This post is part of my training in the Rezzly platform and mindset to be used a gamified class.
Untitled from 3D GameLab on Vimeo.
After viewing the video and doing some additional research on the points discussed I feel like there is a clear vision of the future of education, but I’m fearful that we may not get there fast enough. Our current education system is set to mass produce knowledge. The old assembly line story comes to mind.
Jim Gee and others have a very different vision for what is to come. Education should be individualize, personalized, and more importantly, real to the learner. I agree that this change will probably happen from the higher-education level and work its way day. Grade school has no real incentive to change as it currently stands. Sure there are increased demands of testing and standards, but the institution of grade school is very established and set in its ways. Colleges have a reason to adapt and change. We have already seen a massive shift with online education. Once we get that figured out and better researched, we should see a bigger shift in grade school online education as well.
I love the idea of a student being able to go into a game, figure out how it works, and then use the traditional content knowledge as it applies to the game. In the video Jim Gee discusses using it in chemistry and I think that’s a perfect fit. Often the vocabulary gets in the way of learning or the initial pieces needed to learn something are too big.
One thing that I am fearful of when thinking of gamifying my class is how to keep students from shutting down if they meet a challenge that they have trouble with. In my population of students, I often see them stop when meeting a slight challenge. I want to figure out a way for them to learn to fight through difficult things. I am also concerned about the time piece of this. As students will have more flexibility and autonomy I am afraid that they will waste time and not get things accomplished.
I’m conflicted about a lot of this because I am trying to think of solutions to problems that I don’t know exist yet. I am applying my old ideas to a new way of doing things and I don’t know how it will come out or look in my classroom. Jim Gee mentions that we need to totally change teacher training, and I couldn’t agree more.
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