Digital Nation

Christine Bizier

Professor Kelly Warren

ENC 1102

February 18, 2014

Technology in Education

          No one can deny that we are now living in a Digital Nation. You can see people using some form of technology everywhere you go. We are bombarded with hi-tech stimulation from birth. Almost all infant toys have some form of electronic stimuli, be it lights or sound. So why would we not continue to use this new technology in the education of children? If we can keep all children interested in learning by allowing them to learn from games, could this possibly help out deteriorating testing scores and increase the graduation rates? With the average student between the ages of 12 and 17 playing some form of digital game (Schaffhauser) weekly, if not daily, it may prove beneficial to incorporate learning into games. If we can provide the right curriculum for students to learn from gaming, this might be what schools need to revive the desire to learn, keep students motivated while in school, lower the dropout rates and increase graduation rates.

          Educational games have been around for decades, and with the boom of technology, especially mobile devices, the demand for “digital learning games” (Molnar) has increased. Currently, the major marketplace for educational games is parents with young children while a smaller percentage is with the school system. The biggest barriers to educational games in a classroom setting are the cost, even though teachers who have used digital games have found that they are effective with low performing students (Molnar). While the cost prevents most schools from incorporating digital learning, consumers are spending approximately $21 billion annually on digital games, and nearly half of American households have one or more games systems (Schaffhauser).

          In a research study conducted in 2006 by the “Federation of American Scientists” (Clark) their preliminary results found that students learning through digital games showed a higher cognitive competency over traditional instructional conditions. In addition, they compared game designs and found that enhanced designed games had a greater learning curve over simple basic games. While games appear to provide a new way to educate children, the development of effective educational games, is very complicated task. This, in turn, underscores the importance of game design when games are going to be used as an educational device. Besides games providing a different learning environment, they have the potential to motivate learning by challenging the player to level up or get a better score. This desire to advance from level to level is what gets players absorbed with a game. They also provide a social learning platform (Phillips), by allowing players to compete with each other, as well as, assist a struggling player.

          Quest to Learn is a school located in New York who has taken on the concept of learning from gaming.  Their whole curriculum is based on educational computer games. They have a full time game designer as part of the faculty, who works to incorporate the requirements needed for all subjects and lessons. The school opened their doors in 2009 for their first group of students in the sixth grade, and in 2012 they had their first class of ninth graders. Their belief is that through gaming students will be able to solve problems. They do not use the standard grading system of A’s, B’s and C’s but instead use “game-like levels – novice, apprentice, and expert” (Sutter). At Quest, the students become explorers inside of a game where they are to complete an assignment. Once a mission has been completed, another begins. It is an ongoing learning cycle that keeps the students motivated. Quest supports a completely new way of thinking (Sutter). In standardized state testing, the students at Quest have outperformed their peers in conventional schools.

          While many think that this is the direction that schools should be moving towards, there are those who disagree and believe that we should continue to educate children by using strict discipline and lectures. By teaching through repetition, we can continue to educate all children.

          With the advancement of technology and the fact that most households use some form of this technology, i.e. cell phones, tablets, and/or computers, and many children playing games on these devices, it only makes sense that we develop some form of education via digital media. With the incorporation of digital gaming in a school’s curriculum, this might be the teaching tool that will keep all students involved and excited about learning.

 

Works Cited

Clark, Tanner-Smith and Killingsworth. Digital Games for Learning: A Systematic Review         and Meta-Analysis. SRI International. May 2013. Web 16 Feb. 2014.

Molnar, Michele, and Sean Cavanagh. "Consumer Demand for Digital Learning Games,   Simulations Growing Worldwide; But level of interest in K-12 lags behind."        Education Week 18 Sept. 2013: 12. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Feb. 2014

Phillips, Vicki and Zoran Popovic. “More than child’s play: games have potential learning          and assessment tools: we have the technology, experience and understanding to       engineer simulations and games that are assessments for learning (formative        assessments), assessments of learning (summative assessments), and potentially        even assessments as learning tools.” Phi Delta Kappan 94.2 (2012):26+.    Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.

Schaffhauser, Dian. Will Gaming Save Education, or Just Waste Time? The Journal.        August 2013. Web 2/16/2014

 Sutter, John D. Gaming Reality. CNN New York. Web. 2/16/2014.

     http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/08/tech/gaming.series/teachers.html