EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
BLOG
Video games, simulations, and virtual environments are great tools to use to bring exciting and invigorating experiences into the classroom and work environment. Students and/or employees experience heightened intellectual curiosity as they engage in play and continue to advance through the games’ levels of difficulty, as a single player or as a part of a team. The players (students/employees) develop feelings of positive accomplishment and ability in what they are able to do on their own and/or working together as a team, the challenges they are able to solve, and the levels of advancement they are able to reach. They are motivated and stimulated to move on, conquering each challenging level, to reach mastery. It is at this level, the users becomes the producers, to use their creative skills to produce a challenging video game, simulation, or virtual environment of their own for other student/employees to play (Squire, 2011, p. 37).
A simulation game to use to teach
students/employees group collaboration skills is the Wii Family Feud 2012 game. The simulation game is set up just like the TV
version of family Feud. Students/employees
are divided into groups or family members that face-off against an opposing family. The families use collaboration skills to
outscore the opposing family. The families
must learn to rely on the skills of their family members, listen and support
the ideas of others in their family, and make decisions as a group so they are
able to win and advance through each challenging level of questions and
opposing families. To teach new
employees teamwork skill, the trainer can use Wii Family Feud 2012. The trainer would use the progressively
difficult questions the game provides, to teach new employees how to
collaborate as a group as required of them in their real-work situation. The trainer can also develop their own
progressively challenging questions and use the Wii Family Feud 2012 to teach
employees the details of a new degree program and hoe to present it to incoming
and/or existing students. Wii Family
Feud 2012 can be purchased
from Nintendo for a low as $39.99 or downloaded and played for online for free
from www.gamingwonderland.com/Video games, simulations, and virtual environments are great tools to use to bring exciting and invigorating experiences into the classroom and work environment. Students and/or employees experience heightened intellectual curiosity as they engage in play and continue to advance through the games’ levels of difficulty, as a single player or as a part of a team. The players (students/employees) develop feelings of positive accomplishment and ability in what they are able to do on their own and/or working together as a team, the challenges they are able to solve, and the levels of advancement they are able to reach. They are motivated and stimulated to move on, conquering each challenging level, to reach mastery. It is at this level, the users becomes the producers, to use their creative skills to produce a challenging video game, simulation, or virtual environment of their own for other student/employees to play (Squire, 2011, p. 37).
http://www.amazon.com/FamilyFeud-2012-nintendo-wii/dp/B005GWU020/ref=sr_1_2?
The next collaboration game is one
presented by Kurt Squire, Crystal Chronicles, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles:
My Life as a King (2011, p. 38). The cooperative
video game or Wii game is one where teams work together as warriors to create
tactical decisions and approaches to overcome the enemies of the King. They must combine their strengths, skills,
and magical powers to build the kingdom, defeat the powers and attacks of the
evil forces, and protect the crystal and the King from defeat. Each warrior has a special skill and ability
given to them by the Crystal: strength, toughness, dexterity, agility,
intellect, and/or willpower. The trainer
can use the video game or Wii game, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life
as a King in development training class on skills and behaviors. The trainer would divide the employees into
two groups. One group represents the
King’s warriors with the special skills and behavior abilities, as well as the
special skills and abilities given them by the Crystal. The other group represents the evil enemy with
the poor/outdates skills and abilities and evil skills and abilities they use
to overtake the King’s warriors.
Managers can use the video game or Wii game in team meetings to work on
and strengthen problem solving skills and abilities.
In the learning environment, video games,
simulations, and virtual environments are excellent tools to use to teach adult
learners/employees problem solving strategies.
Students/employees learn and reinforce intellectual creativity,
collaboration skills, cooperative communications, decision-making abilities,
and the desire to continue to learn, grow, and challenge themselves. They learn to coordinate together as a team
to plan the next level of achievement, to celebrate their accomplishments, and
move from users to creators of new and more challenging skills and problems to
solve (Squire, 2011, p. 37).
Reference
Squire, K. (2011). Video games and learning: Teaching and participatory culture in the digital age. (pp. 37, 38). New York, NY: Teachers College Press