Double Entry #5

All I Really Need to Know (About Creative Thinking)

I Learned (By Studying How Children Learn) in Kindergarten
by: Mitchel Resnick

1. "Too often, educational technologies

are overly constrained, such as tutoring software for

teaching algebra, or simulation software for modeling

planetary motion in the solar system."

I agree with this quote to an extent.  I remember in my grade school days that these types of programs were in their early stages, still very basic.  Yet for all the humdrum of the basic programming, I seem to remember we as students jumped at the chance to use these programs.  Probably because they were new, but excited to use nonetheless.  This brings me to the point of contention with this quote.  Those tutoring softwares are only boring today because they are outdated.  If it was a "new and fancy" program those technologies might not seem so constrained.

2. "Now, edutainment companies try to provide you

with both. In all of these cases, you are viewed as a passive

recipient."

The key point in this quote is that learning and fun are being presented as having the student being a passive recipient.  I understand this completely.  A majority of learners learn through experience and not just through passive reception of knowledge. There is a push in education today to construct lessons and classrooms into learning environments where the student constructs their own learning through project based learning.

3. "In recent years, schools have adopted more “hands-on” design activities,

but the focus is usually on the creation of an artifact rather

than critical reflection on the ideas that guided the design,

or strategies for refining and improving the design, or

connections to underlying scientific concepts and related

real-world phenomena."

This quote brings to light a key ingredient to learning, reflection.  Without self-reflection students and teachers inevitably miss parts of the project that have the potential to bring the most learning.  Reflection offers the ability to learn from their mistakes, and to discover new and different options to reach their goals.


The following blog, Educational Technology and Life talks about the learning that takes place when playing games.  In the blog,  Mark Wagner explains that most students do not approach games with learning as an objective, thus they tend to miss alot of learning.  He also speaks of Thinking Worlds, another game creation engine that sounds similar to Scratch.

  

Double Entry #4

What Kids Learn That is Positive from Video Games.
~Marc Prensky  2002.

1.  "In fact, as a learning tool, computer and video games may be the most powerful mechanism ever known. "

In this quote the author is stating that games could be the "most powerful mechanism" to education ever known.  I tend to agree with this quote, however, I beleive that it should be stated as , computer and video games may be the most powerful mechanism to learning in this generation.  I think that computers and video games are an impressive tool and they are powerful, but they are powerful because the students, and society in general have invested a great deal of their entertainment "alottment" to this genre of entertainment.  THe arguement might be that if video and computer games were not as popular, this would not be the case.  In other eras of education, other devices were the most powerful mechanisms.  Tomorrow, another mechanism may come along that will make gaming as mundane as the chalkboard or even smart boards.

2. "Even infants quickly learn this and sit fascinated, moving the mouse and watching the screen with glee for long periods. This is "real world" learning. "

I found this quote funny, as it to me shows that video games in some instances are interesting for nothing more than hours of "mindless" entertainment.  The child watching the mouse move around is learning to control his/her environment by moving the mouse, however, it is to me a basic learning level, with no upper level comprehension happening. 


3. "I would argue that – unless already severely disturbed – kids don’t leave violent games with the message “I’ve got to run out and do this,” at least not in our society."
This quote is taken from the author's argument that games do not primarily induce violence in youth.  I completely agree.  I realize that some content may not be appropriate for certain age levels, I also believe that if this argument is accepted that games induce violence, it is only a matter of time before something else in entertainment and media is blamed for violence.  Violence has always been present in the human race, and to blame violent tendencies on one specific componenet of a person's life is asinine.  If games can be blamed, then I submit movies, TV, Music, and even News can be attributed to cause violence in humans. 

Video Games: An Hour A Day Is Key To Success In Life

In this article the author, Jane McGonigal, discusses how video games are actually some of the most productive ways to spend free time.  She argues that playing games helps to build relationships that have social and emotional impacts on people and their lives.    I know that this article is a stretch to compare to our article this week, however, a small portion of article was based on the idea that video games are not "wastes of time".  This article explores why it is not a waste of time, but actually productive.

