More on 'iPad Games Based Learning'

^{Explore 'A Must Have Guide to Gaming in the Classroom' then read 'Can Gaming Change Education?'. Discuss some of the key points from each resource.}

^{'A Must Have Guide to Gaming in the Classroom'}

^{The ‘dizzying pace of tech evolutions’ is a major challenge for teachers and administrators. The financial and personnel demands resulting from the tech evolution and the need to remain relevant to today’s students are both challenging and daunting. The purchase of new technologies for classrooms and the training of educators in the use of new technologies is an ongoing financial cost that is frequently beyond the budgets available to schools. In our school finances are so limited that it is paramount that wise choices are made when making technology purchases which factor in staff training and maintenance costs.}

^{The research indicated that it is important for schools to use technology to support learning with educational games. Engaged students are motivated to learn and motivating students can be challenging particularly for reluctant learners. Schools and administrators represented in the article overwhelming agree that tech games motivated students and a majority believed that they also allowed for learning to be personalised to the learner’s needs which makes tech games valuable for achieving individualised outcomes.  Today’s children have grown up with tech games making them familiar technologies that they enjoy. Thus the inclusion of tech games in education certainly makes sense!}

^{The explanation of how games help children learn makes a logical argument for including tech games in education. Tech games engage students in learning that has been designed to be interactive for the learner, with the learner in control of their actions and engaged in the educational task. Gaming activities are thought to stimulate the brain to produce dopamine which orients attention to the activity and allowing for better connections to be made between neurons. These connections in the brain are what learning is based on. Additionally teachers recognised that gaming activities developed teamwork and life skills such as problem solving, communication, collaboration and negotiation.}

^{The points raised in the article certainly support the inclusion of tech games in education across multiple ages, learning areas and educational environments.}  

^{‘Can Gaming Change Education?'}

^{With the advances in technology, cheaper prices, and a growing market for video games, children, young adults and even some seniors are playing video games more than ever, thus allowing greater acceptance by a broad range of the community. From a personal perspective I can state that I’m a late comer to gaming, only beginning to participate when I purchased my iPad as a means of learning about my iPad. Prior to this, being time poor, I had no real interest in investigating tech games as part of learning, relying on familiar board games.}

^{In the article, it was stated that ‘games don’t just affect enthusiasm’ and it stated that ‘research suggests that playing action games on a regular basis can alter a player’s attention skills’. In a control study it was deduced that regular games had ‘better focus and better visually selective attention’. It was also deducted that ‘action games push the speed of learning’. I found this extremely interesting.  Additionally, the concluding statement that indicted that the use of tech games are ‘not sufficient in and of themselves for a course of study’ but are valuable to reinforce learning of facts and procedures that may continue beyond the completion of classes. I have studied many subjects over the years where my knowledge has been short lived due to lack of a ‘need to know’ and therefore not of long term value. It is interesting to consider how learned facts could potentially be retained longer via the use of tech games.}

^{I am familiar with all the barriers discussed regarding the inclusion of tech games in education. All are relevant barriers to inclusion in my school environment and present the need for careful consideration mostly by senior school personnel. I have mentioned the financial barrier to purchase and maintain technical equipment, as well as the support for teacher training in tech game equipment and genres and their implementation in the classroom. I am therefore appreciative of the current professional training in ICT that has recently been provided. My ongoing challenge, and that of my colleagues, is the time factor necessary for course participation and personal skill development in the demanding environment of teaching.}