Educational+Games

Educational Games and Review Activities

As a gamer, I consistently am playing some type of video game. I also amazed at the increased difficulty and technicality of a variety of games. The first video game I remember playing was the original Super Mario Brothers when my mom rented an original Nintendo for me and a friend in early elementary for me in 1987. If you have played the original Super Mario Brothers, you realize that while there are some challenging parts, it pales in comparison in complexity to some of the popular games today: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3; World of Warcraft; Madden 2012; Skyrim; etc... The other thing that amazes me with these games is how many younger people are playing them. If I play MW3 multiplayer, I play on computer. Occassionally, I will hear kids who can't be older than 12 talking on the chat, which kind of scary. The other scary thing with that is these kids are good. It helps that they do not have to do too much else besides game :). It is clear that games can be used to teach and learn something very easily. If you are a gamer and you have picked up a game that you haven't played for a while, you see this easily. It is amazing at how quickly the information from the game comes back to you, or how much you did not forget. Randomly, about once a year, my wife and I will fire up the old Super Nintendo and play through Mario World. I remember most of the stuff from this game each time. Take for example this game, one of the more unique examples of gamification I have seen. It is a real game for Sega Dreamcast. Basically, it is a zombie shoot em up where you have to type to kill the zombies... "The Typing of the Dead"

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Anyways, I tend to agree with the speaker in the video that I included below on a few points: video games hold a lot of potential to help people learn, video games can help improve fluid intelligence, and the complexity of video games help develop skills in young people today that older people typically do not have. However, I am also a bit skeptical about trying to utilize video games in learning for most students. The main reason I am skeptical about this is that I see a danger with it: that students would become over-reliant on learning in that manner. While I do think that the "gamification" of society will continue, gaming elements will never take over all elements of work and learning. There will always be times where people need to just "suck it up" and learn the old fashion way. As you are designing your lessons in the future as a future teacher, it is imporant to do things to make your material as interesting as possible. At the same time, you also need to cultivate the ability to learn and review in non-gaming ways.


 * Strategies**
 * Around the World -** This is a simple review game that we probably have all played in the past. Each student in the class is competing for themselves. The students are competing on their own. The teacher reads a question as two students go against each other to get the correct answer. The student who gets the answer moves on, the other student sits down. First student to get around the class wins. If time runs out (it usually does in this review), the student who makes it the furthest wins.


 * Speed Review -** I use this review a lot either at the end of class or at the start of class. In this review, students are matched up automatically against another person in the class (usually the person that is next to them). Everyone stands up. The teacher asks a question. If the student gets the question correct before the other student, the other student sits down. If neither students knows the answer, they both sit down. If one student guesses incorrectly, that student sits down. The students find a new partner, and this continues until only one student is left. If there is an odd number of students, one student gets a bye. This is nice for if you finish class and you have a little bit more time left, since one round of this takes maybe 4 minutes. You can give the winning person a piece of gum or something to motivate them to a bit more.


 * Jeopardy -** Simply use the format of the game show Jeopardy for the review. There are many templates for this online set up using PowerPoint. You simply plug the questions in and the points are hyperlinked to disappear. This can be done on teams for the class, or if you have a smaller class you can do this as individuals.


 * Who Wants to Be A Millionare -** Using the format for the gameshow, you set up a review for students using the game. Students can ask for 50-50, phone a friend, or ask the expert. Students can go one at a time until they get something wrong, just like the game. Winner can get a prize if you so desire. There are also PowerPoints set up for this with sound effects and templates to enter in questions.


 * Team Review -** This again is a simple strategy that really could be modified in a variety of different ways. Usually if I do team review I get two different sides, and then I require different students to answer each time to get everyone involved. So, when it is one student's turn to go only they can answer for their team. Other students can help them, but I wait until the student answers.


 * Student Questions Review** - In this activity, you require the students to write a set number of mock test questions, then you collect those as an assignment. You either retype them, photocopy them, or pass them around to the students. You can set a timer or you can see who can get the most answers correct by the end of class.


 * Quizlet -** There is a link to quizlet below, which is a website that allows you to enter in terms or concepts for individuals to review in a variety of ways. If you click the link below and search for "MrSlocomb" you will see a notification that says "are you looking for Quizlet user MrSlocomb?" Click on my name and you will see some term sets I have developed. You can also view sets that other users have created.

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 * Online Games -** This strategy involves using a variety of online games to help students review. The links below have many examples of these.

Links Sheppard Software - a website which includes a variety of review games from a variety of subjects. I used this website for actual tests in World Geography class. I would have the students take the quiz quietly and raise their hand when they were done. I would also have them review for quizzes on this site the day before the test. Lizard Point - Similar to Sheppard Software in that it has a lot of geography review games. These are a bit different, but it still is useful for geography especially. Quizlet - Quizlet allows you to develop review flashcards which you can print or do review activities related to the topics. Go to the website and search for a topic and do some of the reviews to check it out. Online Geography Games - Teacher created Google Doc with links to a variety of online Geography games. Some listed above are included, some not included. ICivics - Online games geared towards civics. Run a law firm for Bill of Rights cases, be president for a term and do other civics related challenges.