Squire: The videogames as medium of learning

Squire's perspective is making video games as literacy by itself. Video games serve as "designed experiences", making them as medium of learning. For instance, "Supercharged!" was developed at MIT for students to learn basic concepts in electrostatics. Making it a medium, this video game "hoped to give an experience of what just physicists do." Therefore, he viewed video games as an important part of the curriculum. On the other hand, Gee's view is to make video games as tools of learning based on the learning principles that are present on video games. He viewed video games as a "research and development lab" for educational theory and practice.

If we are to actually use games and simulations to teach, the barriers in my professional environment are accessibility and affordability. In my school, there is limited access of computers. There are only 150 computers for more than 1500 students. Then, they mostly use it for their computer class. As a language teacher, it's difficult to use the lab because the schedule is already fully loaded. Moreover, there is still a great number of students who do not have PCs. Also, due to the limited budget, I usually buy my materials from my own pocket. That is why I enrolled to instructional technology subjects to find web tools that are available and accessible. I understand that there are plenty from the Internet, but I just don't know where to go. Now, I already knew photo story, more features about the PowerPoint and some helpful websites. In fact, I would like to use PowerPoint as my final project since it is most accessible to us.

I believe that "games and simulations for learning" is not simply a fad. Playing a game is already part of the culture. It is one aspect that a child should experience. In the past, there were no video games yet that are very much accessible unlike nowadays. Whether these games will be replaced with much more complexity, I believe that games and simulations can still be used for classroom learning.

The future of these technologies as a part of formal learning is possible. I believe that learning should be student-centered. Thus, there are teaching styles in the "old school" that are not applicable anymore to the present. Today, teachers are competing with the media like video games. It is difficult to only have chalk board or white board comparing to a colorful and interactive video game. The challenge is how to integrate these video games to classroom learning. Making video games as educational tools would best help making the experience more fun and enriching. For instance, the example of Squire on "Civilization III". Instead of making a 3D model project of "Borubudur" (Indonesia), "Taj Mahal" (India), "Hanging Garden" (Babylon), "Eiffel Tower" (Paris) and the like, why not ask students to make their own through this video game. Students can save and improve it based on what they read from the books than throwing the 3D model project after it has been graded. This is a significant input that I could share to my colleagues in the Social Studies department.