Educational technology is essential to help children develop a digital literacy, but there are still questions about the effectiveness of educational technology – particularly when it comes to games and simulations, which have become known for for their entertainment qualities than their persuasive or educational abilities.
Although the games for learning field is still young, scholars can count on several “facts” about games that make them perfect for teaching and learning. This series of blog posts will investigate these game facts.
Previously, we discussed active learning environment of games, flow, the Proteus effect, and passionate affinity groups.
5) Video games allow players to fail with impunity and without consequence. Particularly in the sciences, students should have the same freedom.
I’ve written about this concept previously for the SIIA. It’s a concept James Paul Gee calls the “psychosocial moratorium principle;” the idea that in a virtual world learners can take more risks in a consequence-free environment, which allows them a greater freedom to experiment and try new things. In the current classroom environment students can only experiment to a point; the larger class sizes get and the more budget cuts affect lesson plans the less active experimentation can be achieved and the more textbook-based memorization occurs. Even in a well-funded, small classroom, there are limits; no chemistry class would allow a students to play with potentially hazardous chemicals just to see what they can do, or send more than a classroom or a grade on more than a few field trips.
This is where virtual learning easily benefits the student. In a real-world chemistry lab every experiment must be done under strict guidelines; a virtual chemistry class lets students experiment with a myriad of combinations and techniques. Virtual explosions, after all, do not cost anything for the classroom or for the student. Educational video games can also transport students into situations a school cannot easily replicate; they can explore medieval ruins through a simulation as they study a historical subject, even get closer to a famous work of art than they might be allowed to in a museum or preservation site.
With the freedom to follow their own interests and passions without fear of consequences, students have a much greater chance of finding an aspect that engages them and interests them about a subject.
Tracy Carlin is a Communications and Public Policy Intern at SIIA. She is also a first year graduate student at Georgetown University’s Communication, Culture and Technology program where she focuses on intersections in education, video games and gender.