Video Games in
Education:
Why They Should Be Used
and How They Are Being Used
Leonard A. Annetta,
2009
The article discusses
two fundamental questions raised by educators, teachers, students, and families
regarding implementing video games in classrooms: is the classroom ready? Are
teachers and
administrators ready?
The author provides a
brief history about using video games in the classroom. It was started around
2003, and the series of that games was known as serious games to
fulfill the need of Net Generation (i.e. students). Annetta
shows examples of educational video games: Immune Attack, Food
Force, Discover Babylon, Quest Atlantis. After that the
author describes what some of
the new literacies that
contribute to 21st century skills might look like such as
Play, Performance, Simulation, Appropriation, Multitasking.
After that, the author explains in details how and why teachers
should use The Wolf Den video game in the classroom. Also,
Annetta concludes the article by stating that“Video games in the classroom are not a replacement for good
teaching. They are merely a supplement that engages students in the content and
provides an avenue for them to learn difficult concepts of the real world in an
environment in which they are comfortable.”
Reference
Annetta, L. A. (2008). Video games in education: Why they should be used and how they are being used. Theory into Practice, 47(3), 229-239.
Hi, Basim, the idea of gamification is wonderful, but I am more concerned how to implement /build the knowledge into a game? Or is there any testing program or software focused on certain topics? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGamification is such a neat idea, but we have to be careful with appropriate implementation. When the Los Angeles Unified School District got iPads for all their children with software and English / Math games from Pearson, there were tons of problems. We have to choose appropriate platforms and make sure the video game we use is a quality product with no negative ethical implications (like paying millions for something that doesn't work). I'm just thinking of how this would actually be applied in a district like APS.
ReplyDeleteI share the same concerns with Huey-Yi. I'm curious and want to try using video games in English Language Teaching (ELT) but I have no idea at all what kind of video games can be used to help students practice and improve their language skills.
ReplyDeleteHi Sally, Chelsea, Rahmah,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your valuable comments.
As I am reading several articles about implementing video games in the classrooms, I found out that the majority of them have discussed the importance of video games for students specially in pre-K and elementary. Also, I came across different articles that provided practical implementation of video games in Math. Yet, I could not find article about teaching English as ESL or EFL. After finishing posting general introduction about video games and once I find articles, I will move to the practical part of video games...
Good Luck