How Video Games May Transform Education, and Why We May Not Like It
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My presentation on video games and educational reform at the TedX Manitoba event in 2011, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA
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How Video Games May Transform Education, and Why We May Not Like It
- 1. How Video Games May Transform Education (and why we might not like it) Richard Van Eck Associate Professor, University of North Dakota richard.vaneck@und.edu
- 2. • Technology = 2% • Lecture/Independent Work = 92%
- 3. 22% *Center for Labor Market Studies, May 5, 2009 “Left Behind: The Nation's Dropout Crisis”
- 5. 01000101 01100100 01110101 01100011 01100001 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 01100001 01101100 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100110 01101111 01110010 01101101 (Educational Reform)
- 6. Why No True Reform?
- 7. We Don’t Care About Learning (we care about preserving the system) (we care about preserving the system)
- 8. REFORM Change in Disruptive Environmental Technology Requirements
- 9. 2.6 Million Years Ago 788,000 BCE 8000–5000 BCE 3000–4000 BCE 1400–1500 CE
- 10. 1700–1800 CE
- 12. 1950 – Present
- 13. Games and the 21st Century
- 14. Height Base Area of a Triangle: 1/2 Base x Height Length Width Area of a Rectangle: Length x Width Perimeter of a Rectangle: (Length x 2) + (Width x 2) Situated Cognition/Authentic Learning
- 15. Systems Thinking
- 17. Collaboration
- 19. Problem Solving
- 20. Engagement
- 23. Too Hard ZPD Just Right Too Easy Zone of Proximal Development
- 24. Be Careful What You Ask For...
- 25. Situated Cognition/Authentic Learning
- 26. Systems Thinking
- 27. Collaboration, Collective Intelligence
- 28. Problem Solving
- 29. Engagement
- 30. Too Hard ZPD Too Easy Individualized Instruction
Editor's Notes
- Video games and their potential role in educational reform lot of ground to cover, so bear with me.... Rick Van Eck, and I was an indifferent student for most of my public education I thought books and computer games were far more interesting than school I did not see these things as a way of escaping the rigors of deep thought to the contrary, I felt that books and games were challenging ways of learning different things; things I felt should be possible out of school. I still feel that way today, and I’m hear to tell you about how I think video games can show us how to reform our education system, and why most people won’t like it.
- There is a perception that what we are doing in schools is not working not teaching what we need not reaching today’s students study of 1000 student at birth observed in classes--92% of the time was spent on lecture in independent seat work 2% of the time involved any technology whatsoever Contrast this with the digital lifestyle of younger generations who use tech in every aspect of their lives begin to see why kids are tuning out
- If we wanted further evidence, could just look at the droputout rates Between 12 and 22% BTW: Most have passing grades and would have stayed if they had been challenged
- In addition to not reaching current generations of students, we also face problems our educational system does not equip students to answer Problems like global warming require the ability to intuit and interact with systems, to use a variety of sophisticated technology (e.g., modeling software and simulations), using and understanding huge data sets and to interact with hundreds if not thousands of colleagues in doing so Where do we get the skills needed to deal with the problems of the 21st century? Not from sitting in seat listening to lecture or working in a workbook
- It’s problems like these that have caused many to call for reform But the solutions we propose tend to be binary, not systemic Catalog of educational texts with section on Reform: Improving test scores---I’m thinking, great--using tests that already do not measure what they should rearranging grade configurations--Conservation of Numbers learned at 7 Longer School Year/Smaller Classes--but longer exposure to same strategies by fewer students won’t help (Pianta) So that begs the question.....(click)
- If we did, we'd REALLY measure performance and spend what is needed to individualize instruction ii. True reform would look at the system within context of society, citizenship, economy, geography, and technology. So what is it that will spur true reform?
- I would argue that reform, like all significant change, can come from one of two things 1. Key nodes in history where environmental/societal changes require significant change in how we educate 2. Advent of disruptive technologies that both solve immediate problems but do so in a way that forces a host of other changes as well Disruptive technology is the most successful, because it happens organically, without the need for debate, analysis, or consensus
- WHOLE HOST OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT DRAMATICALLY CHANGED OUR WAY OF LIFE Stone age tools allowed better hunting and food preparation Controlled use of fire allowed us to live in places not otherwise hospitable, hunt less often, live longer (stops bacteria) Agrarian Revolution (cultivation, domestication, irrigation, crop rotation, went from active hunter gatherer to sedentary village builders The portable written word, first as papyrus and later books, moved from oral to written, opened education to all (potentially)
- Perhaps one of the most important disruptive technologies, at least to our current educational system, was the industrial revolution The need for a workforce capable working in our new factories changed what was expected/needed for educated populace AND mass production and economy of scale drove design of schools (and not, unfortunately, for the better)....
- A process I call the widgetizing of education
- We find ourselves in a new age, (information age) where information is a commodity, and where ideas without form travel instantly everywhere At the same time, we find ourselves facing a host of new disruptive technologies (the digital revolution) Television, computers, Internet, social networking, ipods, and yes, video games These two factors are producing perfect storm to drive educational reform We need for a populace well-versed in these technologies and their application to the problems of the 21st century So how might video games help us navigate this storm?
