A Framework 4RL model

Adapted from work of Luke and Freebody and used to assess literacy in a games based context.

Theories

A number of theories underpin immersive learning:

• Social constructivism (Vygotsky)
• Zone of proximal development (Vygotsky)
• Flow theory (Csikszentmihalyi)
• Game impact theory
• Situated learning
• Scaffolding (Bruner)
• Active learning
• Cognitive load theory
• Social networking theory

Games
The Free Dictionary defines game as an active interest or pursuit, especially one involving competitive engagement or adherence to rules.

What is a game? We tend to think about games, electronic ones in particular, as a form of entertainment rather than opportunities for learning.

Australia is a nation of gamers – the 2009 Interactive Australia report finds that:

• 88% of homes have a device for playing computer or video games
• 68% of Australians play computer or video games
• 46% of gamers are female
• the average age of an Australian gamer is 30 years
• 84% of Australians aged 16-25 compared with those 50+ play computer and video games
• the average adult gamer has been playing for 11 years
• half of all gamers play daily or every other day, a quarter play once a week
• the average game play session is one hour
• 70% of parents in game households play computer and video games, 80% of these parents play them with their children.

Dr Henry Jenkins, Director of Comparative Media Studies at MIT, argues that the use of electronic games provides a range of opportunities in teaching and learning.

Games enable players to:

• drill deep into subject matter
• explore choice and consequence
• play with complex variables
• simulate real world processes
• create peer to peer teaching opportunities
• engage in an immersive and highly motivated mode of learning.

There is a lot to be considered when using video games in education. It is not a matter of sticking the student in front of a computer screen, loading the game and hoping for the best.
Not all games are good educational games.
Not all games provoke higher order thinking, creativity and problem solving nor do they provide challenge.
Not all games encourage active involvement, many are passive rote learning, single player games.
Not all games are based on the desktop or laptop computer.
Computer games are also available anytime anywhere on Nintendo DS Lites, Sony Playstation Palms (PSP), mobile phones, Ipods and touch screen phones.

Games can also to be played on Sony Playstations 2 and 3, the X-Box or using the Nintendo Wii. These are easily used in a school or home setting.

Games on any of the above devices can be played alone, in a group or with the rest of the world. Some can be used as simply rote learning tools while others help the imagination soar, set challenges and problems to be thought about and solved.
There are games which simulate real life situations.
There are games which create their own worlds for gamers to explore and learn about.

Game making programs such as Gamemaker, Scratch and Spore provide opportunities for students to develop their own games. These games can be shared with school friends and family adding another dimension to the world of video games: that of the game developer and what that entails.

Most games used in educational settings are Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) available for anyone to purchase others can be accessed through the internet. Some are very good and some are not so good.

What characteristics does a good video game have?
1.            It is fun to play
2.            It is challenging for different levels of ability, therefore it needs to have different levels of difficulty built into the game       play.
3.            It is accessible for different types of players, ie, there has to be something in the game for everyone.
4.            It provides a relevant learning context and content.

As James Paul Gee, professor of educational learning sciences, at Phoenix University observed  “a game that is too easy will be criticised . . . and will not be a success. A game should be challenging, fair and deep. If it’s not, it won’t sell.”

When used properly video games serve to uniquely motivate, teach and encourage students; poor performing students or underachieving students can be motivated and capable students will ask both relevant and important questions concerning themselves and the world.

For video games to be effective the teacher and students, need to be confident of the purpose for using the video game/s. The games need to be age appropriate and highly engaging.

When using video games in the learning environment the teacher has a responsibility to:
1.             Determine if the game is the best type for her purpose.
2.             Be clear about the learning outcomes to be achieved.
3.             Plan lessons accordingly
4.             Talk to the students about the game, ask questions to establish the appropriate setting and context before the game is                        played
5.            Negotiate with the students how the work involving the game will be assessed and develop a rubric designed to measure                   learning.
6.            Provide regular feedback and evaluation.

Parents should take time talk to their children about the games they are using whether at home or in the classroom. The child will be able to explain their use and articulate the purpose and goals of the game.

Games such as Civilisation, Making History, The Sims are better to suited to High School settings; however, Little Big Planet, the game making programs as well as Legoland, Wii games, Mario series and Samarost can be used for all ages.

The most important role for a parent of a gamemaker / game player is to take an interest in what your child is doing. Talk to them about the games they are playing, ask them what they want to achieve from the games, listen to the language they are using when they are playing with their friends, even try playing a game with them.