Scratch Game

The Scratch game that I found is called "Sound Wave".  The point of the game is to move the cursor, or sound box around following the sound wave to keep the music playing.  If the box does not follow the wave then you get static, which causes you to lose the game. 
How does this game follow the five levels of learning?  First we have "How".  The How level is represented by the learning to move the cursor along the sound wave.  Just like the author pointed out that even "intants quickly learn this and sit fascinated, moving the mouse and watching the screen with glee" in "Sound Wave" all the action is moving the box around.  The second level "what" is contained in learning the parameters of the game.  The game gets interesting the further you go the harder it is to stay with the sound wave.  The first rule of the game that is learned is when you hear static, then the screen turns to static.  The third level of learning is the "why".  In this level the game shows that over time, a strategy is born to stay slightly ahead of the sound wave and be proactive, rather than reactive, else you risk turning the music to static.
  THe fourth level is "where". This level would seem to be the less represented of all five, however, in learning that you are really capturing sound waves, the player learns that they are seeing what sound waves look like in the real world.
THe fifth level is the when/whether level is represented in this game by the end result.  If the player continues to capture the sound wave, they get to listen to the music.  If the player misses the sound wave, then they are taught that the music dies, and their hopes and wishes for this game, with it.  I know that sounds harsh, but thats life.

Double Entry Journal #3
"Making Learning Fun: Quest Atlantis A Game Without Guns"
Sasha Barab; Michael Thomas; Tyler Dodge; Robert Carteaux; Hakan Tuzun

Each of these quotes is from the article concerning Quest Atlantis.  I chose each one for a different reason.  The first article hints at my viewpoint on video games in education.  The second discusses three areas that an educational game must have, and I for one have noticed that these areas are discussed in some manner in almost all of the articles, blogs, videos, etc. that I have perused.  The third quote was one that I found humorous.

"some advocates of game-based learning suggest that educational video games are the only way that educators can adequately engage the "video game generation" (Katz, 2000; Prensky, 2000). "

"Collectively, these three features (education, entertainment, social commitment) create an important focus for design and result in a product that is not a game yet remains engaging, is not a lesson yet fosters learning, and is not evangelical yet nurtures a social agenda. In this article, we treat our work as an example of design-based research (Brown, 1992; Collins, 1992; Edelson, 2002), "

"Numerous scholars and learning theorists have advocated experiential learning-the belief that learning involves real-world participation, the belief in the intimate relations between experience and education, the certainty that understandings are derived from and modified through experience, and the conviction that action and reflection are necessary features of meaningful learning (Dewey, 1938; KoIb, 1984)."

The first quote says that some educators believe that video games are the only way to reach some students.  I agree wholeheartedly.  The last three words of that quote sum up today's students best by labeling them the "video game generation".   For many of my own students, a large portion of their time away from school involves video games, so it would stand to reason that they are interested in video games.  If a student is interested in something, they tend to become more active in their learning of that information.  Education today cannot be black and white, core content and books.  It is our job to teach students the core content, and books are a tool to get that content to them, however I believe it is an outdated tool.  We must look to a new medium of interaction with our students.  If they enjoy video games, give them games with the core content at the heart.
The second qoute deals with three features of educational games, eductation, entertainment and social commitment.  When I look at this list, and think about the use of game design in education as a learning project, I see three responsiblities outlined.  What is amazing to me, is as teachers, we should look at it as only one of those responsiblities belong to the teacher, education.  It is the responsibility of the student to be entertained, and commit to the game socially.  If the game integrates those last two responsibilites well, then our job as educators is that much easier.
The third quote was funny.  Why, you ask?  Well, it says that learning theorists believe that experience through real-world participation fosters learning.  The funny part?  This whole article, and my beliefs themselves, ask students to learn not in a real-world environment or participation, but in a simulated environment participation.  It sounds to me as if this is an oxymoron.  I just got a chuckle out of it, that the whole point of the article is to discuss the outcome of the game Quest Atlantis by stating it was partly successful because of participation, in a virtual environment.  The real reason it was successful, in my opinion, was because students could take their experiences in that virtual environment and connect them with their real world environments.  If this does not happen, the game is a failure.

THe link is to the following article:

Resolving Conflicts in Educational Game Design Through Playtesting

by Brian Winn and Carrie Heeterhttp://www.innovateonline.info/pdf/vol3_issue2/Resolving_Conflicts_in_Educational_Game_Design_Through_Playtesting.pdf

In this article, the testing of game designs is discussed in three different case studies, with three different games being designed using the information gathered from the case studies.

