I am from Buckhannon, WV but currently live in Fairmont, WV. I work as a Graduate Assistant at the NASA IV&V Facility Educator Resource Center where I schedule and teach groups of middle school students STEM topics by using hands-on activities. From this class, I want to learn the skills and techniques to create a gaming environment for my students where they can learn and have fun at the same time.
As a child, I was not allowed to play video games. My mom feared it would keep me inactive and harm my eyesight. I did play some games on the computer, but not very often. Video games were not that interesting to me. Now that I have a smart phone and a Kindle Fire, I love playing games. I mostly play puzzle games that challenge the mind, such as Sudoku.
I believe that video games have come a long way since I was a kid. I still disagree with children playing war games at an early age. These games show that violence is an OK method to solve a problem. However, I believe war games are OK for older children who understand that the game is pretend and that violence shouldn’t be used to solve problems. On the other hand, there are so many good, educational video games now that every child should have the opportunity to play.
I was born in 1988. Here are three major events that occurred that year:
·
1. Over 1/3 of Yellowstone National Park is destroyed when a series of more than 250 small different fires combined with the 1988 Drought destroys 793,880 acres of the park
· 2. The Hubble Space Telescope is put into operation
· 3. First transatlantic fiber optic cable laid able to carry 40,000 telephone calls simultaneously
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1988.html
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1988.html
I am a science teacher so the first YouTube video that caught my attention was an Introduction to Energyville, an online game created by Chevron. Students learn about different energy types and how to generate power for a city where the population is increasing.
I am just beginning the same Masters program. This class seems like it will be interesting. Your job sounds very interesting and challenging. Middle school students would love to learn through online gaming. I agree that children should have the opportunity to play games. Babies start out playing with toys to expand their mind and I think educational games can do the same for older children.
ReplyDeleteI could not open your link to Energyville.
I was ten years old in 1988, I do remember the Yellowstone fires.
I agree that playing video games can be a great way to both challenge and stimulate the mind. I also agree with your stance that young children should not be exposed to violent or negatively themed games. I know this is a very debatable issue, but I also believe that children do not have the mental capacity to fully understand that these images are not realistically acceptable ways to handle life's issues. As you said, every child should be provided with the opportunity to play video games that are educational and developmentally challenging. As for your three world events, I was only seven years old so I do not recall a great amount of detail about any of them, but I remember vaguely the launching of the Hubble telescope operation; better stated, I remember it being all over the media.
ReplyDeleteI think I would prefer to play a video game that had some sort of educational benefit to it. I love playing educational games with my niece, and find myself always trying to find something educational for her to do. Even though the only game I play, Words with Friends, isn't extremely educational, I do feel it has an educational benefit to it. I feel that WWFs expands my vocabulary because my friends play words that I've never even heard of, and then I look up the definition, thus expanding my vocabulary. I think games that are educational in nature are beneficial to children, especially when it involves shapes, reading, math, etc. that they're going to need to know for the rest of their life.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad everyone is recognizing the educational benefits of video games! However I also agree children need limits on the amount of time they spend at the computer! I believe strongly that there is a "nature" deficit and they kids benefit immensely from physical activity!
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is important to make sure our children/students understand the difference between fantasy and reality. Your facts are interesting, I do remember the Yellowstone disaster.
ReplyDeleteI can tell you that my mother believed that reading a novel was a waste of time because her generation had so much physical work to do there was little time for leisure activities and reading to her was a luxury. I am tell you this because the same mentality is used by some when it comes to gaming. I have seen games progress from pong to the present gaming systems and have see the gaming industry adapt to certain needs. WII workout games is one example that takes a format of a game and uses it to increase physical activity so I do not view gaming as a waste of time. I do agree that game choice has to be monitored and time limits set.
ReplyDeleteI love going on my iphone and going to App store and looking at all the educational apps. Last year my school recieved two new ipod labs and our TIS was asking if anyone had any ideas for apps to put on them, or if we wanted anything on them. Several of the teachers couldn't answer her because they had no idea what was avaliable. I showed several of them over my iphone just what was out there, and their looks of wonder was amazing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about young children playing war games. I think that they are only young once and feel that the exposure to that kind of violence should try and be shielded as long as possible.
ReplyDelete