To Game or not to Game? By Jacqui Hinshaw

That is the question, (well one of many really), that currently faces educators as we move into the 21^st century. For those of us who can still remember the smell of methylated spirits as we ran off our handouts in the morning on the ‘Roneo’ machine, the whole idea of now using video games in the classroom can be quite overwhelming!

VIDEO GAMES.... WHAT ARE THEY?

In my quest to discover whether I could be a teacher that could possibly use video games in the classroom I need firstly to know exactly what they were. I found an insightful and comprehensive definition in the article, Video Games and the Pedagogy of Place, (2007) by David Hutchinson.

“Video games have traditionally been grouped into the following broad categories (Rollings and Adams 2003). Action games are typified by the popular first- and third-person shooter genres, (e.g., Halo & SWAT)... Strategy games (e.g., Civilization)... where players are given a grand-scale (usually top-down) view of a world in which they manage people, armies, armaments, and other resources. Role-playing games (e.g., World of Warcraft) immerse gamers in a persistent, living, virtual world in which they live, work, fight, or play over time. Puzzle games (e.g., Tetris) challenge players to solve puzzles using a rules based system. Fighting games pit players against boxing or martial arts opponents. Sports games (e.g., Madden NFL) aim for authenticity in simulating the on- and off-field action of sports. Driving games (e.g., Grand Turismo) simulate the experience of being behind the wheel. Flight and other vehicle-simulator games (e.g., Flight Simulator) aim for authenticity in simulating the experience of travel. Adventure games (e.g., Grand Theft Auto) play out an interactive story in which the gamer takes on the role of the lead character. Educational games fall into the serious games category, as do virtual simulators that are used to train military and emergency service personnel.” (2007, p.35 & 36)

So, now that I was armed with a definition, my next move was to think about the implications that video games held for education and in particular in my classroom.

DISCOVERY #1: I AM NOT A ‘GAMER’....BUT COULD I USE VIDEO GAMES IN THE CLASSROOM?

Well it wasn’t so much a discovery as I already knew this, I’m sure though that if I had a spare moment to play a game I would probably enjoy it & even find some benefits in the experience. But as all of my recreational pursuits have been put aside in order to complete my master’s degree that is an experience I will have to wait for. But I digress, the point that this train of thought is leading to is, as a non gamer, would I consider using games as a teaching resource in my classroom? After my initial readings of some very convincing arguments for the use of games, (Williamson 2009, Walsh 2007,Royle 2009, Prensky 2000), I needed to find some Australian based research that included teachers who weren’t gamers. And according to statistics presented by Royle (2009), I am not the only non-gamer teacher out there!

“42% of teachers never play computer games for their own leisure; 34% play at least once a month or more frequently (21% play at least every week). Teachers are not therefore, in the main, a significant gaming population. The fact that over 40% never play games at all is likely to be a contributing factor to the lack of knowledge and skills in gaming often cited as a key reason for teachers not to use games in schools” (2009, p.1)

Walsh’s (2010) paper, Systems-based literacy practices: Digital games research, gameplay and design, was what I needed to be convinced of the benefits to students, of trying to include video games in my classroom. The case studies presented by Walsh, “illustrate how two teachers came to rethink digital games and students’ participation in digital game culture as valuable and integral meaning-making activities”(2010 p.24)

DISCOVERY #2: THERE ARE SO MANY ‘LITERACY’ BENFITS TO USING VIDEO GAMES IN THE CLASSROOM.

Given my background as a secondary English teacher who over the years has watched numerous students struggle with the demands of the traditional English curriculum I found Walsh’s paper exciting and stimulating and very convincing as to the need to engage students, (particularly those who traditionally struggle with literacy) in a curriculum that, ”resonate[s] more closely with their lifeworlds”(2010, p.24)

Another aspect that resounded with me was that even though both the teachers involved in the case studies had taught English for many years, “neither was a ‘gamer’ or had experience incorporating digital games into the English curriculum”. (2010, p.30) Hmmm, sounds a lot like me.

The main benefits to using video games, as discovered by the two teachers, was the high level of student engagement with the English curriculum where they had never really been interested before. This was due to being, “engaged in curricula relevant to their lifeworlds”.(2010, p.26) When the teachers acknowledged student’s gaming capital in their classroom practice this allowed them to draw on all their experience as ‘gamers’. Suddenly, rather than being told video games were a waste of time they were able to use the knowledge and skills they had gained outside of school and apply it to assessment tasks within the classroom context. And... the skills developed during gameplay are many. Walsh (2010) describes skill sets developed by gamers as including; “technological & programming skills; understanding that taking actions has consequences; individually & collaboratively explore & negotiate risk, possibility, identity & subjectivity;(2010, p.25). They must “receive, transform & transmit information, understand, navigate, modify design / redesign the structures that underline their participation”(2010, p.27). He views video games as, “systems that require specific practices, knowledge & skills” and advocates that the skills required to proficiently play them is a form of complex procedural literacy that he has termed, ’systems-based literacy practices’ (2010, p.27) Also important to the gamers capital and literacy educator is what Walsh terms, the ‘paratexts’, around the game.

Well, I thought to myself...’In an ideal world, where we have lots of time and computer labs are never booked out and we have all the tech support we need...I could probably do some of this engaging teaching myself....’which lead me to discovery # 3.

DISCOVERY #3: YOU CAN INCORPORATE VIDEO GAMES INTO TRADITIONAL CURRICULUM CONTEXTS WITHOUT TOO MUCH DIFFICULTY.

As someone who would have some initial concerns about how I could incorporate video games into my classroom without needing a computer lab or technical support Walsh has a solution! He suggests the best segue is in the form of ‘paratexts’.

“Paratexts are the system of media products which emerge on and about digital games that work to frame their consumption. This system includes a wide variety of print and digital texts made by the digital game industry (guidebooks, commercials, previews, trading cards, clothes), specific paratextual industries which exploit the digital game industry (Cheatbooks & Mod chips), and by gameplayers themselves (Fan fiction, art & music, FAQs, Walkthroughs & maps, Glitch Lists, YouTube videos). The paratexts, like digital games, ‘provide a focus for critical discussion, talk and textual production, thereby acting as a pivotal point in the social and cultural lives of many players’ (Newman, 2005, p. 50) “ (Walsh, 2010 p.28 &29).

Well, even I could manage to incorporate some of these into my every day teaching thus beginning a discourse around video games that may even lead to myself and students engaging more fully with games themselves. Further specific suggestions of how I would begin to include paratexts and video games in my classroom appears in my blog entry, ‘Transformations / Innovative Pedagogies’.

REFERENCES

Hutchinson, D. (2007) Video Games and the Pedagogy of Place . The Social Studies. Heldref Publications. 35-40. Retrieved September 12, 2011 fromhttp://web.ebscohost.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6e4e9890-a4b2-409d-b458-7bf1344efdac%40sessionmgr15&vid=2&hid=15

Prensky, M. (2000) Digital Game Based Learning, McGraw-Hill

Royle, K. (2009) Computer games and realising their learning potential. Gamebased Learning. Retrieved September 10, 2011 from http://www.gamebasedlearning.org.uk/

Walsh, C (2010) Systems-based literacy practices: Digital games research, gameplay and design. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 33 (1), 24-40. Retrieved September 12, 2011 from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=11c034ea-9b66-41e1-81bb-bf43fe2aa388%40sessionmgr13&vid=6&hid=15