What Can We Learn From Video Games for Classroom Application?

Dr. Michael EnglandProfessor of Education

Southwestern Adventist UniversityAugust 2012

If the games generation are Digital Natives, what does that make the older generations – those who make or buy the e-Learning that the Digital Natives use?

One way to think of them is as “Digital Immigrants.” They came to the digital shores later in life, and they had to learn to cope with digital technology as adults.

“For the first time in history, we are no longer limited by our teachers’ ability and knowledge.”

– Mark Anderson

Product of the Environment

Video games Computers Email

GenerationX

The Web Multiple,

mobile devices

Instant messaging

Online communities

MillennialsBaby Boomers

TV generation

Typewriters Memos

Our Digital Native’s e-Life

Communicating email, IM, chat

Sharing Blogs, webcams

Buying & Selling ebay, papers

Exchanging music, movies, humor

Creating sites, avatars, mods

Meeting 3D chat rooms, dating

Collectingmp3, video, sensor data

Searching Info, connections, people

Analyzing SETI, drug molecules

Reporting Moblogs, photos

Programming Open systems, mods search

SocializingLearning social behavior, influence

Growing UpExploring, transgressing

Coordinating Projects, workgroups, MMORPGs

Evaluating Reputation systems–Epinions, Amazon, Slashdot

Gaming Solo, 1-on-1, small & large groups

LearningAbout stuff that interests them

EvolvingPeripheral, emergent behaviors

Mind Boggling Statistics

Today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes

(7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more

than 53 hours a week).  

And because they spend so much of that time ‘media multitasking’

(using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes

(10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours.

Number of minutes per week that parents spend in

meaningful conversation with their children: 3.5

Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900

Hours per year the average American youth watches television: 1500

Number of murders seen on TV by the time an average child finishes elementary school: 8,000

Number of violent acts seen on TV by age 18: 200,000

The average gamer will have played 10,000 hours by age 21 with 99 percent of male

gamers (94 percent for females) under the age of 18 playing five days a week.

The average young person racks up 10,000 hours of gaming by the age of 21 -- or 24 hours less than they

spend in a classroom for all of middle and high school if they have perfect attendance.

It's a remarkable amount of time we're investing in games. 5 million gamers in the U.S., in fact,

are spending more than 40 hours a week playing games -- the equivalent of a full time job! 

Reading.  Over the past 5 years, time spent reading books remained steady at about :25 a day, but time with magazines

and newspapers dropped (from :14 to :09 for magazines, and from :06 to :03

for newspapers).  

The proportion of young people who read a newspaper in a typical day dropped from 42% in 1999 to 23% in 2009.  On

the other hand, young people now spend an average of :02 a day reading

magazines or newspapers online.

Media and homework.  About half of young people say they use media either “most” (31%) or “some” (25%) of the time they’re doing their

homework.

Rules about media content.  Fewer than half of

all 8- to 18-year-olds say they have rules about what TV

shows they can watch (46%), video games they can play

(30%), or music they’re allowed to listen to

(26%).  Half (52%) say they have rules about what they

can do on the computer.

Gender gap.  Girls spend more time than boys

using social networking sites (:25 vs. :19),

listening to music (2:33 vs. 2:06), and reading

(:43 vs. :33).  

Boys spend more time than girls playing console video games (:56 vs.:14),

computer games (:25 vs. :08), and going to video websites like

YouTube (:17 vs. :12).

Tweens and media.  Media use increases substantially when

children hit the 11-14 year-old age group, an increase of 1:22

with TV content, 1:14 with music, 1:00 using the computer, and :24 playing video games, for

total media exposure of 11:53 per day (vs. 7:51 for 8-10 year-

olds). 

Texting.  7th-12th graders report

spending an average of 1:35 a day sending or receiving texts. (Time

spent texting is not counted as media

use in this study.)

Why Kids Drop Out of School

47% Classes weren’t interesting.43% Missed too many days and couldn’t catch up.42% Friends weren’t interested in school.38% Too much freedom & too few rules in my life.35% Was failing in school.

But 70% were confident they could have graduated. and 81% recognized that graduating was vital to their success.

Today’s Students

Online 3 -5 hours per day.

