Article Review

SECTION A

Title: Digital Games for English Classrooms

Journal: Teaching English with Technology
A Journal for Teachers of English
ISSN 1642-1027
Vol. 10, Issue 1 (February 2010)

Authors:

1. Nancy B. Sardone
School of Education
Georgian Court University
Lakewood, NJ, USA

2. Roberta Devlin-Scherer
College of Education and Human Services
Seton Hall University
South Orange, NJ, USA

SECTION B

The Aim of the Research

The main aim of the research is to see the reactions of pre-service teachers and students towards the use of games in educating students and the impacts that it has on the progress of students’ cognitive development. Other than that the article also suggests ways in-service teachers can use games in current curriculum to enhance students' understanding in class. This serves as a guide for teachers to use the development of games with appropriate uses.

The Methodology

A mix method was used to analyze candidates’ impression regarding selected digital learning games. Responses were taken from pre-service teachers through Game Review Form (questionnaire) and middle school students through the observation done by pre-service teachers. The observation was done through a weekly structured tutoring program with middle school students. Finally, pre-service were asked to reflect the game project and share their thoughts on the impression obtained from their tutees.

The Subject/ Samples

Secondary teacher education students majoring in English Education (n=10), age between 20- 22, from a private university in New Jersey participated in the study.

Findings of the Research

The findings of the research were based on the reactions of the participants. Several positive reactions of the pre-service teachers can be noted from the usage of certain games.

First, the participants commented that the presentation of certain issues and messages with powerful messages will prove valuable for students. Games such as Cybersense and Nonsense and Ad Decoder help enhance students’ ability in understanding Internet ethics and realize the influence of media sources. Similarly, Darfur is Dying provokes a concern discussion regarding the war which is happening in Sudan. In regards to this, the research also includes that some pre-service teachers were unaware to the extent of the crisis happening.

Secondly, the games can be used for practical purposes in which students are required to gain background knowledge before playing the game. For example, Lord of the Fly requires students to gain prior knowledge in reading the novel. In other words, having to play enforces students to review/ study before completing the game. On the other hand, Renaissance Florence enables students to process information according to their own pace. In addition, visuals presented in the games help students associate the text with pictures, thus strengthening their retention to a certain degree.

Thirdly, the excellent and timely feedback is seen as a boost for the usage of games in classrooms. The game characters in Cybersense and Nonsense gives 'feedbacks associated with the use of netiquette'. Furthermore, the trial and error method included in the games (eg: Setting: Not Just Place and Time) gives the students a sense of understanding that making mistakes is all right as one can learn from it.

Reflection

Personally, this research is an eye-opener for me. In a sense, I’ve always viewed games as entertainment rather than educating. Given that games are often used as stress-release equipments, it’s hard to see how games could be implemented into education. However, the choice of games by the researches proves otherwise. Interestingly, the themes in all the games that have been used in the research are all beneficial for the progress of students’ cognitive development. Using games to enable students to mature cognitively will surely benefit greatly.

In saying this, I believe this alternative will really help a lot. Furthermore, the reactions of the participant before and after the research prove an eye-opener for those who are sceptical over the use of games in education. As noted from the research, ‘two candidate teachers, who originally thought Allies and Aliens too simple, were surprised at the high interest and focused engagement of their middle school players’. (pg 44) True, games offer entertainment and enjoyment but if guided into the correct path, it may become a positive instrument in helping students understand better, and also build their general knowledge as well as schemata of a certain topic. English will be more fun if game are adopted in the learning process given that students enjoy this process of ‘playing’ and learning at the same time. Furthermore, retention on the topic will increase with the help of interesting visuals incorporated in the application.

For me, the research was well conducted. responses from both pre-service teachers and middle school students enables a wider range of opinions and perceptions. However, there are a few concerns regarding the usage of games. As noted in the research, Darfur is Dying implemented the situation of war happening in Sudan. From a perspective, one might see positive outcomes such as exposure to what is happening in the real world but on the other hand, students might be influence by violence shown in the game. This fact is supported by several researches on the psychological aspect of humans. According to a research conducted by Anderson and Bushman (2001), there is a significant relation between video games with violent content and humans’ behaviour. Playing violent games ‘increases aggressive behaviours, increases aggressive cognitions, increases aggressive emotions, increases physiological arousal, and decreases prosocial behaviors’.

On the other hand, I believe that, with the correct methods in streaming and choosing the suitable type of games, the Ministry of Education are looking at methods more superior to the traditional-in- class teaching. Computers, needless to say games, remain an underuse tool for teaching and learning in Malaysia. The lack of computers in certain areas remains a barrier which lessens the positive impact that computers may bring. Furthermore, teachers/ instructors are arguably less competent in the usage and teachings of computer based instructions. However, once these problems have been tackled, I truly believe that the usage of games in education will benefit students greatly.

Article: http://www.iatefl.org.pl/call/v10n01-05_-_on_the_web.pdf