Comments on: No Need to Reinvent the Wheel to Revolutionize Educational Video Games http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/2010/02/28/no-need-to-reinvent-the-wheel-to-revolutionize-educational-video-games/ Research and discussion concerning instructional video games Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:21:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Wednesday Round Up #112 « Neuroanthropology http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/2010/02/28/no-need-to-reinvent-the-wheel-to-revolutionize-educational-video-games/comment-page-1/#comment-1876 Wednesday Round Up #112 « Neuroanthropology Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:41:35 +0000 http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/?p=1253#comment-1876 [...] Games Research, No Need to Reinvent the Wheel to Revolutionize Educational Video Games Everything we need to make paradigm-shifting educational video games that kids will actually play [...] [...] Games Research, No Need to Reinvent the Wheel to Revolutionize Educational Video Games Everything we need to make paradigm-shifting educational video games that kids will actually play [...]

]]> By: Mike http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/2010/02/28/no-need-to-reinvent-the-wheel-to-revolutionize-educational-video-games/comment-page-1/#comment-1565 Mike Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:20:27 +0000 http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/?p=1253#comment-1565 I have been experimenting with games in my classes and have found that augmented reality type games seem to hold students attention and create great learning environments. Here is the link to a game I created using Mscape from HP. http://wp.me/pyVQx-78 This type of environment does make students work together to discover and solve problems. This type of interaction and the real world link I believe creates an authentic environment that really motivates students to learn. I have been experimenting with games in my classes and have found that augmented reality type games seem to hold students attention and create great learning environments. Here is the link to a game I created using Mscape from HP. http://wp.me/pyVQx-78 This type of environment does make students work together to discover and solve problems. This type of interaction and the real world link I believe creates an authentic environment that really motivates students to learn.

]]> By: Collette Jackson http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/2010/02/28/no-need-to-reinvent-the-wheel-to-revolutionize-educational-video-games/comment-page-1/#comment-1559 Collette Jackson Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:39:13 +0000 http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/?p=1253#comment-1559 I'm reading an interesting book right now called "How Computer Games Help Children Learn" by David Williamson Shaffer that touches on a lot of the points that this article makes. A very boiled down version of his argument is that games help students learn how to think in different ways, ways that will help them compete in a global market that increasingly values innovation and creativity over rote learning. I’m reading an interesting book right now called “How Computer Games Help Children Learn” by David Williamson Shaffer that touches on a lot of the points that this article makes. A very boiled down version of his argument is that games help students learn how to think in different ways, ways that will help them compete in a global market that increasingly values innovation and creativity over rote learning.

]]> By: Tom DeRosa http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/2010/02/28/no-need-to-reinvent-the-wheel-to-revolutionize-educational-video-games/comment-page-1/#comment-1546 Tom DeRosa Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:36:26 +0000 http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/?p=1253#comment-1546 I realize that I left out a key piece of information about my assessment of this game's potential in the classroom: while I was sick that week, I spent pretty much every waking hour playing the game myself. So all of my observation were first hand, not based on watching someone else play. Also, while I'm not a gamer, that doesn't mean I didn't grow up playing video games or have never played any of today's top games. I have--but not with any regularity. In any case, it's a moot point. As an educator, I look at everything (including a large number of topics I'm not an expert in) for their potential in the classroom. I recently worked with a company trying to develop educational software from scratch, and because they were purely an education company, they really didn't have any idea what they were doing. Their objectives on everything from the design to the content changed on a seemingly week-to-week basis. Not surprisingly, they shuttered the entire project within just a few months. There's a wide swath of games that could have formed the structure or at the very least a model for what they purportedly were trying to do, which would have allowed myself and others to focus more on the content and how to tie it all together. That's another reason I feel so strongly about the potential of what's already out there. I realize that I left out a key piece of information about my assessment of this game’s potential in the classroom: while I was sick that week, I spent pretty much every waking hour playing the game myself. So all of my observation were first hand, not based on watching someone else play. Also, while I’m not a gamer, that doesn’t mean I didn’t grow up playing video games or have never played any of today’s top games. I have–but not with any regularity. In any case, it’s a moot point. As an educator, I look at everything (including a large number of topics I’m not an expert in) for their potential in the classroom.

I recently worked with a company trying to develop educational software from scratch, and because they were purely an education company, they really didn’t have any idea what they were doing. Their objectives on everything from the design to the content changed on a seemingly week-to-week basis. Not surprisingly, they shuttered the entire project within just a few months. There’s a wide swath of games that could have formed the structure or at the very least a model for what they purportedly were trying to do, which would have allowed myself and others to focus more on the content and how to tie it all together. That’s another reason I feel so strongly about the potential of what’s already out there.

