I was excited to hear about the lesson regarding gaming in the classroom, because it aligns with my personal education philosophy. Thinking outside the box in order to keep students engaged means thinking beyond worksheets and textbooks. My students are used to doing hands-on activities or getting out of the classroom, so to sit and take notes is usually met with groans. While it is necessary to teach my students the life and educational skill of note-taking, if I can find other engaging ways to emphasize the notes and discussions taking in place in class, why not try it out?
A book that helped build my educational philosophy is titled, Teach Like a Pirate, by Dave Burgess. While he mentions all sorts of ways to keep students engaged, a follow-up book written by Quinn Rollins focuses strictly on bringing toys, games, and comic into the classroom. Play Like a Pirate, has an entire section devoted to different types of games and how they can be incorporated, as well as templates to be used as resources for teachers. In his book, Rollins emphasizes that keeping games simple is a great way to begin adding games to your classroom. Games can bring all sorts of personality types together. Those who are creative and artistic can help draw or create characters, higher level students can write the directions for the game, and if a physical element is added, athletes can play a significant role as well.
I like the idea of students creating their own game, whether an online or board game. By creating their own game, they become the experts and are also having to review science concepts that are included. If I am pressed for time, I know that there are already resources available that have games already made. Since my students all have their own iPad, there are a couple of cell games that I have personally been playing to see how well they work and if students would enjoy them. One of these games is called Cell Defense created by Bioman Biology. The creator has their own website, www.biomanbio.com. On this game, students can choose different challenges such as, building a membrane, membrane structure challenge, diffusion challenge, energy and transport challenge, or osmosis challenge. What is nice about this game is that not only is it FREE, but there is a score sheet that gives you a percentage the student got correct. This could be taken as a screenshot and then attached in Google Classroom for grading to check for understanding. As well, students can erase their previous scores and begin all over again.
I believe that educators need to meet students where they are at and gaming is definitely an area of interest. If we can incorporate good quality gaming experiences, then both the teacher and student wins.
Rollins, Q. (2016). Play like a pirate: Engage students with toys, games, and comics: Make your classroom fun again! San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting.
A book that helped build my educational philosophy is titled, Teach Like a Pirate, by Dave Burgess. While he mentions all sorts of ways to keep students engaged, a follow-up book written by Quinn Rollins focuses strictly on bringing toys, games, and comic into the classroom. Play Like a Pirate, has an entire section devoted to different types of games and how they can be incorporated, as well as templates to be used as resources for teachers. In his book, Rollins emphasizes that keeping games simple is a great way to begin adding games to your classroom. Games can bring all sorts of personality types together. Those who are creative and artistic can help draw or create characters, higher level students can write the directions for the game, and if a physical element is added, athletes can play a significant role as well.
I like the idea of students creating their own game, whether an online or board game. By creating their own game, they become the experts and are also having to review science concepts that are included. If I am pressed for time, I know that there are already resources available that have games already made. Since my students all have their own iPad, there are a couple of cell games that I have personally been playing to see how well they work and if students would enjoy them. One of these games is called Cell Defense created by Bioman Biology. The creator has their own website, www.biomanbio.com. On this game, students can choose different challenges such as, building a membrane, membrane structure challenge, diffusion challenge, energy and transport challenge, or osmosis challenge. What is nice about this game is that not only is it FREE, but there is a score sheet that gives you a percentage the student got correct. This could be taken as a screenshot and then attached in Google Classroom for grading to check for understanding. As well, students can erase their previous scores and begin all over again.
I believe that educators need to meet students where they are at and gaming is definitely an area of interest. If we can incorporate good quality gaming experiences, then both the teacher and student wins.
Rollins, Q. (2016). Play like a pirate: Engage students with toys, games, and comics: Make your classroom fun again! San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting.