Sony Wants Videogames to Appear in UK Classrooms

[SentryGun]

I think that some classes would be improved by incorporating video games. If my school bought a few Wiis, I know gym would be a lot more fun than it is.

A little off topic: I actually tried to convince my art teacher of video games as an art medium with an essay. I got a trip to the school shrink for my trouble, as well as an F on the essay.

this

plus if ur art teacher isnt open to new ideas then hes not a very good art teacher... video games are an art medium abeit a new one, jus ignore everything he says from now on in

 

[Blue_vision]

Yes, because running around for a few laps and doing pushups is much more involving than putting those same exercises in the context of an olympic event or something through a video game.

Okay, okay, I get what you're saying overall, but I think some video games can be more than adequate to help kids become more involved in their classes. Using video games for every single class probably won't help, but certain classes can easily benefit with the introduction of certain games.

What do you mean by "more involved"? And how is this in a unique way that can't be accomplished by some far cheaper medium?

But the outlay of money required to fit classrooms with all of this stuff far outweighs any supposed benefits. The time taken away from real instruction can't be replaced. And, I'm sorry to say, the fact that now we can play videogames in class? Motivation to do non-game things drops sharply.

Here's how it'll play out if this goes through: Schools are forced to spend time and money on putting Little Big Planet in the classroom. They require teachers to attend a number of workshops, which puts more money in Sony's pocket, to familiarize themselves with the concept and receive "lesson plan" examples. Teachers try it. Then the students, who like videogames, will say, "Wow! This is fun!"

And then students talk about how much more they like being at school, so people think, "Wow! Video games help kids want to be at school!" But that's like saying, "Hey! Kid's like eating vegetables when we cover then with candy!" Games, by and large, distract from learning and diminish motivation to do actual work. Kids might "enjoy" the classroom more, but the classroom ceases to do its job.

Hit the nail straight on the head there.

 

[Dastardly]

Hit the nail straight on the head there.

Thanks--I liked your earlier post as well. The problem with "initiatives" like this is that they put the wrong power in the wrong hands.

Yes, kids are the reason we have an education system. As a teacher, I understand and uphold that. My students are my first priority, and every decision I make is based on what will be best for them.

Problem: How often to kids like what is best for them? They don't, usually. Learning is hard, and it is uncomfortable. This isn't because of how it's taught, it's because learning forces us to confront things we don't know and aren't good at doing. That's uncomfortable and often quite unpleasant at first.

The good news is that, over time, kids can learn to deal with that discomfort and actually enjoy learning. They might not enjoy the process itself, but they enjoy the power and confidence they get from the result, and that's enough to outweigh the discomfort. We increase the student's tolerance for being able to do things that must be done, regardless of whether it's "easy" or "fun." That's learning.

But when we focus attention on things like this? When we try too hard to "make learning fun?" We erode the learning. Ask a child, "Do you want to wash the dishes, or play a video game?" They'll pick the game every time... but don't they need to learn to contribute to the home? Or at least how to wash dishes? Same thing for school. "Do you want to learn math, or play a video game with 'Math' in the title?" Duh.

When we let private, for-profit companies write even a portion of the curriculum, they'll focus on selling to the kids. That effectively means we're letting the students decide the content and rigor of the school curriculum. Kids, who don't have the objectivity to separate "want" from "need." It's letting the inmates run the asylum.

 

[stefman]

I think that some classes would be improved by incorporating video games. If my school bought a few Wiis, I know gym would be a lot more fun than it is.

A little off topic: I actually tried to convince my art teacher of video games as an art medium with an essay. I got a trip to the school shrink for my trouble, as well as an F on the essay.

he's a nazi man. a freakin nazi.

 

[Jumplion]

Yes, because running around for a few laps and doing pushups is much more involving than putting those same exercises in the context of an olympic event or something through a video game.

Okay, okay, I get what you're saying overall, but I think some video games can be more than adequate to help kids become more involved in their classes. Using video games for every single class probably won't help, but certain classes can easily benefit with the introduction of certain games.

What do you mean by "more involved"? And how is this in a unique way that can't be accomplished by some far cheaper medium?

I would imagine that, I dunno, putting some fitness games in gym class would help kids exercise while at the same time having fun and learning how to stay fit with different exercises.

I see what you're saying overall, don't get me wrong, there are certainly better ways to get kids involved in education and whatnot (do something other than droning on with lectures for starters...), but I wouldn't rule out using video games as a source of education.