]]> By: Rachel Smith http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/2010/02/28/no-need-to-reinvent-the-wheel-to-revolutionize-educational-video-games/comment-page-1/#comment-1540 Rachel Smith Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:04:58 +0000 http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/?p=1253#comment-1540 What interests me is that a self-professed non-gamer can look at a game and instantly see how it could apply to the domain he does know well: teaching and learning. This, to me, speaks volumes about the potential of games. Tom DeRosa doesn't claim to be able to address the entire domain of gaming at all. Rather, he understands education well enough to know a good thing when he sees it. There is still a great deal of hard work to be done in the field of educational gaming, but as Mr. DeRosa notes, the potential is definitely there. I'm delighted whenever a non-gamer educator "crosses over!" What interests me is that a self-professed non-gamer can look at a game and instantly see how it could apply to the domain he does know well: teaching and learning. This, to me, speaks volumes about the potential of games. Tom DeRosa doesn’t claim to be able to address the entire domain of gaming at all. Rather, he understands education well enough to know a good thing when he sees it. There is still a great deal of hard work to be done in the field of educational gaming, but as Mr. DeRosa notes, the potential is definitely there. I’m delighted whenever a non-gamer educator “crosses over!”

]]> By: uberVU - social comments http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/2010/02/28/no-need-to-reinvent-the-wheel-to-revolutionize-educational-video-games/comment-page-1/#comment-1539 uberVU - social comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:00:52 +0000 http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/?p=1253#comment-1539 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by randyfuj: No Need to Reinvent the Wheel to Revolutionize Educational Video Games http://bit.ly/99PanU #seriousgames #edtech... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by randyfuj: No Need to Reinvent the Wheel to Revolutionize Educational Video Games http://bit.ly/99PanU #seriousgames #edtech…

]]> By: John Rice http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/2010/02/28/no-need-to-reinvent-the-wheel-to-revolutionize-educational-video-games/comment-page-1/#comment-1534 John Rice Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:00:53 +0000 http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/?p=1253#comment-1534 @Dr. Moeller (rylish) - I thought Tom was just noting up front that he is not claiming to be an "expert" in the field. His observations as a (mostly) non-playing educator were valuable. His "teacher cred" is pretty good and other teachers reading the post will likely be coming from similar backgrounds: non-gaming educators who might be intrigued with the pedagogical potential of videogames. JR @Dr. Moeller (rylish) – I thought Tom was just noting up front that he is not claiming to be an “expert” in the field. His observations as a (mostly) non-playing educator were valuable. His “teacher cred” is pretty good and other teachers reading the post will likely be coming from similar backgrounds: non-gaming educators who might be intrigued with the pedagogical potential of videogames.

JR

]]> By: rylish http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/2010/02/28/no-need-to-reinvent-the-wheel-to-revolutionize-educational-video-games/comment-page-1/#comment-1532 rylish Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:47:26 +0000 http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/?p=1253#comment-1532 i am growing more and more tired of self-professed non-gamers who watch one or two people (usually kids) playing games and suddenly feel compelled to write about [insert whatever social issue you want to here: education, violence, health, etc.] and games. i'm sure tom derosa is a fine educator, and i don't necessarily disagree with his assessment of the educational potential of <cite>Fallout 3</cite> and similar games. my complaint rests simply on his disclaimer at the beginning of the post when he states that he is not a gamer and has no intention of becoming a gamer, but he's convinced that he can comment on an entire industry in which experts across various fields from art to computer science to education to the humanities not only play games, but develop and critique them. i would not deliver a lecture in a colleague's class on film noir, for example, by stating that i'd never seen an example of the genre, but i talked with someone who had just seen one. . . i apologize if this comment is misdirected, as i usually find this blog to be relatively well-informed in the area of game studies and education. i am growing more and more tired of self-professed non-gamers who watch one or two people (usually kids) playing games and suddenly feel compelled to write about [insert whatever social issue you want to here: education, violence, health, etc.] and games.

i’m sure tom derosa is a fine educator, and i don’t necessarily disagree with his assessment of the educational potential of Fallout 3 and similar games. my complaint rests simply on his disclaimer at the beginning of the post when he states that he is not a gamer and has no intention of becoming a gamer, but he’s convinced that he can comment on an entire industry in which experts across various fields from art to computer science to education to the humanities not only play games, but develop and critique them. i would not deliver a lecture in a colleague’s class on film noir, for example, by stating that i’d never seen an example of the genre, but i talked with someone who had just seen one. . .

i apologize if this comment is misdirected, as i usually find this blog to be relatively well-informed in the area of game studies and education.

]]> By: Ella Rogers http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/2010/02/28/no-need-to-reinvent-the-wheel-to-revolutionize-educational-video-games/comment-page-1/#comment-1531 Ella Rogers Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:23:46 +0000 http://edugamesresearch.com/blog/?p=1253#comment-1531 I’m very pleased to have found your blog: filled with all of my favourite education hubs. I have been meaning to tell you about a new maths resource that is one of my new favourite links, Mangahigh.com. Although the site is new, it has a lot to offer and new maths games are being added frequently. I have been using it in the classroom and for homework. A great teacher’s resource they have put together is a lesson plan guide: http://www.mangahigh.com/ Cheers! Ella I’m very pleased to have found your blog: filled with all of my favourite education hubs.

I have been meaning to tell you about a new maths resource that is one of my new favourite links, Mangahigh.com. Although the site is new, it has a lot to offer and new maths games are being added frequently.

I have been using it in the classroom and for homework. A great teacher’s resource they have put together is a lesson plan guide: http://www.mangahigh.com/

Cheers!

Ella

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