GAME CONSOLES USED IN THE CLASSROOM

DIANA

ARAUJO

Advantages Increase engagement and motivation: games

provides three main factors for motivation:

1.fantasy: Fantasy relates to the use of imagination and the child’s inherent inclination towards play. It creates a learning space along five distinct axes:

− freedom to fail

− freedom to experiment

− freedom to fashion identities

− freedom of effort

− freedom of interpretation.

2. Challenge is created by the task in the game. It is critical to game enjoyment - the game must be neither too difficult nor too easy.

2. Curiosity: in the sense of testing the game, or exploring to determine ’what happens if I do this’.

Beyond increased motivation,

teachers using games in the

classroom have also noted

improvement in several key

skills areas (Joyce, Gerhard &

Derby, 2009, p. 85):

It helps in the development of skills and competencies such as:

Strategic thinking;Planning;Communication; Application of numbers; Negotiating skills; Group decision-making; Data-handling.Personal skills (such as initiative and persistence);

Spatial and motor skills (such as coordination and speed of reflexes); Social (such as teamwork and communication); Intellectual (such as problem-solving).

Classroom practice

Be clear about the learning objectives Use games as appropriate: they do not have to be used in their entirety in order to achieve educational goals and stimulate motivation. Allow for sufficient time for both you and your students to become familiar with the game.

Committing to new technology: game-based learning is just part of the new technologies

Game-based learning offers many Opportunities for active learning.

Risk-taking: taking a risk when  introducing game-based learning. “You’ve got to start from the premise that it might not work.

DISADVANTAGES

Children can be initially distracted by the

game. It can create a barrier to learning,

because students may not learn the

material that is being taught.

Students may be so intent on trying to

win that they miss the lessons

supposedly inherent in the game or even

try to find ways to cheat so that they

don't have to learn to win. 

Bringing the competitiveness of games to the classroom can have positive and negative effects. Students do not support each other.

When video games are used, Heckmott brings up the association between video games and violence.

Some students may respond well to games, but

not all students' learning styles are the same.

Some may prefer to learn by observing, reading,

doing art or taking field trips.

The cost of using video games in the

classroom can be quite high.

Although some games can help some learners, teachers must be aware that relying on them too much will alienate other learners, like those who learn by listening or seeing, or those who do not like video games.