Excellent and Free Game-Based Educational Sites

 

         Game-based learning is becoming a more prevalent tool for classroom instruction and for the reinforcement of educational skills and concepts.  While there is a plethora of pricey software and costly sites that teachers and students can use to enhance instruction, there are also some really effective, well-recommended, free game-based learning sites on the web.  The main educational sites that I’ve explored are the American Library Association’s (ALA) list of Top 25 Educational Websites and the educational sites on Time Magazine’s 2012 list of 50 Best Websites.

Photo Provided By: Philip Taylor

    In many school systems, the school librarian is also the person in charge of purchasing educational software for the school. He or she is also responsible for maintaining the school computer lab, and accountable for recommending online educational sites for students to use to enhance their instruction.  This is why a list of recommended educational websites from the American Library Association is so credible.  The ALA’s list is broken down into six categories and each of these groupings feature sites that help to meet instructional goals and objectives that support the Common Core Initiative. The categories are: 

•  media sharing  
• digital storytelling
• management and organization
• social networking and communication
• content resources
• curriculum collaboration   

    The ALA’s website states that they chose these sites because of “their exemplary histories of authoritative, dynamic content and curricular relevance” (ALA).

            I spent some time checking out each of the ALA’s recommended sites.  From my personal point of view as a student, my favorite was in the realm of digital storytelling.  “Comic Master” is a digital graphic novel creator, much like the program “Comic Life” that I’ve used in other Mass Comm. classes.  It allows users to set up a graphic novel page, choose from a series of backgrounds for each section on the page, choose characters, create text bubbles, and text to write a graphic novel.  While it is limited in its characters and backgrounds, the user’s imagination is unlimited in the stories that can be created.  An additional fun feature of this site is that there is a music player at the top of the page that allows the user to set the mood with music as he or she works.  This program could be a great introduction to creating graphic novels at an upper elementary to middle school level, and I think it’s a great way to get students interested in writing and creating in general. Please click on the link to check out the ALA’s entire list of recommended sites to learn more.

            TimeMagazine’s 2012 List of 50 Best  Websites features websites that could be used in many venues, but only four that they consider specifically educational:

1. Learnist
2. Coursera  
3. Codeacademy  
4. Vocabulary  

     Learnist, is an information sharing site that features user-created lessons that bring together web pages, videos, Google e-books and other items on a specific topic. Coursera features free courses from universities from all over the world.  Codeacademy features free courses on topics such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript.  Vocabulary is a multiple choice site designed to help enhance your vocabulary.  Much of the vocabulary is similar to or is featured on the SAT exam.  I personally found this one the most fun, simply because I really enjoy word games and word play.  Click on the links to check all of these sites out!

            As the classrooms of the future evolve, it is inevitable that an enormous feature of them will be the usage of technology and game-based learning.  That’s why it is so crucial that educationally solid, credible sites are freely and readily available for all learners.

Game-Based Learning: The Way of the Future!

Will Game-Based Learning be the Future of Education?

I’m a digital native.  I was born with computers and the internet at my disposal. I don’t think that any of elementary, middle, or high school classrooms lacked computers. Most of my classmates and I have virtually no knowledge of a time without Google, iTunes, or video game systems.  This makes me wonder what my potential children and the children of my classmates will grow up being native to.  What technology will be available to them and what will their education be like?  What is the future of education?

I recently read Jamie Sarrio’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution interview with Bill Gates discussing his vision of the classroom of the not-to-distant future.   He envisions students grouped according to their abilities using computers and simulators, and being taught lessons by both human and virtual teachers.  Gates foresees a technology focused, game-based learning environment in classrooms across the United States.  His foundation, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has recently pledged to invest $20 million dollars in teacher tools and technologies to make the classroom of the future a reality for students and they’ve already given $500,000 to the state of Georgia’s educational system.

Image Provided By: vdowney

            As a software developer, Gates recognizes the enthusiasm that kids have for playing video games.  He believes that winning is a great motivator for them and feels “that students should be able to move to the next level when ready,” a known educational benefit of game-based learning (Sarrio).

            Gates sees the implementation of the Common Core Initiative, a state-led plan by the National Governor’s Association to prepare students for college and the workforce, as a huge opportunity to integrate even more technology into the classroom in the form of game-based learning.  Because of this initiative, the Gates Foundation has brought together a team of the best test designers and game designers to create games to help students become college and workforce ready. Gate’s says, “Imagine if kids put their time and enthusiasm into a video game that taught them math concepts, but they barely noticed, because it was so enjoyable” (Sarrio).  Gates recognizes the appealing attribute of game-based learning.  Students are drawn into a game and begin learning before they have a chance to let their hang-ups about learning kick in.

            I think Gates’ view of the classroom of the future is a necessity to prepare students for college and the workforce.  The majority of today’s students enter the classroom equipped with a wide variety of technological experiences.  They’re accustomed to using the computer, playing video games, and using a laptop, iPad or smartphone in a home setting and are often disappointed, or bored, with the traditional “old school” learning environment.  In my opinion, schools of the future will be forced to adapt to a more technology-based, game-based classroom to meet the growing technological needs of their students.

