Digital Game-Based Learning in Today's Classroom

I would like to share my recently acquired knowledge about using digital games in the classroom.  Ongoing research supports that students retain more content through a variety of media.  Therefore, teachers are excited about finding new technological tools that can be incorporated into lesson plans, so that students will become more motivated to learn.  Many students dislike school not because the work is too difficult, but they have become unmotivated to learn. 

Our students of today have changed with the times, and teachers have to change with them, in order to achieve success. Learning needs to include fun, and it can be accomplished through Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL).  Learning can be more effective when fun is taking place inside the classroom.  Digital game-based learning provides fun and involves student engagement, and it enhances academic content learning. 

Our whole learning system, which worked efficiently in the past, is not working for students in this generation.  Lectures and textbooks are becoming a part of educational history, and learning is taking place through questions, discovery, construction, interaction, and most of all fun.  Teachers can no longer use traditional methods of teaching, they must incorporate more technology and game-based learning opportunities, to meet the increasing needs of our students.  The only way to improve education in our schools is for teachers to invent radical new ways of learning. 

Digital game-based learning represents an effective and doable method to alter the learning process, in a way that appeals to and excites our students learning. Digital game-based learning can be used to teach various content and promote social interactions.  It can be used for subject matter that is often dull, boring, and diffcult.  Games used in the classroom, often motivate students to learn.

Many students are familiar with video games, and they enjoy them.  Games can be incorporated into different learning opportunities that create deeper conceptual understandings and problem-solving techniques.  Wii gaming systems are popular within the classroom, and they can be used to promote learning math skills. Digital virtual games provide adequate conditions for valuable learning experiences.  World of WarCraft is an online simulation game that requires planning, quantitiative skills and significant analysis skills that players must master. This game promotes communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

Therefore, I feel it is important to implement digital game-based learning into my classroom, to promote student achievement.  No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and "Race to the Top" initiative has placed  increased pressures on teachers and students to achieve academic success.  Technology must be incorporated into the curriculum to achieve higher test scores. Fun can be accomplished by learning, and it can be done through games.

Welcome to my Blog!!

Welcome to my blog!! I am 45 years old and currently working on my masters in reading to be a reading specialist.  My husand and I live in Greeneville, TN with our five blended children together.  We have a daughter-in-law, grandson, and a granddaughter on the way in December of this year.  I graduated from Tusculum College in 2007 with a B.A. in Elementary Education and M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction in 2011.  I love traveling, especially going to the beach, scrapbooking, hiking, and reading in my spare time.  Blogging is a new experience for me, so please be patient and understanding.

I know that my MEDA 5400 class at ETSU is going to help improve my technology skills, and I am looking forward to the experience. I can always use new ideas and tools within the classroom to improve the academic expereince of all students and to improve my teaching skills.