Innovate's Newest Issue... Learning in Virtual Space

The newest issue of Innovate is out. There are two articles that deal with learning, video games, education:


In this article, Joey J. Lee and Christopher M. Hoadley argue that not enough attention has been given to video games' role in identity development and exploration, important corequisites for learning. This oversight has resulted in the failure of many attempts at edutainment, in spite of the acknowledged potential of video games to engage students in meaningful learning.
The article studied two middle school classes and how through the use of MMOGs the students engaged with diversity and technology issues. I am looking forward to reading this to see the development of an online identity and how that virtual identity shaped and changed the students' physical interactions.

The second article:

by Michael Begg, Rachel Ellaway, David Dewhurst, and Hamish Macleod

They argue that virtual patient simulations that make use of the motivational power of professional narrative can best reproduce practice settings online. In so doing, the authors showcase an online virtual simulation called Labyrinth. Designed to incorporate key principles of game-informed learning, this virtual patient simulation requires students to analyze case situations, synthesize knowledge from various learning experiences, and evaluate courses of action.
I spent some time this past week doing some research on video games in health care, disabilities, and other medical uses. And so I am interested to see how this use of simulation game can teach patient care.

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Image via Innovateonline.info

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Paul--our article was actually about high-school, not middle school, students! But thanks for the link.