Can Gaming Help Kids Learn?

GAMING in the Classroom 3 Why bring electronic games into the classroom? It's user-friendly educational technology Kids love They're familiar games! tools to kids (which kids love) 9 out of 10 Today's K-12 kids have grown up with digital technologies, and they're used to creating, leaming, and communicating through new media. When asked about digital content in schools, school-aged children (2-17) in the U.S. play electronic games. administrators said that it: Increases student 74% engagement AAAA 50% Helps to personalize instruction AAAA How do games help kids learn? According to Bristol University neuroscientist Paul Howard-Jones, it's all about the dopamine. Computer games stimulate the brain to produce dopamine Dopamine helps orient attention and encourages the creation of connections between neurons These connections, or synapses, are the physical basis for learning Why do games motivate kids? Students are active, manipulating objects and variables Students have control over their actions Students are engaged in experiential leaming Games get students engaged In a Scottish study, 19 schools found that game-based learning improved student engagement. Teachers Problem solving observed that the Collaboration game-playing taught teamwork and life skills, including: Communication Negotiation When 3,500 Chinese students used an English language learning course that included digital games, 95% of teachers said the program helped improve student motivation. Students are seeing real results 50 A study by SRI International showed that students who used DreamBox Learning, a computer program that includes game-like online exercises, were assessed 40 5.5 30 points higher 20 10 in percentile ranking (50th vs. 55.5th percentile) on the Northwest Evaluation Association math test than those who didn't. Games used in classrooms O.0 Discover Babylon: Teaches history with strategies and realistic environments Grades 3-9 Teaches science by having players fight against cancer cells at a microscopic level Grades 9-12 O..0 Re-Mission: A two-credit honors course offered by University of Florida uses this game to highlight critical thinking, problem solving, resource management and adaptive decision making College students O..0 StarCraft: The latest craze: Mobile Edu-Apps In a recent analysis of the education category of apps in Apple's App Store: of the top-selling paid Over 80% education apps target children. Between 2009 and 2011, apps targeting preschool and elementary-age children has risen from 47% to 72% Apps for toddlers/preschoolers are the most popular category, with 58% of revenue. Best-selling Edu-App: "Curious George at the Zoo" This app, which was downloaded over 500,000 times in its first 10 days in the App Store, teaches kids how animals are washed, fed, and cared for Best selling Still a Hit 4 Decades Later: "The Oregon Trail" 1971: 3 teachers at Carleton College in Minnesota created a simple mainframe-based program to help teach history Big Hit 1985: The Oregon Trail for the Apple II had become a standard in homes and schools nationwide 2011: It was released for the Wii, allowing today's students to experience the joy of fording rivers "Oregon Trail has remained popular because it's the perfect blend of a solid educational experience and compelling, interactive game play." - Richard Corredera, Director of Business Affairs at DoubleTap Games Listen to the kids In a government poll of young people, and (not surprisingly) 70% more than 52% thought playing video games could be good for kids had played educational video games Created for Onlineschools.com QuinStreet, Inc., 2012 OnlineSchools.com For every chapter of your education Sources The NEA Foundation, Microsoft-US Partners in Learning Seek Solutions Using Technology to Engage Students; www.neafoundation.org/istings/news-release/the-nea-foundation-microsoft-us-partners-in-learning-seek-solutions-using-technology-to-en gage-students/ Personalizing the Classroom Experience - Teachers, Librarians and Administrators Connect the Dots with Digital Learning; www.tomorrow.org/speakup/SU1 1_PersonalizedClassroom_EducatorsReport.html Harnessing Gaming for the Classroom, Jan. 29, 20123; www.nytimes.com/2012/01/30/world/europe/harnessing-gaming-for-the-classroom.html?pagewanted=all Let Them Play: Video gaming in education; www.digitaldollar.edublogs.org/2011/03/07let-them-play-video-gaming-in-education The impact of console games in the classroom: Evidence from schools in Scotland; www.childrensliteracylab.org/uploads/website/docs/1818-1-Console%20games%20report.pdf A Study of a Gaming Approach to English Language Learning for Middle School Students; http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/evaltech/us-china-e-language-project/report.pdf WHAT WORKS? Research into Practice: Video Games in the Classroom; www.edu.gov.on.ca/engliteracynumeracyinspireresearchWW_Video_Games pdf iCivics Annual Report 2011, iCivics.org, 2011 (p. 1); static.icivics.org/sitesidefault/filesiCivicsFY2011AnnualReport.pdf Combining Computer Games with Classroom Teaching, KQED.org, Jan. 2012; blogs.kged.org/mindshift/2012/01/combining-computer-games-with-classroom-teaching/ NCES Kids' Zone, National Center of Educational Statistics, Feb. 2011; nces.ed.gov/nceskids/poll/viewarchives.asp?pollid=121&month=February&year=2011 NCES Kids' Zone, National Center of Educational Statistics, Nov. 2011; nces.ed.gov/nceskids/poll/viewarchives.asp?pollid=139&month=November&year=2011 "Gaming Skills Become a College Course," PC World (pcworld.com), August, 2010 "The Legend of Oregon Trail," The Oregon Trail (oregontrail.com), May 2011 "iLearn Il: An Analysis of the Education Category on Apple's App Store," Carly Shuler, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, January 2012 "Dublin-made top-selling educational app expands its adventure," Elaine Burke, Silicon Republic (siliconrepublic.com_, May, 2012