Gaming Trends

A classroom in 2030 has many possibilities.  Depending on the amount of technology available at that time and the trends with the technology, will decide what the classroom will look like.  In my mind, we may not even have classrooms at that point.  Because of technology and trends right now, children learn from their computers at home.  After learning how gaming has progressed over the years, it would seem that classrooms will progress.  Even now, many classrooms have starboards or smart boards that involve interactive lessons wear the children can learn more hands on.  Many high schools also have an ipad or laptop for each student to use for their education.  This takes away the cost of books and supplies and builds technology in the classroom. 

 According to Proto (2011), today, students are expected to pay attention and learn in an environment that is completely foreign to them. In their personal time they are active participants with the information they consume; whether it be video games or working on their Face book profile, students spend their free time contributing to, and feeling engaged by, a larger system. Yet in the classroom setting, the majority of teachers will still expect students to sit there and listen attentively, occasionally answering a question after quietly raising their hand. Is it any wonder that students don’t feel engaged by their classwork?   I will admit, I do this also, expect my children to sit and listen to instruction and raise their hand to answer the question.  My feeling is that’s how we were brought up to learn in education, why should it be any different.  After reading the articles, it seems that I need to be more active in the education.  I will be looking into other techniques to keep my children engaged in their education.  It does amaze me that when my children are at computers they can sit and work on the computers for a long time and seemed to enjoy the educational game they are playing. 

I have found though that no matter what year it is, technology and gaming is beneficial but there is always the never dilemma of funding.  According to Vivek Wadhwa, technology today of what is possible is unimaginable in a decade ago.  The other men on the panel mentioned that society and education is ready but it all goes back to funding. Along with funding comes with training.  I believe that as technology and gaming education upgrades or evolve, so should the ability to train on such things.  School districts should put it in the budget to get the teachers the education to teach to the new techniques. 

I have learned a plethora of information about the gaming benefits in life and education.  In my life, I feel as though I should be playing games more but I feel that I don’t have the time to do it.  But I do find myself, when I am not working or in school, playing games on my phone or the wii.  I enjoy playing puzzle type of games on my phone, which helps with my logic, problem solving and memory skills.  I do enjoy the luminosity games.  I may continue to play those games after the semester ends.  A good game is a unique way of structuring experience and provoking positive emotion (McGonigal, 2011).   

References:

McGonigal, J (2011). Reality is broken.

Proto, A (2011) The gamified classroom: part 1: the unique obstacles teachers face.  Gamification.com

Wadhwa, V. (2012) Gamechangers: What could education look like in five years?  Video. Livestream.com.

Virtual Worlds

Virtual Worlds

            According to Dr. Howard- Jones, gaming exerts a special influence on the brain.  Also teaching /learning through gaming requires technology plus new understanding and pedagogy.  With that said, video games affect the brain in various ways.  It fosters brain activity to build knowledge and memory.  Certain types of games help build skills, as in problem solving, speed, memory, accuracy, etc.  It builds the skills for the better, it requires you to think.  Long periods of game playing can affect the brain in reverse.  Meaning it isn’t good to play video games for hours.  It not only affects your brain power but also other parts of your body.  You have a short attention span to pay attention to games, but your adrenaline and need to play sometimes over powers other ideas of needing to stop or take a break. 

            Virtual world affect the brain by creating a world outside of the real world.  It gives you an avatar that you can create however you want.  It doesn’t have to look like you in real life.  Virtual worlds can build a community that gives you a sense of belonging.  Many people turn to virtual worlds because it makes them happy, it gives them a high or enjoyment versus their real life.  Virtual worlds do represent real life scenarios but it doesn’t bring in the drama or issues that one may be going through in the real world.  For example, gamers can build homes, communities, lands, etc. But most of those things don’t cost real money so you can build the biggest home or nicest car that you may even want in real life.  This affects the brain by using problem solving skills and flexibility to understanding that it is a game and it’s not real.  Virtual worlds show promise as an engaging and immersive platform for use in an educational setting. A study conducted by researchers at California State University, evaluated the educational effectiveness of different mediums for teaching visual communications (Lester & King, 2009) (In Young, W., Franklin, T., Cooper, T., Carroll, S. & Liu, C, 2012). 

