Learning and Games

The next in my series of riveting titles!

Last week a friend pointed me in the direction of a video on TED.com, a website featuring video talks by various professionals and academics on a variety of topics, everything from politics to education. The video I was recommended was from Ali Carr-Chellman, an education researcher looking to improve engagement in the classroom. Her 12-minute speech, titled 'Bring Back the Boys: Gaming to re-engage boys in the classroom' focused on the disparity between boys and girls in the classroom, finishing with the idea that gaming should be used as a tool to reignite boys' passion for learning.

Is gaming inherently gendered? Is it something that is reflective of differences between boys and girls and how they absorb information? I believe that the compelling narrative and tracking of progress that some games offer could be a great tool in the classroom. That being said, why gaming should be used primarily to engage boys more so than girls doesn't quite add up. The games which have been successful with a primarily female audience do not seem to be narrative based. This could be attributed to the inhibitions held by girls towards games due to the large initial investment that a gamer has to input to become proficient in a particular game, i.e. the steep learning curve with a game like World of Warcraft.

Carr-Chellman suggested some interesting starting points on how to address, through gaming, the disparity between the sexes in terms of educational achievement. The first was to 'design better games', asserting that the current educational games on offer are more or less electronic flash cards. But whether a government agency (e.g. Department of Education) would fund/develop this is unclear.

I, for one, think games have a place in the classroom for everybody; that games should not be targeted at either gender, but middle ground should be found in terms of creating immersive gameplay structures and rewards systems that will engage students in the educational material.

Anyone who wants to watch the video can find it here.

Thoughts?