District Administration - May 2007 - (Page 45)

Books About Gaming and Learning The Connected Family: Bridging the Digital Generation Gap by Seymour Papert Longstreet Press, 1996 Digital Game-Based Learning by Marc Prensky Paragon House Publishers, 2007 The Calm and the Storm is the ﬁrst in a series of Making History games. show that skills and data that have been acquired in the context of experiential learning are more deeply embedded. FEEDBACK: Because games often unfold over time, they provide players with instant feedback about how well they are performing. “You don’t need to give a kid a game and then test them at the end,” says Michael Guerena, a program specialist in the educational technology department of the Orange County Department of Education in California. “Most games are built with a feedback loop. You know right away the positive and negative about what you’ve done. That’s why people play which produces a series of simulations that allow students to make choices around issues such as bullying, underage drinking and racism. REAL WORLD SCENARIOS: Games can also allow a student to become adept at learning like a doctor, a lawyer or an urban planner—essentially any profession that requires innovative thinking. “Everything we know about innovation and creativity says that how people learn is to have an opportunity to work on problems they’ll face in the profession and to talk about them and work with peers. Games allow us to recreate Don’t Bother Me Mom— I’m Learning! by Marc Prensky Paragon House Publishers, 2006 Everything Bad Is Good for You by Steven Johnson Riverhead Trade, 2006 Gaming Lives in the Twenty-First Century: Literate Connections by James Paul Gee, Gail E. Hawisher, Cynthia L. Selfe Palgrave Macmillan, 2007 How Computer Games Help Children Learn by David Williamson Shaﬀer Palgrave Macmillan, 2006 What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee Palgrave Macmillan, 2004 Why Video Games Are Good for Your Soul by James Paul Gee Common Ground, 2005 “The most important element in making a game eﬀective is what the teacher does with it.” – Nick deKanter, vice president, Muzzy Lane games—they’re always getting feedback on their performance—and that means that students quickly learn if they’re ‘getting it.’” SUPPORT FOR FAILURE: In a virtual world, failure has fewer consequences than in the real one. Many games allow students to feel comfortable taking chances, knowing that only the computer will know if it didn’t work out. “Experience is the best teacher, but there are certain things you don’t want to have to experience,” says Sharon Sloane, CEO of Will Interactive, www.DistrictAdministration.com that,” says David Williamson Shaﬀer, an associate professor of learning science in the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the author of the book How Computer Games Help Children Learn. Finding the Balance Even fervent supporters of computer games are quick to say that the games are simply a tool for teachers to use, not a curriculum replacement. McDivitt, for example, uses the natural breaks in the game play to stop and discuss with the class what just happened and why. “There are a lot of teachable moments,” he says. And computer games are just a small part of how he teaches. His Making History unit lasts for one week out of the year; in his sociology class, he uses a half-hour Sims session each week to May 2007 45 http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - May 2007

Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
News Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Administrator Profile
District Profi le
Focal Points for Pre-K8 Math
Games Students Play
Healthy Choices
Tragic Lessons
Learning with Personal Media Players
New Products
Computer Literature
Problem Solution
Professional Opinion
Speaking Out
Online Edge
Calendar of Events
Research Corner

District Administration - May 2007