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The aim of this essay is to evaluate whether or not the game "SimCity" can be used as a successful learning tool and if students learn from this game. I am going to illustrate the potential for learning available within this game and what the game can teach students. I will study and analyse experiments that assess the idea of computer games as a learning tool and how “SimCity 2000” and "SimCity Creator" specifically has been used as a method of teaching. I will show how these two versions have been used differently as a learning tool. I will find out whether or not the method of learning promoted through the use of “Sim City” as a series could be considered for use in the classroom for the future. Through analysing these sources I will also recommend improvements that could be made to the method by which computer games as used as a learning tool for the classroom.
2. Literature review
2.1. Educational games
Computer Games can be seen as a new way of teaching children in an engaging way because games are seen as a motivational tool, but why is this? It is potentially because of the interactive and responsive nature of games that also makes the user part of the outcome rather than being a passive spectator. Computer Games successfully aid the learning process of the players as people learn by enjoying themselves; this promotes the idea that educational games can still be fun to play. The most successful games are complex and difficult, because the gamer can expand their learning potential through adapting to the new rules of the game they are playing. On the other hand some gamers, specifically beginners, are put off games that are difficult to play. However game designers need to design their games in such a way that the gam...
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...evisch, O., 2008: 'Should planners start playing computer games? Arguments from SimCity and Second Life', Planning Theory & Practice, 9:209-226
Egenfeldt-Nielsen, S., Smith, J. H. and Tosca, S. P. 2013. Understanding Video Games. New York, N.Y.: Routledge.
Gaber, J., 2007: 'Simulating Planning SimCity as a Pedagogical Tool', Journal of Planning Education and Research, 27:113-121.
Gee, J. P., 2007: Good video games. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Lacasa, P. Garcia-Pernia, M. Nunez, P., 2013: 'Adolescents Media Experiences in the Classroom: SimCity as a Cultural Model', Journal of Education and Training Studies 2:103-116.
Olson, C. K., 2010: 'Children's motivations for video game play in the context of normal development,' Review of General Psychology, 14:180-187.
Shaffer, D. W., 2006: How computer games help children learn. (New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
"Teaching Games for Understanding ." Teaching Games for Understanding . N.p.. Web. 16 Sep 2013. .
I can still see that there’s a lot of potential in the field of education Gamification. Clearly there should be a way to help kids learn from what they do best – play. This is why many educators are looking into a variety of new tools and techniques in Education Gamification. If we can harness/utilise the energy, motivation and sheer potential of their game-play and direct it toward learning, we can give students the tools to become winners in the real game of life.
3. “Video Games” by Chris Jozefowics. Published by Gareth Stevens Publishing 2010. Pleasantville, NY 10570-70000 USA. Produced by Editorials Directions Inc.
Rittel, Horst and Melvin Webber (1973) “Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning,” Policy Sciences 4, Elsevier Scientific Publishing, Amsterdam,
In society’s current era of technological advancement, video games have gone a long way since they were first created. Video games in the twenty-first century are no longer just toys or junk in the lifestyles of the youth. They have become innovative inventions that not only entertain its users, but also help aid the people in both the academic field and in jobs. The influences that video games bring about in the culture of the youth today are, in fact, not the negative influences that most people think. Video games are actually this generation’s new medium for educating the youth. The information they learn are also mostly positive and useful things that they may apply in their future lives (Prensky 4). In a generation that revolves around technology and connectivity, developers and educators have already been able to produce fun and interesting games that can teach and train people. Video game developers and educators should continue to collaborate in order to create more positive, educational, and appealing games.
Since the Early 70’s video games have been giving a bad name. Parents state that video games rot the minds of children and are influencing them do be violent. These accusations are far from the truth. In my research I found that there are many positive effects of gaming. Some of these effects are increased skills, creativity, general knowledge, and also help those in need. Parents can also take proper precautions and look into a game before buying it to see if it meets the criteria discussed in this paper.
