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Game-Based Learning: Revolutionary or Reactionary?

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Do you “walk and use your feet” to get to work? Do you “work and write a report”?

Of course not. The “and” is self-evident.

So why do we use phrases like “education and technology” or “education and gaming”, as though gaming, technology, and education were entirely separate?

Why does education carry around this “and” like its very own force field?

The “egg crate school”

In How Computer Games Help Children Learn, David Williamson Shaffer argues the Industrial Revolution warped our thinking about education:

“The modern game of School as we know it was invented during the Industrial Revolution, at about the same time as the modern game of Baseball, in fact. And some of the same historical forces – urbanization, industrialization, and immigration and migration – formalized and spread both games across the United States” (34).

He argues the current system, with its emphasis on standardization and specialization, is modelled on an outdated factory model, creating the “egg crate school” (35).

We are no longer living in a factory-based society, so the factory-based school model is no longer relevant.

In fact, clinging to the factory-based model hinders our children’s ability to compete in a society that increasingly values innovation and creativity.

The belief that the factory-based model is intrinsic to education creates the “and” force field.

But what does this have to do with Game-Based Learning?

Promoting the use of game-based learning and interactive technology in the classroom is not “leading the way into the future” or any such cringe-worthy phrase. If anything, it marks a return to a much older theory of learning, one that is based on hands-on discovery and observing those around you.

This slow return to learning through experience and interaction is particularly relevant to On the Path of the Elders, an online educational resource that reconnects Cree youth with their history and culture.

The imposition of residential schools – the imposition of the egg-crate school – was a major factor in disrupting the transmission of culture and traditions. Furthermore, it promoted a way of learning that was entirely different from the traditional Aboriginal education based on experience, observing, and hands-on learning.

Do resources like PathOfTheElders.com allow youths to experience traditional Aboriginal educational practices through new media?

Even though modern game-based learning takes place through an online community instead of through physical interactions, the same elements are there. At PathOfTheElders.com, historic resources, such as audio and video clips, allow students to listen to and watch the Elders. An elaborate role-playing game encourages students to gain skills through direct experience.

So, perhaps game-based learning marks a return to older forms of learning; or, perhaps the technological element means an entirely new form of learning is starting to emerge.

If we don’t yet know the answer to these questions, we can at least start to be aware of the way we think about education in society. Next time you start to say “Education and...” consider whether or not the “and” is necessary.

Something to think about while you drink and tip a cup of coffee towards your mouth, while you’re relaxing after a long day of completing tasks and gaining professional knowledge...

References:

Shaffer, David Williamson. How Computer Games Help Children Learn. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2006.

Collette Jackson, Content and Marketing Specialist at BlackCherry Digital Media, is writing on behalf of On the Path of the Elders, a free online educational resource that explores Cree and Ojibway history and culture, and the signing of Treaty No. 9.

On the Path of the Elders launches March 24, 2010. Check it out at pathoftheelders.com.

For more information, email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Created in partnership with the Mushkegowuk Cree, Carleton University, BlackCherry Digital Media, and Pinegrove Productions.

This project was made possible with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Canadian Culture Online Strategy. Created with additional financial assistance from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and the Inukshuk Fund.
   

How Self-Governance Can Save Lives

Saturday, March 13, 2010

“Not all Aboriginal communities experience youth suicide. ... 90 per cent of the suicides take place in just 10 per cent of B.C. communities.” (Honouring Life Network)

These were the findings by researchers Michael J. Chandler and Christopher E. Lalonde in 2008. They conclude:

“individual and cultural continuity are strongly linked, such as that First Nations communities that succeed in taking steps to preserve their cultural heritage culture, and that work to control their own destinies, are dramatically more successful in insulating their youth against the risks of suicide.”

In other words, there is a direct link between self governance and lower suicide rates.
What Can We Do?

I had the fortunate opportunity to sit down with Stan Louttit of Neh Naak Ko in Moose Factory and one of the originators of the online educational resource, Path of the Elders.

During our conversation, it became clear that Mr. Louttit’s original goal of reconnecting Aboriginal youths with their elders had grown into a much larger project: one that has great ramifications for the future, particularly in the area of self-governance.

