Tonight we had an interesting class about incorporating games in the class. Second Life seems like it will be a great classroom tool that will take over in schools in the near future. I enjoyed seeing the students work in creating Batoch. I have been there, and could recognize a lot of the things that students spent time building after their trip there. One thing that peaked my interest was when the teachers emphasized how the students who were often less successful in the regular classroom excelled extremely in the virtual environments. Maybe this is because these students are less “social” in terms of verbal in the classroom, but they succeed when they work on their own, during their own time, without having to talk to other people if they don’t want.
Sylvia Martinez talked about how there are so many games that are a waste of time. They are labeled educational, but often do not really teach students anything. She discussed how games can be useful in the classroom if they get kids to want to play them and challenge them. One site that she suggested, ironically, was Awful Games.com
There is a lot to think about when bringing games into the classroom, but after tonight I have some great starting points and ideas.
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