The document discusses using gaming in the classroom to enhance learning. It provides examples of how games can be used to teach subjects like history, geography, science, reading, math, and economics. A case study is described where students brought games to an undergraduate seminar class that related to course topics, which strengthened bonds between students and made learning more fun and engaging compared to a traditional classroom. The conclusion is that gaming can actively involve students and excite them about learning, especially as technology and gaming continue to evolve rapidly.

1. The push towards an interactive and participatory culture Let’s Get Started!

2. The Benefits of Gaming Gaming in the Classroom A Real Case Study The Conclusion

3. Games are used in classrooms with the following goals: Develop complex, academic language in and out of schools, something our current educational system fails to do for many students. Think innovatively and creatively in science and technology. Become "tech-savvy" consumers and producers of knowledge with technology. Learn More Back to the Menu

4. A good example of how we can use gaming in Education is the use of games such as Sid Meier’s Civilization : A sims game focused on creating and maintaining a civilization! What does this game provide a student academically? History Geography Game Design Learn More Back to the Menu

5. Games in Education have a huge future! In a society where it is becoming harder and harder to keep a child’s attention, and technology is evolving faster than we can keep up with it, it is important to stay ahead of the “game.” As technology develops and advances, so too must our strategies to educate our students. Back to Menu The Source

6. Consider this: “ The ability to explore right away makes games more engaging than textbooks or lectures. In schools, ‘you have to read 500 pages of biology and then you get to do biology,’ he said. ‘Of course you only actually read 200. [A video] game allows you to perform before you’re competent.’” Learn More Back to the Menu

7. Games have been used for a long time by Military forces. They give hands-on experience in a virtual world, which relates closely to real world conditions. Why not create this in the classroom. Science can be taught through Biohazard ; Reading comprehension through the lore of World of Warcraft ; Math can be better understood through the economies of Civilizations . Learn More Back to the Menu

8. Games have many applications within the classroom. Science experiments can be help in a virtual world. Reading can be enhanced by the lore of virtual worlds. Economics can be better understood by the supply-and-demand of an online economy. The possibilities are truly endless. Back to Menu The Source

9. At an undergraduate seminar, students are asked to pair up and bring in a game that relates to specific teachings. “ One of the most interesting facets of the class is observing how the interaction between the students and between the students and the professor changes over the course of the semester. One of the premises of gameplay, after all, is that we are all equal before the game. Thus when playing, the students and the professor are on the same level, but when we go back to analysis we step back into the roles of the larger game.” Learn More Back to the Menu

10. “ After a semester of intense study and play, class participants know a great deal more about each other than is generally the case in a traditional classroom environment. We discover that one of the principal functions of play in culture is precisely this: discovering how community members behave under different sets of circumstances, with different stakes and in response to different challenges. Very strong bonds and equally strong dislikes are formed in class after the experience of playing such an assortment of games.” Learn More Back to the Menu

11. It is inspiring for me to read a story like this. Not only is learning enhanced through using gameplay in the classroom, but bonds between students are formed and strengthened as well. Again, I return to the thought that providing technology and ideas that are current in a classroom excites students, and makes learning fun. Back to Menu The Source

12. Gaming is evolving more and more each day. The gaming industry is close to $10 billion a year in revenue. It is clear that as it develops, it is important to focus on where its place is within the classroom. I have discussed why it should be used, how it could be used, and an case of the success it has had within an actual classroom. In a society where it is growing ever harder to maintain the interest of students, it is important to create ways in which we can get students to actively participate and be excited about learning. Gaming in the Classroom is the way to do it. Back to Menu

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17. Games + Learning + Society ( http://www.gameslearningsociety.org/research.php ) When citing an entire Web site, it is sufficient to give the address of the site in just the text. For example: Kidspsych is a wonderful interactive Web site for children (http://www.kidspsych.org). (adapted from the fifth edition of APA's Publication Manual , © 2001) Back

18. Stitt, J., and Chappel, L. (2005). Game that make leaders: top researchers on the rise of play in business and education. Retrieved May 3, 2008 from http://wistechnology.com/articles/1504 Back

19. Bertozzi, E. (2004). Playing the Final – an Experiment in Pedagogy. Retrieved on May 3, 2009 from http://www.igda.org/columns/ivorytower/ivory_Sep04.php Back