"How will educational technologists respond to a generation of students
who, raised on interactive games, expect the same kinds of interactive
experiences from their educational media?"
(Squire, Giovanetto, Devane & Durga, 2005, p. 34)
According to a variety of sources, Americans spend a lot of time online and in particular, indulge in online games. According to Jane McGonigal, game designer and inventor, she estimates "more than half a billion people worldwide play computer and video games at least an hour a day--and 183 million in the U.S. alone."* These figures alone support the opening quote in which we are experiencing students entering schools with a heightened awareness/hypersensitivity to visual and cognitive stimulation.
Today's learning environments are steeped within mandated legislation such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (RTTT) that focus too narrowly upon high stakes testing, competition, deregulation, and a growing privatization of schools. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (RTTT), which claim to level the playing field are situated within neoliberal ideology that is maintained through color-blindness, racial stratification/segregation, and increased privatization of public education along with a narrowing of the curriculum. The combination of these issues and impact upon students raise disturbing questions about education reform, namely, equity, quality and access. The pressure to teach to a test forces schools that are already underfunded and underserved to exist in diminished capacities unable to receive the funds associated with policy reforms mentioned above, which hamper access for the very students the legislation claims to assist. So just how do we go about reforming America's schools? Perhaps, we can increase school funding for a better infrastructure, access to resources, and services that are needed for today's students? However, as mentioned above, there is a strong and growing opinion that more than just money is needed in order to improve our nation's schools.
This site invites us to consider the addition of gaming within our pedagogical practice. A word of caution: to suggest gaming technologies for use in the classroom is not meant to supplant teaching or teachers. It is yet another tool to enhance teaching and learning within the classroom.
As we begin to think about new strategies, how might we redesign learning environments to include gaming technologies that are inclusive based upon race, gender, ability status, class, and a host of other identities that speak to and are reflective of today's students? In other words, how might we re-imagine teaching our students and ourselves about a world of possibilities?
"How will educational technologists respond to a generation of students
who, raised on interactive games, expect the same kinds of interactive
experiences from their educational media?"
(Squire, Giovanetto, Devane & Durga, 2005, p. 34)
According to a variety of sources, Americans spend a lot of time online and in particular, indulge in online games. According to Jane McGonigal, game designer and inventor, she estimates "more than half a billion people worldwide play computer and video games at least an hour a day--and 183 million in the U.S. alone."* These figures alone support the opening quote in which we are experiencing students entering schools with a heightened awareness/hypersensitivity to visual and cognitive stimulation.
Today's learning environments are steeped within mandated legislation such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (RTTT) that focus too narrowly upon high stakes testing, competition, deregulation, and a growing privatization of schools. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (RTTT), which claim to level the playing field are situated within neoliberal ideology that is maintained through color-blindness, racial stratification/segregation, and increased privatization of public education along with a narrowing of the curriculum. The combination of these issues and impact upon students raise disturbing questions about education reform, namely, equity, quality and access. The pressure to teach to a test forces schools that are already underfunded and underserved to exist in diminished capacities unable to receive the funds associated with policy reforms mentioned above, which hamper access for the very students the legislation claims to assist. So just how do we go about reforming America's schools? Perhaps, we can increase school funding for a better infrastructure, access to resources, and services that are needed for today's students? However, as mentioned above, there is a strong and growing opinion that more than just money is needed in order to improve our nation's schools.
This site invites us to consider the addition of gaming within our pedagogical practice. A word of caution: to suggest gaming technologies for use in the classroom is not meant to supplant teaching or teachers. It is yet another tool to enhance teaching and learning within the classroom.
As we begin to think about new strategies, how might we redesign learning environments to include gaming technologies that are inclusive based upon race, gender, ability status, class, and a host of other identities that speak to and are reflective of today's students? In other words, how might we re-imagine teaching our students and ourselves about a world of possibilities?