gaming

=Gaming=


 * Gaming**

Many adults would say that video games are ruining the world's future generations. It may be true when it comes to getting your homework done, but video gaming has started to develop into a new way of learning for many people. It has become a new way of learning teamwork, problem solving, and hand-eye coordination. Problem solving can be done in a student’s math homework everyday. [|Lemonade Stand], for example. Most students would say they would rather have easier homework and have a tough game to play. Most games are based around solving a problem or working towards a goal. Gamers do not realize this because they are having fun while they play. Online gaming has revolutionized the way gamers connect. Whether it’s right here in Millis or across the globe in China, gamers can instantly connect and work together to solve their issue at hand.


 * Online Gaming**

A worldwide phenomenon has come about with gamers. From Call of Duty 4 and everyone’s favorite, Madden Football, people have started to find out how to work together in a whole new way. For instance, if a group of players from all around the world joined up to play another group of players in a "shooting" game, both groups are working towards a common goal of taking down the other team. This is also common in team tactical games. These types of games all have a goal to reach and it takes team work to achieve those goals. The players must trust in each other, because all it takes is for one player to mess up and that team will lose. Once one team wins, that team has worked towards the goal of winning. Ideas like this show how gaming has introducing a whole new method of learning to collaborate with people. Online gaming can also make people from all over the world interact with just a simple headset that is plugged into the back of the console.

Another game that has more educational value than Call of Duty is the online game World of Warcraft (WoW). World of Warcraft, released, in November 2004, can be categorized as an MMO-RPG or a Massively Multilayer Online-Role Playing Game.At this point WoW boasts an impressive 11 million active accounts world wide. In the game a player creates a character/s that they control and play as. When one makes a character, they start off weak and at a low level. The game like an education system is based on a "scaffolding" principle, meaning the game like schoolwork starts easy and as you progress begins to get more challenging and difficult.

Many games, primarily RPG's teach people who play them to manage their money effectively and to work with others to achieve their goals. This can be demonstrated in many games, including MMORPG's such as World of Warcraft and Guild Wars. Players must work together to complete tasks which can not be competed on their own, and join organizations (Known as guilds) to help them complete these tasks.


 * Relationship to Education**

What most people do not realize is how much education is really tied into video games, especially Role-Playing Games (RPG). In these games it becomes necessary to form strategies in order to move on from one part of the game to another. Also, there are many games that have real historical events in fictional games. By learning about certain historical events in school, students can apply that knowledge to their game. Whether or not people want to admit it, video games directly tie into education and facilitate the learning process.

In education, there are many examples of how games are used for learning. From the [|playing of games to learn basic concepts] to [|building games to understand more advanced concepts] (e.g. logical if, etc.) video games are becoming part of the educational landscape. David Warlick's [|wiki] on video games in education provides a wealth of resources, as does this [|site].

A more advanced form of gaming, MUVE or virtualization, is also starting to penetrate the classroom. Learn more.

Last updated {$revisiondate}

© 2007-2008 Millis Public Schools, under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. The opinions and viewpoints herein reflect those of the individuals, not of the school as a whole.