Game-Based Learning

Game-Based Learning Dennis Heenan American College of Education

Game-Based Learning Since I have graduated from college with a teaching degree, I have heard one constant concern repeated by current teachers, administrators, and educational leaders: the current role of the student in the classroom is changing and the educational system needs to change with them. Terms like 21st Century classes are a buzzword that is quick off of the tongue of educational leaders, but due to restraints at the state, local, and individual educational setting, the dreams of this sort of education remain for the most part a goal that cannot be reached in the near future. Now that I am entering my twelfth year of teaching, I do agree that a change is necessary for the students, but I am realistic in the fact that it is not going to happen overnight. I may not be able to walk into a 21st

Century classroom this September when I enter my new academic year, but I do feel that a new trend in education that could be a possibility and a step towards achieving this goal would be Game-Based Learning. I grew up with video games. There was an Atari in my house when I was a toddler and at the age of seven, my brother and I had the best Christmas of our lives when we opened up our first Nintendo Entertainment System. Like me, the students that I teach have had the constant entertainment of video games in their lives. Before students were able to write sentences on their own, they knew how to control a video game. As educators, we have come to use any means possible to get a concept into the minds of our students, and to me it makes sense to use a medium that students are already so comfortable in using. I have had experience with using games in the classroom already being that my school subscribes to a program called Study Island. The program reinforces skills in the major subjects by offering a reward-based system where students are rewarded for a

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correct answer with a minute long game. The games are juvenile and the thrill of playing the game wears off very quickly. Being a gamer myself, I know that the video games can offer more challenging and vigorous experiences than trying to score a goal in a hockey net for a minute at a time, but I need to see if that there has been research and studies done to answer my concerns for Game-Based Learning. Before I start a curriculum with aid from Game-Based Learning, I wanted to see if Game-Based Learning was closing the gap between home and school and how effective the Game-Based learning was to the students, how teachers are being affected, what are the effects on the classroom environment, some of the negative aspects, and finally how would it fit into my Junior level English class. The first aspect that I was concerned with had to do with closing the gap between what students were doing at home and the learning environment and its effectiveness. In the article, Learning by Playing: Can Serious Games be fun? authors Wernbacher et al. (2012) claim that, Digital games are rarely used in education. They can however serve as a powerful instructional tool for potential use by all ages (pp. 533). In their findings, the use of games in the classroom, Learning games are able to strongly motivate learners regarding a specific topic. Learning games offer opportunities for learners to work immediately on meaningful problems. Open learning systems foster self-regulated learning skills. Using current technologys possibilities we can create immersive gaming experiences (pp. 540). The findings show that through Game-Based Learning, the students were able to enjoy learning in a medium that they are familiar in using and that the teacher was able to get the results desired. For me, this shows me that I could use Game-Based Learning in my classroom for a motivated learning experience.

Game-Based Learning

The next article focused on the whether or not using Game-Based Learning would be effective for adults to use to learn. Charlier et al. (2012) researched whether or not the use of Game-Based Learning would be effective in adults and found that the results were different than that of younger students. The authors saw that there were many benefits, but there was trouble in accepting the game as a learning tool, the preconceived notion of video games being overly sexual or addictive, and being less familiar with games (pp. 107). This shows me that Game-Based Learning is not for everyone and that it is a tool that should be used in an environment where it is already comfortable and does not have to be accepted. Students are used to playing video games and it would be a seamless transition to use Game-Based Learning in the classroom. In closing the gap between the home and the learning environment, one identical similarity that the student and the school have in common is the fact that these games cost money. Nicola Whitton (2012) offers solutions to this problem in her article The Place of Game-Based Learning in an Age of Austerity. Whitton offers three solutions in Game-Based Learning by learning by building games, developing cheaper games, and learning from games. I agree with the last one and have noticed how this is evident already in classrooms. When talking with a Western Civilizations teacher recently, he was remarking how he was using a video game that the students have used played on their own, Assassins Creed II, to show landmarks of Italy. Students were able to recognize famous landmarks from history by recalling different portions of the game. It shows that games do not have to be based on learning, but can be used as a proper medium for extending lessons, as a movie or picture would in a classroom. Game-Based Learning is effective in the classroom and works to close the gap

Game-Based Learning between home and school, but as an educator it is important to me how the classroom environment is affected. One aspect of the classroom environment that has been evident since the start of school is competition. Cheng et al. (2012) found that competition in Game-Based Learning helped the students and provided motivation. Additionally, a game with competition and incentives can increase the students learning interests and effect (pp. 225). Game-Based Learning can add a motivation to the classroom where students are disinterested and do not see the point. In a sense, the students can learn concepts by being motivated to be better than their peers. Just based on personal observations, students are very competitive when discussing games played in their leisure. Having an outlet in school where that same motivation can be tapped into for learning is a true asset. Another concern that I would have using Game-Based Learning in the classroom would be time on task. I read the article by Romero and Usart (2012), Game Based Learning Time-On-Task and Learning Performance According to Students' Temporal Perspective and their results were inconclusive. The researchers were looking to find a correlation between the time spent playing a game to the learning outcome. The

researchers were unable to find a direct correlation and stated that motivation was a factor in determining results (pp. 428). As a teacher wanting to implement Game-Based Learning into my classroom, I was looking for a direct correlation to time spent and learning outcome. In the classroom environment, it shows that motivation is more of a factor in having desirable results compared to time. In incorporating Game-Based Learning into the classroom, a factor that I have considered a crucial point is the role of the teacher. Most teachers that I have come into

