5 Things I Have Learned Playing Games

My adventures over the past week or so playing a game as part of my homework has taught me several things.

1.  I don't like to lose.  I mean I really don't like to lose.  I won't say that I have lost at this game (Kingdom Rush), but I definitely did not experience success right away.  After that first night of playing - and having trouble killing off whatever goblins or trolls were coming at me - I started the next day complaining about the game.  It ends up that it was mostly just because I was not able to "level up" as easily as I would have liked.

2.  I don't ask for help easily.  (I suppose this one shouldn't come as a big surprise to me given how I tend to take on too much and then run around like crazy trying to do it all instead of asking someone else to do something to help out.)  I am a bit stubborn and assume that I can figure it out on my own instead of seeking out assistance.

3.  When I do ask for help, I prefer my help to be in the form of face-to-face interactions.  I was willing to talk about where I was getting stuck in the game with a few of my students during some free time in class, and they were able to get me going in the right direction pretty quickly.

4.  I can get totally absorbed in a game without too much difficulty.  Once I started experiencing success in moving from one level to the next, I found myself playing far more than I had anticipated at one sitting.  It was a challenge, and I was bound and determined that I was going to make it to the next level.  This caused me to occasionally ignore my kids or my spouse at home... but I snapped out of it and turned my attention back to where it needed to be before too long.

5.  I am a gamer after all.  In reference to my previous post, I guess I can consider myself a "gamer" now.  I enjoyed the challenge of the game.  I looked forward to conquering a new level.  I learned what tools were available for me that I needed to pay attention to in order to help me succeed - the information contained within the game itself and the advice I received from others playing the game.  I entered "the zone" and found myself losing track of time while working on a particular level.

These five lessons were important realizations for me personally, but the most valuable lessons learned are how this will apply to what I do in the classroom, and this impact on the classroom exists whether I use aspects of gaming or not.

As my interest in the game changed based on my success or lack thereof in the game, I realized that my students' interest in what they are asked to do in the classroom varies depending in part on how successful they are at accomplishing their given tasks.  If what they are doing is too difficult and they are not provided with the proper support, they may give up easily and lose interest.  If it is perceived as too simple, then the challenge no longer exists and they may also lose interest.

When a student encounters difficulty or a setback in what they are trying to accomplish, a decision is made regarding how they respond.  Will they persevere and think that they should be able to do this without additional help?  Or will they ask for assistance very quickly?  If they ask for assistance, will this be in a face-to-face interaction or will they prefer electronic means (like online help sites, texting a friend, twitter, etc.)?  My job as a teacher needs to include helping students know when to persevere and when to ask for help as well as informing them of how to find quality resources for receiving help.

Some of the key aspects of gaming could provide a boost to my classroom setting. I'm not sure yet how to implement some of these ideas, but I would love to have "levels" for achievement that students are trying to attain.  Badges for their various accomplishments could be motivating, also.  Being given multiple opportunities to succeed at a given level is yet another aspect of games that I firmly believe will help motivate students since they know that failing once does not mean it is the end of their story.  There is still something to learn and there is still an opportunity to learn it.

Although I am not sure how this gaming process will start, I look forward to the creative process of trying to implement some aspects of gaming.  I'll keep you posted...

The Game of Life

I am NOT a gamer.

A "gamer" is supposed to be a teenage boy that spends countless hours playing video games - often involving guns, violence, war, etc. - at the expense of doing homework (or even attending school perhaps), spending time with friends except those that are also playing the same game online, and participating in any sort of athletic or outdoor activity.  Isn't that a perfect description of a gamer?

Evidently my stereotypical view of a "gamer" is off.  Gamers are jusr as often female as they are male, and adults do their fair share of gaming.  Participating in these games does not mean that one is sacrificing everything meaningful in their lives to play.

Anyway...I am still not a gamer.

Then I watched this video.  And this video.  Maybe I am a gamer...  I am a sucker for the rewards I get when I go shopping (Fuel Saver perks at Hy-Vee, Kohl's Cash, School Cents at the mall - the list goes on and on).  I just got a FitBit, and I regularly check how many steps I have taken for the day to see how close I am to reaching my goal.  I get excited when my wrist buzzes to tell me about a new badge I have earned for the number of stairs I climbed today or the total miles I have walked.  I check Facebook far too often in the hopes of seeing lots of "likes" or "comments" on a post that I made.

It seems that I thrive on many of the principles that have made games so successful in the real world, but I don't play the online games.  I am not a gamer, am I??  I am beginning to doubt the certainty with which I started this blog post.  Maybe everyone is actually a gamer, deep down inside...

If the ideas of gaming awaken this kind of motivation in me for things as trivial as shopping, imaginary badges, and social media recognition, why am I not embracing this idea with students in my classes?  Probably because I am not sure how I should go about using this.

As I start my adventure of playing a new-to-me game of Kingdom Rush, stay tuned.  I am curious to see how I react to this world of games.  I am curious to see how I react to setbacks and uncertainty about how to make it past a level.  Will I look for cheats online like my kids sometimes do?  Will I give up in frustration?  Will I ask others for help?  I am curious to see how quickly I get "sucked in" to the game.  I am curious to see how this process can be applicable to my classroom.

Let the games begin.