December 18, 2007
Are Immersive Worlds the Future of Education or a Distraction?
Some critics have complained that promoting video games in schools and colleges dumbs down education. Academics from colleges around the world gathered this month at Harvard to discuss a multimillion-dollar project to build virtual-reality software exclusively for education, to promote serious gaming in classrooms. Check out an article from The Chronicle (free link).
Not everyone thinks that encouraging students to play online games is a good idea. Michael Bugeja, director of the journalism school at Iowa State University, said video games do not help students handle real-life challenges.
“Education and entertainment are two different processes,” he said. “They require two different interfaces. Our whole society is being eroded by entertainment.”
Posted on Tuesday December 18, 2007 | Permalink |Comments
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I have to disagree with the concluding quote by Michael Bugeja. I’ll counter with a different quote: “It’s misleading to suppose there’s any basic difference between education and entertainment. This distinction merely relieves people of the responsibility of looking into the matter. It’s like setting up a distinction between didactic and lyric poetry on the ground that one teaches, the other pleases. However, it’s always been true that whatever pleases teaches more effectively.” (Marshall McLuhan)
To the extent that games allow students to gain experience by doing things (and enjoying doing them) in addition to just reading about them, I think it helps the educational process. Of course it all depends on how compelling the game is, and I think the people who are dismissive of “serious games” have only tried the really bad ones.
— Luther Blissett Dec 19, 08:53 AM #
IMMERSIVE EDUCATION BACKGROUND
I’m happy with the story that Andrea wrote about our work, and also that there is debate (and concern) on the issue of video games for learning.
I’d recommend that Chronicle readers also review the overall mission of Immersive Education, of which learning games are a very small (but important) part:
http://ImmersiveEducation.orgImmersive Education is focused on a range on interactive technologies, including learning games, but games aren’t the main focus.
I’d also welcome educators interested in this to our 2-day Boston Summit in January (http://mediagrid.org/summit/). Of the 100 seats available only about 30 remain as of today, but this is the main event where these topics are on the table.
Regards,
Aaron
—
Boston College: http://bc.edu
Media Grid: http://MediaGrid.org
Immersive Education: http://ImmersiveEducation.org
Personal page: http://gridinstitute.com/people/aew/
— Aaron E. Walsh Dec 19, 10:48 AM #
Though this may be nitpicking, ILEs like SL are not “games” though one can play games through them. They are more akin to protocols and platforms.
That said, ILEs/MUVEs are certainly valid both as tools for education and subjects thereof. The objection that they are somehow not “real” (whereas textbooks, lectures, F2F roleplays, essays, etc. are) does not withstand much scrutiny and sounds like similar reactionary responses to media like video and the web.
Can you misuse these tools in the name of coolness? Oh, indeed. But Luther makes a good point about basing one’s evaluation on a poor sample. Isn’t it long past time to move past whether and start talking about how?
— Joe Clark Dec 19, 11:53 AM #
Bugeja needs to read Everything Bad is Good for You before going off half-cocked. It wouldn’t hurt to add Flynn’s new book on What Is Intelligence either.
— Greg Zerovnik Dec 19, 01:13 PM #
I have been using alternate media in the classroom for almost a decade. I think that Bugeja has a point worth considering, but then draws the wrong conclusion. Prior to immersive worlds, there was chat. Prior to chat there was the discussion board. All of these tools can be used in distracting or effective ways.
An instructor using media that has infiltrated popular use has to address the fact that incoming students have a predisposition to use these tools in the manner they are accustomed. It is the instructor’s task to guide students in how she wants the tool used in the context of instruction.
— Bill Crosbie Dec 19, 01:35 PM #