I have to admit that I do enjoy playing video games. My son has shown me one of his favorite X-Box 360 games “Thrillville” and I have also developed a fondness for some first-person shooter (FPS) games as well. We both like SimCity 2000 as well, and I’m sure we will continue to explore new games as they become available.
I started thinking about what makes these games “addicting” for me. What keeps ME coming back? How can I harness this addicting quality and bring it into a classroom? While the debate over the positive and negative effects of video games continues, most researchers agree that video games are powerful. The National Institute on Media and the Family reports that there is an addiction that can occur when experiencing video games. “Initial reports suggest anywhere from 5 to 20 percent of gamers are addicted. This is a gigantic number considering the millions of child and adult gamers.” Researchers also point out that boys and men are more likely to become engaged in online interactive gaming than girls and women. It may be presumptious of me, but I will offer up my thoughts on why today’s video games have become somewhat addicting and suggest a way to capture that quality and apply it into the structure of a classroom.
Halo was the preferred game of Dave (a friend of mine.) He introduced me to the game, and I played with him online for a while. However, when Call of Duty 4 (COD4) came out, I couldn’t stop talking about it. He had not yet purchased the game, but when he finally noticed that I wasn’t spending much time with him and Halo, but instead was playing COD4, he reluctantly bought the game and began playing with me. At first, he hated the game. He couldn’t get the hang of it…the controlls were different…and it frustrated him. However, he did like it when he saw progress. The game has built-in “rewards” or “perks” for gamers as they continually improved. Gamers are given “challenges” and are rewarded when those challenges are completed. Additionally, points are rewared for individual matches, and an accumulation of points means moving up in level. Call of Duty 4 provides gamers to move up in rank from a level 1 to level 55. Even after level 55, players can opt to go into “prestige” mode and start all over. Dave loves the game, and we occasionally meet online to play and compete with each other.
I love the structure of the game. I like the fact that I can earn “perks” for my online soldier. I like the fact that I can “level up” after I’ve earned enough points. I think these qualities of the game is indeed partly responsible for the game’s success. How about taking that concept and applying that to a classroom. What if students were given “challenges” and could “level up”? Designing rewards and perks for the classroom could motivate the student who is seemingly stalled at the desk. Types of rewards can vary, and if you’d like, you can look at Chris Bateman’s defined reward types in his article “Designing Rewards in Games“. Points, Currency, Rank, and Toys (to name just a few) are among the most desireable to gamers, and I would propose, can also be motivational to students. Bateman also looks at HOW those rewards can be earned. In the classroom, students can earn perks or rewards for reading, behavior, attendance, homework…..Teachers could add icons or avatars to teacher websites for student performance or achievement. Don’t think that those tangible, extrensic, and sometimes costly rewards are best. “Children who are motivated intrinsically exhibit a desire to learn. Usually they pursue a subject for the pleasure of learning or for a feeling of accomplishment. Intrinsically motivated students tend to prefer challenging tasks and to understand information in depth. They are more likely to choose projects that demand greater effort than extrinsically motivated children who usually work to receive some reward or to avoid a penalty.” (Rewards in the Classroom, Davies)
I’d love to see a classroom designed with a continuum of challenges, perks and rewards like many of today’s video games. I believe that teachers who provide the positive reinforcers and motivation for students will find more success, will reach more students, and will become a more effective educator that those who do not.
Posted by rodstorm007 