Good

They are effective multitasking learners whom are able to distribute their attention span to gain maximum benefit. They pick up skills quickly in terms of technology which provides platform to learn other skills using technology.

Bad

They constantly need external stimulus to keep them engaged, thus they find it hard to stop and reflect which is a vital process of ‘learning from experience.’

• Which portrait did you select? (In your blog, create a link to the portrait.) In terms of their digital background, how similar was that student compared to a Singapore student?

I would select Cameron as he is a avid gamer and has interest in videos.

• How might teachers in Singapore today engage and teach our digital natives?

Teachers should move away as much as possible from chalk and talk. Although it is difficult to create customised games to suit learning needs (due to time drained away for administration work, lack of expertise to customise games etc.), a conscious effort should be make to create interacting lessons with visual stimulus to engage Digital Natives. Thou we ourselves are digital immigrants, we should modify our teaching pedagogy to suit the digital natives rather them adapting to us.

• As you look into the possible future of the educational landscape, what sort of impressions, fears, or possibilities crossed your mind?

The future holds great excitement as it provides endless possibilities on how teaching and learning could be conducted due to the advancement of technology. However, technology (e.g. Robots) should not replace  human teachers as other soft skills and values could not by them.

• What might living, learning and working be like in the future?

Technology will certainly play an integral role in our lives. The key is to leverage on technology to enhance our quality of life rather than to ruin it due to over-reliance on IT.

•  How is NIE preparing you to prepare your students for this possible future? How might you prepare yourself?

NIE has caused a paradigm shift in my teaching pedagogy.  It has shown me the students that I would expect to teach in the future and how I could equip myself to tailor to their needs.

Sorry really late on my reflection

Cheers

Justin

Things that digital natives appear to be poor at are that they seem to have shorter attention spans as compared to digital immigrants. The speed at which things are happening are not helping them either. Digital natives have less time for reflection, and it is getting even lesser.

Student : Cameron (http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile- cameron-video)

Cameron is definitely different from the students in Singapore. The technology that Cameron is exposed to is vastly different to that of a Singaporean child. Even though children in Singapore are getting in touch with the Internet at such a young age, they are not as fortunate as Cameron (in terms of exposure) as they have other subjects to deal with.
At the same time, he is also fortunate enough to have that kind of equipment available to enable self-teach. Coming from a neighbourhood school during my contract period, majority of the students do not have the luxury. Either that or parents are not supportive enough.
In fact, I think he knows more about using the computer than most of us! (we are digital immigrants after all. ☺)
In short, the amount of exposure (in terms of using technology) he is given is paramount as compared to students in Singapore. I am not surprised if because of those amount of exposure he is given, he has a higher IQ than the rest of his classmates.
How can we engage students?
We have to play by their rules. We have to use technology to help them be more comfortable in learning. They already have been “rewired” to use the internet. So to them, reading a book or studying for a test by doing assessments from a book may bore them to death.
There is no point to stick to traditional methods when to the children at this time and age; their traditional methods consist of using the various technology available to them.
Although, in order to play by their rules, we have to learn what is the game about first.
PART B.
After looking at the videos, I have to say that I am very eager to see when that will happen. On another note, I think it seems to be a little unrealistic, especially the Singapore video. It seems to be trying to achieve too much within such a short period of time. (Remember Goal 2010?)
If time permits and the impression becomes true, it really is very exciting. Teachers may not have to step into class at all. Heck, they might not even need to step out of their homes to teach. Learning could potentially become a lot more automatic for the students as they have technology and speed at their disposal. Don’t forget though, there is a risk that technology may still fail us.
NIE is making student teachers use technologies that could potentially aid them in their daily work. How can I prepare myself? I think I am already soaking in all the use of technologies available. At the beginning of this course, I wasn’t sure I would be able to use many of the technologies that this course requires. Turns out, if I am able to just change a little bit of my mind set, it’s not too impossible.

cheers,
ghim khoon

Things that digital natives appear to be poor at are that they seem to have shorter attention spans as compared to digital immigrants. The speed at which things are happening are not helping them either. Digital natives have less time for reflection, and it is getting even lesser.

