Week 6- Using Games in the Classroom

Games are fun! Almost everyone likes to play games and they can be useful and engaging in the classroom. In my opinion the biggest benefit is that they create a context for using skills, reasoning and problem solving that cannot be found in textbooks or on a worksheet. They help students who are not conventional learners by appealing to visual as well as kinesthetic learning styles. Games create discussion. Games help students talk about subjects, like math for example, that they might not otherwise talk about. Students talk about moves or techniques and are able to play against each other or in pairs. Games naturally scaffold learning. There are usually different levels that students can play at and they progress in an unthreatening way, thus building confidence in the process. Games require students to read and comprehend directions, rules and learning objectives. They often require students to write or at least input information. Games provide concrete objects to manipulate, not hypothetical’s as are often found in word problems in textbooks.  Games should not replace textbooks and workbooks but it is important to engage 21^st century learners in a way that appeals to them and by using technology we can do that.