Week 15: Games for Teaching and Learning

This week we read and found out about games and their influence on education.  More specifically, we looked at Second Life.  I have never heard of Second Life before and was certainly surprised when I saw the video about what Second Life is.  It is basically a virtual world in which people live.  However, this is completely virtual and on the computer.  One can live as if he or she is in the real-world.  Educational aspects are also incorporated and there are games that help students read, write, and do math.  I think that as far as education is concerned, Second Life is a great invention.  This is a fun way for students to learn and can easily keep them interested.  However, I think that this can also be detrimental because it can have a potentially negative impact on real-world socializing.  Students can start to rely on the virtual world too much and forget that they are indeed in the real-world and forget how to communicate with people.  I always think that as far as computers and virtual games are concerned, there needs to be monitoring.

As a teacher, I would definitely look into using Second Life or something similar to it.  I think that gaming is a great way for students to learn and to stay engaged.  However, as mentioned, I think that computer games should be supplementary to the teacher actually teaching.  I would not treat computer games as a lecture, but would include them as an addition to a lecture.  This way students can reinforce what they learned form me through a more interactive way (by students' standards).

I found a quick review about Second Life on YouTube.  This video looks at how Second Life can help students with exam reviews.  The video uses the SAT and the ACT to show how students can have review sessions through Princeton Review in the virtual world.  I think that this is a great way to get some important information about education and the exams that are necessary for college entrance.