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Students want more use of gaming technology
Results from Project Tomorrow's annual Speak Up survey reveal a disconnect between students', adults' views on technology in schools
By Meris Stansbury, Assistant Editor, eSchool News
 

Primary Topic Channel:  Research

 

More than half of students in grades three and up would like to see more use of gaming technology in their schools, according to a new survey.
Also of Interest
Educators are largely missing out on what could be a huge opportunity to capitalize on their students’ appetite for electronic games and simulations to teach them about core curriculum topics, results from a new national survey suggest.
 
Project Tomorrow’s fifth annual Speak Up Survey, the largest annual survey addressing the attitudes and opinions of K-12 students, teachers, parents, and school administrators toward the use of technology in education, reveals that online or electronic gaming is one of the technologies that students use most frequently—and that educational gaming is one of the emerging technologies that students would most like to see implemented in their schools. Yet, only one in 10 teachers has adopted gaming as an instructional tool.
 
Project Tomorrow, a national nonprofit organization committed to supporting and promoting the effective use of science, math, and technology resources in K-12 education, collected the data through online surveys conducted last fall and verified the results through a series of focus groups and interviews with representative groups of students, educators, and parents.
 
During the past four years of the survey, the technology that students most wanted to see implemented in their classrooms was a personal laptop for each student. For the first time this year, laptops for students also topped the list of teachers’ and school leaders’ most desired technologies.
 
However, this year’s survey also reports that gaming is now listed by students as a classroom must-have.
 
In fact, 64 percent of students in grades K-12 say they play online or electronic-based games regularly. On average across all grade levels, students are playing electronic games about 8 to 10 hours a week. More than 50 percent of students in grades 3-12 would like to see more educational gaming in their schools—yet only 19 percent of parents and 15 percent of administrators favor that idea.
 
“What was really interesting to see in this year’s survey is how the pervasiveness of gaming has really taken a stronghold,” said Julie Evans, Project Tomorrow’s chief executive. “Students are really articulating their interest in gaming, as well as the many benefits educational gaming can provide, such as helping them to learn difficult math concepts. Even the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recognizes the huge potential for gaming technologies [in education].”
 
New York-based Tabula Digita makes a series of immersive educational video games, called DimensionM, designed to help students master key algebraic concepts. Three Florida counties—Orange, Seminole, and Volusia—have adopted this software in their middle school classrooms.
 
DimensionM embeds pre-algebra lessons within a three-dimensional virtual setting, so students can learn mathematical concepts by completing missions, or lessons, in a game-based environment.
 
Students can play in a single-player format or a tournament-style format with students in their class, district, or around the world. The software also correlates with both NCTM and state standards.
 
“When I first saw the DimensionM product, I thought the graphics were incredible and the idea of making math practice a part of a video-game format was brilliant,” said Melissa Young, district mathematics specialist for Orange County Public Schools. “As I’ve been working with the math teachers and students in recent weeks, I’ve realized why it works—because it gives kids a reason to want to learn math.”
 
She continued, “We are witnessing a metamorphosis of sorts. Within the first few weeks, we saw students seeking assistance from their teachers before the scheduled time for math, so they could beat their friends. … It’s driving up math scores. When our students are experiencing success on the game, it transfers to success in the classroom.”
 
The Speak Up survey results support Young’s impressions by revealing that the No. 1 reason K-12 students like to play electronic games is the competition with other kids. For students in middle and high school, finding ways to be successful at the game and the high level of activity also are strong motivators.
 
Just over half of the students surveyed (51 percent) said they’re interested in educational gaming because games make it easier to understand difficult concepts. Fifty percent said gaming would make them more engaged in the subject, 46 percent said they would learn more about the subject, and 44 percent said it would be more interesting to practice problems.
 
Yet, while more than 50 percent of teachers said they would be interested in learning more about integrating gaming technologies into their teaching and 46 percent would be interested in professional development on this topic, only 11 percent said they are currently incorporating some gaming into their instruction.
 