            According to Antonacci & Modress (2008), educational games and simulations can engage students in higher-level cognitive thinking, such as interpreting, analyzing, discovering, evaluating, acting, and problem solving.  The possibilities for virtual worlds in educational context are promising.   They build skills needed to succeed in life.  The earlier children learn the skills the farther they will go in the world.  It will also help with building their education as they move on in school.  Children are learning new things daily and to add technology to the knowledge will benefit the education of the child. According to Young, Franklin, Cooper, Carrol, &Lui (2012) work is currently being conducted regarding a variety of subjects in game-based research. A specific area of interest is the potential learning benefits of game-based learning when compared to traditional classroom teaching.   In my profession, I haven’t used virtual worlds in my classroom thus far.  After playing around in the different ones that were posted, I found that avatar story tellers would be a great asset in my classroom.  This would help my children build story telling skills and writing stories or skills.  Research lends more proof to the notion that the right kind of brain training can improve cognition, change the brain, and have positive impacts on young peoples’ lives. (Hardy, J & Scanlon, M., 2009).  

References:

Antonacci, D.M. & Modress, N. (2008). Envisioning the Educational Possibilities of User-Created Virtual Worlds. AACE Journal, 16(2)

Hardy, J & Scanlon, M. (2009).  The science behind lumosity. Lumosity.com

Howard-Jones, P. Neuroscience, gaming and learning. Youtube.com

Young, W., Franklin, T., Cooper, T., Carroll, S. & Liu, C. (2012). Game-based Learning Aids in Second Life. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 23(1), 57-80. Chesapeake, VA: AACE.

Fix 14

Massively Multiplayer Foresight

1. Describe your personal growth in the areas listed below as a result of playing Settlers.

1. Taking a long view – My personal growth with taking a long view in Settlers is the ability to be patient with tasks taking long that it seems it would.  Also having to many different tasks or quests at one time makes it feel like you have too much to do in one day.  It sees in my experience that you’re either doing a lot at once or waiting for things to get done. 
2. Ecosystems thinking – It does seem that in Settlers, you’re in your own world or ecosystem.  I’m my experience with playing the game; you play with the players that are in your guild. Talk among each other or about the game and our real lives.  Most of the conversations are about the game and things we need or questions we may have.  The game does get you focused on the quests that are needed to be accomplished. 
3. Pilot experimentation - In my experience with Settlers, I designed my settlement the Way I thought it should have been.  But as time went on, I noticed by looking at other settler’s settlements that I should have organized it a little better.  Also, some of my guild members mentioned that I needed to move something’s around to produce things faster.  I did take their suggestions and moved some ting around my settlement.  I also trial and error the best ways to produce more materials that I tend to use more of.  I had to decide whether upgrading was the best or building more of them.  The whole Settlers game was a piloted experience for me.  I don’t usually play these kinds of games.  I learned that I like them as times but then they frustrate me when I don’t have the right tools or materials in order to move on.  Also the time it takes at times frustrated me. 
4. McGonigal (2011) states together, we can tackle what may be the most worthwhile, most epic obstacle of all: a whole-planetary mission, to use games to raise global quality of life, to prepare ourselves for the future, and to sustain our earth for the next millennium and beyond (p. 344).
1. In what ways could these skills be beneficial to any individual? 
1. These skills are beneficial in order to understand the game, accomplish the quests and grow as an individual.  In order to understand the game, you have to look at the long view of the quests and the have piloted experiences.  To complete the quests, you need to experiments and think about the ecosystem to get things done efficiently.  Lastly, all these skills help you grow as an individual in the game. 
2. How could you take this kind of gaming experience and skill learning into an educational context and use it to empower learners?  Be creative in your answer!  This kind of gaming experience and skills learning can be used in education content and to empower learners by one being more patient.  I’m pretty patient, since I teach Kindergarten but this is a different kind of patient.  I would use this experience to empower learners are by teaching them the experiences I have learned.  I will take my experience of building the skills to complete the quests to my students by showing them that they have to build their skills to complete the things they want to accomplish.  For example, they have to know their letters sounds before being able to read word or sound out unfamiliar words.  Same goes with Math, they have to understand their numbers before they can think about completing addition and subtraction problems.  Also, I plan to take the games that I have found for my students to show them the things they can learn by playing games on the computer. 
3. Summarize the three most memorable concepts from McGonigal's book that you learned or could relate to while playing Settlers.

My three most memorable concepts from McGonigal would be failure, social connectivity and leveling up in life. 

