Gaming in the Classroom: Making Learning Meaningful and Fun

One thing we are being asked to do as educators is to push or students to higher order thinking - even in Pre - K. From reading the Betrus and Botter article, it was interesting to hear how gaming (if chosen appropriately) gets students to think beyond surface level understanding and push their minds to think more complex about different topics. Oftentimes, different stimulant games put students in roles of other individuals, and by playing the game they are showing their understanding of system components and relationships. As such, the game provides itself not only as the lesson for the students but as an assessment tool as well - without the student feeling the pressure of testing. As teachers, we can look back on the student's performance and ability to play the game to determine whether or not they understand the concept being taught through the game. This article did a great job of breaking down the benefits and complications of gaming in the classroom; however, if implemented appropriately, I think gaming could truly push students to higher level thinking in a way that is engaging and exciting for them. 

While reading this article, I kept thinking about Bloom's Taxonomy and how that can be referred to in order to help us teachers push our students with gaming in the classroom. I found a reference guide for gaming and blooms that incorporates all levels blooms as well as different games that can be implemented to target different orders of thinking. Though stimulant-type games aren't incorporated, this is at least a brief guide that can help us consider the types of games it takes to push students to think at different levels. 

Betrus, A. & Botter, L. (2010). "Principles of playing games for learning."  In Playing Games in School (Ch 2).

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Given the Minecraft in Education Article, it is evident that Minecraft can be used in any subject or content area to apply student knowledge. My favorite part was the foreign language bit. What an incredible idea! I enjoyed learning a foreign language, but it was difficult to deeply comprehend and remember all of the vocabulary because we never applied the information. With minecraft, student's are applying the vocabulary and foreign language content to play an interactive game that is engaging and fun for them. It is also purposeful, as they look to survive the game by showing their foreign language knowledge to read and interpret signs and steps of the game. As such, the language is more likely to stick because they're using different modes of application to understand the content. 

www.techtimes.com

This short video clip shows how to incorporate Minecraft in a foreign language class from a teacher's perspective. 

Graphite/Common Sense Media is such an incredible resource for gaming in the classroom! I could not stop exploring different tabs to look for games to use with my pre-kinders. I'm excited to implement several into my lessons this week, including Mr. Nussbaum! Learning And Fun This website covers all content areas and are separated by grade level and content to make it easy to navigate for teachers in order to find the best game for your learners. Another site I really enjoyed was Edheads. I'd never heard of this site before, but found myself playing a weather game for about 10 minutes (so engaging!). What was great about the game I was playing was that although it was weather content, there were literacy (reading and following directions step by step, decoding a map key, etc.) and social studies skills (reading a map, state knowledge) incorporated all within this one game. Though this is for older students, 3rd and up, it is an incredible resource that incorporates a variety of literacy skills in a way that is appealing for students.