Games and Learning: Outline for the Class
The objective of this class is to explore different ways of thinking about games (particularly video games), and how various games might connect to the curriculum both within and across teachable subjects. We will work to move beyond games designed for education (which are often, but not always, very surface-level and don’t always encourage deep learning in any case), towards how commercial games can be mobilized in teaching. This is especially important given that the video games industry is now the largest creative industry, meaning that if we neglect such tools in our practice we might miss an opportunity to engage with a huge part of our students’ lives. We will use the latter half of class to work on final projects/the productions. Powerpoint for class: Class 8 PPT
- Housekeeping: Productions/Course Portfolio and Q&A (if necessary) [5 min]
- Your experiences/perspectives: What makes a good game? [5 min]
- Ways of thinking about games:
1) Games as texts: What makes a great story? [15 min]
2) Games as participatory experiences (Playful Constructivism) [10 min]
3) Games as learning experiences (Gee) [10 min] - An Example: Journey [10 min]
- Group Discussion: Curricular Connections and Games [15 min/10 min]
- The logistics of gameplay in the classroom: Collaborative Gameplay and This War of Mine [5 min]
- Break: 3:50-4:00 [10 minutes]
- Finishing up productions and final project work