Double Journal Entry 12

Double Entry Journal #12

Chapter 5: Learning and Gaming 1 What is the main argument the author is making in Chapter 5. The main arguement that author is making, in chapter 5, is that facilitating learning can help outside the classroom, and without traditional schooling techniques. Students that are identified as "at-risk" are given dumbed downmaterial to learn when in reality they just need new/different outlet to learn.   2. What constitutes a theory of learning? "Learning is not infinitely variable and there are patterns and principles to be discovered-patterns and principles that ultimately constitute a theory of learning" (Gee, 2004). In other words, discovering these patterns and principles in whatever way you can constitutes a theory of learning.   3. Why did the author struggle to learn to play Warcraft III? What needs to proceed before good learning principles? Gee struggled to play Warcraft III because he "failed to engage with it in a way that fully recruited its solid design and learning principles" (Gee, 2004). "Motivation for all extended engagement" (Gee, 2004). must come before good learning principles. 4. How would have the authors struggle with learning to play Warcraft III been interpreted in school? In school, his struggle to learn is comparable to getting a bad grade (I.E an 'F'). It's considered a failure when in fact it's a precurser for later learning.   5 What kind of learning experience might be better suited for at risk students? Horizontal learning is better suited for 'at-risk' students. It allows them to get "their feet wet" (Gee, 2004) and experience many different things. They aren't building on the same old material rather gaining new experiences that will further their knowledge eventually.   6. Why does the school-based interpretation of "at risk" lead to bad learning? The school-based interpretation of 'at-risk' students leads to bad learning because it is a dumbed down version of material that is meant to help them with the basic skills they are struggling with.   7. What do schools need to do to function more like a good game? In order for schools to function more like a good game they need to involve their students in the learning . Not just mind, but body, too. Games often allow the players to feel as if they are in the virtual world they are manipulating. If teachers can accomplish this type of entracement then the students would perform better in school.   8. What is different about how good games and school assess learners? Schools assess learners "then deciding for the learners how these problems ought to be dealt with" (Gee, 2004). Good games, on the other hand, "solves the problem by letting learners assess themselves and learn things about what they do and do not know and what style of learning suits them here and now" (Gee, 2004).   9. What are the attributes of a fish-tank tutorial that make it an effective learning tool? How is it different than school-based learning? The attriubutes of a fish-tank tutorial that makes it an effective learning tool is that it is multimodal . It not only gives the skills/skill set visually, but in print and orally. The fish-tank tutorial is also effective because it is an example of Proximal Development which is based off Vygotsky's theory of what students can learn on their own, and what they can do with help. It is different because all too often teachers only teach in one mode and don't scaffold enough.   10. What is a sand-box tutorial? Why is effective? How is it different than school-based learning? A sand-box tutorial "is a piece of the real world, but sealed off to be a protected and safe place where children can explore" (Gee, 2004). It is effective because it is giving the person a real life example of the game with no penalties for wrong decisions. It is different from school based learning because teachers don't always provide a real world example of something during their teachings. Without a concrete example students often fail to see the importance of the material, and the realtionship it has on everyday life. 11. What is a genre? Why is it important for good learning? A genre tells you what type of something you have. For example, when reading a book you can read a true story (fiction), or a made up story (non-fiction). It is important for good learning because it identifies the types of skill sets, rules, and knowledge you will need in order to understand or play the game well. 12. According to the author, what do learning and play having in common? As they play the game the player becomes better and learns more information. When the learning stops the player will not have any fun, and in return, will stop playing the game. "For humans, real learning is always associated with pleasure and is ultimately a form of play- a principle almost always dismissed by schools" (Gee, 2004). 13. How are the skills test in good games different from skills tests in school? Skill test in good games are "developmental for the learner and not evaluative" (Gee, 2004). "Furthermore, they are tests if what skills mean as strategies, not decontexualized test of skills outside of application where they mean quite specific things" (Gee, 2004). 14. How does RoN support collaborative learning? RoN supports collaborative learning by providing a website that has chat rooms for players around the world to talk and stratigize together. They can learn information from each other and figure out how to solve things. They can also play againist each other and build on prior knowledge. 15. Match at least one learning principle of good games (on page 74) with each the following learning theorists you have studied in 3352: Dewey "They ensure that there is a smooth transition between tutorials and actually playing (customized unsupervised sandboxes are good for this)." Vygotsky "They let learners themselves assess their previous knowledge and learning styles and make decisions for themeselves (with help)." "They offer supervised (i.e guided) fish tank tutorials (simplified versions of the real system)." "They allow learners to discover the outer edge of their competence and to be able to operate just inside that edge." Piaget "They teach basic skills in the context of simplified versions of the real game so that learners can see how these skills fir into the game as a system and how they integrate with each other" Gardner "They give information via several different modes (e.g. in print, orally, visually). They create redundancy" Bandura "They allow learners to practice enough so that they routinize their skills and then challenge them with new problems that force them to re-think these taken-for-granted skills and integrate them with new ones. Repeat." Skinner "They create motivation for an extended engagement"