Sources:

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/opinion/game-based-learning/nQXGw/ 

http://www.corestandards.org/

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx

           

Gaming in Schools: A Beneficial Tool to Students

 

       In my previous blog I introduced my semester blogging topic: “The Uses and Effectiveness of Game-Based Learning.” I shared that game based learning is utilized in three main realms, in schools, in the military and in some industries.  Of these three realms, its use in schools is probably the widest reaching. Students from preschool through postgraduate school can benefit from learning games to acquire needed and required knowledge. The games that they participate in could be as basic as an old fashioned game of Multiplication Bingo, or as complex as video game used by medical students to learn gross anatomy. No matter what the genre of the game, if it is effective, its outcome is usually learning.  Why is game-based learning such an effective tool in schools?

Photo Provided By: Lyn Lomasi

                  According to the North American Simulation and Gaming Association, learning games provide many elements that students and their teacher’s desire. Learning games provide students with a motivation (NASGA). Most students would prefer to actively involve themselves in the learning process rather than just participating in lecture, pen and paper learning.  They also cause students to learn in a more relaxed way without inhibitions (NASGA). Many times, students will focus on the game as a game rather than as a learning tool.  They’re having fun and learning specific information is a latent effect of the game playing.  Additionally, games help students build bonds and encourage teamwork among classmates (NASGA).  They also provide practice of skills in a safe environment (NASGA). It’s much less stressful to get an answer wrong while playing a computer game by yourself, than it is answering a question incorrectly in front of your entire class!  Learning games also allow students to experiment with different roles and different ways of being a leader (NASGA).

Photo provided by: Librarian In Black

Children who may never experience being a leader in their normal school life may be thrust into a position of leadership in a computer or small group game.  Games serve to make the material being taught more memorable, thus the student will have better retention and their learning will be deeper.  Games also can serve multiple roles (NASGA).  They can teach a student a new skill; help the student retain that skill and then be used as an evaluation tool by the student and the teacher.  Game-based learning is also a wonderful way of reaching children and adults who may have different learning styles (NASGA). Being a visual and kinesthetic learner, I was always very excited when a teacher provided learning through games involving movement and computers. Additionally, learning games help to make abstract concepts more concrete, teach decision making skills, encourage deeper thinking, and provide reinforcement and rewards to the students playing them (NASGA).

 In addition to all of the above cited benefits of game-based learning, Jessica Trybus of Carnegie Mellon University also finds that game-based learning in schools allows students to learn at their own pace and is very cost-effective. “Well-designed games permit learning experiences that aren’t possible in real life—for example, “designing” a dolphin to find out how body size and fin position affect how far it can swim” (Trybus).  A computer program about dolphins is much less expensive than taking a large group of students to an aquarium to experience a dolphin in real life. 

With all of the wonderful benefits of game-based learning coupled with the available technology, there would seem to be nothing to discourage the use of these imaginative and engaging resources whenever possible.

                 

Sources:

http://www.nasaga.org/page/why-use-games-to-teach

http://www.newmedia.org/game-based-learning--what-it-is-why-it-works-and-where-its-going.html

           

Transitions Used In Maus

Photos By Hannah Parker, "Transitions"

Identifying Transitions Used in Maus

       I am continuing to read Understanding Comics The Invisible Art, by Scott McCloud, and just finished Maus A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman. In this blog I am to identify at least three out of the six panel transitions that McCloud discusses in his book, and relate them to Maus citing examples.In Understanding Comics The Invisible Art, McCloud explains   the six different panel transitions used in the world of comics:

1.     Moment–to-moment (each frame is moving in time)

2.     Action-to-action (the progression of action!)

3.     Subject-to-subject (stays within a scene or idea, that holds the meaning)

4.     Scene-to-scene (transports reader to a different place, setting in space and time)

5.     Aspect-to-aspect (bypasses time, and sets a wandering eye on various aspects of a place, mood, or idea)  
                                                                            
6.     Non-Sequitur (these panel transitions have NO logical relationships to one another) (McCloud 70-72).                                                                                                Three of the main panel transitions that are clearly apparent and frequent in Spiegelman’s Maus that are: action-to-action, scene-to-scene, and subject-to-subject. I noticed that Spiegelman does mix up these transitions, meaning that he does not use just one or two to move the story along. By having some variety he really makes the story interesting. It also brings a smooth flow.   There are some action-to-action transitions in Maus, for example, when Vladek goes outside to urinate and a guard begins to shoot at him, it transitions from Vladek creeping slowly outside his tent, to an abrupt gunshot coming from straight behind, startling him, and making him run and crawl back into his tent (Spiegelman 62). Another example of action-to-action is in chapter three, “Prisoner of War," when Vladek shoots the moving “tree,” killing a Nazi (Spiegelman 48-49).

