Gaming in Education

Gaming in education and training…not a new concept and yet, not something I had previously considered. I used to think of games in terms of board games, sports, and other forms of play, not as a form of learning. After several readings on the topic, I am beginning to understand the value and potential use of games in education and training. David Shaffer discusses the use of gaming in education from the perspective that the educational system in the US was designed and implemented during a specific time to teach the masses necessary skills of the time, and that those skills no longer meet the requirements of today’s society. The basic skills; reading, writing, computation, etc.; that are taught in the US public education system are certainly skills that will always be required, however the Information Age requires additional skills that are not as fully addressed. It is this other set of skills that need more attention, and these other skills for which gaming can be used to develop: creative solutions, innovative thinking, development of knowledge, etc.

Gaming in education and training can take place both with technology and without. What makes a game a game, are the rules that must be followed. My understanding is that the most important aspects of a game are the rules, roles, and outcomes. Games can have a winner and a loser, but do not have to. The point of a game can be to achieve a specific outcome or complete a specific task. Games require that players take on a certain role, be it themselves, or that of a professional such as a judge, jury member, scientist, biologist, warrior, etc. It is through the playing of the role that learning really takes place. Players may be required to apply the skills of a specific profession, thus increasing their proficiency in performing said skills, as well as understanding how to think in the way of a that specific profession. It is these professional skills that learners in the Information Age truly need to develop, and which help to prepare them to enter the workforce. As James Paul Gee reflects, the application of professional skills requires the use of the basic skills that the education system have been focusing on, however it is now time to take the emphasis off of the basic skills and put the emphasis on the skills that will prepare today’s learners for their place in the workforce tomorrow. Thus, games can be considered a form of outcomes based learning, as well as a method for providing learners with real-world problem-solving opportunities which learners may view as relevant to themselves, or the goals they have set for themselves…something I have desired many times as a learner…and has provided me with the motivation to put my best effort into...