Gesina M. Korte
The 17th Trend
EDLE 634
Spring 2008 Gaming in Education
Utilizing electronic gaming in educational settings opens the doors for new possibilities in teaching and learning. Gaming in education is the 17th trend that educators must recognize. While gaming in education is nothing new, the advancements in technology have allowed gaming to quantum leap forward. Today’s games implement many common axioms of learning. Through motivation and interactivity technology encourages higher levels of thinking skills. It is something the joystick generation can relate to and a tool that will allow us to reach students. In 2005 the Learning Federation reported the following facts: An 8th grader plays video games an average of 5 hours per week By high school, 77% of students have played games; by college nearly all have 60% of college students are regular games players As of April 2005, America’s Army had more than 5 million registered users Since then the gaming industry has permeated popular culture even more. It has integrated itself into our daily lives and captured our interest through hobby focused developments. The field of learning games is also quickly emerging and showing up in curriculum more and more. Games are being specifically designed to meet educational standards with goals and tracking systems identified within them. There are two kinds of educational gaming; Simulation and non-simulation. Simulation gaming exists when there is a simulated environment. Non-simulation can best be described as solving problems by using the principles of the subject being taught. Non-simulation gaming is common in the subjects of math and spelling. Implications of Gaming in Education Contextual bridging (i.e., closing the gap between what is learned in theory and its use) High time-on-task Motivation and goal orientation, even after failure providing learners with cues, hints, and partial solutions...