UW-Madison Video Gaming and Adult Learning

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Video Gaming and Adult Learning

 Games Education 

Course


Table of contents

[edit] Teachers

[edit] Instructors

  • Betty Hayes

[edit] Course Background Information

[edit] Location

University of Wisconsin-Madison

[edit] Classification

Primary classification: Games as instructional tool

[edit] Time periods

This course met for one month over the summer.

[edit] Course Structure

[edit] Course description

This course will explore current theories and examples of how video gaming can support sophisticated and challenging modes of learning. Our overall goal will be to develop a better understanding of the wide array of current video gaming genres and practices, with the intent to draw insights into the unique affordances of such digital technologies for education. We will examine, among other topics, the impact of video gaming on youth culture, the cognitive, affective, and social outcomes of video gaming, the dynamics of virtual worlds, and implications for teaching and learning in a variety of educational settings.

As a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States, video gaming has become a pervasive part of society, recruiting growing numbers of both women and men gamers of all ages. Despite the stereotypes of video games as “shooters” that emphasize violence and scantily dressed women, video games take quite varied forms, ranging from addictive puzzle type games such as Tetris and Bejeweled to complex simulation games such as SimCity and Railroad Tycoon. In contrast to other forms of entertainment media, such as TV and movies, gaming is interactive: players are actively engaged rather than passive consumers, knowledge and ideas are used, not simply acquired, and typically players can pursue multiple routes in problem-solving. Video games’ potential to support engagement in complex thinking and practices has led to growing interest in the development of games for more overtly educational purposes, in contexts ranging from health care to politics.

A unique component of this course will be attending the Games, Learning & Society Conference to be held June 15-16, 2006 at the Monona Terrace in Madison. Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education and the Academic ADL Co-Lab, the GLS Conference will foster substantive discussion and collaboration among academics, designers, and educators interested in how videogames – commercial games and others – can enhance learning, culture, and education. Speakers, discussion groups, interactive workshops, and exhibits will focus on game design, game culture, and games’ potential for learning and society more broadly. The conference will include presentations by some of the leading experts in the design of games for learning.

[edit] Week by week topics

May 30 (Tuesday)

Why are video games significant? What forms do they take? Who plays them?

Readings:

June 1 (Thursday)

How do video games support learning? What are the effects of gaming? How do games relate to other aspects of youth (and adult) culture?

Readings: Gee, Lyman, O’Hare, Video Game Industry Facts

June 8 (Thursday)

What are the social and productive aspects of online multiplayer games?

Readings: Ondrejka, Steinkuehler, Taylor

June 13 (Tuesday)

How can we design video games for education?

Readings: Dickey, Klopfer, Shaffer et al., Xeodesign (2)

June 15-16 (Thursday-Friday) GAMES, LEARNING & SOCIETY CONFERENCE

June 20th (Tuesday)

Conference reports

June 27th (Tuesday)

Final papers due


[edit] Course Materials & Facilities Used

Here you can link to and/or describe books and other materials you used for this course. Feel free to create new pages for each item here if a page for it does not yet exist.

Books (optional)

  • Beck, J.C. & Wade, M. (2004). Got game: How the gamer generation is reshaping business forever. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
  • Castronova, E. (2005). Synthetic worlds: The business and culture of online games. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Gee, J.P. (2003). What videogames have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
  • Gee, J.P. (2005). Why video games are good for your soul. Australia: Common Ground.
  • Johnson, S. (2005). Everything bad for you is good for you: How today’s popular culture is actually making us smarter. New York: Riverhead.
  • Ray, S. G. (2004). Gender-inclusive game design. Hingham, MA: Charles River Media.
  • Salen, K. & Zimmerman, E. (2003). Rules of play: Game design fundamentals. Boston: The M.I.T. Press.
  • Taylor, T.L. (2006). Play between worlds : Exploring online game culture. Boston: The M.I.T. Press.
  • Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the screen: Identity in the age of the internet. New York: Touchstone.


[edit] Analysis of learning methods

[edit] What worked

Please discuss what techniques worked well


[edit] What didn't work

Please discuss what techniques didn’t work as well as you had hoped


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