"What are your thoughts on the types of games we might get our students to engage in? What about violence in games –what is acceptable in a school setting? Is killing in Minecraft “ok” because it uses very poor graphics that do not really resemble human beings? What about any of the Lego games –“Harry Potter” or the “Star Wars” series? Compare this to the latest Call of Duty (find a trailer online) game –is there a difference? Should the type of game being used be loosely based on age/grade? "
In looking to gaming there are educational/serious games and COTS, commercial off the shelf games.
Serious games are those designed with education in mind, more specifically stated in the Edutech Wiki(2014)…Serious games are games for computers or played online that follow implicit or explicit learning goals instead of pure entertainment therefore justifying their addition “serious” (de Freitas, 2008, p. 43; Högsdal, 2011, p. 118). Although they can contain elements of entertainment or competition (see gamification), they usually apply these successful gaming mechanisms and its thereby increased level of involvement only to initialise gains in knowledge and competencies.” Examples of serious games can be found at the following Games in Education Wikispaces(2014): Mathematics, Science, English
COTS, were developed from the beginning with entertainment in mind however as stated in Wikipedia (2014) “These games, referred to as commercial off the shelf (COTS) games are in a position to teach a mass audience of gamers certain techniques and skills.” There are however concerns about some of these games in relation to the level of violence and sexuality they portray. In relation to the Call of Duty series Wikipedia (2014) states “While by nature these games are violent and have been subject to massive negative reception by parents, it is still possible to learn key skills from the game. Games such as these stimulate the player at the cognitive level as they move through the level, mission, or game as a whole.[6] They also teach strategy, as players need to come up with ways to penetrate enemy lines, stealthily avoid the enemy, minimize casualties, etc. The Multi-player aspect of these games proves to be the ultimate example of how well players utilize these skills.” (Wikipedia,2014)
Students can learn using both serious games and COTS games. Serious games are designed/developed with an educational intent (Ulicsak &Wright, M.2010), COTS games however are not and therefore may include violence and sexuality. COTS games thankfully are rated by the ESRB, Entertainment Software Rating Board. Teachers are, I believe, required to adhere to these guidelines when choosing which COTS games to use in the classroom. As described in Wikipedia (2014) “The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings.” “… The board assigns ratings to games based on their content…..using a combination of six age-based levels intended to aid consumers in determining a game's content and suitability, along with a system of "content descriptors" which detail specific types of content present in a particular game.”
ESRB (2014) ratings: Call of Duty: Ghosts, Mature 17+; Lego Games, Harry Potter and Star Wars, Everyone 10+; Minecraft, Everyone 10+. Using these as guidelines Call of Duty cannot be used in a K-12 school. The Lego Games and Minecraft may be used in our schools with students in grades 5 and up.
Rating scale table is outlined below. For more detail about the ESRB and to searching for game ratings go to http://www.esrb.org/ratings/index.jsp .
"Are there “gender differences” in some cases?"
When looking to use games in the classroom the question of gender differences surfaces. In The Telegraph blog post Sophie Curtis (2013) states, “Cooking games, dress-up games and pet caring games are particularly popular amongst girls, while boys prefer racing games, sports games and action games, which are more focused on competition and showing off their high scores than on creativity. “ There are a number of comments questioning this, one person even took offense, Ge Ge Gamer, “Because of articles like these I've started my own blog so serious gamers who happen to be girls can have a voice.” Another comment by Glenn Fautt, “Me and my girl played Diablo 2 and Guild Wars together all the time. About to start playing Guild Wars 2 and Path of Exile.” In another blog Polygon(2014), the following statement was quoted from a four year old girl, "Why do all the girls have to buy princesses?" she asks. "Some girls like superheroes; some girls like princesses. Some boys like superheroes; some boys like princesses. So why do all the girls have to buy princesses and all the boys have to buy different-colored stuff?"
Important comments to keep in mind, however, what I feel is most important when choosing games for use with our students: Will this game engage the students, meet their learning needs and meet the learning outcome/concepts targeted?
ERSB Rating Table:
Rating Pending(RP) 1994 This symbol is exclusively used in advertising and marketing materials for games that have not yet been assigned a final rating by the ESRB.[23]
Early Childhood(EC) 1994 Games with this rating contain content which the board believes is suitable for young children ages 3 and up. Games that fall under this rating are typicallyeducational games intended for a preschool audience, and cannot contain any inappropriate or objectionable content.[23]
Everyone(E) 1994 (as "Kids to Adults") Games with this rating contain content which the board believes is suitable for those aged 6 years and up; they can contain infrequent use of "mild" orcartoon/fantasy violence, and/or mild language.[23] Until 1998, when it was renamed "Everyone", this rating was known as Kids to Adults (KA).
