Of Mice and Middle Years…

In my literature review I developed for a Master’s class at the University of Saskatchewan I discussed gaming as a valuable learning tool for all students, but especially for those with exceptional needs such as those with Aspberger’s Syndrome. Although Mr Prensky’s presentation was part of my research, at that time I was hesitant to use his work as a primary resource since at the time I could find any of his papers in peer reviewed publications. However his message about our students (although I may argue a gender bias may need to be discussed) holds true; gaming is a prevalent and effective means of student learning. Students engage gaming and are rewarded instantly for their efforts. Opportunities arise for student to “redo” a level to search for information/ aritifacts, often through semiotic reasoning. (How many of our students would like to redo a test?) In order to become more effective gamers, student’s not only engage each other face to face, but also research multiple web pages, discussion boards, type thousands of words of text within game chat (if provided), IM, and (wait for it) reads those huge manuals that accompany some of the more “prestigious” games. I will not go into further detail, but research into gaming is certainly growing and students are pouring hundreds of hours into this technology. In the context of our discussions of “the social web”, try an online game either on the computer (Warcraft, Runescape, Second Life) our the Xbox 360, PS3 online communities. True social networking. In my opinion, effective learning that we as educators need to discuss and incorporate into our teaching.