While Minecraft didn’t exist when I was growing up and I have never played it myself, I have seen countless images and articles highlighting how the game encourages its players to be endlessly creative.
Gaming when I was in elementary school look much different than it does now in 2021. When I was in school we had access to the school computers about once a week, and during this time we only had access to games once we had finished our other miscellaneous tasks (such as meeting our WPM assignment quota’s and doing standardized testing). Despite us actually spending quite a minimal amount of time actually gaming using the computers, I still fondly and vividly remember this gaming as part of my education. Firstly, the fact that we had access to games once we finished our other tasks gave me the incentive and motivation (which distinctly falls under extrinsic motivation now that I think back on it…) needed to complete my tasks efficiently and effectively.
But why were these games so interesting to me?
The answer is: THESE GAMES WERE DIFFICULT!
These games, such as the Oregon Trail and Super Solvers, were extremely challenging for me as a young student and despite my repeated attempts, I was never able to “beat” them! In hindsight, this was absolutely a positive influence for my elementary education because by repeatedly failing at this games I was motivated to try again and use problem solving strategies to do better next time!
Now I’m not saying that students nowadays should have to play these games which, despite their potential educational offerings, are graphically outdated and painfully slow. Instead, I think that by growing up playing these games I am in a privileged position where I experienced the value of educational gaming and can attempt to apply this to my future teaching practice.
I think that incorporating gaming into education through mediums such as (but not restricted to) Kahoots, Minecraft, board games, and card games increases intrinsic motivation among students and absolutely fosters an educational environment where growth mindsets flourish! Not only can gaming allow for near-endless cross curricular connections (Minecraft itself could be used to teach Arts Education, Social Studies, Science, Mathematics, and so much more!) but it also provides students with the opportunity to cooperative create connections with their peers, and also with their teachers through group engagement and participation in games! Something else that was mentioned during our presentation on gaming was that by engaging in educational gaming, students are given clear opportunities to become leaders within their communities and provide teachings to not only their peers, but also their teachers!
One more thing that is fascinating to me is the opportunity that will be available to us in the near future as educators in gaming using emerging technology. Although this is a topic I am someone ignorant on, I do not feel like it is outside the realm of possibility for students to create worlds or games using virtual reality (VR) software in the near future. Imagine the possibilities, any subject could be touched on using VR. Does a student want to do an art project but has a tendency to dislike classic art mediums such as paint or clay? Providing them with the opportunity to digitally create art in a fully immersive environment could be a life changing opportunity for them. Does a student prefer learning mathematics through visual representations and object manipulation instead of formulas and worksheets? They could be offered VR software as a means of learning and demonstrating their ability in math! Not only are the possibilities for student creativity are truly endless, as they could even learn to make their own VR games, but these options also provide teachers with concrete summative and formative assessment options.
Overall, I think that gaming should absolutely be incorporated into education. While I don’t think it should be used as a catch-all for every subject (as I think an over-reliance on just about any educational medium is risky), I think that using gaming for in-school learnings and take-home assignments can absolutely be a positive influence in the classroom!