https://anchor.fm/hitechpod/embed/episodes/32--How-to-Use-Gamification--Pt--2--Video-Games-e19tocr


This Week's App: Video Games

In this episode, we decided to take a different approach to our app discussion. We talked about how you can actually use video games to facilitate learning with your students. Yes we said video games! While they can be absolutely used to waste time, some video games can actually be harnessed for learning. To prove it, in this episode we talked about how other educators used Minecraft and Age of Empires to teach students.

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What can video games be used for?

So you are probably asking how can video games be used in education? Well as we talk about in this episode games can often be used to create a system that encourages learning. Games can provide experiential environments that can be harnessed for learning, they can practice things, and even find fun ways to create.

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Take for example the story Will shared in the episode of Glen Irvin, he used Minecraft to encourage his students to learn Spanish. He had them create entire worlds in Minecraft, but they could only describe their worlds in Spanish. While sure there are other ways to learn Spanish this idea allowed the students to get creative and then take ownership of their creations. It gave them a practical reason to learn Spanish.

Josh shared a story of a colleague who used Age of Empires to teach students resource management in life. In the game, students get only so many resources to build an empire and they have to manage those resources well to win the game. This colleague let students create empires during the whole semester and then taught them management principles that helped them grow their empires. All the principles were really for money management and budgeting, but the game gave them a practical experience to motivate them to learn the principles.

How do I get started?

It is tough to give an easy step-by-step list here because there are so many video games out there and many different ways to use them. The best starting place is to ask why you want to use a video game? Do you want to use one to simulate something? Do you want to use one to create an environment for creativity?

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From there start to look for games that could provide solutions. For instance, Minecraft for Education is great for being an environment of creativity. Our best recommendation to find the right game is to start googling and looking on Twitter to see how other teachers are using video games in your discipline.


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