Teachers need to stop talking and start playing.  That’s my angle on education, and that’s why I’m advocate of video games in the classroom.  But after talking with Andrew Patterson about video games in education on Wednesday, I was perturbed to come across the statement made by the New Zealand Principal’s Association on the educational value of video games…or lack there-of in their opinion.  Having recovered from my chalk-dust induced coughing fit, I’ve managed to boil down their argument to this. 

Video games can cause more harm than good because some hardcore gamers display limited vocabulary and concentration problems.  Association President, Patrick Walsh is quoted as saying that "There are lots of adverse effects of playing video games, and simply just by putting an educational tag on it, doesn't in our view demonstrate that it has any educational value at all."

It takes a very broad statement to encompass an entire industry like that.  Quite a feat of linguistic engineering!  So in response, here’s the thinking of a ‘gamer teacher’ (me) who is seeing the benefits of video games in his own classrooms. 

First up, no-one in their right mind is saying that Call of Duty and Halo have educational benefits.  I’ll probably offend a few fellow gamers in saying this, but I’d tend to relegate the entire first-person-shooter genre to the ‘pure entertainment’ shelf.   And, having a quick glance at other game types, I’d never use Grand Theft Auto in my classroom, just as I’d never do a film study on ‘Saw’ or a novel study on ‘American Psycho’.

“Games can definitely be good for the family,” says Patricia Vance, president of The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), which assigns video game ratings. “Oftentimes I think parents feel that they’re not because video games in the media are portrayed as violent, and hardcore games tend to get the lion’s share of publicity. But parents also need to be comforted knowing that E for Everyone is by far largest category [of software]. Nearly 60% of the almost 1700 ratings we assigned last year [2011] [fall into this category], which means there’s a huge selection of games available that are appropriate for all ages.”

Okay, now that we’ve banned the hard-core games from our classroom, what next?  Are the remaining 60% a better use of time and effort than the good ole pen and exercise book?  Let’s see.  I understand that around 30% of kids are verbal-linguistic learners.  Teachers talking, reading and writing on worksheets…this works really well for them.  That’s lucky, because even in this new and exciting technological era, most kiwi kids are doing this for 80% of their day at school.  Listening, reading and writing.  So what about the other 70% who learn differently…visual and kinesthetic learners who are all about seeing and doing. 

It’s for this forgotten 70%, the ‘middle and lower band’ students of the country, that the Play-to-Learn is so vital.  These kids needs to be learning on the job.  And that’s where video games come in.  Thirty kids can’t trail a police Detective around in order to get hands-on research for their Crime Writing assignment.  So instead we play the CSI Adventure game and get to virtually be a crime scene investigator.  The gain insight into the life of a political Refugee we play Against All Odds where we’re forced to overcome the challenges of fleeing our homeland and making a life in a new country.  We run an apparel factory in a third world country in order to explore, first hand, the issue of Sweatshop Labour.  Or we build and practice language skills with Clockwords or FreeRice.

In my experience, the benefit of these kinds of games are two-fold.

The kids are engaged.  I took an educationally ‘switched off’ class of Manurewa teens, mostly Polynesian and Maori, and turned them into ‘active learners’.  After learning how to survive an interrogation at the beginning of Against All Odds, they were hooked.  They had to solve the next puzzle (avoiding border guards) and then the next one (finding the best form of transport of the country), right on through until they’d earned their American Visas and were safely ensconced in their adopted homeland.  Two full hours of concentrated exploration on the topic of Refugees.  Not bad for a class in which a chair-throwing brawl broke out in the second week.

And the second benefit?  Games demand that the player practices their knowledge immediately and repeatedly.  Can you imagine a teacher getting a student to redo a reading comprehension worksheet SIX TIMES until they get it 100% right?  Not without some serious bribery or coercion…and a total breakdown in the teacher/student relationship.  But in a game the player will tackle a puzzle time and again without hesitation.  In gaming it’s called ‘Grinding’.  In education it’s called ‘Reinforcement’.

The results?  That class of Manurewa teens…no more fights, learning became fun, and their test scores came second only to the Top Band class (hand-picked brainiacs) in the school. 

All because I stopped talking and started playing.  And with school-wide WiFi and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) becoming standard place in schools over the next few years, less talk and more play feels like…I was going to say ‘the way of the future’.  In fact, it’s the way of the NOW.  The students are ready.  Many teachers are ready.  Let’s hope the principal’s association catches up with the ‘play’.

Hi all,

My first time here, but I thought I'd hit the ground running.  Through a bizarre twist of fate, I ended up talking on TVNZ's 'Breakfast' this morning about video games in education.

You can find the links to the interview and follow-up news article here.

Apologies in advance for all of the 'ums' 

cheers!

Edwin

Tēnā koutou,

Are you looking for rich e-learning connections, conversations, resources, sharing of ideas, as well as help offered through Q&A type discussions? Then look no further, this week's e-Learning round-up has something for everyone.