97% play video games

50% played yesterday

Today’s Students

Today’s Students

Accustomed to high level of empowerment

Today’s Students

Live in a world with lots of content to

choose from.

Today’s Students

Are active learners

Today’s Students Are active builders

How Millennials Learn

Themes of Millennials

• Digitally literate • Always on• Experiential•Mobile• Community-oriented

Conventional Speed

TwitchSpeed

Step-by-Step Random Access

Linear Processing

ParallelProcessing

Digital Immigrants Digital Natives

Text First

GraphicsFirst

WorkOriented

PlayOriented

StandAlone Connected

Digital Immigrants Digital Natives

21st Century Learners•have had technology forever•have found new processes for critical thinking•have embraced the concept of change•have managed to strike fear into the previous generation

What was your favorite game?

What was enjoyable about it?

Why Games Engage UsFun

PlayRulesGoals

InteractiveOutcomes & Feedback

AdaptiveWin states

Conflict, competitionProblem solvingInteraction with

peopleRepresentation &

Story

Enjoyment and Pleasure

Intense involvement Structure Motivation Doing Learning Flow Ego Gratification Adrenaline Creativity Social Groups Emotion

We have learned to “play school.” 

We study the right facts the

night before the test so we

achieve a passing grade and thus

become a successful student.

– A high school student

“...how many educators are able to keep

the undivided attention of 5th graders

multiple hours

straight without a

break...and yet video

games manage to do

so...”

The gamer's world ─Move over, I'm driving; buckle up!

There is always an answer

There is always a problem(s) that has a

solution(s) which lead to an end result -- the object

of the game.

Video games are fair.

There is always an answer

A correct answer will give you information which will be useful in reaching the goal; thus you

must persevere to find a correct answer.

The answer is rarely

obvious.

The answer is always relevant.

You might be frustrated for a while and you may need help in finding it, but it is always there.

Cheats (hints) are built into the program and

are part of the resources available to you.

There is always an answer

Cheats are OK, because you are learning (gaining valuable information) as

you move forward toward the goal.

In schools, the answer is given to you; it is often not linked to anything relevant.

There is only one right answer and one right way to get there and cheats are not to be

tolerated!

There is always an answer

Students rarely, if ever,

associate fairness with

schools.

Nothing isimpossible

You have the power to control your destiny. You can accomplish anything you

want, and therefore you are

motivated.

In any game, you have the tools and

the talent to be successful on your own, or you may

connect with someone who has the information you need

in order to move forward

(collaboration).You see yourself and

your friends do amazing things such as save the world from terrorists or alien invasions, create

thriving civilizations, and manage a successful

small business.

Competition &

Collaboration

Competition and collaboration are

symbiotic rather than mutually exclusive

concepts.

Competition is inherent in game

structure. Competition is the

motivatingfactor

Competition does not eclipse collaboration;

in fact, collaboration is often an integral part

of furthering your success.

Roles are clear

You understand

the rules, the tools at your disposal and

you are willing to take

the risks.

In games, roles are clearly defined. You

choose your role and understand its

powers and limitations.

At the secondary level, a child may

have several teachers a day who all have

different definitions of the

child's role depending on the activity chosen or the concept being

taught.

Roles are clear

In schools, the roles are not as clear. The child's

role of “student” is defined at the discretion

of the teacher.

Roles are clear

If a child comes into the learning environment with an identity that

is contrary to the role the teacher is asking them to

perform, he or she will not be successful. Thus, a child with a history of failure in math may

have difficult time accepting the role of “math student.”

They dominate

their culture

Their experience tells them that with patience

and perseverance,

they will succeed.

They are the stars in their own adventure. They are responsible for their own success.

Games vs.Schools

Compared to the classroom, games are empowering,

motivating, individualized differentiated learning

environments with set rules which value the efforts of

the individual child.

Games are challenging and

motivating.

Games vs.Schools

The structure is apparent; the rules are clear

and unambiguous;

and your role in the game is well

defined. The goal is always

attainable.

Games offer the child a shared experience with

their peers in a collaborative

environment. They are a platform for problem

solving.

Games arerule-based

Consequences of player behavior are

clearly either positive or

negative. If there is a disagreement

about the rules of the game, the game is stopped until the disagreement has

been resolved.

