Submitted by M. Chmiel (not verified) on August 2, 2006 - 16:03.
I have been involved in this discussion for the past three years and while it is prudent to seek "proof" and "evidence" that games can help students learn, I have never seen any proof or evidence that textbooks help students gain enduring understanding.
Some games are well designed and intrinisically motivate students to learn new content in meaningful ways. Other games are poorly designed and indeed students find ways to bypass learning in order to get to the extrinsic rewards the game features (Whyville is a notorious example of this). Let us not treat games as a discrete category, they ought to be judged on their own merits. Let us also not extend skepticisms to games that we would not extend to materials we continue to use that have themselves never been proven.
I have been involved in this
Submitted by M. Chmiel (not verified) on August 2, 2006 - 16:03.
I have been involved in this discussion for the past three years and while it is prudent to seek "proof" and "evidence" that games can help students learn, I have never seen any proof or evidence that textbooks help students gain enduring understanding.
Some games are well designed and intrinisically motivate students to learn new content in meaningful ways. Other games are poorly designed and indeed students find ways to bypass learning in order to get to the extrinsic rewards the game features (Whyville is a notorious example of this). Let us not treat games as a discrete category, they ought to be judged on their own merits. Let us also not extend skepticisms to games that we would not extend to materials we continue to use that have themselves never been proven.