- Can tell you one small way an MMORPG may already be helping to solve Global Warming --David Levine (gaming exec behind Elder Scrolls IV, CEO of Geostellar) Using 3-D modeling system from game to make tool to select placement for wind and solar Permits, endangered species, topography, access to transmission lines, utilities need to know power, banks need to know money generated More than just the tool that came from this games, it is this kind of digital, systemic thinking behind it that will be necessary to solve 21st century problems And games can help us promote that kind of thinking through the variety of teaching strategies they employ
- Learning environment reflects the real-world Click or with these (my math game....) Research shows improves learning (test scores, transfer, and long-term retention) Do you teach geometry with these problems....
- To be successful at most games, you have to be able to intuit the underlying system so you can use it to your advantage taxes, industry, public services, quality of life, politics Can’t learn system by studying constituent parts (which is normal school), must interact NO WAY TO COVER THE COMMERCIAL STUFF Pillay, H., Brownlee, J., &Wilss, L. (1999). Cognition and recreational computer games:Implications for educational technology. Journal of Research on Computing inEducation, 32(1), 203-216.
- MMORPGs & Multiplayer games promote communication and collaboration
- WoW 12 Million subscribers Watching meaningless pastime, or example of collaboration, collective intelligence, and social negotiation to solve a problem not solvable individually? Guilds, assigned tasks based on performance and need, self-organizing [CLICK] Principles have been harnessed for ARGs like EVOKE and World Without Oil to solve 21st century problems (Google Jane McGonigal)
- In fact, not just ARGs that are good at promoting problem solving all games do Jonassen: Problems comprise both a goal (the unknown) which requires generation of new knowledge (includes rules and concepts as prereqs, which must also be learned) and Value in solving the problem Games ARE problems (never know the solution, only the goal) that you care about solving Map to 11 different problem types and 13 different cognitive skills
- Brings us to engagement, which is oddly enough where most assume we should start when discussing games NOT entertainment or Motivation NOT even fun/enjoyable at all times In fact, it has more to do with problem solving as well as other theories, as we’ll see
- “ Hard Fun” Cognitive process first, Emotional second
- Problem solving actually has a lot to do with engagement One of the hallmarks of problem solving is this cycle of hypothesis formation, testing, and revision Part of that process results in cognitive disequilibrium--when your expectations are foiled Forces you back through the process Games trigger cognitive disequilibrium--constantly foil expectations (wouldn’t be fun to play, otherwise Of course, what is key to this is making sure the process is not so hard that you give up [CLICK]
- And a game, like the best learning, does that by keeping us at our optimal level of challenge The do this through a concept called the ZPD first proposed by Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky Describe zone.... Games keep us in ZPD by adjusting challenge up front, building on skills along the way to more complex
- These are reasons many call for digital technologies like video games to be used Digital Learning Council & National Ed Tech Plan-individualized, based on competency, infrastructure But while video games may show us the value of these approaches they are fundamentally incompatible with the current system in several ways [CLICK]
- Situated cognition might be best, but incompatible with mass production of learning 30 kids, not individual Would be like field trips and science lab every hour of every day--can’t do it Virtual, like games and simulations, will help BUT: We lock down the internet, block cell phones and PDAs, and don’t have the funding to buy commercial games or build new ones Will be difficult to implement--need fundamental changes to accomodate
- Systems might be what the modern world needs, but we never even come close in current schools ecosystem becomes a food web hydrological cycle is a one-page diagram interacting with systems takes TIME! 50 hours to finish a game (and thus intuit the system), NOT including the time it takes to debrief and work through the additional learning activities needed to ensure we learn from those games. AND we don’t MEASURE systems thinking (ready for that cost and time committment and not see standardized test go up?)
- In games, and in the next century, your ability to solve problems will be synonymous with your ability to network and collaborate with others. We call that CHEATING in current models! Require open networks, high bandwidth, multi-age grouping, crossing time zones 2nd grader working with adults outside the classroom (as in WoW)? Time Zones: Working outside normal hours Divide-and-conquer strategies mean SOME will end up pursuing unproductive paths. How to ensure equal experience and learning (debriefing)
- We don’t teach it, nor do we test it Takes a long time to design and to implement Time increases, but test scores may not Will cross disciplines and subjects too ready for cross-disciplinary 4 hour instructional blocks? Require fundamental changes
- Getting kids to CARE about learning may be the biggest change yet we don’t know HOW to make learning engaging--captive audience right now But real 800 pound gorilla is that engagement (ZPD, CD, etc.) requires individualized instruction
- We’re used to lowest common denominator--Reducing confusion so everyone can get it But even so, we are leaving entire generations behind by assuming (falsely) that 30 kids same knowledge, same pace, same results... 22% dropout rate does not include those who are promoted without true mastery Games and associated strategies would change that, but at what cost? Won’t even make sense to think about grades, per se, but competencies Means some will finish third grade in 2 months, and others will take two years And the digital divide will get even larger and more visible On the other hand, individualized instruction IS the way to ensure that everyone learns what they need to, which is for the best in the long run
- Disruptive tech like games may be the catalyst for change we need IF we are prepared for what it really means Socrates worried the book would destroy modern education and he was right, but then the only reason we know anything about Socrates is because Plato wrote it down! If we are ready to accept that the future requires more than the present system produces (information revolution) If we are ready to embrace disruptive technologies and all their implications (social networking, video games, etc.) We may be looking at a perfect storm that will change our schools forever
- But if so, it will be a matter of REVOLUTION, not EVOLUTION and revolutions are messy--not everyone benefits or even survive them Games may be part of the digital revolution, but as disruptive tech, we need to understand they will not SAVE the system, but destroy it. And that may be just what we need.