To what extent do serious games foster risk taking as an innovation skill?
Helen Smith (PhD student-AIT)
Barriers to risk taking in the classroom• High stakes assessment and the fear of
failure
• Time
• Resources
• Individual skills of the teacher
• Political rhetoric and controls over pedagogical practice
Can we create a learning environment….• That is engaging?• That engages young people
in real world problems?• That allows them to see the
links between global problems and science and technology?
• That allows students to work creatively and collaboratively ?
• That allows them to freely take risks?
Positive educational features of computer games
Mirror constructivist learning models that students:
•Face uncertainty as to outcome of the task•Recieve in time feedback•Actively construct knowledge•Can work co-operatively•Are self-regulated learners •Experience situations within the games that resemble real-life or authentic situations.
Some more positive educational features of computer games…
Players experience ‘fun failure’ (McGonigal, 2011)
Games engage the ‘digital natives’ of contemporary society (Prensky,1996)
Games allow for a state of creative ‘flow’ (Csikszentmihalyi, 2003)
Could serious games be even
better?
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Theories of persuasive design (Fogg, 2002 and Bogost, 2007) suggest that serious games are not value neutral and that players are anchored in an ideological position through a series of processes
Does this lead to greater levels of engagement than traditional educational games?
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Many serious games model the ‘Science-Technology-Society’ nexus typified by the work of Carl Mitcham (1994, 2001)
What are the implications of climate change?
Scarce resources?
What would be peoples lived experiences?
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Games for Change and Games for Good
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Increase capacity for social innovation?
Collaboration beyond the game in socially innovative practices?
Real engagement in issues around science & sustainability?
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Young women & Serious Gaming
• Engaged as both creators and players of serious games?
• Are more motivated by the social aspects of science and technology?
• Increase in serious games that touch upon the social position of women?
„ I foresee games that fix our educational systems... I foresee games that raise rates of democratic participation. I foresee games that tackle global scale problems like climate change and poverty. In short, I foresee games that augment our most essential human capabilities- to be happy, resilient, creative- and empower us to change the world in meaningful ways“
Jane McGonigal Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World (2011)
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Why are some of our young people fearful of taking intellectual risks?
*psychological disposition*a lack of cultural capital*the consequence of living in a risk averse culture
What might be the limitations of serious games?
Could you apply the same principles of game based learning to a non virtual environment with the same degree of success?
What place can serious games have in the future of educating our young people?
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