Educational Games

I am a huge supporter of educational gaming in schools. I believe we are in a time an place where we need to relate to our students to help them learn. The technology gap between teachers and students is wide and there is even a wider gap between what students enjoy doing and what our school districts will let us use in the classroom. We need to relate to our students. Educational gaming is a big way to do that.

In my district I have ran into all the excuses. Our big rule is NO GAMES! It use to be a streaming issue. That has since been fixed with fiber optics and new switches. We are now setup to stream video on every students computer but we still can't play educational games.

I do agree that not every game has a place in education, but a lot of games do. Games can help make learning fun. They help with simulation, discovery and memorization. They can allow students to make educated decisions that they would otherwise not have the opportunity to make. Basically they can bring in elements to the class room that are student lead and that the students enjoy doing.

Oregan Trail is one of the oldest examples of this. It brings simulation into children of younger ages that will never have to make some of those decisions. They will only brease by it in a text book. Oregan Trail makes them analyze the situation, realize the dangers, experience the trip taken and adds a dimension of problem solving. Did I mention they are also having FUN!

I do sneek one small game into my lessons. It is a problem solving game that lets students discover top, front and right side views of an object. The students see a puzzle. I see the application that they are about to learn. They love the lesson.

All this only reiterates that when games are chosen correctly and used in proper manner that they are an invaluable resource in the classroom.