Everyone 10+ (E10+) Late 2004 Games with this rating contain content which the board believes is suitable for those aged 10 years of age and up; they can contain mild use of violence, language, or suggestive themes at a higher level than what the E rating can accommodate, but still not to the same extent as T-rated games.[23]
Teen (T) 1994 Games with this rating contain content which the board believes is suitable for those aged 13 years of age and up; they can contain moderate use of violence (including small amounts of blood), mild to moderate language or suggestive themes, and crude humor.[23]
Mature(M) 1994 Games with this rating contain content which the board believes is suitable for those aged 17 or up; they can contain more intense and/or realistic portrayals of violence than T-rated games (including blood and gore), stronger sexual themes and content, and a heavier use of vulgar language.[23]
Adults Only (AO) 1994 See also: List of AO-rated video games Games with this rating contain content which the board believes is unsuitable for people under 18 years of age; the rating typically covers adult video games, and can contain strong sexual themes and content, graphic nudity, strong language and mature humor, and higher levels of violence than the M rating can accommodate. Games from major publishers that receive an AO rating are often edited in order to meet the Mature rating, as all three major console manufacturers (Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony Computer Entertainment) refuse to license AO-rated games on their platforms, and most retailers voluntarily refuse to stock AO-rated games.[23][24][25]
(Wikipedia, 2014)
References:
ClassroomAid.(05/02/2012). 15 Serious Games For Good. Retrieved from http://classroom-aid.com/2012/05/02/15-serious-games-for-good/
Curtis, Sophie.(25 Nov 2013). Women gamers aged over 35 outnumber men. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/10472696/Women-gamers-aged-over-35-outnumber-men.html
EductechWiki. (23 January 2014). Serious Game. Retrieved from http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Serious_game#Features_of_serious_games
ESRB. (2014). ESRB Ratings. Retrieved from http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp
Polygon. (2014). NO GIRLS ALLOWED. Retrieved from http://www.polygon.com/features/2013/12/2/5143856/no-girls-allowed
Games in Education WikiSpaces. (2014). Mathematics; Science and English.Retrieved from http://gamesined.wikispaces.com/Mathematics; http://gamesined.wikispaces.com/Science; http://gamesined.wikispaces.com/English
Ulicsak, M.& Wright, M. ( June 2010). Games in Education: Serious Games. Bristol, Futurelab. Retrieved from http://media.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/lit_reviews/Serious-Games_Review.pdf
Wikipedia.(22 March 2014) Video Games in Education. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_games_in_education#Compared_to_a_classroom_model Wikipedia. (27 March 2014). Entertainment Software Rating Board. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment_Softwar
In looking to gaming there are educational/serious games and COTS, commercial off the shelf games.
Serious games are those designed with education in mind, more specifically stated in the Edutech Wiki(2014)…Serious games are games for computers or played online that follow implicit or explicit learning goals instead of pure entertainment therefore justifying their addition “serious” (de Freitas, 2008, p. 43; Högsdal, 2011, p. 118). Although they can contain elements of entertainment or competition (see gamification), they usually apply these successful gaming mechanisms and its thereby increased level of involvement only to initialise gains in knowledge and competencies.” Examples of serious games can be found at the following Games in Education Wikispaces(2014): Mathematics, Science, English
COTS, were developed from the beginning with entertainment in mind however as stated in Wikipedia (2014) “These games, referred to as commercial off the shelf (COTS) games are in a position to teach a mass audience of gamers certain techniques and skills.” There are however concerns about some of these games in relation to the level of violence and sexuality they portray. In relation to the Call of Duty series Wikipedia (2014) states “While by nature these games are violent and have been subject to massive negative reception by parents, it is still possible to learn key skills from the game. Games such as these stimulate the player at the cognitive level as they move through the level, mission, or game as a whole.[6] They also teach strategy, as players need to come up with ways to penetrate enemy lines, stealthily avoid the enemy, minimize casualties, etc. The Multi-player aspect of these games proves to be the ultimate example of how well players utilize these skills.” (Wikipedia,2014)
Students can learn using both serious games and COTS games. Serious games are designed/developed with an educational intent (Ulicsak &Wright, M.2010), COTS games however are not and therefore may include violence and sexuality. COTS games thankfully are rated by the ESRB, Entertainment Software Rating Board. Teachers are, I believe, required to adhere to these guidelines when choosing which COTS games to use in the classroom. As described in Wikipedia (2014) “The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings.” “… The board assigns ratings to games based on their content…..using a combination of six age-based levels intended to aid consumers in determining a game's content and suitability, along with a system of "content descriptors" which detail specific types of content present in a particular game.”
ESRB (2014) ratings: Call of Duty: Ghosts, Mature 17+; Lego Games, Harry Potter and Star Wars, Everyone 10+; Minecraft, Everyone 10+. Using these as guidelines Call of Duty cannot be used in a K-12 school. The Lego Games and Minecraft may be used in our schools with students in grades 5 and up.