Game-Based Learning contact are skeptical in bringing in changes to their classroom. One method in introducing Game-Based Learning was having teachers develop a game to be used in the classroom as a means of a professional development. Pllnen and Vartiainen (2011) proposed that teachers approach teaching in a different way by designing a game to be used in the classroom. Pllnen and Vartiainen found that, Constructing the learning game required multiple abilities in the designing process, an understanding of craft in game design and also pedagogical aspects of learning by gaming (pp. 58). Having the teachers design the game to be used in class allows the teachers to use knowledge towards constructing the game to be used, allowing them to master the game and

knowledge to be presented to the students. This would offer a potential for incorporating Game-Based Learning through professional development and a tangible experience for teachers to learn a new method to be used in the classroom. Another factor when concerned with teachers using Game-Based Learning in class is the mastering of the game being used in the learning environment. Many of the students using the games in class will quickly learn how to use and operate the game and it is the responsibility of the instructor to be adept in using the game. Taylor and Backlund (2012) argue that this has to be considered in the game design. Taylor and Backlund believe that the game designers should consider trainees playing a game need challenges related to learning goals. Instructors, on the other hand, need to be able to play the same game without those challenges (pp. 9). The games should be designed so that the teacher can master the game without the challenges that the students face so that a teacher having a problem with the game does not hinder the learning. In order for a teacher to be able to use Game-Based Learning effectively, they have to be able to master

Game-Based Learning the game themselves without any challenges. It shows that the teachers have to be committed to being able to use the game so that the students get the best results. There are some negative aspects to Game-Based Learning. Game-Based Learning should be used as a tool to aid in the classroom, not be the main instructional method. In research done by Fu-Hsing Tsai et al. (2012) that motivation to just simply play the game had negative effects. In this study, some cases just concentrated on completing the game, scoring and winning, and avoided reading the learning content in

the charging stations or treated the quiz stations as a guessing game. That is the expected reason why some students could not acquire knowledge through playing (pp. 248). Not every student is going to have the motivation to learn or concentrate on learning when using the game in class. Students may just be motivated to finish the game and the learning will not exist. The quality of Game-Based Learning is argued by Sigurdardottir (2012). Sigurdardottir debates whether or not Game-Based Learning is just edutainment and if there is really learning taking place. The term is used to describe the Game-Based Learning games as a gimmick and that they do not truly encourage learning. In the research, Sigurdardottir also argues whether or not the educational games are actually fun (pp. 473). The games need to be fun and entertaining in order for the students to have motivation to play the games in the educational environment. The games need to have a value in the classroom in order to be used for positive results. The last aspect I wanted to research was whether or not there was an opportunity to use Game-Based Learning in my Junior Level English class. Gerber (2012) argues that video games should be used for the English classroom. Video games provide

Game-Based Learning students with multiple literary experiences, from embarking on identity formation, to writing engaging fanfiction, to creating machinima to developing walk-throughs and blogs that help other games through difficult portions of the game, games are investing time and energy into developing literate identities through their game play (pp. 2). Gerber is arguing that through video games, a gamer is being more literate and using the

skills learned in English. Video games are helping the student communicate and identify skills that are taught in my level of English. The argument that Gerber makes towards incorporating video games into my classroom is justifiable and I will consider it in the future. Game-Based Learning may not be the cure-all answer for educations need for change, but it is aiding in the process of finding better tools for learning. Game-Based Learning can help the student be able to bridge the gap between the entertainment they seek at home and the needs of the classroom. The classroom environment can be affected in a positive way and results can be found. Game-Based Learning may even provide motivation to students to continue to learn. There are concerns with Game-Based Learning, as in any new concept in education, but the positives far out-weigh the negative aspects. With training and desire to get better, teachers can be leaders in incorporating this medium into the classroom. After the research that I have done in reading these articles, I plan on using Game-Based Learning in my own classroom.

Game-Based Learning References: Charlier, N., Ott, M., Remmele, B., & Whitton, N. (2012). Not Just for Children: Gamebased learning for older adults. Proceedings of The European Conference on Games Based Learning, 102-108. Cheng, Y., Kuo, S., Lou, S., & Shih, R. (2012). The Construction of an Online Competitive Game-Based Learning System for Junior High School Students. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology - TOJET, 11(2), 214-227.

Gerber, H. (2012). Video Games and Virtual Worlds in Teacher Education: Tapping into the potential. Pllnen, S., & Vartiainen, L. (2011). A Textile-Based Learning Game as a Design Challenge: A learning by design project in teacher education. Problems of Education iin the 21st Century 33, 50-61. Romero, M., & Usart, M. (2012). Game Based Learning Time-On-Task and Learning Performance According to Students' Temporal Perspective. Proceedings of The European Conference on Games Based Learning, 424-431. Sigurdardottir, H. (2012). Debating Matters in Digital Game-Based Learning. Proceedings of the European Conference on Games Based Learning, 471-477. Taylor, A., & Backlund, P. (2012). Making the Implicit Explicit: Game-Based Training Practices From an Instructor Perspective. Proceedings of the European Conference on Games Based Learning, 1-10. Tsai, F.-H., Yu, K.-C., & Hsiao, H.-S. (2012). Exploring the Factors Influencing Learning Effectiveness in Digital Game-based Learning. Educational Technology & Society, 15(3), 240250. Wernbacher, T., Pfeiffer, A., Wagner, M., & Hofsttter, J. (2012). Learning by Playing: Can Serious Games be fun? Proceedings of the European Conference on Games Based Learning, 533-541. Whitton, N. (2012). The Place of Game-Based Learning in an Age of Austerity. Electronic Journal of E-Learning, 10(2), 249-256.