Adults are spending more time on social networks too, which isn't surprising. My mom's generation seems to be really getting into Facebook and spending a lot of time on it. I personally see Facebook as a time drainer. Whenever I go on there, somehow the minutes slip away and I feel like I've accomplished nothing but looking at the comments or posts of people that I'm really not that close with or somehow ended up looking at pictures of people that I don't know that well. It's very strange, but its so easy to find yourself doing it. I find that after I've been on Facebook, I often feel like I've just wasted my time on something pointless. Yet, knowing that, I still go on it a few times a week. I can only imagine that teens are spending way more time on Facebook than I am, and the addictive quality of the social network is probably an even bigger drain on their time than mine!
I think the heavy social network usage of teens points to a huge interest in knowing what friends are doing, in reading short snippets of info versus long blog posts, and an affinity for visually stimulating information in the form of looking through friend's pictures. I personally know how addictive it is, and I'm pretty sure that teens are spending way more time on Facebook than on their homework. If teens are spending lots of time online and prefer this form of communication, then blogging and discussion posts could be a natural way to bring some of this interest into the classroom and homework assignments.
I also read two articles about "gaming" and it's possible implications for education. I never really considered myself much of a "gamer." We didn't have a video game system growing up, but I had plenty of my friends who did, and who were mostly boys playing games like "Golden Eye" and "Mario Kart." I never really got into it and I still don't consider myself much of a gamer. My husband and I actually have a Nintendo Wii and a PS3, but I'll only play if it's in a social situation where we have friends over and they are interested in playing. I have a few games installed on my phone, which I play from time to time.
In his article, "Good Video Games and Good Learning," James Paul Gee explains the learning principles that are occurring when people are playing video games. He claims that people are learning about problem solving, risk taking, getting instant feedback, and working through challenges, along with many other things. While reading this, I found myself thinking, "okay..I guess I can see that..." but I really think the design of the game, the "learned content," and whether or not the skills one is learning through the game are truly important would greatly impact whether or not I think that video games are useful in education.
Julia Kara-Soteriou's article "Video Games for the Disengaged (not only) Students" reviewed some popular video games and explained how people are learning when they play them. She made some solid points, but I still wonder if what she is saying that "kids are learning" when playing these games is really as significant as how she presents it. I'm sure that kids are learning these things, but I don't know that the skills she alludes to are really the focus of the game. I do agree with the point, though, that video games have the ability to grab students, so if there's a way to really use them effectively, I'm sure that they could be a wonderful compliment to instruction.
I have "Angry Birds" installed on my phone. I have spent quite a bit of time playing this game over the last few weeks, and I often think of this time as being wasted after I've played for too long! It's quite addictive and I enjoy the challenge that the game presents. Now, I could make the argument that I'm learning about trajectory and physics, while planning the angle and velocity at which to hurl the birds out of the catapult at the various structures, but I honestly think I'm working more with trial and error. Even if I am using the laws of physics, I can't really explain them to you, I just know that it works better to launch your bird in a certain way in a certain situation. I'm not convinced that "Angry Birds" should be pawned off as "educational" even though technically I'm learning.
I see my 9 and 10 year old students talking about Pokemon and the other games they play on their Nintendo DS systems. Yes, I think they've learned a lot of skills in that game, but whether or not those skills transfer to something useful in real life has yet to be determined.
I found this video game that teaches multiplication skills last year called Timez Attack and I think its awesome. It is different from most flash-based math facts games because it actually builds on your understanding and works towards mastery, rather than just blasting you with random math facts without any rhyme or reason behind which ones you are asked to answer. It keeps track of your progress and uses spaced-intervals to review your math facts to make sure you are working towards mastery. This is really something I'd recommend if you're looking to use video games to help kids learn. Timez Attack is also very visually stimulating and looks like a real video game. However, multiplication facts are a very rote process. I'd be very interested to see some video games that people think are teaching higher level skills that kids need.
Kids love video games. I'm all for using them to help them learn if they REALLY are learning what we want them to learn. It's true that they learn problem solving and are pushing themselves through challenges. They can allow kids to work on their individual level and not be constrained to whole-class teaching. However, I think as teachers we really have to evaluate the games we would use to see if kids are really learning what we think they are learning. Hopefully the video game makers will take this cue and start making some high-quality educational games!
