Last week I attended my second MirandaMod on the subject of computer games within the classroom. Videos from the night can be found on the link.
It was for me. a great evening and a very lively debate. The first speaker was Caroline Pelletier from the Institute of Education in London who spoke about he theory about game play. She presented the view of four theories and her slides and video can be seen on the Miranda net Wiki.
For me this was very interesting and made me think about the theory that underpins my use of games in the classroom, it also gave me lots to think about going forward as to the impact that games have on learners. I then presented work that we have been doing within school and the work that is going on through the Redbridge Games Network. My slides can be seen below:
For those who follow this blog or follow me on Twitter, you will be familiar with my view that I strongly believe that computer games both engage and enhance the curriculum, and I use games as one of many tools within the classroom.
Next up was Joe Nutt, who showed graphic images from some games and spoke about their bad influence, citing examples mainly from America. I knew that Joe and I would be approaching the debate from different viewpoints after reading his blog post more drivel about computer games! However, I do feel that the purpose of a debate is to have differing views and opinions and to debate this. The points that Joe brought up certainly did this, however, after seeing examples of the work that is going on in schools and arguments from Derek Robertson via flashmeeting, I do feel that Joe agreed that good management of the games was vital to ensure that they were used appropriately, just as teachers would manage the use of film of novels in their classroom. His talk and presentation can also be found on the wiki. Derek invited Joe up to Scotland to see the work that was going on in schools and I really feel that often for educationalists to see the games being used by creative teachers to enhance the curriculum is an ideal way for them to witness engaged learners.
This debate is set to continue at the Games Based Learning Conference at the end of the month – where there will be a Miranda Mod and a Teachmeet. I am looking forward to all three events and the conversation continuing.
