Video Games in the Classroom

What are the benefits of learning through games?

Learning through video games is a very fun and interactive way to learn through play. The joy of video games is the points, the adventure, the challenge and the collaboration if playing with others. The best part about it is that it challenges students with skill testing questions like math, science, language, etc without realizing it. Children are more likely to sharpen those skills so that they can get further along in the game and receive more points. I find it really helpful that there is a game for almost any concept. This is a great consolidation once the students have practiced that particular skill.

What are the risks/downsides?

The risk/ downside of games is that students may be addicted to the game. This can cause the students to overplay the game. This may be a downside because since games are so stimulating and appealing to students, they may have trouble listening in a traditional class environment. The only way the two can work collaboratively is if there are boundaries on the game play to a certain extent. Also, if a teacher can manipulate the game and determine the content, then game play is good for the students.

What has been your experience – explain?

In my experience, I have seen students very interested in playing Prodigy. This is a mathematics game where you have a character and you fight other characters and go to different levels and worlds. This is a great game for students because each time a character wants to fight, they have to answer a math multiple choice question. This game is aligned with the curriculum so the teacher can determine which math concept the students will be tested on. I am familiar with the game myself because I created an account to see what the game is like. I personally like it, but the students have so much more experience, that they have shown me different aspects of the game that I did not come across myself. The other benefit of the game is that the students can virtually challenge each other and even help each other to answer the math question. This is a really good way to encourage math talk. The teachers also have access to the students account to determine if they played the game, how they did on the questions and how often they play. This is good assessment data for the teachers to track the concepts they are teaching in class.

How do you personally feeling about using games to teach your students?

I like the idea of using games to teach students as an addition to the lesson already taught. Games are good to play as an extension of their learning. It is still necessary for students to know the topic out of a game world. Games often times, give the answers wither right away or after two tries. Also, they may not explain why the answer was not correct. This is a downside to games as well which would inhibit me as a teacher to use consistently in the class. It would be used as enjoyment, study opportunities and practice of already learned skills.

Games are great, but finding a good quality game is difficult. If anyone has any suggestions, please pass them along.