The rules are applied equally to each player. The rules of the game have to be sufficiently

well-defined so there is no room for individual

interpretation.

Games arerule-based

In schools we tend to consider our classrooms rule-based. However, the teacher is the keeper and

the interpreter of the rules.

The teacher chooses the

game.

The teacher makes the rules and can change the rules at will, either for the class or for the individual.

The game continues even when rules are

broken.

Player effort influencesThe game outcome

Yet these are the same students who spend hours playing games

which they find relevant, challenging

and fun.

The amount of energy the player puts into

the game invests the player with the

outcome.

Teachers are frustrated with the

lack of effort students are putting

into their assignments and

coursework.

The Bad News!Educators have been slow to pick up on this fundamental shift in the way the video game generation learns. They know something is very different in the classroom; they

just can't pin point what it is.

Teachers are frustrated by their inability

to connect with students.

The Bad News!

We are dealing with a new, rapidly

growing culture that refuses to be

force fed a “canned

education.”

This attitude is a slap in the face to

our traditional educational system, but it is a fact and it

is not going to go

Apathetic students are willing to be in school, perhaps, but motivated only by their parents,

their friends or the law. Even though they are

physically in attendance, they are not engaged in

the “game” we call school.

The Bad News!

The structure of the game molds the

gamers‘ experiences, leading to a different way of looking at the

world and, given a certain situation,

determining how best to interact. Teachers who are not gamers

do not live in the same world and

therefore cannot see the possibilities.

The Bad News!

The gamers are trying to send a message to their

teachers and to the educational system as a whole. Clearly, teachers are going to have to rethink how they present

material in the classroom.

Kids will walk away from homework because

it is “too hard.”

Kids will walk away from a computer game because it is“too easy.”

ENGAGE MEor

ENRAGE ME

In Fact, LEARNINGIs The BIG SECRETREASON

We Play Games!

OUR JOB IS TOCOMBINE

GAME PEDAGOGYWITH

THE CURRICULUM

Fifteen Principles of Gaming

• Risk-taking: Good video games lower the consequences caused from failure. Risks are encouraged.

• Customization: Games provide different difficulty levels and allow players to solve problems in different ways.

• Agency: Players gain a sense of ownership.

• Well-Ordered Problems: Problems players face are built to lead players to form strategies that will work later, on harder problems.

• Challenge and Consolidation: Games allow players to gain mastery, then requires them to learn something new and consolidate their skills.

• “Just-in-Time” and “On Demand”: Games give verbal commands versus written.

• Situated Meanings: Games always situate meanings of words in terms of actions, images and dialogue.

• Pleasantly Frustrating: Game are “doable” but challenging.

• System Thinking: Games encourage players to think about relationships, not isolated events.

• Explore, Think Literally, Rethink Goals: Games encourage players to explore thoroughly before moving on, thinking laterally not just linearly.

• Smart Tools and Distributed Knowledge: Players often work with other characters to complete the game, knowledge and tools are shared.

• Cross-Functional Teams: Many games require players to be apart of multiplayer teams.

• Kids who play games with their parents feel a stronger connection with them and also perform better in school.

• Playing "pro social" games like Super Mario Sunshine where you help out the world makes you three to four times more likely to help others in real life.

• As far as music games, 67 percent of respondents in a pool of 7,000 reported inspiration to play an instrument in real life after playing a music game.72 percent of musicians reported spending more time playing real instruments after playing music games.

So what are positive side effects of games?

• Playing as an attractive, heroic character in a video game for 90 seconds will make players more confident for the next 24 hours. More likely to put themselves out there.

• The second most positive mental activity in soldiers was found after they played games for three to four hours. The most positive activity came from five to six hours of daily exercise.

• Gamers are more likely to have lucid dreams and are more likely able to take control in nightmares for positive outcomes.

So what are positive side effects of games?

The Future1. Video games / simulations will have a

significant impact upon learning in the next 5 years that will be verified by hard data.

2. Games and simulations will transform learning in the next 10-15 years.

3. Institutions prepared to develop and use these simulations will have an edge.

4. There will be need to teach with, develop, and learn from these games and simulations.

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