How Simulating...

I think I’ve experienced a shift in my perception of technology as it relates to “gaming” and “simulations”. While the two are not the same, I had previously lumped them into one general category about which I felt negatively. As someone who was alive during the advent of Atari and Intellivision – the pioneers of video games, and recalls the first computer videogame-style simulations of the Olympic Games in the late 1980s, I attributed all “simulations” to a general videogame theme. Furthermore, I witnessed friends, romantic partners, and relatives spend countless hours playing videogames… I came to see “gaming” as a complete waste of time, frankly, because it didn’t hold interest for me.

I suppose on some level I realized simulations were quite different because I knew that the military used flight simulators and other such devices to train soldiers for their jobs and missions. But while that purpose seemed legitimate, all other “gaming” seemed like frivolous activity. I went so far as to suppress my disdain for videogames, while feigning interest when trying to build connections to students. If I knew a student was disengaged from class, and I also knew they like videogames, I would try to “hook” them back in to education by talking about postsecondary majors that related to the field of technology and gaming… Honest as my intention was to let students know videogame design/testing/reviewing, etc. were viable career options, I failed to realize that I could actually have “hooked” students into the present lesson if I had only thought to utilize the technology they loved so much in a constructive way… This is why I frequently use the adage about hindsight…

Exploring this week’s readings, I found an exciting world of available simulations and technological tools available to teachers’ and students’ fingertips. For example, I saw how students might engage in a science lesson and learn to “Build a Prairie” while learning about the native plants in a prairie environment (http://www.bellmuseum.org/distancelearning/prairie/build/tb1.html). I was thrilled by the holographic google earth bringing the world to three-dimensions without restrictions of a traditional classroom globe (http://www.vimeo.com/422742?pg=emned&sec=422742). I also realized that simulations could be stimulating in all curricular areas through the myriad of available websites… And while I may never be a full-time classroom teacher again, I certainly see how I could and would incorporate new technologies into richer lesson design. Rather than fighting students’ interest in the video gaming/simulation world, I like to think I would now join students in their pursuit of interactive learning activities.

My creative lesson-planning instincts (though buried for awhile now…) were peaked when I spent time on the Wanderlust (http://awesome.good.is/features/011/Wanderlust/) and Earthalbum.com websites (http://www.educationalsimulations.com/). I saw the possibility for students (and me!) to visit places never even imagined. The amazing photos and educational stories truly inspired my desire to travel and I could see students’ eyes being opened to the wonders of the world. In particular, I thought of how exploratory simulations might peak students’ interest in seeing the world, and help students see education as a means for pursuing all of their interests.

John Kirriemuir (2002) discussed the ways in which simulations are used for purposes beyond entertainment. This made me think that even if simulations are entertaining, they are still educational, and why shouldn’t students be engaged and thereby entertained? As a teacher, I often felt like a performer, doing everything in my bag of tricks to hold students’ attention. Had I realized and/or embraced the technology available at my disposal, I may have done a much better job reaching all of my students. Moreover, the government is already using technology for training purposes, thus it would make sense that a variety of job sectors would also benefit from this type of virtual training. Educators could facilitate students’ ability to try out a series of different vocations before choosing to pursue one with full commitment (http://www.dlib.org/dlib/february02/kirriemuir/02kirriemuir.html).

Jerry Seay (1997) aptly noted: "The word edutainment, that nefarious combination of entertainment with education, has already become a cliché. The MTV generation of students these days, so goes the prevailing, wisdom, cannot just learn. They must be entertained while they learn. If they are not entertained while they learn, then you’ve lost them," (http://seayj.people.cofc.edu/cb/simgames.html?referrer=webcluster&). However, Seay followed up that it may not be an issue of students being too lazy to be self-entertained, but rather, today’s students have been raised on technology and do not know any other way to learn. I think Seay was correct in his assertion that students want to learn through interaction – who wouldn’t?!

I realize now that students are simply craving to learn in a way that is familiar to them. While I did not grow up with the tech-savvy world in which modern students now live, I still have to learn to meet the digital natives on their own turf. Although I feel like the intruder, and I am not sure which googlemap to follow, I think exploring the endless possibilities has put me on the right path, or at least it’s given me wanderlust to find the right simulation!