Student : Cameron (http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile- cameron-video)

Cameron is definitely different from the students in Singapore. The technology that Cameron is exposed to is vastly different to that of a Singaporean child. Even though children in Singapore are getting in touch with the Internet at such a young age, they are not as fortunate as Cameron (in terms of exposure) as they have other subjects to deal with.
At the same time, he is also fortunate enough to have that kind of equipment available to enable self-teach. Coming from a neighbourhood school during my contract period, majority of the students do not have the luxury. Either that or parents are not supportive enough.
In fact, I think he knows more about using the computer than most of us! (we are digital immigrants after all. ☺)
In short, the amount of exposure (in terms of using technology) he is given is paramount as compared to students in Singapore. I am not surprised if because of those amount of exposure he is given, he has a higher IQ than the rest of his classmates.
How can we engage students?
We have to play by their rules. We have to use technology to help them be more comfortable in learning. They already have been “rewired” to use the internet. So to them, reading a book or studying for a test by doing assessments from a book may bore them to death.
There is no point to stick to traditional methods when to the children at this time and age; their traditional methods consist of using the various technology available to them.
Although, in order to play by their rules, we have to learn what is the game about first.
PART B.
After looking at the videos, I have to say that I am very eager to see when that will happen. On another note, I think it seems to be a little unrealistic, especially the Singapore video. It seems to be trying to achieve too much within such a short period of time. (Remember Goal 2010?)
If time permits and the impression becomes true, it really is very exciting. Teachers may not have to step into class at all. Heck, they might not even need to step out of their homes to teach. Learning could potentially become a lot more automatic for the students as they have technology and speed at their disposal. Don’t forget though, there is a risk that technology may still fail us.
NIE is making student teachers use technologies that could potentially aid them in their daily work. How can I prepare myself? I think I am already soaking in all the use of technologies available. At the beginning of this course, I wasn’t sure I would be able to use many of the technologies that this course requires. Turns out, if I am able to just change a little bit of my mind set, it’s not too impossible.

cheers,
ghim khoon

What are some of the characteristics of Digital Natives?

(good)

Digital Natives can adapt fast and well when coming in touch with technology. They are good at dealing with technology such as computers and videos. They find lesson more interesting when they are allowed to learn through games as they crave for interactivity and want an immediate response to every action. Also, Digital Natives know how to distribute their attention when there are more than one activity going on at the same time.

(poor)

They lack the habit or motivation to do self reflection.

Which portrait did you select?

I’ve selected Dana . Dana is similar to Singapore students in terms of getting in touch with the internet at a young age. Primary school students in Singapore are familiar with the internet, like my students during my school experience days surprised me when they showed me their facebook account. Singaproe students can spend hours playing Facebook, taking care of their pets in Pets Society or hunting for cheese in Mousehunt etc. Dana also has her own pet in Webkinz  Pets. Dana also spend hours on the computer and loves exploring different websites.

How might teachers in Singapore today engage and teach our digital natives?

Teachers in Singapore should move away from the traditional way of teaching and learning. They have to face the reality and accept the fact that our digital natives nowadays are not enjoying the lesson as much,  compared to having the chance to come in contact with the computers or other technology in their learning. Teachers have to understand their students’ ability and knowledge well so that they can plan their lesson effectively and will not be something repetitive of what students already know. Teachers should allow students to explore and have more hands-on activities. It is useful to let them do work, research at their own pace instead of restricting them. When it comes to something that students enjoy doing and have the luxury to do at their own pace, I believe it will motivate them and produce quality work with lesser time spent, allowing them to engage in and experience meaningful learning.

PART B

As you look into the possible future of the educational landscape, what sort of impressions, fears, or possibilities crossed your mind?

I was fascinated and amazed by the technology used in classroom of the future, but I guess there is still a long way to go before we reach that stage. I do have a lot of doubts if students can really learn effectively when we venture into the new era of teaching and learning strategies and highly advance technology. What would the role of teachers be if everything in school is taken over by technologies? Perhaps we wouldn’t have the chance to teach like how we used to anymore. Students might just communicate with each other online, learn online. Without the face-to-face communication that we experience in schools now, will the generation of the future have difficulties communicating and working with others, accommodating and adapting well in different environment?  It would be costly if everyone in a family relies on these technologies in all aspects of life. After watching the video, the classroom of the future is really unbelievable. It’s just too good and wonderful to be true!

What might living, learning and working be like in the future?

Everything just revolves around IT, IT and nothing but IT. I guess we might even retire early. The technologies are way too advance till it makes me think we don’t have to slog and work anymore. Everything are just at our fingertips. Simply press the screen or button and we get what we want (except for money and love). :p

How is NIE preparing you to prepare your students for the future? How might you prepare yourself?

