Capstone: Game Based Learning

Making this project was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I originally wanted to create an actual game or at least a scenario inside another game but, lack of time and resources proved to be to difficult. So, I made a PowerPoint presentation instead. Inside this PowerPoint, I have shown a way to be able to use games to teach.

The research of this project was the hardest part. It required a plethora of games to look into. Every site said to use this game or that game because it was superb but, I couldn't truly know what worked and what didn't until I really researched the game. I guess you could say that I sat around playing games all day. I looked into every game from World of Warcraft down to Oregon trail trying to find how the game could be used rather than how it was being used, unless it was a "serious game." I came to realize that there is no one miracle game like I had thought but, multiple games that could be used in cooperation to create a good game-based learning environment.

Once I started developing the PowerPoint, rather than trying to get a game for the presentation, the project fell into place and smoothed off quickly. I filled the PowerPoint with information quickly and chopped at it some trying to make it cleaner and neater but I still needed to show how game-based learning works. I found this teacher named Joel Levin with the YouTube account MinecraftTeachr. Joel Levin is teaching groups of second graders how to use a game called minecraft. It is really fun to see how fast these kids catch on and are able to make great things in short time frames by cooperating together to get it done. Joel Levin is setting a good example for other schools by showing that even a group of second graders can learn through technology.

I originally wanted a game in order to really show how game-based learning can work but, I choose to make a PowerPoint instead with the hopes that I can still relay the information of game-based learning. I hope that one day games can be used in the classroom without question of how effective they are. I know by first hand experience that I learn better with games and with the research that is being produced it should be no question that game-based learning works.