Monday, April 14, 2008

Games on kids "must have" list for school...

Since I don't have time to read the full report - I'm just going to pull some quotes from other summaries...it is great that students can see the potential of gaming - and even articulate specific benefits of gaming over other other modes of instruction!

From: eSchool News

Students want more use of gaming technology
Results from Project Tomorrow's annual Speak Up survey reveal a disconnect between students', adults' views on technology in schools



What students want
"Educators are largely missing out on what could be a huge opportunity to capitalize on their students’ appetite for electronic games and simulations to teach them about core curriculum topics, results from a new national survey suggest."..."online or electronic gaming is one of the technologies that students use most frequently—and that educational gaming is one of the emerging technologies that students would most like to see implemented in their schools."

The disconnect between what students want and parents/teachers want?
"...Yet, only one in 10 teachers has adopted gaming as an instructional tool."
"
64 percent of students in grades K-12 say they play online or electronic-based games regularly. On average across all grade levels, students are playing electronic games about 8 to 10 hours a week. More than 50 percent of students in grades 3-12 would like to see more educational gaming in their schools—yet only 19 percent of parents and 15 percent of administrators favor that idea."

but maybe kids know best...
One teacher, using games in her classroom notes “'We are witnessing a metamorphosis of sorts. Within the first few weeks, we saw students seeking assistance from their teachers before the scheduled time for math, so they could beat their friends. … It’s driving up math scores. When our students are experiencing success on the game, it transfers to success in the classroom.'”

"Just over half of the students surveyed (51 percent) said they’re interested in educational gaming because games make it easier to understand difficult concepts. Fifty percent said gaming would make them more engaged in the subject, 46 percent said they would learn more about the subject, and 44 percent said it would be more interesting to practice problems."



And another review of the same study From: Network World

Most kids want educational video games in school, survey shows. ... So?



"Among the survey findings:
  • More than half of students in grades 3 through 12 believe educational gaming would help them learn;
  • Only 16% of teachers, 15% of administrators and 19% of parents are on board today -- although there was significantly more support for further exploration of the potential;
  • And, 11% of teachers say they're already using video games in class, no matter how much you roll your eyes.

Then there was this little nugget, which may explain better than any other data point why this topic is even being discussed: Only 3% of elementary school students say they do not play video games of any kind.

Students surveyed say learning via video games would help them better understand difficult concepts, become more engaged in the subject matter and practice skills."

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