Announcement of the week: "Well done team- just noticed that the iPad group now has over 400 members. Thank you for your contributions and discussion." AllanahK

Have a great week everyone, 

Karen, Tessa, Jane & Nick |  Blended e-Learning Online Team

EduCamp series 2012

• EduCampCHCH 2012: Burnside High School, 23rd June 2012

• EduCampAKL: Stonefields School, Auckland, 21st July, 10am-3pm

Posted on behalf of the Ministry of Education:

CONSULTATION ON THE NEW PASIFIKA EDUCATION PLAN (2013-2017)

Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Talofa ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Kia orana, Namaste, Ni sa bula vinaka, Halo ola keta, Mauri, Greetings

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs are inviting you to share your views about how we can further raise participation, engagement and achievement in education for all Pasifika learners.

We are consulting on the new Pasifika Education Plan 2013-2017 and we need your views. We need to know what is working well for Pasifika students, what needs to change and what we need to do better.

Overall, educational achievement among Pasifika learners has improved over the past three years. Many of our targets in the current Pasifika Education Plan have been achieved, such as increased participation in early childhood education (ECE) and improved NCEA results overall. But we still have a lot of work to do to ensure Pasifika students are given the opportunity to succeed and reach their potential.

The Government wants young Pasifika people to gain an education that gives them the knowledge and skills they need to contribute to society and live full lives. In particular, the Government wants:

• increased participation in quality ECE to 98%
• continued improvement in literacy and numeracy achievement across all levels of education
• more learners to achieve NCEA Level 2 or an equivalent qualification
• improved attendance as a foundation for engagement in learning
• emphasis on the importance of Pasifika identities, languages and cultures
• full implementation of Youth Guarantee for Pasifika learners and the creation of pathways for success
• Pasifika learners acquiring skills essential to the future New Zealand workforce. 

Our vast and vibrant Pasifika population makes an amazing contribution to New Zealand society and culture. Pasifika communities are diverse, they are young and they are growing. The success of young Pasifika people is critical to the success of our society and our economy.

How to provide feedback - full information on how to take part, and attend the community meetings around New Zealand, is available on the Ministry of Education website: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/NZEducation/EducationPolicies/PasifikaEducation/PEP2013Consultation/HaveYourSay.aspx%20%20">http://www.minedu.govt.nz/NZEducation/EducationPolicies/PasifikaEducation/PEP2013Consultation/HaveYourSay.aspx

We urge you to take part in shaping the Pasifika Education Plan 2013-2017. If you have any enquiries please contact pasifikaunit@minedu.govt.nz

Tēnā koutou,

Welcome to this week's e-Learning round-up. 

The Enabling e-Learning photographic challenge has now been extended, to encourage more people to share. Why not upload an image that demonstrates how technology impacts on learning at your school? We'd love to see the e-learning in action.

Have a great week, everyone.

Karen, Tessa, Jane & Nick |  Blended e-Learning Online Team

Tēnā koutou,

Welcome to this week's e-Learning round-up. 

The Enabling e-Learning photographic challenge is well on its way. Why not upload an image that demonstrates how technology impacts on learning at your school?

 Have a great week, everyone.

 Karen, Tessa, Jane & Nick |  Blended e-Learning Online Team

The Linking Minds Scholarship is a prestigious international award for young teachers who identify themselves as emerging leaders.

The scholarship is sponsored by the British Council, the Ministry of Education, the New Zealand Teachers Council and the NZ-UK Link Foundation, and aims to recognise and promote effective teaching by providing international experience for teachers early in their careers.

This year there are 4 scholarships available in total for teachers or principals working in early childhood, primary, or secondary education.

Find out more about the scholarship and apply.

Applications should be postmarked no later than 25 May 2012.

Karen Melhuish kicked off the session by introducing some discussion and thinking about eLearning and what the various terminology might mean.

"eLearning is learning and teaching that is facilitated by or supported through the appropriate use of ICTs", and eMaturity is "a school or college's capacity to make strategic and effective use of ICT to improve educational outcomes" (BECTA)

Historically, different people from different contexts, might bring different understandings to the table. Karen then posed the question, Why do we need national eMaturity? Developing mature learners who are resilient, and the institutions themselves are less focussed on the tools, and more on the achievement of learning outcomes.

Karen shared with a short video, which looked specifically at an eLearning initiative with...

Read more here>>>

Tēnā koutou,

Welcome back to term 2. This week's round-up is a bumper issue, highlighting online activities over the past two weeks. Look out for up-coming Enabling e-Learning events planned for term 2 including the first ever Enabling e-Learning photographic challenge where you are invited to share an image that demonstrates how technology makes a difference to learning in your school. 

Photographic challenge

Want to share a window on your practice? Welcome to the first ever Enabling e-Learning photographic challenge where you are invited to share an image that demonstrates how technology makes a difference to learning in your school.

Who will be our first Challenge winner?

Sign up for our free online workshops

• Building reflective practice in leaders, 30 May 3:30-4:30pm, Greg Carroll 

• Digital Citizenship: Using inquiry to build digital citizenship 6 June 3:30-4:30pm, Jenny Clarke, Wendy Koefed, Sean Lyons

• Online resources for Science teaching and learning, Nick Ford, date tbc

• Supporting students to engage in reflection (and the tools you can use), Karen Melhuish & Hazel Owen to host guest teachers. Date tbc.

The weekly e-Learning Round-Up

And, of course, enjoy our weekly digest of e-learning from across the VLN groups communities.