Seduction of Video Games

This post is a reflection on an article written by Keith Stuart.

Keith points out several fascinating arguments in support of the argument that, contrary to popular belief, video games are not "just a waste of time," but that they actually "fulfill intrinsic human needs." And you thought your kids were playing Call of Duty just to see blood spatter their screen and (hopefully) their adversaries. Apparently, we don't play games just because they're fun or they're beautiful. Here a the reasons Keith mentioned in his article:

1. We learn interesting stuff from games in ways our brains prefer
• Our brains prefer to learn "through systems and puzzles." Games provide an educational environment where it is OK to fail, unlike the high pressure we often feel in real life to get it right the first time
• Games provide us with tools to complete tasks, beginning with simple tools and simple tasks. We are also given the time and environment to master the simple tools and simple tasks before progressing to bigger, more difficult ones.
2. Games give us the control
• We like to play games that give us the ability to make big decisions that effect the outcome/storyline. Sims, for example, lets us "play god."
3. Games notice/reward us
• You do something in a game, you get something out of it, whether it is some item or a screen animation telling you how awesome you are with music effects. When you keep your head down and do your work in real life, you aren't usually noticed.
4. Games exaggerate our victories (and failures)
• When you do really simple tasks, you reap really big reactions. For example, when you kill someone on Call of Duty, blood squirts in every direction, sometimes onto your screen. Sometimes, the other player gets blown back. It's really fun to watch. Even when the gamer messes up or gets killed he has fun doing it if the "dying animation" is fun to watch.

Now for the million dollar question. How do we translate these four concepts imply as we relate them to an educational environment? 

• Educators need to create an environment where failure is OK. I'm sure you can think of an old saying about failure leading to success. Our primary goal as educators is the success of our students. Let them fail, but let them fail safely, so they are not crushed and ruined by failure, but hardier and wiser as a result. Secondly, teachers need to provide students with tools to succeed, starting with simple, easy tools and working up to the more complex. 
• We  need to allow our students to master each skill before progressing to the next one. Too many times teachers move on to the next chapter even if sally and bobby failed the last one. Ideally, we would figure out what went wrong and where, and allow students to master each skill/level/task before moving onto the next.
• Reward students for even the most menial tasks. This can be done through an encouraging word or a pat on the back. A smile works well, too. Many students love to be recognized in front of their peers. Don't tell Michelle Obama, but I think candy is a good reward as well. You would be amazed at the power of a single skittle. Kids are hungering for positive attention. Let's reward positive behavior with positive affirmation.
• Exaggerate. If Bobby usually makes Cs on a test and he makes a B, how about a high five? Announce to the class that Bobby worked extremely hard and has shown the most improvement on his grades, or make up some other really-super-awesome reward for his efforts. Celebrate small victories in big ways. 

Epic Wins in the Classroom

In early 2010, Jane McGonigal delivered a TED talk about taking advantage of gamers and the skills they acquire in games such as World of Warcraft to solve real world problems. You can watch the video at the bottom of this post. The whole point of the talk is that gamers spend an incredible amount of time in virtual worlds battling (and winning against) evil super-bad-guys in a never-ending quest--all to achieve that next "epic win." Epic wins, or successfully completing a very difficult task through much time and effort, are partially what make games addictive. In fact, McGonigal points out that the average young adult will spend roughly 10,000 hours playing games by the time they are 21. That is nearly identical to the amount of time a person spends in school between 5th and 12th grade. Over the course of their roughly 10,000 hours of gaming, gamers acquire 4 skills, according to McGonigal:

1. Urgent Optimism--Gamers can't wait to embark on the next quest or mission. They set goals and anticipate reaching those goals, whether it is achieving new skills or a higher leve, or picking up some sweet new piece of gear. They know that if they spend time playing the games, they will reap the benefits of their efforts.
2. A Tight Social Fabric--In real life, gamers are usually depicted as the thirty-something male who lives in his parents' basement, surrounded by pizza boxes, trash, and the unmistakeable stench of bad hygiene. They are social outcasts. Conversely, in the virtual world, these guys have characters who are the avatar equivalent of Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise. Not only do they fit in, they are envied, respected, even popular. Thousands of others online are willing to trust them with integral roles in their next world-saving mission.
3. Blissful Productivity--Gamers devote a lot of time to their games, not because they have to, but because they want to. It's fun. They know that working hard in the game is going to pay off later. Even the most menial tasks in the virtual world lead to some kind of positive reward, making even the most menial tasks "worth it" in their minds.
4. Epic Meaning--Gamers feel they are a part of something important. They belong. They share in the joy and excitement of the epic win. They know the group could not have achieved the epic win without them.