What’s more, there seems to be a disconnect between what students want from their own education and what the adults in charge think is best.
 
This disconnect extends beyond the topic of gaming and applies to many other educational technologies, too.
 
According to the survey, students’ frustration with school filters and firewalls has grown since 2003, with 45 percent of middle and high school students now saying that these tools designed to protect them inhibit their learning. And 40 percent of students in grades 6-12 cite their teacher as an obstacle to their use of technology in school.
 
Nearly two-thirds of middle and high school students said “let me use my own laptop, cell phone, or other mobile device at school.” Fifty percent would like to be able to access their school work and related software applications and projects from any computer on the school’s network and have unlimited internet access while on campus.   Students also would like tools to help them communicate with their classmates (45 percent), their teachers (34 percent), and to organize their schoolwork (42 percent).
 
While 53 percent of middle and high school students are excited about using mobile devices to help them learn, only 15 percent of school leaders support this idea. Also, fewer than half as many parents as students see a place for online learning in the 21st century school. And even fewer teachers, parents, and school leaders want students to have access to eMail and instant-messaging accounts from school.
 
“The disconnect between what students want and what they’re actually receiving is significant,” said Evans. “Of course, there have been huge investments in technology, educators are receiving more training, and more policies are being implemented—but still, this student frustration is rising.”
 
She added: “What’s strange is that, across the board with all technology, the educators and administrators who implement more technology for student use are also placing more limitations on student use.”
 
Keeping school leaders well informed is the first step toward helping to bridge this disconnect, Project Tomorrow believes—which is why, for the first time, the organization provided online surveys for school leaders (who were defined as principals, technology coordinators, district administrators, and school board members).
 
“Hopefully, the results of this survey will reach them. If school leaders become more familiar with student views, we’ll see practices and policies start to change in students’ favor,” explained Evans.
 
As one high school student in a recent focus group told Project Tomorrow, his vision for the ultimate school is one where the teachers and the principal actively seek and regularly include the ideas of students in discussions and planning for all aspects of education—not just technology.
 
“This is our future, after all,” said the student. “Our ideas should count, too.”
 
Links:
 
Project Tomorrow
 
Tabula Digita
 
Orange County Public Schools
 
 
 

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Gaming: Extending Right & Left Connectivity?

Gaming. Could it be that gaming is an addendum to Audio-Visual stimulus with laser beam focus? As with ALL learning modes, there are tremendous risks including opp's to travel online inappropriately. Most often, in my own teaching, the measure of EFFECTIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY is based, primarily, on my role as facilitator and manager of my own zone. While we expand protocols in best practices, we are hopefully broadening the envelope of multiple intelligences as well. CORE must not equate with BORE. Neither should ARTISTIC/CREATIVE equate with INEFFECTIVE. Gaming is a current cultural norm. As with all excellent teaching, some of the most effective teachers have used the CULTURAL HOOKS to connect learners to the tasks at hand. Is the use of gaming the main issue at hand here? Where are you on this spectrum? John Wilborn www.johnwilborn.wordpress.com

Posted By: john wilborn, 2008-04-15 9:53 PM

Skill building games for younger students

There are fun free skill building games at ArcademicSkillBuilders.com. If students are going to be playing video games, the might as well be educational instead of violent! These games have actually improved classroom scores. Students love them.

Posted By: dshob, 2008-04-15 10:56 AM

limited access

There is a reason schools limit on-line access to students. Of course students want more freedom on-line, but it is not for academic purposes 90% of the time. And that is a very conservative estimate.

Posted By: sheila.mackey, 2008-04-15 10:31 AM

Interested, But Reserved...

I am always interested in looking at new technology that will truly help curricula. Gaming certainly has possibilities, but just because the students want it does not mean that it is a 'Have to Get' item. In order for any technology to be useful as a teaching tool, it has to serve the needs of the curriculum. I forwarded DimensionM to our Math teachers, and we will have a thoughtful conversation about it. But if it does not really serve our student's needs, then we will not incorporate it just so that we can say that we have it. Gaming would have to be introduced in the appropriate subject and used appropriately as well. I believe this article is a call to software vendors to create useful products for the classroom, else the teachers cannot really explore appropriate uses of the technology.

