance in the game, and how to use what they have learned while playing the game to further explore and eventually succeed.  Failure then, is a necessary and valuable part of the process, and the process requires an understanding of the value of failure to gaining competency.  For students this lessens the fear of risk-taking, and as a consequence, lessens their fear of failure.

The second of these principles that I find intriguing is the idea of customization.  Gee writes, “Players can usually, in one way or another, customize a game to fit their learning and playing styles. Games often have different difficulty levels, and many good games allow players to solve problems in different ways… Customized curricula in school should not just be about self-pacing, but about real intersections between the curriculum and the learner’s interests, desires, and styles” (35).  This is not to say that students have to completely select their own content, and the public school system is constructed completely of individualized learning plans.  But instead, students have a say in their own learning process while exploring important aspects of the curriculum.  In addition, students should be able to voice their concerns regarding whether or not they feel they are able to effectively explore the curriculum and content utilizing their own learning styles.

Third, I am interested in the concept that Gee presents regarding “just in time” and “on demand” instructions.  According to the article, “People are quite poor at dealing with lots of words out of context; that is why textbooks are so inefficient” (36).  In contrast, video games provide instructions or relevant information exactly when players require it.  The article explains that people learn best when they can relate and apply new information in an experiential context.  Scaffolding of information is highly effective in this way, as it is provided only in relevant contexts.  Students then, are not over-loaded by too much frontloading, and instead are able to apply relevant information as they are given it; thus strengthening their connection to the material.

Finally, as an added point, I think it would be beneficial if we extended this to utilize cross-disciplinary subject matter.  The recommended article by de Castell “Digital Games for Education: When Meanings Play,” suggests that examining games such as Contagion, which simultaneously explore technology, biology, medical, human and social science, not only encourages interdisciplinary lessons, but also fosters collaboration between educators across subject areas.

My group and I are curious about how the elements presented in Gee’s article can and/or have been applied into modern classrooms.  Furthermore, we are curious about the following questions:

1. What kind of effects do video games have on our students?
2. What kind of effects do video games have on the 21st Century classroom?
3. In your teaching experience, have you been able to bring gaming technology or principles into your classrooms?
4. Would it be beneficial for students to have as much input into their own learning, as they do in the context of a video game?  Are there any repercussions?

 

 

Works Cited:

de Castell, S., Jenson, J., & Taylor, N.  (2007).  Digital Games for education: When Meanings Play.  Situated Play, DiGRA Conference, Tokyo, Japan.  590-599.

Gee, J.  (2005).  “Good Video Games And Good Learning.”  Phi Kappa Phi Forum, 85.2, 33-37.

 

By: Christa Wolbers

Though James Gee, in his article, Good Video Games and Good Learning, argues that video games and learning should come together, rather than be viewed as two contrasting dichotomies, it is not to say that we, as teachers, should physically bring video games into the classroom. Instead, what Gee argues is that we should bring the practices that “gamers” utilize while playing video games, and harness these practices within the classroom, thus encouraging students to treat their learning with the same focus and skill that they would the games that they play at home.

In bringing about “gaming practices” into the classroom, Gee suggests a number of focus areas that video game practice and classroom practice share:

Identity:

In starting a new video games, a gamer will assume a ‘new’ identity within the game, whether it is already a pre-established character, such as Snake from Metal Gear Solid (Gee, p. 34) or build their character (i.e. name, attributes, abilities) from scratch, as in games like Mass Effect and World of Warcraft (Gee, p.34). If we were to adapt this to the classroom, as teachers, we should be encouraging students to explore their identities as a learner, a person, and a student. In doing so, it allows students to become more comfortable with who they are in the classroom.

 

Interaction:

 As a gamer plays the game, they will interact with the world (i.e. characters, environments, etc.) and in turn the world will provide them with feedback. As such, the gamer becomes fully engaged with the game’s world as the game progresses and allows the gamer feel as if they are a part of the actually game world itself. Hence, Gee argues that by encouraging students to engage with their textbooks in the same way (i.e. providing ‘real world’ contexts to the material in the textbook), it allows a back and forth interaction with the written text and the material they are engaging with.

 

Production:

In larger world games (i.e. Role Playing Games or Massive Multiplayer Online), gamers are actually producing and adding to the game’s world, creating new content in the form of characters, narrative, and physical spaces (i.e. buildings, structures, etc.). And, in some cases, gamers can even modify or ‘mod’ a game to such an extent that they create a new games (i.e. Valve’s Half Life was modified into a new game called Counter-Strike, both of which are hugely successful).  If we, in turn, encourage our students to contribute to the content that we are teaching to them (i.e. allowing students to provide feedback on course content), then it allows students to feel like they are more a part of the class.

 

Risk Taking:

This particular value, which Gee argues is seen more so in games than in the classroom (Gee, p. 35), is a really important one to focus upon. While gamers are willing to take more risks in the games that they play, because there are either no repercussions and the gamer is rewarded for such an act, in the classroom, the student is instead punished for taking risks. Hence, I think it is important that as teachers we encourage our students to take risks with their learning so that they may explore more than just one path of education.