Imagine if every student approached their education with urgent optimism, a tight social fabric, blissful productivity, and epic meaning. How do we provide that for our students? How do we create an atmosphere for our students to experience learning in such a way? How do we make epic wins possible in the classroom? Simple. Make education a game. Create a virtual environment that gauges the "level" of each participant.  Provide each participant with specific and important tasks that are on the verge of what each player is capable of. Engage students with epic adventures, tons of collaborators, an epic, inspiring story, and frequent, positive feedback. Meet students where they are. If they want to spend 10,000 hours gaming by the time they are 21 years old, why not teach them English and Social Studies in the process. It's a win-win. Students play games. They learn.

EdTech Picks

Here are a couple of cool sites that made eCampusnews' top 50 in 2012:

WatchKnowLearn
Great resource site to find videos for every subject. Created by Wikipedia co-founder. It's easier to find videos on this site than say, Youtube if you don't know exactly what you're looking for.


DimensionU
Game-based learning for K-12 students. This is similar to the class I am currently taking: play games, learn stuff.

Educate the World

Last Fall, the the government in India release the Aakash Android Tablet. It is a tablet that costs a mere $35 dollars (with a government subsidy, about $60 without) that the Indians hope will be used to connect millions of students to the greatest learning tool ever developed--the web. India, being one of the most populated countries in the world, has a huge share of impoverished people. Hopefully for this massive group of Indians, the tablet will better educate the future generations, leading to upward mobility and a drastically reduced number of poor.

This same model could be applied to the United States, one of the riches nations in the world. The US could relatively easily put this technology in the hands of its students. Unfortunately, Americans, as a whole, are a little spoiled. School-aged children are already familiar with top-notch technology by the time they are preteens. The Aakash, being less than $100 is not as powerful, responsive, and enjoyable to use as say, the iPad. I think many American children would have a difficult time regressing to this type of technology.

Educational technology in this case is very similar to food. If the Peace Corps showed up in some suburban white neighborhood and offered some kind of cheap, but nutritious gruel, the kids are probably going to respectfully decline. But if you take that same batch of gruel to the inner-city, it's going to be eaten. The difference is the kids are starving. For food. For education. For something better.

I think the Aakash could play a pivotal role in revolutionizing learning for millions (if not billions) of people around the world. I guess, you just have to find someone who is hungry.

Check out the Aakash on Wikipedia.

Gaming to Learn

Can gaming actually help us learn? This is exactly what Tim Chatfield argues in the following Ted Talk, and it makes a lot of sense. First of all, gaming has proliferated in the past twenty years. It is a multi-billion dollar industry. Tim argues that this is at least partially due to the rewards individuals (or groups) reap while engaging each other and the environment in a virtual world. Game designers can measure billions of data points while the game, and then calibrate the game--that is, balancing effort and reward--to keep players engaged.

Tim mentions 7 ways games reward the brain:

1. Experience bars--players can see their experience level and compare it to an end goal. They see themselves progress and take ownership of their attempting to reach the goal.
2. Multiple long and short term goals--lots of different tasks to give people a variety of options to choose from
3. Rewards for effort--everything done in the game reaps some kind of benefit. For example, if you kill a monster, you get at least a little bit of in-game currency.
4. Rapid, frequent, clear feedback--the player is often reminded of how she is doing and whether she is on the right track
5. An element of uncertainty--the gamer always has a chance for something really awesome to happen--they will get an extra, unexpected reward, for example.
6. Windows of enhanced attention--by measuring dopamine levels in the brain, we can predict windows of time when learning is taking place at an enhanced level.
7. Other people--"the biggest neurological turn on" is interacting with other people.

If we could somehow apply these same ideas in an education setting, I think the benefits would be huge. I envision a class in which students are engaged on an individual basis, each one learning at his own pace. Each achieving at a level appropriate to him. Some students zoom ahead of others at a blinding pace, others take the tortoise's approach, everyone learns. This is differentiating instruction at its finest.