I've never been a gamer and I even remember backing away from video games (that were thought to be recreational only) in my adult years, not wanting to get hooked on them. I still feel like that when it comes to mobile gaming - I have one 'game' on my iPhone, a quiz game that's made by an Icelandic company (only reason why it's there) and I've used it once. That feeling has only increased since being on the NYC subway system where everyone is so engrossed with their mobile games.
There are two video games that come to mind - Myst and Sims. Myst's narrative was way over my problem solving and language skills but it had this feel to it that made me want to come back. It helped that you could save your progress (which was new to me at the time) Seeing as you can now play it with the help from YouTube I wonder if I should return to the island. It forced you to remember items and things from other chapters of the game, I guess that was part of the learning.
I never actually enjoyed playing the Sims, just building characters and their houses especially (I even had a code to get more money so I could build everything I wanted). I'm guessing that task should have helped me with geometry but I don't think it did, at least that transfer of knowledge was never obvious to me.
Asking my brother, which is seven years older than I am, what he remembers from his gaming years he believed that the first person shooting games he played helped with his coordination as well as 'seeing the big picture'. Even if his eye was focused on a small part of the screen he was aware of other things happening.
On that note I thought this image from The Oatmeal was appropriate here.
Mini-Design
The Moon modules at www.funderstanding.com are interactive games that are suppose to teach you about the physics in space. There are three demo's that you can try out; High Jump, Moon Phases and Survival Hike.
In High Jump you can't actually do anything to get over the bar, you're just suppose to push 'jump' and see if it works. The demo will then give you some info on the physics behind being able to get over it or not. It's a bit weird that he jumps off Venus, even if you pick another planet. The game could also be better if you were able to pick your angle (like in Angry birds) and then get an explanation why the planets gravity would affect Maurice in that way.
The Moon Phases doesn't actually show any phases, just the same picture of the moon going around the Earth. Even if the moon rotates (you have to pay attention to see that) the image doesn't change the way you would think in relation to e.g. full moon vs. quarter moon. If the Earth was spinning around the Sun at the same time it might make it better to understand how sunlight comes into play.
The Survival Hike demo didn't seem to work for me. I dragged items and clicked buttons but nothing happend. But my biggest problem with that game was that there was no info about where I was in space (the Moon?). Do I need oxygen? What about CO2 scrubbers (and what is that by the way)? There are basic information missing for this to be a good learning experience - is it thought as a part of a bigger instructional package where all the info is?
The Moon Phases was by far the most educational one, even with its faults.
Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal - Chapter 1
1. An interesting take on our (my) view on games and play. I specially liked the introduction about games and languages, how it is so integrated into society and our everyday lingo that games are bad. The only recent experience I could think of that might fall into the definition of 'fiero' is when I got my acceptance letter to NYU. I usually don't tell people my goals, especially not many months in advance, but this was one of those things where everyone around me was aware of what I was aiming for - so the thrill of actually achieving that was I guess a bit like being on drugs for a moment (not that I've tried that!).
2. Rubric? Will get back to that.
Digital Badges by John K. Waters (in The Journal, May 2013)
It will be very interesting to see how the different associations, schools, government run programs and others will come together when it comes to badges. According to the article, standards are being set (Mozilla Backpack) but does that work if it's not government criteria? Is everyone going to be in agreement with the Mozilla team? And if not, what will happen to the badges?
OK, so the oatmeal comic strip is hysterical! loved it. I'll explain a bit more about the rubric this week. It's pretty funny to have so many "non gamers" in a program that has a perceived game component......you aren't alone, but I think that one of the main goals is to give the class the perspective on the power of games, what makes an effective game, and how can we use them to truly teach----and what do we mean by that. I don't think I'll be converting any one over to the "other side" but as educational media designers, games are a tool that we need to have in our collection of strategies and approaches.......
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