Do games belong in education?
Yes they do, but there will be plenty of resistance. When I see comments such as that from Mr. Bugeja below I wonder if they’ve ever participated seriously in a game-driven learning situation as a student. It is certainly true that you can’t stick a bunch of kids in front of a game — no matter how educational — without structure, goals, guidance, and all the other things a good teacher provides. But that’s the same in any structured learning situation. A literature course is more than just reading books — the teacher prepares the class before, guides discussion during the reading, and invites reflection after. You do similar things with an educational game experience.
In the Virtual Leader training I worked on last year, we did exactly that. Class discussion before starting the modules, followed by class discussion and student reflection on the learning. Just observing these things, or reviewing the materials sufficient for a real understanding of how this type of training works — you really need to put yourself in the student role and experience it first-hand.
Are Immersive Worlds the Future of Education or a Distraction? - Chronicle.com
Not everyone thinks that encouraging students to play online games is a good idea. Michael Bugeja, director of the journalism school at Iowa State University, said video games do not help students handle real-life challenges.
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