Simulation Games for the Classroom
Derek Wenworth wrote the following blog March 12, 2007:
When I was teaching I found the use of simulation activities among the most effective ways of engaging students in their learning. In those days I relied on activities that involved lots of paper, and instructions in envelopes etc. Nowadays you can find some really great simulation activities online - such as the simulation games created by World Vision , and available free for teachers and students.
There are five excellent activities listed on the WV simulation games page - I’ve registered and had a dabble with Eliminate - Child labour (experiencing life as a social worker with the goal to eliminate child labour in a community) , and with Frontline (Set in a conflict zone, teams face decisions that save lives and assist those impacted by conflict.)
I’m really impressed with the quality of these activities - both in terms of the way the activities themselves are devised and structured, and in terms of the interface. There’s quite a bit of reading involved - but hey, in a classroom group situation that becomes part of the activitiy, reading together to decode the instructions etc. Those looking for a Play Station or X-Box experience will be disappointed - but let them. These simulations are engaging in different ways. They’re especially useful for developing critical thinking, and exploring ideas and concepts at a deeper level than a superficial read of a magazine or text book article - especially when engaged in as a part of a classroom group activity. Like all good simulations - they’re intended to teach not through the imparting of lots of information, but through the understandings developed through the process of participation, problem solving and decision making.
Well done World Vision for making these available for use on our classrooms - from the comments boxes on the web page it would appear that there are many people making good use of them and finding value in using them.
The following blog can be found at the following website: http://blog.core-ed.net/derek/2007/03/simulation_games_for_the_class.html
Tango’s Response
Derek does point out very important aspect of simulations. Derek states simulations are intended to teach not through the imparting of lots of information, but through the understandings developed through the process of participation, problem solving and decision making. I have to agree with this point but this also means that using simulations in the classroom requires a considerable amount of time. Simulations cannot be the learning tool but more as a supplemental learning tool to the current classroom lectures and assignments or as an assessment tool at the end of the course.
Derek also brings up another point. Current educational games do not replicate the look and feel of many of the popular video and computer games on the market. Upon closer inspection, many of the educational games have been designed for younger students are cartoon based. This means that even though these games are great learning tools, the games lack the appeal for older students especially when used in the college setting. At least simulations have come the closest to appealing to the older student population.
Tango
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2 comments:
Greetings Tango,
It was difficult to distinguish between your statements and those of Derek Wenworth. I actually used part of his blog in my response. I believe the statement in the first paragraph of your response should be in quotes.
In terms of simulations as supplemental rather than educational tools that can stand alone, it depends on the nature of the simulation. There are lab simulations that walk you through a tutorial, showing you the vocabulary needed and examples of how to use it. Some French tutorials present the language in a conversation, then gives the students a chance to walk through the dialogue. They then get a chance to create their own dialogue in a real-world setting. I guess it depends on how the simulation is set up and what the purpose is. Even with "The Sims" there is a tutorial time for maneuvering the characters and seeing how the environment works before venturing out into the real-virtual-world. But these are stand-alone sims.
I would hope that in the future, the state of educational games for high school level students would be more similar to the 3-D type environments and labs found in Massive Multi-player Online Games (MMOG). They also use tutorials and graphics to get the attention of the older players. Educational games should begin to mimic these online environments.
Tamyra
I wonder if it would be possible to teach mainly through simulations. You present an interesting thought, that due to time constraints, simulations tend to be better as content reinforcers.
I'm working on a probability unit for which I have designed paper and pencil simulations. In fact, there is almost no instruction; the learning comes from participating in the various simulations.
After reading your post and the associated blog reference, I'm tempted to use some of my upcoming holiday to convert it into a techno-centric activity.
Thanks for peaking my interest!
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