Video Games as Learning Engines

Video Games as Learning Engines
David Warlick
February 28, 2008

Notes from the eMINTS Winter Conference presentation posted below. These are the thoughts and links presented, just a little late to post them but was from the 28th.

Second life. Virtual Game used for education and entertainment. There is more uses for virtual worlds in education..

http://landmark-project.com/sl/ is address to David’s office.

Recommended reading: How Games help Children Learn” by David Williamson Shaffer. Video games consists of roles and rules and students learn to create new ideas. These are applicable to the future of technology roles in our society. When teachers change the roles of students, the students change the rules. One example used was student’s use of video on student’s work to make a trailer for a movie or the translation of a book to a 30 second add.

Glen Wiebe, researchers says that games put children’s minds at play.

Applied Skills asks what skills will lead to success of the technology generation? Another good book is Got Game by John Beck.

Guitar Hero is the a popular game where participants play the air guitar. The game they engage in is doing battle with other guitarist. The option is that you go high when they are low and you learn to read music when in battle.

The Education Arcade describes how participants are visiting a history site and using the game in the curriculum as opposed to using the curriculum in the game.

Pit Man, is where the participant learns to create characters that help him. Pitman have capability and you train them to help aid your needs to survive. $. Lessons are ideas are fuel is food and there are no rules in this game. New information environments that will need to adopt rules. So, we make rules to create environments.

Spore. Will Right (Sim City creator) created this game. You are a single cell animal and you must find your food and activity. So when you are fed, you can lay an egg and continue to grow into an animal. It evolves to super beings. You create the animal. You improve your existence by making good choices. You are generating content and they become part of the game and available to other people. So you are tapping into the use of other users.

Mashinama is what participants use to create and live in a World of Warcraft. Participants use it to make videos on iMovies to share. YouTube video for Mashinama uses. http://youtube.com/watch?v=jPl4Yi5RPrs&feature=related

Halo lets you share your computer games online. http://www.invalidmob.com/Flash_Games/Halo.html

Games Education Society. In Wisconsin.

Passively Multi-user Online Games. Allows a large number of users in avirtual world to role-play with games. Created by Justin Hall. Students can earn points on games for their visits in virtual worlds.