Games & Gadgets
Can Fun Empower Learning?
Jeanne Gleason, EdD
Director/Professor, Media Production
and Barbara Chamberlin, PhD
Director, NMSU Learning Games Lab
http://www.learninggameslab.org
Why
Are Learning Games
Our Learners Demand It.
Learning
Theory Supports
Becoming
Important?
It.
Easy Tools Empower It.
Today’s Learners are Gamers
Kids play computer games regularly
Ages 2-7 play ~43 minutes/day
Ages 8-12 play ~56 minutes/day
Ages 13-17 play ~78 minutes/day
Most kids play computer games
92% of kids ages 2-17 play video and computer games
(Gentile & Walsh, 2002)
Low income kids play computer games at home
Game play is their primary reason for using computers
(Jackson et al., 2005)
"You can learn more about a
man
in one hour of play
than in one year
of conversation.”
-Plato
.
“It should be noted that children
at play are not playing about;
their games should be seen as
their
most serious-minded activity.”
-
Michel de Montaigne
“Anyone who makes a distinction
between games and learning
doesn't know the first thing
about either.”
- Marshall McLuhan
Entertainment
Engagement
Education
Two Visions -“I justThey
want to play
Can
Coexist?
games.”
“Kids expect learning
to be fun all the time”
Games Have Given
Today’s Learners New Skills
collaboration
social networking
content immersion
problem solving
self-guided exploration
multiple modes of learning
What Traditionally
Engaged Today’s Teachers?
What Engages Today’s
Learners?
NMSU
Learning
Games Lab
http://www.learninggames.org
Development Built on Testing
Why we do What we
do
Expand the “fun”
in educational games
Track newest trends
Test our own games
Partner with other Universities
Train game developers of tomorrow
Build on Solid Learning Goals
Just be
“Games” to kids,
smart“Educational
about Marketing
Software” to
adults
Exit poll with kids, “What
did you do and learn
today?”
Newsletter home that
recaps the week’s learning
Simple
Games
Stand alone activities
Less Scaffolding
Fewer supplemental materials
http://fooddetectives.com
Matrix Math
Learning with iPods
Mid-School Humor
Aligned with Science Process
Standards
http://cahe.nmsu.edu/matrix/index.html
Ratio
Science
Pirates
Inquiry Learning
Experimentation, Simulation
Aligned with Science Process
Standards
Perfect post tests (pencil/paper)
http://sciencepirates.com
NMSU Educational Media Productions
Cooperative Extension Service
NMSU Educational Media Productions
Cooperative Extension Service
NMSU Educational Media Productions
Cooperative Extension Service
“The mind is not a
vessel to be filled but
a fire to be kindled.”
-Plutarch
“Game designers have
a lot better take
on the nature of learning
than instructional designers.”
-Seymour Papert
.
Gadgets, Toys,
Trends
Much more than fun
Access to MillionsEasily
Extremely simple - 4 buttons
Inexpensive $150
Holds 1 hour
Easy download
Acceptable for Web
Built in Mic
Quick for iTunes, YouTube
Flip Video Ultra
www.theflip.com
Instant Recording via
iPods
Small enough to carry anywhere
One Touch recorder
Downloads into iTunes instantly
File Podcast Ready
Games & Gadgets
Can Fun Empower Learning?
Jeanne Gleason, EdD
Director/Professor, Media Production
and Barbara Chamberlin, PhD
Director, NMSU Learning Games Lab
http://www.learninggameslab.org