"Action Transition"

     Scene-to-scene transitions make their way in Maus when Vladek takes his wife Anja to the sanatorium to get help for her post-partum depression. A few frames show different scenes of locations the main character traveled. Vladek journeyed from his factory in Bielsko to help Anja who lives in Sosnowic to the peaceful far away location of the treatment center. (Spiegelman 31-34)

"Scene-to-scene"

I would have to say that even though Spiegelman uses a diverse range of transitions, he certainly favors the subject-to-subject transition the most. This type occurs on almost every page moving the narrative along. Subject-to-subject transition happens the whole time Art and Vladek are simply interacting with each other, and with Vladek going “in and out” of present time to his recalling his memories from the past. For example, when Art and Vladek are taking a walk and talking about the past, Vladek changes the subject by rummaging through a trashcan to find a wire.  At this point, Art must get him back on track to transition back to his past story. (Spiegelman 116-117).

"Subject-to-subject"

Sources

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics The Invisible Art. Harper Collins Publishers. 10 East 53^rd Street, New York, NY 10022, 1994. Print

Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. Pantheon Books a division of Random House, Inc. Published in New York and Canada, 1992. 

Topic for Game Design Essay Blog

         The Use and Effectiveness of Game-Based Learning  

                                         

            In elementary school, and beyond, math was my least favorite subject. It was dull, unrewarding, and certainly didn’t hold my interest in the same way that literature or history did.  I remember in the middle of my third grade year being told by my teacher that I had to memorize my multiplication tables. I also remember doing everything I could to avoid the tedious activities of being drilled by flashcards or writing my times tables over and over. My math grades suffered as I struggled to commit each problem to memory until one day I arrived home to find a shiny new software box by the family computer.  Though I’m not certain of the exact name of the game, I do remember that effectively solving sets of multiplication problems earned me the reward of playing a shooting game. After few minutes of playing, I was hooked, and in a couple of weeks I knew my multiplication tables inside and out. What elements of this simple game made things click for me?  Why was a computer program able hold my interest and essentially teach me the basics of multiplication when other methods were less effective? Why did game-based learning work for me?  My blogging research topic for this semester of Game Design 344 will be “The Uses and Effectiveness of Game-Based Learning.” In my research I plan to explore the three main realms where game-based learning is utilized, to provide examples, and to discuss the effectiveness of this learning in each realm. 

            Game-based learning is essentially a way of conveying information and working towards a goal through the use of a virtual model (Trybus). This model could be as elaborate as a high-tech computer program, or as simple as a board game. Why did game-based learning work for me in my example? Jessica Trybus, the Director of Edutainment for Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center, says that “when education or training feels dull, we are not being engaged and motivated. In other words, we’re not really learning.”  My teacher’s method of writing tables over and over and using flash cards was certainly dull to me and my grades reflected that I certainly wasn’t learning.  Trybus also states that “in an effective game-based learning environment, we work toward a goal, choosing actions and experiencing the consequences of those actions along the way. We make mistakes in a risk-free setting, and through experimentation, we actively learn and practice the right way to do things. This keeps us highly engaged in practicing behaviors and thought processes that we can easily transfer from the simulated environment to real life”(Trybus).  Although it was far more basic than some software, my simple computer multiplication game had me working toward the primary goal of understanding and learning my multiplication tables, as well as the secondary goal of solving problems to reach the shooting game reward at the end of each level. As I played, I felt totally safe and unembarrassed if I answered a question incorrectly. In fact, making a mistake caused me to better remember the correct answer the next time the same problem was given.  In the end, I was easily able to transfer the knowledge that I obtained while playing on the computer into the classroom.

            The classroom/school setting isn’t the only venue where game-based learning is effectively utilized.  Game-based learning is also frequently used as an effective form of transferring knowledge in the military in terms of tactical, strategic, and global levels of warfare (Project on Defense Alternatives). Its other main use is in many industrial settings. For example, in the healthcare industry computer programs allow doctors to perform virtual surgeries in a safe setting. In the aviation industry, pilots can use flight simulators to practice difficult landings without the fear of putting real lives in danger.  No matter what the setting is where game-based learning is utilized all have similarities in terms of creating virtual worlds, fostering collaboration, providing goals and motivation, providing a safe place to practice and make mistakes and allowing knowledge to transfer from virtual to actual settings (Conetta & Knight). 

      Sources

Conetta, Carl and Knight, Charles.  “Project on Defense Alternatives, Briefing Report #4.” August 1993. Web.

http://www.comw.org/pda/calculus.htm

Lymbery, Judy. “The potential of a game based learning approach to improve learner outcomes.”School of Educational Psychology and Pedagogy. Victoria University of Wellington, 2010. Web

http://education2x.otago.ac.nz/cinzs/mod/resource/view.php?id=274

Trybus, Jessica.  “Game-Based Learning: What it is, Why it Works, and Where it's Going.” The New Media Institute. Carnegie Mellon University. 2009. Web

http://www.newmedia.org/game-based-learning--what-it-is-why-it-works-and-where-its-going.html