Learning with Games

 

Gaming (weather online or not) is something that everyone has done at least once in their lifetime. With the current trend of using technology in the classroom, I ask myself, "can we make gaming a part of learning?" It would definitely keep the students' attention. I recently read an article that discusses "gamification" in the classroom. In 7 Things You Should Know About Gamification, it is described as "the application of game elements in non-gaming situations, often to motivate or influence behavior." The example given in the article is a game used for an introductory forestry class. The students are sent out to explore different plants and identify them, while taking pictures of the plants with their cell phones as they go along. The teacher gave them a rubric to follow as well, and two weeks to complete the task. While something like this wouldn't work for all subject areas, we are able to use computers in the classroom that would accommodate any subject. Clearly there has to be some guidelines to use games in the classroom, to ensure the students are staying on task. I asked the same question you're thinking: How much real learning is going to happen with a game? In the same article, they discuss ways that games are effective for learners:

• Competition gets students more engaged
• Stimulation from the game can help students sharpen an ability
• Gaming forms learning communities to foster teamwork
• Encourages more complex, interactive scenarios that extend beyond the classroom
• Higher-level thinking

Of course there are some downsides (as with almost everything,) like trying to effectively implement gaming in the classroom, ensuring that the program works properly, etc. The game I tested out that could have its use in a foreign language classroom is called The Great Kitchen Escape. It is an "escape the room" game where the player has to find certain clues to, well, escape the room. While this could be difficult as a one-person game, there is a "walkthrough" option that shows the gamer exactly which clues to click on and "collect" and how to beat the level. This particular game has to do with kitchen vocabulary. If I were to implement it to reinforce vocabulary (which would be my main learning objective for this game) I would have the students work in pairs. One student will be the person searching for the clues, and the other student will watch the walkthrough video to tell the student what to do (in the target language of course!) For example, if the walkthrough video shows that you need to click and open the drawer to grab a knife for something, the person watching the video can give instructions to the other student using the vocabulary for "knife."

I've personally played the game once, but have played others a few times (The Great Living Room Escape, The Great Bedroom Escape, etc.) It would definitely be used with a walkthrough because most of the vocabulary would be hard to verbalize for a level I language class. The student watching the walkthrough could say, "Go to the drawer, open it and click on the cuchillo (knife)." As long as it reinforces some vocabulary words, I think it would be put to good use. As a teacher, I would have to walk around and watch the students to simply monitor what they're doing, to make sure the task is being completed. The images in the game (or the clues) would be where they would have the chance to use the vocabulary words related to whatever topic they're learning.

Assessing whether or not the learning objectives were met would be hard. Obviously the teacher would have to play the game first, but if it were me facilitating the gaming, I would make a check list for both students to fill out, and maybe have them make a list of what vocabulary words they used for the game.

If used properly, I think gaming could be a very effective tool in the classroom. It's just a matter of finding the right game that serves you and your students, and being creative!