Even when I was little, gaming has always been sort of foreign to me. I never had a Sega or a PlayStation. The most I can do is play Wii Sports, Sing It, and Guitar Hero. Those games do not have much to do with literacy.
I was amazed to see how much reading and intellect goes into the games. I never realized that games come with a full story to read and understand in order to play the game. The player uses literary strategies while playing, which leads to critical thinking (and that is the goal of English Ed!).
Like Dr. Kist said, it would be interesting to base an assignment off of a game, but it would be difficult to grade. However, it is possible to assess a gaming assignment in the same way teachers assessed students using "Oregon Trail" in elementary school. The teacher would have to know the game really well, and the player would fill out a worksheet documenting the stages and steps in the game. Questions could be formed for the game just as they are formed for a novel.
I too was also amazing about all the intelligence that goes behind some of the games. I really want to go by an Xbox or PS3 and try out some of the games.
ReplyDelete