Wednesday, June 30, 2010
First Class Reflection
Being a technology guy myself, I'm super-excited about the prospects of technology in the classroom. The whole concept of using videogames to teach is one that I find particularly intriguing. Maybe that's because I love videogames, but I genuinely see educational potential in the gaming world. One game that comes to mind is Civilization IV, which is not only awesome, but surprisingly anchored by real historical information. Although the historical scenarios play out in often comically inaccurate ways - I've had Gandhi discover slavery, Cleopatra invent nukes, etc. - the ways in which the game requires players to engage with historical concepts is still worth pursuing. I'd be interested to see if anyone has tried to use Civ IV in the classroom before.
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Your post is intriguing to me, Noah, in part because of the trans-historical dimension you open up. Maybe this weakness that you see could, if worked with carefully, turn out to be a strength. One of my group's online projects works in precisely this dimension. One argument I would make is that, in the history classroom, it's hard to find opportunities for kids to do truly original research. Thinking about how Cleopatra would advise Barack Obama regarding the handling of the BP crisis opens up that kind of opportunity, pushing kids to try to get at the essence of a historical figure, and not just "first she did *this*, and then she did *that*"
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about video games in the classroom as well, but, unlike yourself, I am no gaming lover. However, I would love to explore the potential of connecting video gaming skills and ideas into the classroom. I would be interested to know if you think of any way to apply them (or one in particular) to an English classroom...
ReplyDeleteI love that you're addressing this, because my bet is that it's pretty controversial. "It" of course being video games in the classroom. For me, it's going to take some convincing that video games can really be a beneficial tool for learning. Like you said, even historically-based games are often woefully inaccurate, so do we want to risk the historical misconceptions this could lead to for our students? I do hold out hope that video games can be useful for learning, I think I just need to know more. What kinds of games are already being used for learning, what subject areas are they used in, are there games that are developed to be both recreational and educational... My list goes on. So what all this jumbled mess of thoughts means is, my personal jury on the matter is still out.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying the debate that's brewing in the comments here. Maybe it's useful to point out that MAC teachers have different styles, subject matters, and building cultures. It's in our discussions that we learn what might work for us in our unique situations. (For example: Second Life is a bandwidth hog and rather annoying to me (how, I beg thee, does one change one's clothes????), whereas my friend loves it and leads national professional development there.)
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