School has Always Been a Game

I just finished watching this video from Dr. Chris Haskell from Boise State and 3D Game Lab. I would put the video here, but Blogger is coding it wrong and putting a different video in its place.

What I like about Haskell's brief talk is that he reminds us that school has always been a game, just not a game some students can win. Changing the game by providing choice and showing students how to master the learning requires rethinking how we do what we do. It reminds me of these talks by Rick Wormeli:

 I agree with what both men are saying. If we are after mastery, I don't see why products cannot be redone. In the classroom, I was a big proponent of redoing work for that reason. Adding in more choice in how the work is done can be frightening as we worry about standards that must be met, but in the end, if we have designed the learning experiences in a thoughtful way, all of this will be addressed.

As a parent, I squirm a little about some of this. I have no problem with my kids coming home with less work, and I'm glad I don't have to do a science fair project, as I already did those years ago. That said, I've had times when both kids really struggled with concepts and nothing was coming home that I could help with. The teachers refused to step in and help, and I watched both kids really deflate. If more happens at school, which I agree should be the case, then part of the paradigm shift has to also address parental support. What new questions should parents ask? How can parents support what is happening in the classroom? How can parents enrich? How can kids communicate what is happening during the day in ways that parents can understand?

Maybe I taught Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead too many times, but I do see how school has always been a game, just like many areas in life are a game. If that's true, how can we change the game to help make students excited about playing?

Game-based Learning and ELA

When examining the uses of games in an English Language Arts (ELA) classroom, the challenge for quality experiences rises.  The state and local requirements for these classes require students to be reading and writing, and ELA teachers can struggle with how to take advantage of the connection between playing games and learning.  Terry Heick (2012) listed several occasions for an “authentic and compelling role” for video games in the ELA classroom including as entry events to hook interest in a subject.  In section two, several games for ELA classes are discussed complete with images from the game.

          

      In the secondary ELA environment, the games I found seemed to fall within three categories. I will list the games under each category with images and a description.

Literature-Based Games:

Screen Shot from the Game

Lord of the Flies – The game serves as a review and extension of the novel.  According to the site, the players should use the game to refresh their knowledge of the text and hopefully gain new perspectives and questions about the text.  Within the game, players can match characters with quotes and symbols associated with them, discuss major themes of the text, and link symbols to greater meaning in the overall story.  Completion of one task moves the player onto other parts of the island.  While the game is simple enough for younger grades (4^th and up), the book usually is reserved for high school.  Overall, there are many chances for students to try to get things correct, but there is nothing meaty for students to do with the text.  Most of the work is matching, which is very low on Bloom’s.

           

Screen Shot from the Game

Oedipus Tyrranus – The game serves as a review and extension of the play.  Players are to imagine themselves as an audience at the Greek play and then infer why things are happening in front of them based on their knowledge of the play.  As with the game above, this game could be maneuvered by a younger audience, but the play’s use in high school would relegate the game to high school. Also, the lack of images and guidance would make this game frustrating for younger players who may not understand the play well before trying the game.  While considered a “game,” this particular experience feels like a quiz more than a game.  Most of the responses are multiple choice, and while the players receive feedback, there is not much to encourage them to push forward. 

Grammar Games:

The Home Page

Grammar Ninja – This game asks students to apply their knowledge of grammar to keep a ninja studio operating.  Students are shown sentences and asked to identify parts of speech. When players click on a word, the game throws a ninja star at the word.  Players can advance in levels.  Players will also be given a chance to rethrow stars if they choose a wrong word.  I am not a fan of grammar in isolation, so I would not recommend this game.  I think elementary students from about second grade could access the game and practice parts of speech.  The game would seem too easily after about eighth grade. 

 

Grammar of Doom – This game asks students to complete different exercises involving grammar and conventions of speech to advance through different spaces in a creepy castle.  Like with the game above, this game keeps the difficulty level low at first and grows based on the competence of the player.  Players are asked to move a verb through different tenses, find the opposite of words, and complete other tasks while moving through the spaces.  Players are also allowed to retry without too harsh a penalty.  These tasks are set for an older age, and I would put this game at grade levels fourth through tenth.  While I would still not encourage much play of the game, as it is also grammar in isolation, I think the thinking involved in this game was more complex. 

Skills Based Games:

Rhetorical Peaks – This game I used while still in the classroom and teaching both College Rhetoric and honors high school classes.  Developed by the University of Texas, Rhetorical Peaks invites players to investigate a murder in a quiet town full of famous rhetoricians.  The players can interview available characters, view the victim’s diary, and investigate the grounds to a limited extent.  The interview questions are from a question bank, so there are limited choices.  The point of the game is to analyze the rhetoric of the speakers and the journal and use that analysis to arrive at a conclusion.  Much to UT’s credit, no “solution” to the game has been published.  This experience is solely for students to come up with a theory and prove it with evidence.  I felt the honors students in high school could handle the game well, and they enjoyed debating their theories in class.  

If you have seen good ones, especially for the last category, please let me know !!!! 

Redshirts

We've played this game as our game of the week a couple of times, but since the blog is new, I'm adding the games before the blog started.

Disclaimer: My husband knows one of the creators of the game.

Redshirts is a game pop culture fans can appreciate. The title of the game stems from the idea that on Star Trek the anonymous crew member with the red shirt usually died. In this game, players try to kill off all their red shirts by sending them out on impossible missions where they cannot succeed. The missions are filled with funny allusions to a variety of pop culture elements. The first person to kill off all redshirts wins. Other players try to prevent this from happening by providing the redshirts with the necessary skills needed to complete the mission successfully (skills include diplomacy, tactical, medical, engineering, etc.).

Thinking-wise, red shirts requires a lot of planning and evaluation including when to aid another person (realizing reprisals may occur because of this), what kind of missions to send, and how to play the cards effectively. Understanding why certain skills are necessary for missions can spark good conversations as well. This game does not take long to play, and our whole family enjoyed it.

Knowing all the pop culture references is not necessary to enjoy the game.

If I still had a sci-fi class I would add this game to one of my weeks immediately. I think the students would love it, and I think it wouls show them that not all missions required shooting to be successful.

Scary Tales

Eric Jensen mentions in many of his works the importance of keeping the brain activity going for all, especially children. In that light, we play games a minimum of once a week that force the children to do some critical thinking. The game of the week this week was Scary Tales. Only two can play at a time unless you buy more sets. Since we have anywhere from 3-6 in the house wanting to play at a time, we bought all three sets. The game pits two fairy tale characters against each other in an attempt to gain as many relics from the tales involved as possible. The person whose relic points total a certain amount first wins.

This game moves very quickly, so quickly, in fact, we changed the rules and played for the highest number of points after the last relic was won. In addition to the strength, wisdom, luck, and magic each player may possess, a fairy can enter the game at any time and give a player an advantage. Dice and Power Cards determine whether or not a player can obtain a relic. Companions, characters from the tales such as the dwarves for Snow White or the cricket for Pinocchio, can also aid a character.

What made this game interesting was not only the fairy tale connections woven throughout the deck but also the thinking process required in each turn. Players must constantly evauate how to make a move, why relics require certain attributes more than others, and what kind of strategy will serve best long-term. Some cards can only be used once, so thinking about the best time to use an advantage requires reasoning. If this all sounds complicated, don't be fooled. The nine year old in the house had us all beat the first time out. We enjoyed this game a lot, and because it does not take long to play, I think it will make the rotation of favorites.