McGonigal (2011) says that failure in the real world is not fun, but failure in the gaming world has no risks and a better chance for success (p. 68).   Which in the Settlers game, you learn that it is okay to fail at a quest and to seek help from others in the game.  It’s less intimidating to ask questions online versus asking for help in real life. 

McGonigal (2011) also states that games build stronger social bonds and leads to stronger social networks (p. 82).  In the Settlers game, you learn to build relationships with other member or join a guild.  Joining a guild requires you complete separate quests from the ones that games has for you to level up.  It has become useful in needing more materials or tools to get the things you need to do. 

Lastly, McGonigal (2011) says that compared with games, reality is pointless and unrewarding.  Games help us feel more rewarded for making our best effort (p. 148).  The settler’s game gives you the sense of accomplishment when a quest is complete and when all your quests are complete to level up. 

 

 

Fix 13

Ten Thousand Hours Collaborating

1. Describe the general collaborative practices of Settlers' gamers that show shared intentionality. Make sure you use some of the key terms mentioned in this week's reading.

In the game Settlers, collaboration is used within guilds, and other friends.  The collaboration is built on trusting your guild to help you get the resources you need to complete the quests or just to continue on for the day.  Being part of the guild also means you have to participate by helping others out as well.  The guild also builds a common ground where we all have the same goals and rules.  The members of the game also share concentration and synchronized engagement by helping others and making sure their members are completing the quests.  Members focus on what their members may need and how to help them continue to build on their settlement.  Respect and fostered mutual regard are shown in the game by the relationships that are built in the guild and game.  Players respect your ideas and requests.  With the concentration and respect, a commitment to the game is required.  Players are asked to be committed to the game and complete the tasks as well as helping guild members.  Even though you may not see a real life reward for your efforts in the game, you are rewarded for your hard work and dedication in the game and by guild members. McGonigal (2011) states that as the game industry continues to emphasis co-op, collective intelligence and collaborative production modes of play, collaboration superpowers will spread more widely throughout gamer culture.  And as more and more people start to think of themselves as gamers-perhaps in no small part because they want to develop their own collaboration superpowers-these extraordinary new skills and abilities will become ordinary- the norm rather than the exception. (p.294)

2. Discuss ways you personally have found success by collaborating with others in the game. You can weave this into your description or make it a new paragraph.

I have found success in collaborating with my guild members and friends that I have met in the game.  I find it easier to understand what to do and to get the resources needed.  I feel knowing that you have others to turn to when you’re not sure what to do or the best way to accomplish it makes it easier to complete quests and get things.  With the guild, even though one person may not be able to help you there are others with in the guild that is capable and willing.  It makes the game more entertaining and bearable when you have others to talk to and help. 

 

Fix 11-12

Sustainable Engagement Economy

While this week was about a larger scale of sustainable engagement economy (crowdsourcing), in what ways do the following Settlers elements sustain this smaller scale of sustainable engagement economy within the game?

1. Good game world: Settlers has a good game world by continuously having to build your environment or land, while continuing to keep the production of the others building going, and defeat enemies to gain more land. 
2. Good game mechanics: Settlers had good game mechanics because each player has defines guidelines and results for actions taken or not taken.  It also tells which enemies to defeat but it doesn’t tell you the best ones to start with. 
3. Good game community: Settlers has a good game community by having guilds and helpful people to assist players with needs and questions. By being part of guild, it makes you do tasks to help out other members and others members help you. 

McGonigal says "also crucial to good community is the sense of meaning created by belonging and contributing to such an epic project.(p. 230)

More Epic Wins

1. Has this game made you curious about what more you can do? If so, in what way?  The game settlers have made me wonder what else I could possibly have to do on my settlement.  I feel that I just get where I have everything under control and then they throw more tasks my way to complete.  It also keeps me on my toes as well as being patient to getting things done.
2. How does this game harness the social participation of the masses?  The game has you participating socially with either your guild or help chat to get the tools or supplies you need in order to build the things you need.  It also draws you in to want to have conversations with the players on the game as you are waiting to complete your tasks or fighting and army. 

"Epic wins abound in gamers circles for two reasons. First, in the face of ridiculous challenges, long odds, or great uncertainty, gamers cultivates extreme optimism.  They have perfect confidence that even if success isn't probable, its at least possible.  So gamers' effort to achieve an epic win never feel pointless or hopeless.  second, gamers aren't afraid to fail.  failing in a good game is at the very least fun and interesting; it can also be instructive and even empowering. (McGonigal, 2011)(p. 248-9)

Crowdsourcing

Describe the crowdsourcing project you found and how it makes use of a sustainable engagement economy to achieve its goals.

