Tuesday, March 3, 2009

the fun way of learning

From the James Gee video, I've learnt several things:
  1. Gaming allows players to solve problems, collaboratively.
  2. Gaming assesses the player throughout, and this form of assessment is "fun" - students won't dread it!
  3. Games don't separate learning and assessment.
  4. Allows players to experience situations/ places that would otherwise be too expensive to go to in real life.
  5. Provides "language just in time" whereby information is given that the player will need the very next moment.
  6. Textbooks and curriculum actually "deprofessionalize" teachers, taking away their creativity in creating what and how students learn in classrooms
  7. Learning is best when one models and learn together.

The benefits of gaming are plenty, and people are slowly coming to realize it. However, I think it may take a very long while before we see gaming actively integrated into Sg's education system. Teachers must first be convinced that gaming will drive their students to better performance compared to the traditional drill-and-practise methods. This is an intrinsic attribute; a personal belief that will take years to change before one can embark on using gaming for teaching. Another hindrance will be the need to search for appropriate games that'll address what skills/knowledge teachers want to impart to their students. These are serious deterrents.

It is true. In order to compete with China and India, we'll need to learn creatively. With China and India having such bombastic populations, and if they can thrive with the drill-and-practise style of "learning", how then can we maintain our competitive edge? Just like we must constantly upgrade ourselves to be relevant in the working society, we must also constantly review our methods of learning and teaching to remain relevant in the world today. I do hope to see games being integrated into the system soon, I do believe students will better enjoy learning this way and learn more effectively!

# posted by *lisa : 11:03 PM
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