But the outlay of money required to fit classrooms with all of this stuff far outweighs any supposed benefits. The time taken away from real instruction can't be replaced. And, I'm sorry to say, the fact that now we can play videogames in class? Motivation to do non-game things drops sharply.

Here's how it'll play out if this goes through: Schools are forced to spend time and money on putting Little Big Planet in the classroom. They require teachers to attend a number of workshops, which puts more money in Sony's pocket, to familiarize themselves with the concept and receive "lesson plan" examples. Teachers try it. Then the students, who like videogames, will say, "Wow! This is fun!"

And then students talk about how much more they like being at school, so people think, "Wow! Video games help kids want to be at school!" But that's like saying, "Hey! Kid's like eating vegetables when we cover then with candy!" Games, by and large, distract from learning and diminish motivation to do actual work. Kids might "enjoy" the classroom more, but the classroom ceases to do its job.

Hit the nail straight on the head there.

That's assuming that they way they would implement the game would be just to slap it in the curriculum. I could, and probably would, argue it'd be more like arranging the vegetables in an appealing manner to get them into vegetables. Put Minecraft as homework for studying cubism or whatever, or take LittleBigPlanet's level creator to learn about the logic within it, whatever.

 

[Blue_vision]

I would imagine that, I dunno, putting some fitness games in gym class would help kids exercise while at the same time having fun and learning how to stay fit with different exercises.

I see what you're saying overall, don't get me wrong, there are certainly better ways to get kids involved in education and whatnot (do something other than droning on with lectures for starters...), but I wouldn't rule out using video games as a source of education.

If you're going to try to get kids active on a Wii and fail to do so with other forms of exercise, then not only are you teaching wrong, but you'll fail to get them notably active on the Wii anyways.
You know, there are other kinds of "games" that get kids active. Football, tennis, badminton, basketball, rugby, volleyball, etc. Even yoga, swimming, or running. I fail to see how video games could trump any of these, either from a physical education, or simple activity perspective.

And, again, I see no learning potential in a video game versus what could be done in modern life with relatively standard classes. If your beef is with lectures, then why not ask for more reading or Q&A/discussion? (not sure what level of schooling this is.) And lectures can't be replaced with video games, or any other medium really. Certainly not video games. The only place I see video game-involved learning possibly being effective is at the elementary school level, but I still doubt how it could have any potential there as a learning tool.

 

[Jumplion]

If you're going to try to get kids active on a Wii and fail to do so with other forms of exercise, then not only are you teaching wrong, but you'll fail to get them notably active on the Wii anyways.
You know, there are other kinds of "games" that get kids active. Football, tennis, badminton, basketball, rugby, volleyball, etc. Even yoga, swimming, or running. I fail to see how video games could trump any of these, either from a physical education, or simple activity perspective.

I didn't say that video games could "trump" any of them, but I don't see why not. Everyone is on an even playing field when playing games (Communist! AHHH!), but if I will be allowed to go for a low-blow here, I'm sure some of those types of games could help with physical therapy and whatnot.

And, again, I see no learning potential in a video game versus what could be done in modern life with relatively standard classes. If your beef is with lectures, then why not ask for more reading or Q&A/discussion? (not sure what level of schooling this is.) And lectures can't be replaced with video games, or any other medium really. Certainly not video games. The only place I see video game-involved learning possibly being effective is at the elementary school level, but I still doubt how it could have any potential there as a learning tool.

Like I said, I'm not meaning for it to be a be-all-end-all solution, but I personally don't see why not. It depends on how the game would be used, either like with LittleBigPlanet to make an interactive learning tool or make a game from scratch for the purpose of educating kids (hopefully better than standard edutainment games). As I said earlier, I don't think it'd be coating the vegetables with candy, it'd just be mixing them up in a more appealing way (like a soup or something).

But I'm tired right now, so I doubt I'll be able to make a better compelling argument right now. In this increasingly technological-ized world, I do think the educational system will probably be reworked in some areas, but how I have no idea. Maybe video games will somehow be a part of it, but for now we'll just have to wait.

 

[Asuka Soryu]

Where was this when I was in school!? D:

 

[Dexiro]

Urgh no, please.

As a student in the UK I really can't see this working. A lot of our teachers really aren't that great and they use crap like this as an excuse not to teach, I've had a load of grades messed up by teachers finding any excuse not to do their job. Luckily they were mostly in High School and the grades weren't massively important.