NIE prepares us by emphasizing the importance of student-centered learning environment. It is the basic that teachers need to understand and fulfill or even get used to before we allow students to embark on their own journey to the wonderful technologies awaiting them. At the same time, the modules in NIE encourages us to incorporate IT skills and technologies into our presentation or even teaching. This allows us to be familiar about the latest technology which could help us in our teaching. Reading more about the education system constantly would update me about the education world and situation. It prepares me mentally and I know what will be expected of me in future. I have to be self motivated to explore more and gain more real-life experiences.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Part A

• What are some characteristics of digital natives? (
  What are they good at?

They are good at playing videogames, sending emails and instant messages, talking on digital cell phones and watching TV. They are good at doing things with technology. They are also good at distributing their attention over ongoing activities such as playing toys and watching TV as illustrated by a research.

• What are they poor at?)

They generally need more direction in terms of reflection and having critical thinking in their learning.

• Which portrait did you select? (In your blog, create a link to the portrait.) In terms of their digital background, how similar was that student compared to a Singapore student?

Dana, 9 years old

As compared to a Singapore student, Dana is similar in terms of having parents who “have something to do with technology”. Both Dana and an average Singapore student have the exposure to digital technology since they step into this world. They are what we call digital natives.

• How might teachers in Singapore today engage and teach our digital natives?

They can educate these minds through the digital world (I don’t mean like Digimon for that). To engage and teach these students, teachers will have to step out of the traditional way of approaching learning and step in to the digital natives’ world of learning through technology. Teachers could let students use digital technology to create something and getting them to share what they did at home in school with technology.

.

Part B

• As you look into the possible future of the educational landscape, what sort of impressions, fears, or possibilities crossed your mind?

First impression: Wow! Cool.

Then I wonder if that really is the possible future. Will people (especially non-digital natives) be ready to embrace technology to such extent that it is anywhere, anytime and anything? Will that extent of technology usage be error-free? What will then happen? Will there be a wider gap between people who are not technology savvy at all?

Even so, the possibility of this as the future educational landscape is there. Looking at young children of these days who are armed with technology, there is a high possibility for a future like this. It is probably only a matter of how long more exactly. 2015, possible?

• What might living, learning and working be like in the future?

Living with technology, learning through technology and working around technology.

• How is NIE preparing you to prepare your students for this possible future?

NIE attempts to prepare us so that we may be able to prepare our students for a future like this through this ICT course mainly. In some courses, they try to engage our learning via online collaborative tools like wiki but to the minimal. I find it disturbing yet interesting that as I look across other courses I’m in, the tutors are not exactly prepared technology wise. I hope saying these won’t get me into trouble. =P For a few times, I have seen tutors in my own class getting stuck with computers and having to ask us for help. Playing a video from a disc can get them jumping and asking why (I’m exaggerating), how much more if it advances to a future shown? I wonder as well, if this kind of scenario will ever occur for my own class? That leads me to answer the next question.

How might you prepare yourself?

I have to keep learning and exploring these endless opportunities with technology to prepare myself for a future like that. To prepare myself also means to be open to changes (though difficult), keep on trying out and getting involved by learning more than teaching. That means much more time will be needed. … hmm…

_________________________________________________________________________________

LoL,

jowie (“,)

A riddle to start:

What word can be written forward, backward or upside down, and can still be read from left to right?

from  http://riddles.com .

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Some time ago’s posts…

Session 8

I realized in traditional instructional learning, it mainly bring about cognitive outcomes. In comparison, game-based learning provides more rounded outcomes in terms of physical and emotional as well.

.

The gaming approach is mainly trial and error based. Learners go first hand to gather their own set of instructions through hands-on. Traditional instruction is mostly front loaded, with the teacher providing the information, the format and so on.

For recipients of traditional instruction, they are shaped into people who know a lot of facts but may not be able to solve problems with those facts. It’s like a container with many nice looking shells or pebbles, nice to have but unable to do much with it. Students from traditional approach may be smart in facts that cannot really aid the person in getting a solution to life’s problems. They are usually on their own, receiving information from the teacher. Gaming in contrast, provides a platform for solving problems collaboratively in groups, gives students platform to innovate with the tools learnt and not just give standard solutions to problems. It gets them to think, to try, to fail and to try again, ultimately learning life skills which cannot be taught by just listening to teacher, reading books and memorizing facts. They can do well in passing paper exams, but what about exams of life?

.

In gaming, failure only makes one want to go at the task and try again. Unlike traditional teaching, failure will attach a mark or a ‘name’ to the individual as not as competent and may cause a lowered motivation to carry on.

.

