Transformations

April 13, 2007

Games as an Ideal Learning Environment

by Todd Bryant, Language Program Administrator, Dickinson College

Download article in .pdf. (8 pages | 185.81 KB)

Table of Contents

Editor's Introduction

Author's Introduction

Preparation

Difficulties

Implementation

Lessons Learned

Student Responses

Conclusion

References

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Editor’s Introduction

Digital gaming has recently emerged as a major area of interest for computer-mediated teaching and learning. James Paul Gee (University of Wisconsin-Madison) more than any other person launched this movement with his influential What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (2003). A series of books, conferences, professional meetings, workshops, and projects have followed, all working broadly with the notion that computer games often demonstrate pedagogical structures that academia can study, and from which instructional technology can benefit.

Four levels of higher education engagement with gaming have so far emerged. First is using preexisting games and projects, such as Second Life for social media, or Civilization and other simulations for history and sociology. Second is modifying preexisting games, transforming the content into forms suited to curricular needs. For example, an MIT project modified the fantasy game Neverwinter Nights into a social simulation of the American Revolution. A third level is for members of higher education to create games themselves. Faculty working with technologists have done this (e.g., Econ 201, University of North Carolina, Greensboro). Students have also created games as class projects (e.g., The Phone). Lastly, games and game content can serve as objects of study, either on their own terms or within other fields, such as communications or media studies.

Todd Bryant's approach is a fine example of the first. In the article that follows he describes selecting an already established computer game, the globally successful World of Warcraft, in order to enhance the teaching of German. Bryant reflects on the practical details involved in bringing a commercial game into the liberal arts classroom. He then explores what this case study suggests about gaming, especially in terms of student reflection.

Bryan Alexander, Editor
April 2007, Middlebury, VT

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