Eh... I Need Motivation.
Is there more to online games than fun?
Undeniably electronic games have
become a significant part of leisure time, however in a variety of different
forms and mediums. Online games have been around for years and have had quite
an impact on the online gaming community and even going so far as to break into
other sectors.
In recent years, the movement for inclusion of digital games or video
games in an educational setting has attracted a widespread of attention of
people not only in education but within the game development industry. Games
are now being developed in a way to combat the ‘boringness’ of learning and
embed content that is relevant within the classroom, not being content specific
but by having the ability to be specific. The likes of Mojang’s Minecraft is a
prime example of this. Salter suggests that online games can be used to
encourage a diverse way of thinking and can steer a rather boring subject
matter in an engaging manner (Salter, 2013).
In addition to having games that are becoming more diverse and
multi-faceted as learning tools, the real drive behind myself personally
wanting to use games within a classroom is the motivational benefits it has.
Games have a magnitude of self-motivating aspects, within the game-based
learning environments learners are motivated to do something that matters,
which inspires them to collaborate and co-operate (De Freitas, et al 2010). For
example, I personally have used Minecraft while on my practical(s), to convey
an engaging way of looking at area and volume in mathematics on a server which
they all joined and helped one another build a village.
I sincerely believe that specific genres of games can seamlessly explain
some of the more ‘dull’ subject content in an engaging and immersive way. However,
I still value the pen to paper aspect and still think it is necessary as it
further develops specific cognitive functions and dexterity.
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Cube World - Technascribe & Praxismaxis - 2013
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike |
References
De Freitas, S., RebolledoMendez,
G., Liarokapis, F., Magoulas, G. & Poulovassilis, A. (2010). Learning as
immersive experiences: using the fourdimensional framework for designing and
evaluating immersive learning experiences in a virtual world. British Journal
of Educational Technology, 41(1), 69-85.
https://tinyurl.com/yc7jax7o
Salter, A. (2013). Make
games in the classroom with Inform 7.
[Web log article]. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/makegamesintheclassroomwithinform7/45717.
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