Put in problem solving where applicable? Have assessments as part of learning rather than to make it an end. In learning, there should be production and not only consumption, meaning to create more than just absorb.

________________________________________________________________________________

Session 9

The authenticity of the lessons was meaningful to me and through it, I have learnt that teaching is not just about the teacher talk and students listen. Another factor that made it meaningful was the active role given to us throughout the lessons.

.

Through authentic learning:

Authentic learning is a pedagogical approach that allows students to explore, discuss, and meaningfully construct concepts and relationships in contexts that involve real-world problems and projects that are relevant to the learner (Donovan, Bransford, & Pellegrino, 1999).

My tutor gave us experiences in usage of ICT tools that we can use for our future lessons or even presentations. With the use of these ICT tools such as Mind Meister and Wiki, we were given opportunities to collaborate with each other yet still under the umbrella of the tutor. We explored concepts of learning collaboratively. We learn from each other as each lesson unfolds. The lessons are planned deliberately, if I would put it, and they scaffold towards the end product. I find it meaningful as I am being exposed to new concepts in ways that is engaging and learning things that I can make use of even out of school. My tutor is very current in his delivery of lessons and he creates an environment of learning-at-my-own-pace through readings provided that I can read at my own time then put thoughts down after I have completed.

.

Integrate the use of ICT with purpose of meeting objectives, relevant and accessible to them so that students’ learning may take place and not just have fun and interesting lessons. Have students as platforms of learning rather than teacher providing information all the time.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Answer to riddle:

NOON

.

LoL,

jowie (“,)

Digital natives spent most of their time online and according to Prensky, their online life is whole lot bigger than just the internet. Their online life has become an entire strategy for how to live, survive and thrive in the 21st century. Digital natives receive information fast, they like to parallel-process and multi-task. They prefer graphics before their text rather than the opposite. They prefer games to serious work. Their attention span increases towards activities that interest them. Digital natives may then have short attention spans for old ways of learning.

Which portrait did you select? In terms of their digital background, how similar was that student compared to a Singapore student?

 I’ve selected OLIVIA

Olivia is 17 and unlike many others, Olivia does not own a computer yet she can say “technology is my lifeline”. She will use computer either in school, basement of her building, friend’s house. The similarity between Olivia and Students in Singapore is that she could spend more than 3 hours a day on the computer surfing social networking sites like MySpace, checking emails or doing research for her assignments. Most of her classmates have MySpace accounts. Olivia finds it easy to edit her MySpace page and enjoys writing to her friends using MySpace. Like many others, she owns a cell phone and an I-pod, she needs her I-pod everywhere she goes, and if she doesn’t have it with her, she will feel that she’s lost track or something is just missing in her life. I think this is something really similar to the students here. I could understand exactly that ‘Lost’ feeling. Both Olivia and the students here in Singapore need their I-pod to pass through the day, they will use it during breaks, lunchtime, after school, on the way home etc. Olivia fiddles with her cell phone every seconds of the day, that’s exactly like what Singapore students loved to do. They can type SMS messages real fast and even in the train or while having their meal, they are still fiddling with their cell phones. It’s something part of them.

How might teachers in Singapore today engage and teach our digital natives?

As teachers, we must understand what’s going through the minds of these digital natives, we must not fall into the trap of labeling these students as being different from students in the good old days. Teachers should not keep students away from technology like banning the use of cell phones in schools. We must accept that there are lots of information out there and digital natives love to multi-task, like doing their research on a computer while surfing facebook, on the other hand, chatting to another friend on msn and so on. As teachers, instead of discouraging them to use the computer for assignments thinking that they will most likely lose their focus, we teach them how to focus on a task while multi-tasking effectively to search for information. We could then guide them on cyberwellness issues and model to them how to search for reliable information. We need to make an effort to try and find things that can attract digital natives and if we don’t, we’ll lose them eventually. Teachers must then plan their lesson such that digital natives can participate and use digital media meaningfully, they must be given an opportunity to experience learning using the tools they are familiar with. Both Teachers and parents must understand that digital natives learn differently and it’s not about memorizing facts from the textbook or studying definitions. If teachers continue to stick to the traditional ways of using textbook and not moving forward and adapting to the digital natives, then they’ll eventually lose more kids in their education system.

As you look into the possible future of the educational landscape, what sort of impressions, fears, or possibilities crossed your mind? What might living, learning and working be like in the future?

