Quote:
"The researchers also suggested that game designing could serve as a method to motivate
reluctant writers through the process of creating a functional game." (Hsu & Wang, 2010)
"The researchers also suggested that game designing could serve as a method to motivate
reluctant writers through the process of creating a functional game." (Hsu & Wang, 2010)
I can really see this working. In a successful game the same types of things must be considered that need to be in a good writing piece. Theme, plot, mood, rich characters, context etc. all need to be considered in good game design and I can see how a project to design and refine a game can help a student develop those critical and higher order thinking skills. I'm excited to give this a try with some of my GED students who are reluctant to write an essay. I'm wondering if I could use this as an approach to help certain students practice their organizing and storytelling skills. I can also see it being more fun and engaging than just writing a short story. It makes me think about when I was learning how to make films. I always found it hard to write a screenplay first. I could see the basic story as a series of images and feelings in my head, so I always started that process with a stick-figure drawn storyboard before writing words. Even then, I went through a series of notes to accompany the drawings before writing the screenplay.
Additional Resources:
Level UP
This first resource is a series of lesson plans of how teachers can incorporate game design into their curriculum. I took a look at A Mythical Tale, which is a lesson plan that allows students to study and create their own mythical game. They use a game creation platform called gamestar mechanic, which I included a link for below. One really cool thing I found that I wanted to share was a game that taught teachers how gamestar operates, which was more interesting than just explaining how it worked (and makes more sense!).
Gamestar Mechanic for teachers
References:
Hsu, H., & Wang, S. (2010). Simulation & gaming 41(3) 400 –417 © the author(s) 2010 reprints and permission: http://www. sagepub.com/journalspermissions.nav doi. Simulation & Gaming, 41(3), 400 –417. doi: 10.1177/1046878109355361
I like the quote you chose. I agree that gaming could serve as a motivation for some students. I hadn’t really thought about it the way you did, but in order to design a good game you need to be able to write. In order to create a game these skills must be present therefore having a student be the game creator will help them fine tune or at least work on these skills.
ReplyDeleteI’m sure it will, but I hope your idea for your GED students turns out. It sounds like a fun way for your students to practice writing skills. Everyone needs a place to start and hopefully this idea will work for you.
I also like the links you shared. The Level Up sounds like it could be a fun way to get the students involved. I also like that there are two levels. The downfall is you have to have the resources to play the game i.e. computers.
Thanks for sharing!
I'm so excited about the connection between game design and narrative writing! In the past game design has been associated with mathematical and scientific thinking skills but now it is possible to see how a whole school curriculum could be centered on game design!!!
ReplyDeletePlease share your experiences if you implement these ideas with your students!
I can totally see game design used to reinforce writing skills. Middle and High school students would really enjoy that. I don't know how Adult Learners would react. It would be interesting to find out. A whole curriculum could definitely be incorporated into one game design.
ReplyDeleteI can see the connection between technology and writing with my students. We are preparing for the writing assessment, which involves them creating a graphic organizer, writing a rough draft, and then typing the final product. Knowing they will eventually type their composition is a motivator for them; they are really excited to type their work into the program and score it. I would like to find other ways to incorporate writing and technology.
ReplyDeleteI know this is a little late coming, but I visited your resource Level Up. This is a really neat site and I have already added it to my resources folder. I am currently preparing to build a curriculum for a Game Design Course next year and I think this will be a great resource - some of the lessons that I looked at on the resource seem to work well to me educational requirements and to help me teach across the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your quote - students want some type of reward or ability to "win" and in the educational system we need to find more ways of meeting that desire for our students.