Susan S. Fainstein, Scott Campbell. 2003. Readings in Urban Theory. Second Edition. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
In chapter 1 and 2 the author, James Paul Gee explains video games are forms of learning since people must learn them to play. The game creators aid the learning process in that they determine the ease of playing the game. In case a game cannot be easily learned, obviously many people will not play it and the company and its creator will become bankrupt. Ideal learning in a game is a capitalist practice of selection of the fittest. Although the developers could solve the games by shortening and making them easier, they tend to make them complex and relate them to intriguing dilemmas faced in schools and workplaces. This is a vital way of getting people to practice and know something that is lengthy and
Video games have been around about 50 years and they contribute a big part of the U.S. economy. People interact with video games every day throughout different ways, such as cell phone devices, computers, consoles or whatever which has a screen on it. In fact, it has always affected people’s lives. However, not so many people understand the benefits of video games. With video games, people can not only relieve themselves from stress and suffering, but it also improves people’s social experiences while they are exchanging and absorbing knowledge with other people; more than that, people can learn many other things from video games which can help them to achieve great things in lives.
Video games are no longer the uprising form of media that ill informed parents and scientists used to fear; video games are now an established form of entertainment that is just as universally accepted as film or literature. The difference between videogames and mediums like film and literature is that they do not have the higher value that books have in exercising the mind and communicating information, nor do they have the value that films have to intellectually challenge an audience and to make people think. This is the general argument that can be heard voiced by leading intellectuals in various field as well as parents who are rising young children; both claim that videogames
There are two approaches to games and learning, namely, Game-Based Learning (GBL) and gamification. GBL, also referred to as 'Serious Games', which are computer or video games designed for a primary purpose (education or solving a problem) other than entertainment. This involves the use of simulations to support teaching and learning. Gaming simulation is an interactive-learning environment that makes it possible to cope with authentic situations that closely mimic reality. According to Kip Kelly (2013) “serious games can allow players to apply what they have learned in an L&D [Learning and Development] experience and apply it in a safe, simulated environment. For example, health care professionals can practice a new medical procedure using a serious simulation game before introducing it in the workplace”.
The experience of game play can be described as an activity in which the player is virtually embodied in the game world. Anyone who has experienced the world of gaming knows how the engaging experience can manifest itself with “sweaty palms and chills down the spine” (http://www.eludamos.org/index.php/eludamos/article/viewArticle/80/147) when coming face-to-face with alien creatures; or with the adrenaline rush we get when racing a high speed automobile head-to-head with a friend. Gaming is an excellent source of entertainment. It provides an opportunity for social growth, provides a meaningful form of exploring expression, and provides heightened sensitivity.
There are several negative stereotypes associated with video games and those who play them; some of these may often hold true. However, there are plenty of learning opportunities in video games. While the direct purpose of some games is to educate or train, other games that do not directly have this purpose can still become a learning experience for the player. As Ntiedo Etuk, president of the educational video game company Tabula Digital said, “The traditional view of video games has been that they are distractions from the task of learning” (Electronic Education Report 1). Video games are an effective tool for learning and retaining skills both inside and outside the classroom environment. The basic cycle of game play--the introduction to the game, game play, collaboration, improvement of these between each round, and evaluation at the end of the game (Klievink and Janssen 159)--are nearly parallel to the traditional classroom learning cycle of reading a textbook or listening to a lecture, taking a quiz, studying, focusing on items missed on the quiz, and taking a test or exam. Within this cycle, there are many opportunities to develop and perfect both educational, life, and occupational skills.
Nowadays, video games are frequently accused of having detrimental effects on children and adolescents. The main arguments against video games are that they lead to addiction, that they provoke violence, and that they impair social development. Whether or not such claims are true has not been determined with certainty as scientific studies have produced contradictory results. Nevertheless, video games also have beneficial effects, which tend to be underrated, as they do not receive the same level of media coverage that adverse ones do, and are thus unknown to the general public. Some of the positive effects of playing video games on mental development include: stimulating analytical thinking, improving concentration, and encouraging planning and anticipation (“Video game controversies”).
"Video game play may provide learning, health, social benefits." American Psychological Association. February 2014, Vol 45, No. 2