On the Path of the Elders is focused on the historical events leading up to Treaty no. 9, events which continue resonate in the present.

As Mr. Louttit remarked, “It’s about resource development. We need the community to understand what the treaty said about resources, and understand what goes into negotiating these types of agreements.

Think of all the wealth in Northern Ontario, coming from lands that Aboriginals thought they were looking after. Even today, there’s going to be more mines and hydro dams and exploration companies looking to stake claims. As Ontario moves towards green energy projects, all this is not going to go away – they’re going to be coming, so the better people understand their own treaties and their own communities, and understand the wider context and how it’s all tied into economics, the better off they will be.”

At a time when governments and companies are struggling to “go green”, northern Ontario remains a rich site for a multitude of natural resources. Today’s Aboriginal youths may very well be called upon in the near future to renegotiate those agreements concerning the use of their lands.

We need to start fostering negotiation and leadership skills in both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youths to create the groundwork for a future based in self-governance, self-respect, and collaboration.

References:

“Honouring Life Network,” July 7, 2009, http://www.honouringlife.ca/en/youthCorner/suicideFacts/suicideFactSheet (accessed March 9, 2010)

Chandler, Michael J. and Christopher E. LaLonde. “Cultural Continuity as a Protective Factor Against Suicide in First Nations Youth,” 2008, http://www.psych.ubc.ca/~chandlerlab/Chandler%20&%20Lalonde%20%282008%29.pdf (accessed March 9, 2010)

Collette Jackson, Content and Marketing Specialist at BlackCherry Digital Media, is writing on behalf of On the Path of the Elders, a free online educational resource that explores Cree and Ojibway history and culture, and the signing of Treaty No. 9.

On the Path of the Elders launches March 24, 2010. Check it out at pathoftheelders.com.

For more information, email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Created in partnership with the Mushkegowuk Cree, Carleton University, BlackCherry Digital Media, and Pinegrove Production.

This project was made possible with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Canadian Culture Online Strategy. Created with additional financial assistance from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and the Inukshuk Fund.
   

Online History Games Pose a Challenge to Education

Friday, March 5, 2010

The benefits of integrating online games – particularly role-playing games – into the classroom are endless:

  • Rather than passively absorbing content to be regurgitated at a later date, students are encouraged to take control of their own learning
  • Creativity, critical thinking, decision making, and leadership skills are employed to achieve desired goals
  • There is freedom from failure, so students can try out different solutions in unfamiliar situations and can feel comfortable relying on their own abilities

In other words, role-playing games shifts the power in the classroom: educators are able to act as facilitators, rather than directors.

But what about games based on historical events?

What is history? What does it mean to teach history? To learn history?

Is it about “facts”: memorizing the correct dates, the key players, the pivotal events?

Or is it more subjective: thinking about why certain events played out the way they did, how might have things turned out differently, questioning why only certain people and dates show up in the history texts?

And how do role-playing games, which by their very nature encourage different outcomes and new solutions, fit in?

How much leeway should educational role-playing games have in allowing students to alter the historical “facts”?

There is an immense difference between reading, discussing, or even acting out historical events and actually interacting with historical figures in an online environment. There is an almost Freudian quality to the idea players should re-play the same events over and over again with the same outcome.

And when games explore politically and emotionally charged events, it becomes a weighty ethical question – one that’s not easy to answer.

On the Path of the Elders is a site rich with historical resources, including rare archival photographs, audio and video clips of Elders, and an insightful essay discussing Aboriginal perspectives of Treaty No. 9.

It also features an engaging role-playing game exploring Cree and Ojibway history. The game is specifically designed to encourage leadership and negotiation skills, but it is also intended to expose the student to some of the historical elements at play during the signing of Treaty no. 9.

The question emerged: how do we balance historical accuracy while encouraging self-governance?

This balancing act became most marked while making the Negotiating game.

This game is the culmination of a series of five other games, and it is based on the actual signing of Treaty no. 9. Each of the previous games encourages Aboriginal self-governance and negotiation, leadership, and cooperation skills.