 

Customization and Agency:

Tying into the value of production, Gee states that gamers can often customize their characters within games, particularly in role playing games, developing every minute aspect (i.e. hair/eye colour, personality, voice, etc.). In this regard, I think it is important that we allow students the opportunity to customize their curricula to an extent, as I mentioned in ‘production’.

This is not to say that they develop the entire course themselves, but that when creating the curricula of a course, we allow the process to be two-way, with interaction between student and teacher. By doing so, we are allowing students to feel a sense of agency over their education and learning, something that Gee argues is very uncommon within the classroom. (Gee, p. 36)

 

Well-ordered Problems; Challenge and Consolation; and “Just-in-time” and “On Demand:

 In any game, the player will engage countless problems and challenges along the way, whether it is a puzzle or a moral dilemma (i.e. Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead: Season One). However, regardless of these challenges, gamers are able to solve these challenges/problems because the game instinctively prepares gamers to face them as the game progresses. (Gee, p. 36) It does so by providing the gamer with “just-in-time” instruction, requiring gamers to act in a hands-on way. Or, it will sometimes provide games with “on demand” cues, or ‘hints’, to allow gamers to learn as they go along. By doing so, gamers on continually developing newer skills without necessarily realizing it.

In regards to the classroom, Gee argues that we should provide a constant challenge to our students, but also provide them with the skills and materials that they need throughout. (Gee, p. 36) In doing so, we are, as educators, utilizing the “zone of proximal development”, and encouraging our students to slowly step outside of their ‘zone of comfort’ and to develop new skills to face newer challenges without burdening and/or scaring them with these challenges.

 

Performance before Competence:

 The final argument that Gee makes is that in video games, the gamer is given the ability to perform an action before they are competent (i.e. being able to jump before being told how to), hence encouraging gamers to experiment with their character and its abilities before properly knowing how to. (Gee, p.37) Yet, in education, we require our students to be fully competent before we allow them the opportunity to perform an action within their field (i.e. students must go through the scientific method before conducting an experiment). Though we cannot necessarily allow students the opportunity to perform an action in their field of study before being fully competent, we can at least show them real world examples of such.

 

Though I went into Gee’s article expecting ways to incorporate video games into the classroom, I realize that it is not necessarily an effect practice to do. Yet, I do agree with Gee that if we could attempt to harness the focus and practice that gamers use while gaming and apply it to the classroom, then we can allow students to be more engaged with their learning and how they actively participate with their education.

 

Christopher Knapp – Blog Entry #2

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

Blog post #2 – Catherine Howes

In our classrooms, our students are spending countless hours playing video games. The media has attacked video games and presented them as mind numbing pieces of visual vomit that can affect the violence level of children. This, however, is a very narrow view of the possibilities of video games. Video games in essence are a form of interactive escapist fiction. Many have storylines options that allow the character to participate in episodes or chapters that must be completed before the story can progress. This allows students who have difficulty with the written word a way of interacting with fiction in a way that is tactile and understandable. Video games work when they, like novels, are able to pull the reader/user into the story when they have a certain amount of believability.

Many video game developers are coming out with games that are very similar to the choose your own adventure books that were once featured in my elementary school library. Each user/player is able to “write” their own version of the story and have their own experience with the material. Examples of these types of video games include:

Bioshock

–       You decide whether or not you want to harvest characters called little sisters who contain ADAM in them, which gives you super human strength. The ending of the game is dependent on your choices in the game

Skyrim

–       You choose a character and then choose their:

• race
• faction (gives certain diplomatic advantages)
• appearance
• gender
• skills

–       Each player has his or her own unique experience with the game.

Fallout 3

–       At the very beginning of the game you decide what kind person you want to be a good person or a bad person in the game

• Good: Meet the sheriff, disarm the nuke
• Bad: Meet a stranger who tells you to blow the nuke up

–       Each decision has it’s own advantages and disadvantages

Through these different games, you can see how the game customizes itself for the user/reader. Much like no two readers have the same experience reading the same book, neither do the users have the same experience playing the game.

Video games can also be a great tool in the classroom by looking at different aspects of video games. Some discussion questions include:

–       How do video games market themselves?

• Who are their intended audience and what clues from commercials can tell you whom the game is designed for?

–       What does this video game tell us about a society?

• Why do we have these types of video games?
• Do the games hold the same values that we as a society do?

–       What types of archetypes can you find in the games?

• How does the game play with these archetypes and are their examples that you could link to real world people?

–       Can you plot a video game on a Freytag pyramid?

–       What types of foreshadowing can you see in video games to predict future events?

–       How does the P.O.V change how you perceive the game and your connection to it as a reader/player?

–       What types of characters do you find in the game? Are they flat, round, or stereotype? Are they dynamic or static?

Video games have also been adapted to film. You could watch a walkthrough of a game and compare it to the film version. What does the film keep? What does it take away? Is the film able to capture the essence of the video game? Why or why not? This could be used to help their critical thinking skills by looking at the storyline in the video game and piecing together the different aspects of it that are similar to a novel.