This past session we have investigated how we incorporate games, gamification and gaming in our classrooms. First of all, according to Google, "games" are defined as "a form of play or sport, especially a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck". Google defines "Gamification" as "the application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service". Finally, "gaming" is defined as either "the action of practice of playing gambling games" or "the action or practice of playing video games". At first I was surprised by this definition of "gaming" as an act of playing gambling games. However, as I thought more about it, I see where the gambling aspect rings true. Each time you play a game, you are gambling whether or not you will become the winner or the loser. Most games also include coins, money, or badges, etc... There is always some sort of reward in game playing and if you are not the winner, you do not receive the reward, therefore it is considered gambling.
The Past... Thinking back on my own life, games have played a major role in our family fun nights. I was raised with Monopoly. Almost every Saturday evening, as far back as I can remember, my parents would play Canasta with their dear friends. Their son, Mike, would hangout with me and my brother. He taught us the game of Monopoly. It is a fond memory, even though I didn't always like the outcome of the game. Mike was much older than my brother and me. Another game that I recall playing often, and for many different reasons, was called Memory. I still incorporate this game into my life through my classroom students and their parents. I played memory for the game of memory but I use the game of memory in my classroom for academic purposes, in addition to increasing memory. As a third grade teacher, I introduce and hope to achieve student mastery of multiplication. I use memory as a game to help reach that goal. I ask parents/students to use index cards. On one half of the card, they write the multiplication problem. On the other half of the card, they write the product. Then they tear the card in half. After writing all the problems for one factor, they mix up the cards, turn them over and play! You can use this game, especially at home, for fun with many learning activities. Other games I remember playing as a child are card games, Battleship, Guess Who, Pictionary, Scrabble, Jenga, and many more. Most of them were board games until the computer was born! Boy did this development change our lives! I remember the big, off-white machine that sat on a big desk in my parents bedroom. The printer was a dot matrix and used the continuous paper with holes on the edges that you had to line up properly to make the printer work correctly. Now it seems like a dinosaur. However, back then, around the age of 7, I was considered very fortunate to have one in my home. I learned how to play simple games, and I remember playing "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?". Yountville Elementary School, where I attended my elementary years of K - 6, I remember playing "The Oregon Trail". This activity was used to motivate and encourage students to get their work accomplished because it was a reward for early finishers. Moving along in my past memories, I remember being so very excited to have received the first Nintendo. It brought Duck Hunt, Super Mario Brothers, and Zelda into my life. I learned hand-eye coordination really well and it entertained me for a bit. I was more of an outdoors kid but I really enjoyed playing during the rainy days. The Present... As of today, I have two children that love gaming. Not only do they love playing board games with me but they love online gaming, also. In our home alone, we have the PS 3, PS 4, Xbox, Wii, and Nintendo Switch. I no longer play these games like I did as a child, but I enjoy watching my kids play together with them. My children are seven and a half years apart so anytime they have something to do together is a win for me! They also enjoy the online computer games, such as Minecraft, Roblox/Bloxberg, and others. The Classroom... Games, gamification and gaming are more in our classrooms today than ever before. Not only has technology advanced and the technology world reconfigured its purpose for games but we are also in a socially isolating time during this pandemic. We all need socialization, one way or another. I see kids everyday playing more online than before due to the current times. It is how they can safely "play" with their friends right now. Now this doesn't mean that they weren't major gamers before but I feel they are using games more-so now to connect with others. Matthew Farber states, "Weaving games into lesson plans can improve engagement, inspire creativity, and develop content knowledge during a challenging time. Perhaps most important, games bring students together during the time of physical separation". When I asked my classroom students: "Would you rather play outdoors or play online?" most of their responses were favorable of playing online. One student said, "I'd rather play video pages because I could talk with my friends...a lot of types". This is an EL student of mine, and what he is trying to say is that not many kids are outside playing anymore, especially right now during COVID. In addition, he is saying that he has a better variety of friends