The following is a list of games used in our school. Most of these games are as appropriate for home as for school.  Each game is listed with educational outcomes.
Moshi Monster

• to develop co-operation between student and teacher
• to establish class routines and expectationsto develop teacher confidence in using IWB
• to develop in students an understanding of responsible use of social networking programs
• to accept responsibility for the well being of another creature

Samarost I & 2

• to develop imagination, enriched narrative writing  and
• problem solving skills

Mario at the Olympics

• stimulus for Olympic Games Unit
• poetry writing about feelings and emotions
• connecting to school in UK to work on Olympic Project

Wii Music

• To develop and understanding of different kinds of musical instruments
• To understand complexities of music composition
• To create own piece of music
• To perform music for the class / group

Wii Sports

• To choose a single tennis skill to learn
• Develop a PE unit designed to teach classmates chosen skill
• Tested and evaluated in a game situation

Endless Oceans

• To develop an appreciation of the vastness of the ocean
• To find an area of interest and explore this in detail
• Create a presentation which demonstrates what has been learned

Legoland / Junkbots

• To create own lego land place using lego blocks
• To develop mapping skills to allow mapping of own lego place
• To write a narrative about legoland place
• To play Lego problem solving games on IWB or computer

Dr Kawashima’s Brain Academy Suite of programs

• To improve rote learning and
• higher order thinking skills

Nintendogs

for the best report on this go to the following address:
http://www.handheldlearning.co.uk/content/view/46/1/

Little Big Planet
Used to explore concepts of identity, diversity and  community

Gamemaking
Gamemaker            The outcomes for both of these gamemaking programs are
Scratch                     extensive and complex and are reported on in the

Games are the most ancient and time-honoured vehicle for education. They are the original educational technology, the natural one, having received the seal of approval of natural selection. We don’t see mother lions lecturing cubs at the chalkboard; we don’t see senior lions writing their memoirs for posterity. Chris Crawford (1982)

Literature on school improvement is full of exhortations to make the content of instruction “relevant.“ if one does belong to a culture in which video games are important, transforming oneself from a consumer to a producer of games may well be an even more powerful way for some children to find importance in what they are doing. Seymour Papert and Idit Harel (1991)

Students, as ‘digital natives’ are by nature media literate. Navigating virtual reality is second nature to many. The games many play demand cognitive skills that are much more sophisticated than most required for school learning. They use language and acquire metalanguage in a way that would rarely happen in school.

According to Gee (2003)”good games allow players to operate within, but at the outer edge of their competence” and Seymour Papert believes the attraction for young people is that they are “hard fun”

Into the 21^st Century there is a blurring of boundaries between learning, playing, communicating, socialising and working. Games are but one aspect of ICT that can have a very powerful impact on students learning to be effective citizens of the future.

The message from educational administrators and researchers was encapsulated by Prof. Angela McFarlane in her keynote address at BETT 2007.

There needs to be a shift of power in the classroom BUT “moving old minds is difficult”.

In the 21^st century it is necessary to look at transforming:

• Curriculum to be about knowledge creation, collaboration, community building
• Pedagogy. Who teaches? Need to be authentic, immersive and reflective. Teachers need to let go of centre stage in the classroom and recognise and draw upon skills and prior knowledge of students.
• Institutions need to be experienced personally to understand strengths and weaknesses.

Digital games

There are three main approaches to games being used in the classroom.

They are:

1.    Educators and/or game developers produce games for students to play and while playing to learn;

2.    Commercial off the shelf games (COTS) which are integrated into classroom practice; and

3.    Students using specialist drop and drag software to author / build their own games.

In Scotland educators are taking the engaging and dynamic world of the computer game seriously. They are taking steps to investigate the impact of digital games on teaching and learning in Scottish schools. It is apparent from the establishment of the Consolarium that Learning and Teaching Scotland is committed to exploring, promoting and developing Games and Learning. The Centre is in the capable hands of the Director Derek Robertson.

They  want to:

• inform and influence new curriculum developments both in theory and in practice  by exploring the range of games and technologies available
• provide hands-on access to these resources in a place where teachers and others involved in education can have easy access
• encourage teachers and educators to engage with the debate about the place of such technology in their class, school or local authority
• develop partnerships with academic institutions and industry in an effort  to extend and refine effective and innovative practice with computer games.

The range of games-related resources as well as state-of-the-art teaching materials available at the Consolarium is remarkable, their work has informed ours at Belmore South PS. These resources included:

• Sony Playstation 3
• Microsoft Xbox 360 live
• Sony Playstation 2
• Nintendo Wii
• Sony PSP
• Nintendo DS
• a PC and a Mac designed for use with games
• a range of peripherals such as Eye Toy, Dance Mats and guitars
• an ever-growing catalogue of console and PC/Mac-based games
• Promethean Activision+2 interactive whiteboard with sound system and an integrated wireless network for collaborative game play.

