I think games are a great way to get students motivated in any classroom. I believe students learn best when they are engaged in entertaining activities. By bringing an element of fun into the classroom, teachers connect with students in an “authentic instruction.” In her article, “Authentic Instruction – The FUN Way to Help Students Learn,” Suzanne Lieurance states that “[authentic instruction] is simply instruction that is based on real world tasks.” These amusing illusions give students a break from the traditional curriculum while they enforce content skills.
Sharendity is an example of an education gaming site available to anyone with access to the web. ”[It] is a web based creativity suite where anyone can build and deploy engaging and interactive web applications.” On this gaming site, teachers can select from pre-designed templates or can create their own. ”Sharendipity lets you create custom tools for students and teachers to learn, explore, and collaborate.” Another popular gaming site for educators is EdCreate. Like Sharendity, teachers can “sign up to be a creator” or choose from ready-made interactive models.
Games allow students to get actively involved mentally and physically as they present a visual model. These mind sports help students build upon abilities, and are enjoyable and applicable to students of all ages. As long as your games and activities meet the needs of your state’s standards, games are perfectly acceptable in classrooms/learning environments.
