WEEK 1

WEEK 1

What serious games exist for people ages 13+? What can we learn by playing these games?

 

 

There are numerous serious games that exist for people ages 13+. These serious games have the ability to allow us, as a gamer, to get a satisfaction that is not otherwise possible from doing normal everyday activities. For some, this satisfaction can be much better than reality. Serious games allow the gamer to be challenged to solve mind-puzzling problems in a virtual world where collaboration among numerous people can happen. 

 

Games allow us to collaborate in ways not humanely possible. For instance, I know of a young child who plays Minecraft and interacts with a guy from Scottland, half way around the world from him. The technology behind certain games allows for collaboration.

 

Another great benefit of games is that they essentially push us to use creativity and optimism to solve challenges. I believe it is an innate human quality to take on challenges and any game allows us to do that.  For instance, look at the game that involves skipping down the sidewalk without stepping on a line so you won’t break your mother’s back. Yes, it is just a small challenge, but because it was a game that challenged us to do something small we played it over and over again. With that being said, I think most would agree games are motivating and should be incorporated into our education system.

 

 

It is the motivation behind the game that makes it all worth it. Since, games can be very rewarding it makes sense that they could be in integral part of education in the future. I know that they are currently used as reward systems in some schools. However, I am not sure many schools have used games as a way to educate students.  It makes more sense to get “more bang for your buck.” Students will be learning while they are playing rather than doing some learning so that they can play a game later.

 

After educating myself on serious games, I have decided that they are definitely something I plan on researching in efforts to include more in the classroom, especially because they are so highly motivating. I was thinking these serious games might be the only way to motivate those students who are usually classified as oppositional defiant? With this idea that has sparked, I plan to investigate it more and see what research there is out there on this topic.  My hope is that I can find serious games already made to try out with kids. 

 

I also want to share my findings with coworkers.  I am going to remain optimistic and hope to discover that there are same great serious games that might motivate oppositional defiant students while teaching them social skills. That would be awesome!

 

To wrap up my thoughts for today, I look forward to finding out more in regards to the educational benefits of serious games.