How Computer Games Help Children Learn
Shaffer, DW (2007). How Computer Games Can Help Children Learn. Principal Magazine, March/April 2007: 66-67.
http://epistemicgames.org/eg/wp-content/uploads/Principal1.pdf
Congressional Quarterly on Video Games and Learning
A recent article by Sarah Glazer in CQ Researcher looks at video games and learning:
More than three-quarters of American youths have video-game consoles at home, and on a typical day at least 40 percent play a video game. Some academic scholars claim playing games is good for literacy, problem-solving, learning to test hypotheses and researching information from a variety of sources. Others say gaming may be good for understanding technical information but not for reading literature and understanding the humanities. Enthusiasts claim gaming is preparing young people for the knowledge-based workplace. Critics worry that it’s making kids more socially isolated, less experienced in working with others and less creative. Experts remain divided about whether addiction to games is widespread and whether violent games produce violent behavior. Increasingly, researchers are studying why games are so engrossing, and some are urging educators to incorporate games’ best learning features into school programs.
The article is a good general overview, but also talks in some detail about epistemic games.
DIGITEL2007 Conference
David Williamson Shaffer is Co-Chair of the program committee for the DIGITEL2007 conference on Digital Toys and Games for education in Taipei.
PS3 and beyond
I was in a store today and passed a teenager playing on the demonstration model of the new Sony PS3. There was a small crowd watching him play NBA 2K7, a basketball game for the new console. It seems that people don’t just play games socially, they buy them that way as well.
A middle aged man shook his head and said: “Wow. Those graphics are incredible!” And a boy watching replied: “Yeah, you can see the reflection of the rim on the shine of the court. When there was a closeup before you could even see Shaq’s sweat.”
Personally, I’m even more interested in seeing the new Nintendo Wii, to see what the new controller is like. But what was interesting about watching this little demo of the PS3 was realizing how the power of game simulations continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
One day, the result will be incredibly high-fidelity simulations of things that matter a lot more in the world than shooting bullets and basketballs, and I look forward to working on epistemic games for medicine and other fields where high-precision work is an integral part of innovative and creative thinking.
In the meantime, though, I wonder whether the emphasis on high-fidelity simulation is misplaced.
More from Henry Jenkins
This time in an online discussion with the Chronicle of Higher Education:
The most unimaginative educational games are glorified forms of flash cards we use to cram for test. The best ones are what David Schaffer [sic] calls epistemic games which teach us how professionals think and work by giving students exposure to simulation tools and authentic real world materials. This will help them master the skills of a discipline or profession but may not be great for test prep.