In future, I may not even get to teach? Everything will be done using the computer, there will be no need for a teacher or a human being to be present at all. The students will construct their own knowledge. Learning can be done anywhere, anytime. Learners are free to learn beyond the confines of a school. Everyone will be creators, they will create their own learning resources and they will collectively craft their knowledge. The school will then be replaced by a virtual place where they could form communities and exchange their ideas and knowledge with each other.

How is NIE preparing you to prepare your students for this possible future? How might you prepare yourself?

10 years down the road I may just lose my job! Technologies are becoming so meaningful in people’s life such that they will affect how we communicate with each other, access information about our world, and how we present ourselves. NIE and especially the experience in this module made me realized that I’ve got to keep up with the technology and continue to learn new skills and knowledge. I must see myself as a lifelong learner and be willing to update myself so to increase my technological literacy. Being aware of how education is transforming and how learners learn in the 21st century, I must be willing to change and adapt to them. The course have provided opportunities for me to experience the effectiveness of using ICT for meaningful learning and taught me skills on using ICT effectively, the game based lessons really stretches my creativity and imagination. I would then in turn share this knowledge with more teachers or teachers who are already in-service and get them to see how ICT can be used to do meaningful learning and why is it important for us, as teachers, to change and accept new ways of teaching and learning.

Desmond

Gaming give you feedback all the time. gaming doesn’t give you content then ask you to try a scenario, it does it the other way round.

“the words are tools for problem solving, not just facts to do trivial pursuit with.” therefore, using gaming, students get a clearer picture of what the references are about after they have seen it.

the impact of failure in gaming is that even though students fail while trying to solve the answer (trial and error, according to Appleman), they will become increasingly motivated (depends on their perseverance ) till they finally manage to solve that particular problem.

as with traditional instruction, once the students fails in an attempt at it, the student becomes demoralized and that will hinder his motivation to try at the instruction again.

James Paul Gee recommends to create learning environments that are different from the traditional schools, like using collaborations to solve real problems around the world. He also stated that there are currently many companies willing to make the leap from the old platform to the digital one.

does that mean that learning should all be imported onto the digital platform? That will for one make learning 24/7.

According to J.P.G (haha), he states that if this digital platform takes place, it will truly be a paradigm shift, the first in about a hundred years of education.

cheers,
ghim khoon

From the videos by Appelman and Gee, I learnt that Games are actually a form of assessment, we are actually being assessed everytime we play a game and it doesn’t separate the learning process and the assessment. This means you are actually learning and improving from mistakes through receiving the feedback you get from playing the game. This is also different from the traditional way of assessment whereby learning is done first then assessment. Hence, I would say assessment here will also be more accurate as learners are not assessed on their knowledge of facts but the application of it.

Students usually relate the word Assessments to Tests, Exams, Spelling, Quiz etc. The grades from the tests are then used as a gauge for parents to judge the strengths and weaknesses of their children and teachers, principals, schools are all assessed and rank based on the grades/results the students produced in an Exam such as PSLE/O Levels.

Are we really educating the students? or are we just preparing them to sit for an exam? Personally, I’ve got teachers who strategise by not covering certain chapters which she thought it’ll be irrelevant for exam and she will spot questions and ‘drill’ us by giving us past year papers to do. Recalling back, I don’t really see any meaning in whatever I’m studying during my secondary school days, all I remembered was doing ten year series over and over again and the aim was just to be able to do well for O levels.

Indeed it wasn’t a good way of assessing the ability of a student, even now as a student in NIE, I realised for modules like Mathematics, the only assessments are the two class tests and the main exam. Frankly, I don’t understand the actual meaning of studying Egyptian or Babylonian numeration systems and how it’s even related to teaching primary mathematics in future. But in order to pass the test, I just memorised the steps and formulas.

Through the 3 weeks of gaming sessions, I’ve learnt not only on how games can motivate and promote active learning but also as a form of assessment.  I’ve learnt that performance-based assessment is actually more meaningful and accurate and it need not be in the form of gaming! Just like what was mentioned in Gee’s video, scientists learn the language of science by doing science. Giving the students the opportunity to experience and explore and construct meaning through collaboration, at the same time, assessment is done concurrently with the learning process. The teacher could also get immediate feedback on the student’s performance throughout the learning process and not at the end of it.

Education is not all about reading the textbooks and sitting for exams,  the past 3 weeks have indeed changed my perception towards games – not necessarily just a form of entertainment but a tool for educators to engage the 21st century learners in meaningful learning.

Desmond

________________________________________________________________________

Play computer games in class? That sure made me quite look forward to class as a student.