The project I found on crowdsourcing was crowdfunding nutrition: using kickstarter to make kids healthier.  The project was put together by a person that wanted to change the way children eat and teach them about food.  She would come in on her days off to teach children about food and how to cook the food.  She wanted to raise money to fund a “food lab” in the school kitchen.  She would do her best to teach the children things with very little resources. She kick started the Kickstarter page to ask others for donations to get the program the supplied and equipment they need for the program in the school.  She realized that getting the word out with friends and family, it wasn’t enough so she turned to trying to get bigger sponsors or donations from larger companies.  She was only able to get one eighth of the funding she needed but she continues to look for further funding for the project and educated children on healthy food. 

It’s not easy to raise money for schools.  Many people have a hard time donating much money to school especially when they feel they already pay taxes towards their community schools.  Engaging the economy on building new ideas and programs n the school with help get the funding needed to support the ideas or programs.  It takes more than just a few people to make things happen.  Usually, it is beneficial to get the word out to larger corporations or businesses help with the funding.  Even though the lady that wanted to start this program didn’t get her full amount needed for the program, she still continues it just on a smaller scale and continues to look for other options to fund the programs. 

McGonigal(2011) states: Not all crowdsourcing projects are successful. working together on extreme scales is easier said than done.  you cant crowdsource without a crowd and it turns out that actively engaged crowds can be hard to come by. (p. 224)

fix 9-10

More Fun with Strangers

1. In what ways have you experienced a sense of community in the game?

In the game settlers, I have experienced a sense of community in a couple ways.  First way is by belonging to a guild.  They will chat with you about anything.  You can also ask them for supplies that are needed.  They are very kind at answering and questions as well.  It becomes very helpful to someone that has not played this game before.  Second way, is by making friend on the game.  He has become my resource or confidant when needing help or ideas as to how to complete quests.  The guild can get overwhelming. 

McGonigal (2011) states that communitas, what anthropologists call communities, is a powerful sense of thoughtfulness, solidarity and social connection.  It protects against loneliness and alienation. (p.172)

2. How has the game provided the opportunity and means to interact with each other around common interests?

The only common interest I have found thus far in the game is the game.  I have interacted with many of my guild members and new friends.  I have found that it’s easier to focus on the game than other things.  Once I met the new friend and discussed things beyond the game, it had it benefits and strangeness.  Meaning, we don’t live very far from each other but yet quite and age difference. 

 

Happiness Hacks

1. In what ways have you experienced happiness hacks in the game?

         Life hacking positions itself in direct contrast to self-help; its meant to be a more collectable way of working out solutions and testing them out together (McGonigal, 2011) (p.188).  It is my understanding that hacking happiness isn’t actually hacking the system but building confidence in the game and has a sense of belonging.  I have experiences the happiness by feeling of being part of the group.  It is helpful when you know you can complete a quest with a little help from other players.  It also makes me happy when I complete the quests needed to level up.  I begin to think I have this game figured out. 

 

 

Fix 7-8

Wholehearted Participation

                Depending on the level and the quests, I have experiences an increase interest in the game the settlers.  I find it enthusiastic when you complete your quests and level up.  But when you’re stuck in a level and can’t get past certain quests it makes it complicated to want to play the game.  The reason for the enthusiasm or interest is because you have a feeling of accomplishment when you complete the quests and move on.  McGonigal states that as game developers are increasingly starting to push the limits of how much a game can affect our real lives, the concept of alternative reality is becoming more and more central to discussions about future of games. It’s helping to promote the idea that game technologies can be used to organize real-world activity.  Most importantly, its provoking innovative ideas about how to blend together what we love most about games and what we want most from our real lives. (p. 124-125)

Meaningful Rewards

                The most meaningful reward would be completing the quests and leveling up.  It makes the game more enjoyable and easy to play.  The rewards make me feel in control when I am able to complete the quest easily and understand what it is I need to do.  I feel in control when I can get things accomplished.  When I get stuck I feel defeated and frustrated. 

According to McGonigal (2011), games help put people back in control. Real gameplay is always voluntary; it is always an exercise of our own freedom.  Meanwhile, progressing towards goals and getting better at a game instills a sense of power and mastery. (p.149)