Rating scale table is outlined below. For more detail about the ESRB and to searching for game ratings go to http://www.esrb.org/ratings/index.jsp .
"Are there “gender differences” in some cases?"
When looking to use games in the classroom the question of gender differences surfaces. In The Telegraph blog post Sophie Curtis (2013) states, “Cooking games, dress-up games and pet caring games are particularly popular amongst girls, while boys prefer racing games, sports games and action games, which are more focused on competition and showing off their high scores than on creativity. “ There are a number of comments questioning this, one person even took offense, Ge Ge Gamer, “Because of articles like these I've started my own blog so serious gamers who happen to be girls can have a voice.” Another comment by Glenn Fautt, “Me and my girl played Diablo 2 and Guild Wars together all the time. About to start playing Guild Wars 2 and Path of Exile.” In another blog Polygon(2014), the following statement was quoted from a four year old girl, "Why do all the girls have to buy princesses?" she asks. "Some girls like superheroes; some girls like princesses. Some boys like superheroes; some boys like princesses. So why do all the girls have to buy princesses and all the boys have to buy different-colored stuff?"
Important comments to keep in mind, however, what I feel is most important when choosing games for use with our students: Will this game engage the students, meet their learning needs and meet the learning outcome/concepts targeted?
ERSB Rating Table:
Rating Pending(RP) 1994 This symbol is exclusively used in advertising and marketing materials for games that have not yet been assigned a final rating by the ESRB.[23]
Early Childhood(EC) 1994 Games with this rating contain content which the board believes is suitable for young children ages 3 and up. Games that fall under this rating are typicallyeducational games intended for a preschool audience, and cannot contain any inappropriate or objectionable content.[23]
Everyone(E) 1994 (as "Kids to Adults") Games with this rating contain content which the board believes is suitable for those aged 6 years and up; they can contain infrequent use of "mild" orcartoon/fantasy violence, and/or mild language.[23] Until 1998, when it was renamed "Everyone", this rating was known as Kids to Adults (KA).
Everyone 10+ (E10+) Late 2004 Games with this rating contain content which the board believes is suitable for those aged 10 years of age and up; they can contain mild use of violence, language, or suggestive themes at a higher level than what the E rating can accommodate, but still not to the same extent as T-rated games.[23]
Teen (T) 1994 Games with this rating contain content which the board believes is suitable for those aged 13 years of age and up; they can contain moderate use of violence (including small amounts of blood), mild to moderate language or suggestive themes, and crude humor.[23]
Mature(M) 1994 Games with this rating contain content which the board believes is suitable for those aged 17 or up; they can contain more intense and/or realistic portrayals of violence than T-rated games (including blood and gore), stronger sexual themes and content, and a heavier use of vulgar language.[23]
Adults Only (AO) 1994 See also: List of AO-rated video games Games with this rating contain content which the board believes is unsuitable for people under 18 years of age; the rating typically covers adult video games, and can contain strong sexual themes and content, graphic nudity, strong language and mature humor, and higher levels of violence than the M rating can accommodate. Games from major publishers that receive an AO rating are often edited in order to meet the Mature rating, as all three major console manufacturers (Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony Computer Entertainment) refuse to license AO-rated games on their platforms, and most retailers voluntarily refuse to stock AO-rated games.[23][24][25]
(Wikipedia, 2014)
References:
ClassroomAid.(05/02/2012). 15 Serious Games For Good. Retrieved from http://classroom-aid.com/2012/05/02/15-serious-games-for-good/
Curtis, Sophie.(25 Nov 2013). Women gamers aged over 35 outnumber men. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/10472696/Women-gamers-aged-over-35-outnumber-men.html
EductechWiki. (23 January 2014). Serious Game. Retrieved from http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Serious_game#Features_of_serious_games
ESRB. (2014). ESRB Ratings. Retrieved from http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp
Polygon. (2014). NO GIRLS ALLOWED. Retrieved from http://www.polygon.com/features/2013/12/2/5143856/no-girls-allowed
Games in Education WikiSpaces. (2014). Mathematics; Science and English.Retrieved from http://gamesined.wikispaces.com/Mathematics; http://gamesined.wikispaces.com/Science; http://gamesined.wikispaces.com/English
Ulicsak, M.& Wright, M. ( June 2010). Games in Education: Serious Games. Bristol, Futurelab. Retrieved from http://media.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/lit_reviews/Serious-Games_Review.pdf
Wikipedia.(22 March 2014) Video Games in Education. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_games_in_education#Compared_to_a_classroom_model Wikipedia. (27 March 2014). Entertainment Software Rating Board. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment_Softwar