For the past two lessons on educational gaming, I have been to 4 stations namely Station 2 (Trauma Center), Station 3 (Flash game set 2), Station 4 (Wii Sports) and Station 5 (edit wiki on educational gaming), 2 each lesson.

.

The trauma center was a challenging game for me probably because it’s only my second time handling a Wii control. Adding to the challenge was the poor hand-eye coordination I have. However, I did learn quite a bit as I attempt the station with my friends. In gaming, people will automatically get focused and on task together. This particular game allows us to work together with our group mates to complete a given task, within a given time. We learn how to guide, remind and spur one another through the process of being a surgeon. This game also allows us to take up a role that is quite out of reach in the real life. Through the simulation, I learnt how stressful a surgeon could be in an operation, especially an emergency operation. One must be steady, quick and have delicate movements to be a surgeon. It is good way of practice for doctors and doctors to be. No wonder where I worked before this, the doctors I know play Wii frequently. I think they must be challenging each other in this game. =P

The Flash Game set station came as a little turn off for my group as most of the links we went to either have to have us download it or create an account. We didn’t really managed to do much at this station except for a game that took quite long to load, that is the brain surgeon game. It is very informative and through the game, it led us to ask questions about certain procedures that took place and I could see us going through the CL process when one ask a question and another was able to fill in the gap of knowledge. It dawned on me that in order for learning to take place in gaming, some form of a challenge is to be involved in the process of gaming so that the students can be truly engaged.

The station for Wii Sports was probably the most enjoyable of the four because there was a really cute facilitator there, Mr Issac.  At this station, I find that there was quite a fair bit of SDL taking place with the trying out of how to manipulate the controls and so on. As the facilitator was not very explicit in his instructions, I had to really observe him in order to understand what was going on. Even so, I realized that I haven’t fully understood how the sensor works until I was out of this station and noticed how one of them in the other group manipulates the control. The Wii Sports allows us to play with each other in a competitive yet fun manner. Winning and losing wasn’t such a priority as we continued to play. I find that so often, students may like to compete and compare with each other in terms of results and so on. However, in gaming, although there may be elements of competition present, the players are more concentrated on accomplishing their level of task so much so that even opponents are encouraging each other. This form of social aspect is something difficult to teach to students in the normal classroom context but it is almost self-taught when it comes to gaming. I find that gaming is a channel that is relaxed and it does not cause people to drown in despair after a lost but rather to keep trying without giving up. At this station, I also learnt that in gaming as a group, observation and listening skills are at hand and these are crucial relational skills that can be highlighted to students, as they are involved in learning through games. Another thing I realized from this station is that for people who are more quiet and shy, such simulation games can help them to experience how it is like to be a player in the particular sport at an enclosed and comfortable setting. Gaming as such allows one to do things they are unable or do not have the means to at that point in time physically. It is like even people with physical disabilities can play such games and it closes the gap of them being inferior as compared to others.

Lastly, at the station for editing information on educational gaming, there was a time to think about gaming being part of the education. I do wonder if our education system allows us to have time to embark on educational gaming. Although there are considerable amount of advantages to learning through gaming, it takes quite a bit of time (right?), both in planning and executing. I think a lot planning is needed to ensure that the objectives are met. One way that is to consolidate and have a reflection or thinking time is essential to tie gaming with education. If not, gaming is very fun but it may not serve the purpose in line with educating the young minds. There is also a need for more educating of the students of gaming issues especially addiction. All that will come as we venture into educating our students through games.

.

I clicked on this link (http://www.socialimpactgames.com/) among those listed and was somehow led to this page (http://www.seriousgames.org/).

.

I do play computer games, although not really that intensive in my opinion, but I have not really considered or seen playing games in such an angle that there can be serious gaming, education via gaming. I didn’t know that frustration in gaming is somewhat good as it means that learning is real. Well, in the process of learning, there’re bound to have times of frustration with things that are hard to understand, difficult to comprehend. In games, players may struggle to make sense of and to deal with roles to be played and decisions to make especially in RPGs. However, for anyone motivated in gaming, these issues are not daunting but challenges him or her to tackle the problems. That leads me to wonder, what about students who are not intrinsically motivated to gaming in the very first place?
There is so much to explore with the generation of hardware, consoles and hand-held devices now on the go. Being tech-savvy is going to be a norm in another probably a decade down time and hopefully we as teachers may be comfortable with technology in education and technical stuff learning will become an everyday normal encounter for all teachers and all students. It takes time and effort, but not that impossible.

______________________________________________________________________________

LoL,

jowie (“,)