It is becoming more and more evident that the computer game has a locus within the schools of today and tomorrow. Consensus is games-based learning has cultural resonance with learners due to the fact that games play a significant part within the digital culture of today’s learner.

Marc Prensky’s What kids learn that’s positive from games was drawn to my attention because The Consolarium interprets his model in order for teaching and learning to be made more explicit and accessible to teachers.

One of the main ways of using games in teaching and learning is to ‘retro-fit’ commercial off the shelf games (COTS) to help create motivating contexts that will engage learners.

Educators must be aware of the skills, knowledge and experiences that learners have when they come to school. The educator must see the child in the context of what they can do and what they already know in order to create learning experiences that will take them further as opposed to viewing the child as an ‘empty vessel’ that needs to be passively filled with knowledge.

The teacher needs to actively involve the children in the construction of their own meaning, understanding and developing skill set. Inherent and fundamental to social constructivism is the idea that we also must appreciate that the learner does not operate in a dry theoretical vacuum but within a complex and dynamic social framework. This social framework has very powerful formative influence in terms of learner attitudes to learning and engagement. Creating digital games in terms of these views is an ideal learning experience.

Much of the recent research and practical application of games-based learning in classrooms identifies a number of benefits game-playing in schools. These include:

• motivating learners to succeed and to continually improve
• fostering self-esteem, self-determination and enhancing self-image
• facilitating collaborative learning
• Implicitly develop learners ability to observe, question, hypothesise and test
• facilitate metacognitive reflection
• develop complex problem-solving skills
• make school an exciting place to be
• offering inroads into other curricular areas.

One of the main problems associated with the perception of games as learning tools is that observers generally do not look past the surface content of the game, the graphics, the animations and the sounds. As a result people fail to see or become aware of the rich learning environments and experiences that game play can offer.

Games draw upon the students’ world, game making enables them approach games with a more informed and critical perspective.

From my observations of students at our school who have been authoring their own games the results are the same. The students are totally immersed and understanding of what they are doing.

Games are:

• Interactive
• Pedagogically well structured
• Encourage interactivity and learning
• Active not for consumption
• Able to engender flow
• Totally engaging
• (some) are about storytelling

The Art of Computer Game Design (1982) Chris Crawford

http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Coverpage.html

Situating Constructionism By Seymour Papert and Idit Harel, the first chapter in   Seymour Papert and Idit Harel’s book Constructionism (Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1991). http://www.papert.org/articles/SituatingConstructionism.html

Marc Prensky’s work was drawn to my attention developed his PDF file: What kids learn that’s positive from games

Gee (2003)”

Prof. Angela McFarlane in her keynote address at BETT 2007.

What is good about computer games?

They help us learn:
• Life skills: computer programming, team work, collaboration, sharing – knowledge, skills, ideas, talents;
• “School” skills: Spelling, maths, grammar, logic questions skills

Do you play online games?
Not really
Too many barriers: internet access,
‘Weirdness”, too big

Good points about making games:

1. Purpose is important – competition, audience S2J,
2. Need a Design brief – Why? What? Support to keep us on track
3. Feedback is so important
• helps, learn from it,
• gives you better ideas because others make suggestions on how to improve,
• motivation,
• good having a critical friend
• to make them better – to get them perfect – to check there wasn’t mistakes – to make sure the story made sense

4. Rules/controls – lack of info? Needed to write rules more for adults than the kids. We knew other kids would understand.

5. Where did you start?
Variety of approaches, can take own approach and still end up with a good game, liked being in control in that way, we all do things differently

What did you like most:
1. Fun
2. In control of game
3. A sense of achievement
4. Learnt how to make a game and will be able to make more games in the future

What did you learn?
1. It takes a long time to make a good game, can’t make a game in one go
2. Need constant feedback
3. Thinking and reflective time away from the game
4. Needed good literacy presentation skills
5. Everything needs to link together – story, sprites, rooms – cohesive game
speed – relative speeds across the game – base speed – trial & error
6. cheats & shortcuts: students put them in – when game finished the cheats came up – fun to put them in – bonus 4 the players – fun 2 find them

Was the timeframe a good thing?
Yes, never finish because we’d always keep changing and adding to the game,
bored otherwise.

Have you looked at the games since?
Classes are using games as an example

COMMENTS:
Education can be fun
Games can be educational
Educational games aren’t fun because they try to make them too educational
A little bit of education and a lot of fun

At present in classes
• students often aren’t motivated – bored – lazy – worksheets
• depressing
• behaviour problems
• excuses to stay home – exaggerate the severity of illnesses

Where next?
• Online games
• 3D reality games
• Mix what you do in class up, it’s not good to have all games need to learn skills and mix games in with other stuff
• Playing games should DEFINITELY be part of what we do at school.