Goals, Rules, and Outcomes

Video games may not be the solution to educational problems, but they are an excellent tool to help educate and train young minds. This week’s readings the authors, Salen and Zimmerman, (Salen & Zimmerman, 2004) discussed in chapters 11, 12, and 13 how the  rules of games have an effect on the enjoyment and understanding of how they function. A detailed analysis of some popular games gave insight into how the rules and strategy of the game help the players understand the goals and outcomes when playing. Rules help create the structure of the game. The rules are the component that makes it a game. Without rules, the game has no structure. They define games as being separate from real-world which separated them from ordinary life. Listed in Chapter 11 where the six characteristics that distinguish a game.
Rules:

• limit player actions
• are explicit and unambiguous
• are shared by all players
• are fixed
• binding
• repeatable (Chapter 11)

Using several popular games, they described how each characteristic affects the game and the player's enjoyment of the game. In the next two chapters (12 & 13) the levels of game rules where discussed and explained. It helped to identify the components of how rules are developed and how they help in the cooperation of playing and enjoying the game. These explanations helped to identify the way game rules are fashioned to separate one game from another. The levels explained in Chapter 12 were (1) constituative, dealing with the abstract core mathematical rules; (2) operational, dealing with how the game is played; and (3) implicit, the unwritten or understood rules of etiquette of any game. In the explanation of these concepts, the discussion focused on some popular board games that everyone is  familiar. Finally, Chapter 13 compared these characteristics to digital games and how they relate to program coding. Though the board game and digital game are very similar, the digital version has a core logic or constituative rules, that contain some form of coding to create the internal events of the game.
The video TEDTalk with McGonigal contained information that gave a deeper perception of how the act of playing games can add to the coping skills of society. Since gaming beyond board games is so new to me, there were many perceptions that I had not given any thought of the impact that playing video games can have on individual growth, coping and learning skills. I checked out two YouTube videos that gave additional insight into the challenges that games provide for the young mind: Games for Change 2018 Festival (https://youtu.be/1O8F2GgrfU4) and #GameOn-88 Seconds of Video Games (https://youtu.be/pWZtbfBGjIg). Both of these videos added some insight on how involved and wide-spread this arena of learning has grown in the last twenty years. Out of this growth, there are two really good educator resources that I found: Digital Games Handbook for Teachers by Patrick Felicia, Guide to Digital Games & Learning by J. Shapiro Game Educator’s Handbook by they were loaded in information that would be helpful to any educator. Both of these sources would be helpful in the planning of incorporating digital games into the learning environment and adding additional pedagogy to the experience.
Several strategies (Fradkin, 2017) that I found during my search that can help to integrate games into any learning experience were:

• Develop an arsenal of games that will fit many different areas of our subject matter.(31 Game-Based Learning Resources for Educators; and  The Game Educator’s Handbook)
• Create Badges that student s can earn while learning a new game
• Create Leaderboards makes the classroom more engaging and fun
• Multi-player action so they can compare their skills in the game to fellow classmates
• Change classroom to accommodate the medium which will facilitate a better learning environment
• Establish a clear theme and create a narrative to accompany the game.

There are many before, during, and after activities for reading, math, and social studies skills and gaming is no different.

Before activity:
Allow students to name their teams;
Let them create a storyline to accompany why they are on a particular quest;
Build excitement before the games begin;
If it’s a new game that students have never played give them a chance to get familiar with the rules and game pieces within the game. (be it the board or digital);
If it’s a digital game allow them to view the video short of the game.

During: 
Computer game playing will enhance spatial skills, so find ways for them to show that they have a clear understanding of that skill by how they play the game and maneuver the components. Allow students to discuss and show their ability to read images, such as pictures and diagrams. Gaming allows teachers freedom of movement while the student is playing to monitor how well they keep track of a lot of different components of the game at the same time. (Gros, 2007)

After:
 Review the objectives of the game;
 Ask students to answer questions about the game;
Ask students to relate their experiences while playing;
Link the game experience to related learning objectives and real-life experience;
Discuss what they learned while playing the game.
Create pointed questions that answer questions about the scene where the game takes place;
Discuss the goal of the game and identify the main characters and their role in the game;
Have students identify the challenges faced by the main character;
Have students identify what it would take to be successful in this game; what weapons, tools or items the character has use of to pursue their quest; and
Who is the antagonist and protagonist in the game? (Felicia, 2018)

References:
Felicia, P. (2018, September 24). Digital games in schools: A handbook for teachers. Retrieved from Digital Games: http://games.eun.org/upload/gis_handbook_en.pdf
Fradkin, A. (2017, April 3). How to roll out game-based learning and boost engagement--In your classroom. Retrieved from Technology in School: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-04-03-how-to-roll-out-game-based-learning-and-boost-engagement-in-your-classroom
Gros, B. (2007). Digital games in education: The design of games-based learning environments. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 23-38.
Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of play: Games design fundamentals. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.