Question response to "Why School?"

Based on Richardson’s prologue to the book and Part 1: Old School, do you think games should be a part of learning, especially networked, online, massive, multiplayer games like “Minecraft”?  What kinds of learning did Richardson’s son and his friends demonstrate?

Blog Post #1 “Why School?”

Do I think online games should be part of learning? I have struggled with this idea for quite a while. I have heard many of my young students (Grade 1-3) say that all they did on the weekend was play video games. It was a sunny weekend and they were indoors for most of it. I have worried about the addiction to these “fantasy” worlds, the “antisocial” behaviour they may develop, and the “lazy” lifestyle of sitting all day.

However, after reading Richardson’s book, my thinking shifted slightly. Yes he was referring to his teenage children and a rainy day circumstance, but he did make some valid points. I would still argue that young children, such as the age group I teach, should not be involved in these types of games unsupervised until their parent deems it age-appropriate, not too violent, and the game has educational qualities.

Richardson (2012) argues that his son was able to connect with others (both through youtube tutorial videos and with his peers through ooVoo videos), use his critical thinking and problem solving skills within the game, showed immense engagement in the activity, and displayed individualized learning on a topic of interest.

Richardson (2012) also noted that children in the 21^st century are now “crafting a new narrative about learning through connectivity where real learning happens anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. Children (and adults) can choose what they want to learn about and how they acquire the knowledge and resources they will need” (p. 62).

The question, “Why school?” is still one I am invested in as an educator and member of my community. I believe school is extremely valuable. It provides a social environment for children in a safe and welcoming atmosphere where equal access and opportunities are provided to all. At school, children learn problem solving strategies and cooperative play. At school, children have many opportunities to engage with others and to learn, share, discuss, question, and explore. Yes, the web and new technologies are changing the ways we can learn, but at school these online tools can help supplement the learning that is already happening within the “traditional” classroom.

Last year was the first year I did coding with my Grade 2s and they loved it and I loved it too! We did it with our Buddy class and it was educational, involved problem solving, and was engaging because they were coding a high interest and popular game… you guessed it, “Minecraft”. I don’t use iPads and computers often with my class, as I believe reading bound books and writing on paper are valuable skills to learn, but I am always open to bringing technology into my classroom where I believe it will add to our learning experience (for example, coding, research projects, digital presentations and powerpoints). I am also lucky as my classroom, and many of the classrooms at my school, have SmartBoards where students can write, manipulate, and engage with the screen as well as see short educational videos about the theme we are learning about.

In conclusion, I think there needs to be a balance between technology use and “traditional” learning. As technology becomes more and more available at home and in schools, and with new apps and online learning resources being easier than ever to access, a balance between its usages, amount of time on it, and where its being used and when, needs to be considered for the benefit of the children in this new technological age.

Bibliography

Richardson, W. (2012). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere. TED Talks.