Article Review: Using Gaming to Motivate Students

Petkov, M., Rogers, G.E. (2011). Using gaming to motivate today’s technology-dependent students. Journal of STEM Teacher Education, 48(1), p. 7-12.

Summary

The authors discussed the pedagogical conflict between the traditional, lecture-based approach to education and the introduction of edutainment to the classroom. The educational system in America has been sluggish in its adoption of technology, as evidenced by the thirty years it took to get overhead projectors out of bowling alleys and into the schools. Current research has demonstrated that teacher-centered instruction does not promote student engagement and does not motivate today’s students. Student-centered education, including the use of educational games, promotes student engagement and provides motivation for students to learn.

Analysis

With the immense expenditures on technology over the past few years, why are students not engaging in learning activities? Why are national test scores not responsive to the billions of dollars spent on educational technology? Many of the teachers who teach in today’s classroom are surrounded by technology that they are uncomfortable working with; more frequently, the teachers lack the time to develop lessons that use the available technology. Technology has infused American culture; items cell phones and computers are now considered essential rather than luxury items (Adada & Styron, 2008, as cited in Petkov & Rogers, 2011). Today’s students spend six to eight hours a day using technology – more time than they spend attending school (Escobar-Chaves & Anderson, 2008, as cited in Petkov & Rogers, 2011). So why do many schools still refuse to engage students through technology?

The key to any learning event is motivation. An octopus that wants to eat a fish will open a baby food jar to get at the fish. A student who wants to chat on Facebook will learn the needed skills to be considered “cool”. The trick for the schools is to bring these tech-savvy skills into the school, translating 18^th century educational activities into 21^st century learning. Paper journals are not as useful as a web log, where students can self-publish their work and have a larger audience. Blogging is the 21^st century version of a journal or diary, but a blogging activity can teach writing methods, provide an outlet for creative expression, and allow students to receive feedback from other writers. While there is certainly room for the traditional literature to be taught, today’s students are accustomed to the quick and dirty world of internet reading, where big ideas are highlighted or expressed as bullet points. Instead of trying to read something online and trying to decipher what the author is saying, internet authors have already translated the key ideas for readers. Paper books have lots of text but little in the way of reading supports. In a way, books are as unfamiliar to today’s student as the internet would be to a student from the 20^th century.   

            Gaming offers a compromise between the two worlds. If the gaming systems can be developed in conjunction with teachers and the various national standard boards, students could soon find themselves immersed in a virtual world, similar to Second Life (http://www.secondlife.com). Students would learn academic subjects through the guise of the game, as their character develops skills and aptitudes, the same skills and aptitudes would become a second nature to the student. However, fun must be a major factor in the learning environment, or the system will not work. The fun factor is the big motivator for students to play games, and schools must use fun as a tool to motivate students to want to learn.

One game that I have found to be excellent at providing a learning curve is Runescape (http://www.runescape.com). In order to complete certain jobs, one must learn a skill, such as chopping wood. Then, one must learn how to build a fire. The key to developing these skills is practice. In order to advance the game, students must spend some time on each skill set in order to develop the expertise required for the next major task. Similarly, students in school today must practice math problems, writing, reading, and social skills in order to advance to the next grade and develop the expertise required to learn the next set of skills.    

            In fact, the age of instant learning is fast approaching, in which students of all ages will no longer be bound by the constraints of time and place, but will be able to learn new information and skills on demand. With basic research skills and available technology, a student of any age can learn how to do many things simply by watching You Tube videos. Why does a lesson have to take 30 minutes? I watched a 4 minute video on how to replace my toilet flapper, and gained the necessary knowledge to perform the task successfully. And, when I wanted to review the material, the video was there for me to see again and again. That simply cannot be done with a teacher’s lecture, unless the lecture is filmed and cut into manageable segments, which requires more technical expertise and time-on-task than most teachers currently possess.

            What the educational system needs is a faster, leaner, more engaging methodology. The online gaming environment provides the vehicle for educators to develop high-quality edutainment while still complying with national standards of learning. At the same time, students will find the idea of going to school more engaging and more desirable, since school will not be limited to a six hour block of time away from home. School can move with the student, and learning can occur on the bus, on the playground, or at McDonald’s. Learning without limits should be the ultimate goal of the Internet, not just pay-per-click advertising campaigns.