Technology & Learning - October 2007 - (Page 35)

has a long way to go. Bringing more resources to bear on this will require decision makers to move past prejudices and stereotypes. The good news is that foundations have been laid and there are resources available today to get started (see “Getting Started with Games,” below left). MYth #5— There isn’t any scientifically based research to support the use of video games for learning. There is an impressive and growing international body of research documenting the learning impact modern video games can have. The River City Project at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education is a longitudinal set of studies that simulate a public health crisis in a 19thcentury city to track the impact of learning games on low-performing students. In 2005 the studies’ preliminary findings showed that students learned biology content and were highly engaged, attendance increased, and disruptive behavior decreased. They also noted that students “were building 21st-century skills in virtual communication and expression, and importantly, that using this type of technology in the classroom can facilitate good inquiry learning.” Indiana University Professor of Instructional Systems Technology and Cognitive Science Sasha Barab and his team have conducted a series of research reports on the Quest Atlantis project that touch on how role-playing is important to understanding scientific practice. As one report notes, “The use of gaming technologies and design methodologies allowed us to design a world in which students had a legitimate role that there’s anything wrong with slayin uncovering and solving an ecologiing a few dragons once in a while. cal mystery. We incorporated interacLee Wilson (lee@headwaystrategies.com) tive rule sets that acknowledged is an education business veteran who student progress and rewarded proconsults on strategy, marketing, and ductive scientific practices.” sales issues for technology and print At the recent Games, Learning & publishers. Society Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, Constance Steinkuehler To see part one of “Getting It Wrong: of the University of WisconsinSlaying Myths About Video Games,” go Madison’s Educational Communication to www.techlearning.com/gamemyths/ & Technology department presented a study that measured the use of the scientific method in online WoW The Games forums. After parsing more than 2,000 Civilization (Firaxis Games) comments from an online forum www.civ3.com related to the game, her team found Quest Atlantis (Indiana University and that these discussions are models of National Science Foundation) http://inkido.indiana.edu/atlantis/start/index.html solid scientific practice. Future studies will explore if this is an outcome of Whyville (Numedeon) www.whyville.net participating in the game culture or if gamers self-select for this mind-set. Video games have become a cultural Mississippi State University uses Barix Instreamers for Classroom recording to force on par with record classroom lectures and offer them music and are as Podcasts. approaching the film The Barix Instreamer was selected for its industry in size and ability to record high quality audio directly reach. Educators have into the university’s server. been slow to add these tools to regular classroom practice because of a combination of real and imagined barriers. What is most tantalizing to those of us in the Serious Games movement is the For further information visit: idea that we could www.barix.com instill the kind of fanatical devotion and concentration that games like WoW do, but do it with instructional content rather than just dragon slaying. Not Podcast pilot program Technology & Learning October 2007 | 35 http://www.techlearning.com/gamemyths/ http://www.civ3.com http://inkido.indiana.edu/atlantis/start/index.html http://www.whyville.net http://www.barix.com http://www.barix.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technology & Learning - October 2007

Technology & Learning - October 2007 Editor’s Desk News & Trends Product Guide Reviews How Fast Is Fast Enough? Cover Story: Career Education in the Digital Age Getting It Wrong Higher Ed Point of View How To Bottom Line What’s New Emerging Tech

Technology & Learning - October 2007

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