Globoria Game Design

 

1. Which one do you like the best?

I liked the Paleoquest.  This game was my favorite as the levels followed a timeline, and each time you became more evolved!

2. What content is being learned?

The content being learned was the development of organisms over Earth's history.  Each time the player became more evolved you must navigate through a new environment, he or she must consume more DNA.

3. Do you think it effectively teaches the content?

I believe it does effectively teach the content, as it displays different environments that these organisms must survive in.  It also touches the matter of differences between single celled organisms, all the way up through the DNA difference.

4. Does it involve higher order thinking?

I believe it does involve higher level thinking, as it causes the player to explore environments, find DNA and meet certain requirements to evolve, the same requirements that these organisms met to evolve.

5. Does the game possess and principles of good games and learning:

• 1.They can create an embodied empathy for a complex system 
• 2. They are action-and-goal-directed preparations for, and simulations of, embodied experience” 
• 3. They involve distributed intelligence via the creation of smart tools 
• 4. They create opportunities for cross-functional affiliation  
• 5. They allow meaning to be situated 
• 6. They can be open-ended, allowing for goals and projects that meld the personal and the social

This game does meet some of these points.  THe player becomes the organism trying to survive in a hostile environment, thuse creating empathy for the system in which it is apart.  The game gets the social aspect by having the player meet his or her mate in order to continue in the game.

6. In your opinion do you think letting kids design games is productive activity for school based learning?

I believe that letting students create the games is a very productive activity for learning.  Most students play games.  Most students learn through means other than reading a textbook.  If having students take information that we which for them to learn, and put that information in a game format that creates and environment to leanr that information then I believe it is very beneficial to learning.

Gardens of Time
Post #2

The article "Good Video Games and Good Learning" by James Paul Gee uses sixteen different aspects of good games to explain what a good games should include.  For Gardens of Time I could see some of the aspects incorporated, and others would be a stretch to say they really are apart of this game.  I believe that Gardens of Time is just a simple game that is not a "Good Video Game" but has some aspects that would be "Good Learning".

1. Identity:  Gee states, "No good learning unless learners make an extended commitment of self for the long haul."  This statement is Gardens of Time in a nutshell.  Moreover, it is games in a nutshell.  Gamers, or learners only get out of the game what they commit to the game. 

2. Interaction:  "In a good game, words and deeds are all placed  in the context  of an interactive relationship  between player and  the world."  Gee states that a good game interacts with the world, and that the learning that takes place is in context with that world.  This is one of those times where Gardens of Time is coming up short in my opinion.  This aspect is more evident in MMORPG's and even in FPS's, but in GofT it takes a back seat to the main focus of the game, Item Finding.  The storyline is not extremely interactive, as the game starts on a certain path and after I have met certain criteria in the game, it brings about a new set of criteria, that is the same for all players, no matter how I go about doing it.

3. Risk Taking: Gee says that good video games offer players an environment where failure is not only "ok" but is an intregal portion of the game.  Gardens of Time really doesn't offer an environment of failure, just an environment of levels of success.  I believe this is the same idea, but some games give failures more importance than just success.  One statement Gee made was about how a player can learn and adapt in the face of failure when fighting a boss in a game.  GofT doesn't really offer this.

4. Well Ordered Problems:  "In good video games, the problems players face are ordered so that the earlier

ones are well built to lead players to form hypotheses that work well for later, harder problems."  Gee states that the problems that learners are given in video games help them form guesses at the other problems they experience later in the game.  In other words, in a good video game, the learners should gain experience from each problem they confront.  They should then be able to use that experience later int he game, and in culmination, be able to put all of their experience into a final product that they then use to succeed in each new scenario that they face.  Gardens of Time is like this to a certain extent.  I noticed that when searching for objects, each object was normnally placed in a certain area, such as am umbrella as the leg of a table.  Each level was sorted out the same way each time it is played, thus I learn and master where each item is, and should be able ot pass each level slightly easier each time I play that level.

I choose for aspects of games to look at Gardens of Time.  Each aspect of good games could be found if one looks deep enough, however, like all games, Gardens of Time is better at some aspects than others.  It is also a "low budget" game, meaning it isn't going to be as in depth as far as gaming potential, as say a game that is on the market.