Write about the exploration of the focus on and discussion of literacy and video games. how did you define literacy before this class – if at all? how would you define literacy at this point, after reading Chapters 1-3 (book attached).
Write about the exploration of the focus on and discussion of literacy and video games.
how did you define literacy before this class – if at all?
how would you define literacy at this point, after reading Chapters 1-3 (book attached).
how do you think literacy operates within the major of English, Use ideas, vocabulary, and/or learning principles outlined by Gee (attached) to help with this discussion. Reference Chapters 1-3 from Gee’s book.
BOOK:
https://blog.ufes.br/kyriafinardi/files/2017/10/What-Video-Games-Have-to-Teach-us-About-Learning-and-Literacy-2003.-ilovepdf-compressed.pdf
Are video games as useful as books when it comes to teaching or learning literacy? While the term ‘useful’ is open to interpretation, what it boils down to is having the right tools available to us as educators to enable our students to best learn the literacy skills that will set them up for life.
If we were to compare books to video games, it would draw a similar comparison to apples and oranges. Both are vehicles for delivering activities students use to learn, however the way they look and the experience they offer is greatly different. To this end, this is not an argument for or against the use of books or video games in teaching and learning literacy. Rather, it’s an outline of how using both these tools is ultimately advantageous for students.
Inspiring a love of learning and finding fun in the learning experience is the key for students of all subjects, including literacy.Even Ancient Romans associated the concept of primary school (ludus) with play (ludere). When learning is fun, students are more likely to be interested in what you’re teaching, feel more relaxed during the class and therefore be better able to retain information.
Having existed in a relatively similar form since their invention many hundreds of years ago, books are a proven method of documenting and passing on information in an ordered manner. Comparatively, video games are in their infancy. And as an entirely alternate learning format to books, widen the audience of students we can reach.
Video games introduce us to new worlds in a more visual and interactive way, expanding our understanding of creativity, communication and relationships. Its non-traditional delivery of learning concepts is what some purists would argue acts against formal teaching methods. Conversely, it’s this alternate format of teaching that leads to video games having the potential to draw in more students. Video games include motivational and competitive elements that give students targets to aim towards, further motivating them to continue their exploration of the topic, text or skill.
Since their creation, books have been designed to pass on knowledge, stories, facts, standards, reasoning, and list the goes on. Books give us the permission, encouragement and means to dig to a deeper understanding of topics in which we’re interested. Books have a powerful effect on building our conceptual foundation on a specific topic, or a particular point in time, in the case of fiction.
In the UK’s National Literacy Trust 2020 survey of thousands of young people’s relationship with video games and literacy, 73% of those who don’t enjoy reading said playing video games helps them feel more part of a story than reading a book-based text.
The fact that we learn in different ways speaks for video games’ effectiveness and deserved place in the resources called upon to teach literacy. In fact, there are many who have written on the symbiotic relationship between reading books and playing video games, going so far as to say video games may be some of the best ways to teach life skills.
Recognising that as there are many ways one can be literate, there are different ways to learn texts, instructions and visual directions. Rather than replace books, video games will complement students’ understanding of their worlds. Video games have a lot to teach us about learning and literacy.
Ultimately, we’re not pitching video games and books against one another. There is an opportunity to offer both for the betterment of a student’s education. There is a strong argument for mixing education and entertainment, as it fosters interest in learning and inherently offers a rewards aspect that generates more significant engagement levels than traditional learning.