The basic question we had to answer was: at the end of the game, does the player sign the original treaty – thus staying true to historical “fact” – or is he or she allowed to propose a new treaty? One that is more representative of what the Mushkegowuk and Anishinaabe Peoples thought they were agreeing to at the time?

Both versions could be argued from an historical standpoint – the written document was the one signed and ratified, but it is not an accurate representation of the oral agreement the Mushkegowuk and Anishinaabe Peoples believed was binding.

These dilemmas have no clear answers. What is clear is that as gaming becomes increasingly used in the classroom, and as students have greater interaction with the content material, these questions will keep arising.

We need to be prepared to rethink how we’re teaching history.

Here Marshall McLuhan’s famous phrase rings true: the medium is the message, and the act of changing the medium for teaching history inevitably changes the message.

 

Collette Jackson, Content and Marketing Specialist at BlackCherry Digital Media, is writing on behalf of On the Path of the Elders, a free online educational resource that explores Cree and Ojibway history and culture, and the signing of Treaty No. 9.

On the Path of the Elders launches March 24, 2010. Check it out at pathoftheelders.com.

For more information, email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Created in partnership with the Mushkegowuk Cree, Carleton University, BlackCherry Digital Media, and Pinegrove Productions.

This project was made possible with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Canadian Culture Online Strategy. Created with additional financial assistance from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and the Inukshuk Fund.
   

How Can Online Gaming Foster Positive Self-Identity?

Thursday, March 4, 2010

This was one of the questions we faced while creating On the Path of the Elders -- a free, online educational resource that explores Cree and Ojibway history and culture, in particular the signing of Treaty no. 9.

It’s not an idle question:

In 2008, the Educational Policy Institute submitted a report concerning Canadian Aboriginal Self-Identification. It states, “Canada’s Aboriginal population grew 45 percent in the past decade and now exceeds one million people, comprising 3.8 percent of the nation’s population. This population surge can be accounted for in two ways: the high birth rates of Aboriginal people and a population that is increasingly choosing to self-identify as Aboriginal” (emphasis added).

Yet at the same time Health Canada reports “Suicide rates are five to seven times higher for First Nations youth than for non-Aboriginal youth.”

So, at a time when more people than ever are choosing to self-identify as Aboriginal, the suicide rate amongst Aboriginal youths is sky-rocketing.

We wanted On the Path of the Elders to have an effect on this appalling suicide rate, and we thought an online role-playing game would be a relevant way for youths to celebrate and explore their culture. Even though youths are increasingly using the Internet for socialization, education, and entertainment, there are surprisingly few quality online resources aimed at aboriginal youths.

To be effective, we knew that On the Path of the Elders had to:

1) enable youths to identify with characters, drawn from their culture and history and outside the mainstream gaming personas

2) be based in Cree and Ojibway concepts of negotiation and cooperation, as opposed to the usual “I win/you die” gaming premise

3) and, of course, it had to be fun.

In other words, On the Path of the Elders had to re-conceptualize what it meant to connect education and technology.

On the Path of the Elders is a significant (and entertaining) game. It allows youths to freely explore different facets of Cree and Ojibway culture, to drive their own narrative, and to take control of their own learning process.

But it goes even deeper than that...

The website contains a rich archive of historical and cultural materials. Archival photos, historic audio recordings, video interviews with Elders and a detailed essay examining the treaty from an Aboriginal perspective, all enrich the user’s experience.

On the Path of the Elders is revolutionary, and a groundbreaking resource for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. We hope that On the Path of the Elders is only the first of many such educational games and online resources that help youth explore their culture in a positive, entertaining manner.

Have you come across any online resources you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you!

 

Collette Jackson, Content and Marketing Specialist at BlackCherry Digital Media, is writing on behalf of On the Path of the Elders, a free online educational resource that explores Cree and Ojibway history and culture, and the signing of Treaty No. 9.

On the Path of the Elders launches March 24, 2010. Check it out at pathoftheelders.com.

For more information, email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Created in partnership with the Mushkegowuk Cree, Carleton University, BlackCherry Digital Media, and Pinegrove Productions.

This project was made possible with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Canadian Culture Online Strategy. Created with additional financial assistance from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and the Inukshuk Fund.
   
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