View Content #27749

This activity provides practical steps that educators can follow to provide opportunites for game-enhanced learning for their students. 

Objectives:

Teachers will be able to:

• Identify a language function or communication genre to explore via game-enhanced learning.
• Articulate 1-3 learning outcomes associated with the game.
• Write at least one activity that complements and/or extends gameplay.

Mode(s): Variable

Materials: Educator's game of choice. Educators may also wish to reference sample activities that can be downloaded from Games2Teach for free.

Procedure:

1. Identify a game that you would like to use in the classroom. The Games2Teach website has low-cost options that you may wish to choose from. Games for Change and Nicky Case have some great options as well. 

2. Play. Which games do you find compelling? Which ones are useful for exploring language functions and communication strategies that you teach? 

3. Select the game that you want to use. Make sure that the game involves higher-order thinking more so than chance. In other words, pick The Sims (a game where you use strategy adn make decisions) over Candy Crush (where you simply move candy around).

4. Articulate learning outcomes related to gameplay. These outcomes can (and likely will) extend beyond the game itself. For example, on the Games2Teach site, you will note an example activity in which learners explore Twitter and genre-specific norms. They use that exploration to live tweet gameplay (see Plague Inc. for Intermediate Learners).

5. Review your learning outcomes to make sure they help learners gain 1) a deeper understanding of targeted language functions and/or 2) a deeper understanding of genre-specific norms.

6. Articulate an activity that helps learners 1) process and organize information during gameplay and/or 2) extends learning by allowing additional practice inspired by the game at hand.

7. Play! 

8. After gameplay and the associated activities are completed, reflect on what went well. Ask learners for feedback. Keep your notes to inform further refinement.

Notes:

• When picking a game, keep age level in mind as it relates to appropriateness of content. Most games can be adapted with scaffolding and/or extension to all proficiency levels.
• If you are unsure of which games to pick, ask your learners for recommendations. However, do not use one in the classroom until you have played it yourself a few times.