Posted By: mliberty, 2008-04-15 9:13 AM

Disruptive Innovation

The creation of student-centric systems through computer based learning that motivates our students, and utilizes the technology what is wrong with that? I believe the old monolithic structures days are numbered.

Posted By: pmarsh839, 2008-04-15 8:39 AM

Pro's and Con's

I agree that laptops and/or unlimited computer access can be a distraction for students, though "Are you kidding?" admits the students learn in spite of their apparently "distracted" behavior. However, I have also seen a great deal of learning take place through the playing of games- an organized, focused electronic interaction designed to engage students in curricular materials. Likewise, I've seen amazing higher ordered thinking occur from seemingly non-academic students, when they are asked to design games with specific "learning criteria" in mind. Hhaving students assess what is important and how to incorporate that into their design is both creative and assessable. If games connect them to the content, then why not let them play games? Better yet, why not teach them to design them?

Posted By: caporaj, 2008-04-15 8:36 AM

Are you insane?

I teach Writing and Cultural Studies at the community college level. Two years ago I had room assignments in Computer Science classrooms (there was quite a bit of construction on campus those two semesters). That meant that each student in those classrooms had a computer with high-speed LAN Web access in front of him or her. My lecture style is to walk about the classroom, and as I did so I all too often (throughout the semester!) found "students" playing online games, IM-ing other students (in and out of the class), doing homework for other classes, usually on Google, and generally doing what any late-teen or early-twentysomething will, after a lifetime of conditioning, do in front of an active screen: be distracted by whatever is on the screen. Happening upon one of these many students, I would turn the screen off, then move on, only to turn around and see the screen on again. And I have been told by my peers I am an exceptionally good lecturer who well knows how to connect with students. But competing with the Internet, I haven't a chance. This is why I ban laptops and cell phones in my classrooms. And just imagine: somehow the students learn. It is amazing. Please, do not encourage such drug use (screen time) among your already frightfully addicted students just because they say that they would prefer to have laptops and unfettered Web connection in the classroom. Of course they would; they are addicted to them. Would you offer smokes in the classroom if students said in a survey that cigarettes would help them concentrate better or easier? I would much rather see those in secondary education concentrate on instructing students that "are" and "our" are not interchangeable, so I won't have to teach them so, as I do now.

Posted By: professorj, 2008-04-15 5:40 AM

Quest Atlantis 3D Online Education Games

I have searched for many years for an academically grounded online game environment and was fortunate enough to locate Dr. Sasha Barab and his team at Quest Atlantis (QA) at Indiana University. This program is superlative and has received accolades from teachers, students, parents around the world. The program has demonstrated significant learning gains with both poor performing as well as gifted students. The QA program is now widely scaling out to schools through the generous support of the MacArthur Foundation ($2m), NASA, NSF, Food Lion, and others. Teachers can find a whole host of standards-based real world relevant learning environments for their students. Teachers can find out how they to sign up for a guest account and learn more about QA at www.questatlantis.org

Posted By: gnewman, 2008-04-14 10:44 PM

We have the games and research

We have been researching the use of simulations and games in 3-D virtual worlds for the past 2 years and have now collected preliminary data to show they do work in the teaching of difficult to teach and learn science concepts in middle school science. You are welcome to try out our games and learn more at http://vital.cs.ohiou.edu/softwarereleases.html TFranklin

Posted By: franklin, 2008-04-14 10:20 PM

Take a look at the NewNexus.org

There's important information in this article pointing educators to better ways to help students learn. Please take a look at the New Nexus Project's website (http://newnexus.org) to see one way that virtual world software could be used by teachers. This project is in its infancy, so we need support from all quarters to get this FREE, NON-PROFIT organization off the ground. It's goal it to see the creation of free virtual world software for education that anyone anywhere can download and use.

Posted By: tripp8, 2008-04-10 11:50 AM

 

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