online, compared to his friends in his neighborhood. Another student commented, "Most of my friends are online. You can get speakers and multiple games." Another student said, "They're just fun!" That leads me to our Ted Talk this past week. My greatest takeaway was listening to Jane McGonigal speak. During her "Gaming can make a better world" talk, I felt blown away. I have never looked at "gaming" in the manner of which she is researching. Comments from my students rang back in my ears as I heard Ms. McGonigal state, "We feel we are not as good in real-life as we are in games". She mentioned that negative feelings don't happen in games and that games are challenges for "leveling up, or +1, positive feedback". We all strive for that "epic win" feeling. She describes the "epic win" as "an outcome that is so extraordinarily positive you had no idea it was even possible until you achieved it". She goes on to say, it is "almost beyond the threshold of imagination" and you are "shocked to discover what you are truly capable of". Games are built for strategy and problem solving, in addition to socializing and creativity. She has a valid point and is doing some interesting research along the lines of gaming and making the world a better place. I never thought I would say this, as I have very little interest in the gaming world, but she is right! How can we create real world problems for gamers to solve? They are probably the best collaborators and problem solvers we know. They have mastered the 4 super powers: 1. Urgent Optimism 2. Social Fabric 3. Blissful Productivity and 4. Epic Meaning. Four online games I tried this week... The four online games I chose to introduce to my students are No Red Ink, Quill, Kahoot!, and Gimkit. I strategically added these 4 games to my list because I wanted to do a little investigation as to which one they prefer between two similar games, No Red Ink and Quill, and Kahoot! and Gimkit. No Red Ink: it was easy for me to set up and navigate. However, it is not linked with NVUSD and so I had to introduce it through the toolbar to the kids. They are not use to not using Clever apps so this was a little lesson in itself. Once they were on they found it more difficult compared to Quill. Quill: I have used Quill once in the past. After we used it the one time, we haven't revisited it again until this past week. The students liked Quill better than No Red Ink for a number of reasons. The first reason was it was easier to find because it is on Clever. Secondly, it is easier to navigate for a younger audience. As for me, it was easy to set up and add to Clever. I also like the reports feature and the "packet" design. Kahoot! Kahoot! was easy to set up but it has its pro's and con's also. I created a multiplication and rounding quiz for the students. They said it was kinda fun but they didn't like the "timer" aspect. Also, the music gave them anxiety. It made them nervous and they feel like they clicked the wrong answer because they were trying to beat the timer. I like the feature that they can use it during asynchronous time and I also appreciate the feedback reports. Gimkit Gimkit was our winner between the two. I used it to create multiplication flashcards. I created one game with only 0 factors and the second game with 1 factors. I will continue to create multiplication flashcards with Gimkit because the students really liked it! They liked the softer music, no timer, and the money aspect. Some students figured out how to "power up" right away by spending money. They enjoyed the competition aspect of it but I asked them not to use the "ice" to freeze others. I wanted to keep it friendly, at least for now. In conclusion... "Games are a powerful platform for change" (McGonigal, 2010). I am thankful for this class because it is pushing me to think outside the box and to investigate different games to improve engagement in my lessons.
4 Comments
Jamie Lutz
12/6/2020 05:40:06 pm
I love how you went back to the past & discussed your personal experiences with games when you were young. I also played lots of games when I was younger & try to play with my girls now. Setting up a weekly game night would be a great idea! Everyone loves to play games! I find the quote "Most of my friends are online" to be sad. I can't imagine my friends mostly being online, but I didn't grow up in a digital age so it might just be a change in the times. And right now, during the pandemic it might not matter anyway if their friends were in-person or online since so much is done online.
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Janine Burt
12/8/2020 09:39:32 pm
Hi Kimberlee, I love that you asked your students about their preferences for play. I think it's so important that we make connections with the way they are thinking and our own experiences. This week gave me some new insights into connecting the kind of "play" I experienced as a kid and as a teacher with the way students play today. I agree that we have to consider what is relevant to their lives so we can help them make meaning for themselves. Their gaming experiences can be a bridge to other concepts.
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Scott Marsden
12/9/2020 05:12:38 pm
Kimberlee,
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Kelly W.
12/9/2020 06:25:16 pm
Hello Kimberlee,
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