my teacher just told me video games will teach me to read literacy instruction and video games
TRANSCRIPT
My Teacher Just Told Me Video Games Will Teach Me
to Read
Literacy Instruction and Video Games
❏ Licensed teacher in the state of Illinois
❏ Experience both in public school and private tutoring.
❏ Avid technology and video game admirer.
❏ Author of the blog Gamifying Teacher
Who am I?
Today’s Focus:Literacy
❏Reading❏ Fluency ❏ Comprehension
❏Writing❏ Speaking
Literacy
❏ Important Knowledge is gained through direct instruction.
❏ Activities are entertaining but meaningless play does not encourage learning.
Common Misconceptions
❏Direct instruction is one of the weaker methods of providing information. More authentic tasks stay with the learner longer and prepare the learner to adapt to new situations.
❏We are always learning so long as we are using our brains critically.
Truth
❏ Interactive❏ Allow for testing of hypotheses in safe
situations ❏ The proportion of individuals who classify
themselves as ‘gamers’ is increasing. ❏ Literacy instruction for the technological
domain❏ Successful video game tutorials
demonstrate a blending of ‘telling’ and ‘doing’
Why Video Games?
❏Common Core is the list of standards that each student is expected to meet per grade level.
❏ The Illinois State Common Core has recently been updated and put in place in all Illinois schools.
❏Common Core Standards are specialized for each subject area.
Common Core
❏Not all games are created equal.
❏ Video games should not be the only source of information and learning.
❏ Technology cannot replace a mentor/teacher/sensei
❏Games are NOT BABYSITTERS!
Disclaimer
❏Currently:❏ Carrot and Stick programs are most common.
They are mostly skill and drill with game icing on top.❏ LEXIA❏ IXL
Video Games in Schools
Lexia
❏ The future: Virtual Classrooms❏ MMORPGS
❏ Potentially beneficial for ESL students and native English speakers learning a second language
❏ Learning is occurring in an authentic environment. ❏Holodecks anyone?
❏ New co-teaching opportunities❏ Limited language proficiency students with
novice gamer skills encountered problems which limited success in virtual classrooms.
Video Games in Schools
❏Misconceptions about activities versus direct instruction
❏ ‘Gaming Phobia’ ❏Girl things and boy things❏Cost❏ Technology Availability and Internet
stability
Roadblocks in Schools
❏Using video games at home to support learning.❏ Students who spend time engaged in active,
critical thinking activities outside of school in general do better. (Practice makes perfect)
❏ Teach students to find learning opportunities and seize them.
❏ As demands build extending learning time outside of school hours is going to be extremely important for long term success.
❏ Social benefits both long term and within the family.
One Possible Solution
❏ Family Read aloud time❏Game Manuals, build guides, and other
print materials ❏Discuss meanings and context clues to
discover game mechanics and story meaning.
Video Games at Home: Reading
❏Game Reviews❏ FAQs❏ In game communication
Video Games at Home: Writing
❏Critical discussion while gaming❏ LPs❏ Voice activation in video games (There
Came an Echo)
Video Games at Home: Speaking
❏ Some students have not meaningfully incorporate literacy into their daily lives.
❏Often these students are pulled out for skill-and-drill style interventions.
❏ Technology can help place students in meaningful literacy situations with built in tools to aid in language acquisition
The Last Word: At Risk Kids
Gee, James Paul (2007). What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kongmee, Isara, Strachan, Rebecca, Montgomery, Catherine and Pickard,
Alison (2011) Using massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) to support second language learning: Action research in the real and virtual world. In: 2nd Annual IVERG Conference: Immersive technologies for Learning: virtual implementation, real outcomes, 27-28 June 2011, Middlesborough, UK.
Peterson, M. (2011). Digital gaming and second language development: Japanese learners interactions in a MMORPG. Digital Culture & Education, 3:1, 56-73.
Lexia image from: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sRVbNSxLwmo/S-xqd2dJzFI/AAAAAAAAABE/VzB8QwZY3lU/s1600/Lexia+2+Final.png
References
Questions?