Games and Simulations for Learning Postmortem - ETEC-526
I used to think...
Games and simulations for learning -- I can't even imagine such a thing. Learning was one-sided in that, the teacher solely was the path to learning, and usually he (unless it was a catholic nun, whom I had for the first 8 grades of private school), where they told us what to learn, how to learn it, and even worse, how to think! Usually, it was their way or the highway, and I always quickly took the highway and I ended up being pulled by my ear (from the principal in front of all my classmates/friends) to the principal's office to call my parents to let them know that I was being obstinate among other things. Everyone was expected to be, do, and learn the same exact way when I was in school growing up. Reflecting on those early years in school, since my identical mirror twin sister was introverted and right-handed, maybe the rest of the class was and I was extroverted, left-handed, and never have I ever done anything like anyone else, but back then it always got me into trouble. Usually my parents (due to their upbringing during the Great Depression and World War II era generation, where the "teacher" is always right blah blah blah…) always immediately sided with the nuns and priests who were the teachers at the private school I went to. My dad (who left school in 8th grade to become primary caregiver for his immigrant Italian family who were originally here illegally) noticed one day that my twin sister NEVER got in trouble, (smart or not, because she always saw me get into trouble from everyone), he asked me why didn't I want to do what the nuns/teacher told me to do, and I told him it was because I couldn't do it that way (among many other awful experiences, they tried to make me be right-handed like everyone else and my twin sister too). He said, don't do it that way! I said, they won't allow that (I was in the first grade at that time), so he began asking me more questions about my experiences in school (that were vastly different than my twin sister's). I told him I didn't hold a pencil right-handed, I didn't think the way other kids did, I didn't learn the way others did, and I was always raising my hand to ask questions, which was highly frowned upon at that time in the classroom. My dad never said anything to me or even showed emotions as my twin sister and I were describing "my" experiences in our class and with schoolwork…. When we finished telling him, he told me to do my schoolwork however I needed to do it so that I could "do and learn" how they expected me to and that he would take care of it. The very next day, the nuns never hit me over my left hand again with a ruler when I picked up my pencil with my left-hand to write…, but I always got funny looks, and sighs, and the twenty-five other classmates (including my twin sister) usually chuckled too, but they (the nuns and priests) kept it to themselves. I could only assume that my dad told them (among other things) to let me learn things how I needed to learn them, even if it was different sometimes. So, the remainder of my catholic/private school experience was not great although I learned a lot and especially reading, writing, and math, but as a result, I am NOT creative, and I rarely think creatively. So, taking a graduate class titled Games and Simulations for Learning is pretty far out there for me! When this class started, I couldn't even imagine what this topic was going to be all about. I couldn't even imagine, but I was very curious though!
Now I think...
How cool is this! Learning to design and develop games and simulations for learning where you can use your own creativity and imagination (although very limited). My heart is even smiling for my ten nieces and ten nephews (yes 20 total) are school aged and are all having better learning experiences where learning can be FUN, and there is more than one way to learn that information, skills, and knowledge. So, although I have not shined especially in this course and it has challenged me creatively, I have truly enjoyed it and learning from all of my current classmates and Dr. Dondlinger (always) too. I am truly elated that students are having much different learning experiences these days and it does make my heart smile very big! Learning that games and simulations can be a safe and creative way to present students with a problem that they can learn to solve through the games they play at school is so awesome! I have learned later through my life that technology is a great tool that people can learn from. When fellow classmates (and me too that is) discussed through our discussion posts each week that they were making adjustments to the learning material that was being designed and developed into learning games and/or simulations because through playtesting students either had issues and or didn't do so well…. All students deserve equal opportunities in life and especially in learning, and I'm super glad that educators of today have "learned" from, through, and with learning (if you will) of the past generations of students and educators wasn't optimal for all students. This course has been a fabulous learning experience for me as I continue my education as an educator and a person who helps facilitate lifelong learning experiences personally and publicly too. This could possibly be partially why I so enjoy engaging my young school aged nieces, nephews, and great-nieces, and great-nephews and I'm so fascinated with their learning and how they learn. Sometimes I have even made observations that their momma and daddy hadn't yet noticed with the learning. In summary, this is a fun and exciting time with vast and numerous learning tools and resources easily available for learning these days. Learning can be fun! Kudos to educators!