The Role of Video Games in EFL Classrooms

I would like to continue reflecting on digital technologies, video games in particular, and their effect on today’s young generation. It is common knowledge that young people are actively involved in computer gaming. I think, as teachers we cannot deny the fact that computer games play a huge role on shaping our young learners’ minds and behavior. Therefore, their needs and interests are often different from those of the older generation. Research studies show that these digital technologies lead to “mind alterations” or “cognitive changes” in the area of learning (Prensky, 2001). If we are to accept this fact we should think of new ways and methods of teaching. Traditional in-class activities are no longer effective with such generation as they do not fit into their learning style and perception of things.

Patricia Greenfielad, a professor of psychology, has done a lot of research in this area and has come up with some interesting facts. One of them is that video games help to strengthen the learner’s skill in reading visuals as representations of three-dimensional space. Also, various computer games develop their ability to “discover“ rules rather than to follow them.  I think this implies that we, as teachers, should introduce the new material inductively rather than deductively. Even during the class young learners are “players”; they like to be actively involved in a rule discovery process, predicting the possible outcomes rather than being told about them. Besides, due to video games a person is capable of monitoring multiple locations simultaneously. Thus, as teachers, we can assign projects or activities that require the learners’ concentration on multiple tasks at the same time.

If a teacher wants to keep such “digital” learners focused on the lesson, she/he should find some ways to integrate video games into the curricula. For example, there are certain topic-based educational games that can help learners understand and use the newly learned material in meaningful, real-life situations. I have also learned that some commercial games can be adapted to classroom needs and integrated into the learning process as well.

Thus, today’s teachers are exposed to a variety of options that can be used effectively to satisfy the “digital youth’s “  needs and interests.

Digital Story-Telling and Video Production in EFL Classes

As  a continuation to my previous posts about implementing new technologies in EFl classrooms, I’d like to discuss digital story-telling as another interesting and useful tool to be integrated in regular English language classes. I personally think that video production can help English teachers to engage the learners in a meaningful task-based learning, which in itself promotes the target language use in a meaningful context.

Like some of the technological tools discussed in my previous posts, video production, first of all, fosters collaboration and interaction among learners. It is a good way of sharing interesting information with your peers. Last week we had a group assignment; we had to produce a short video and later share it with our classmates. I found this type of activity really engaging and informative. We produced a tutorial and I found it not only to be fun but also helpful in terms of language use. Besides, while shooting the video we had to pay attention to some technical issues such as the light, sound quality, music, etc. Although our video was not a perfect one, we all enjoyed the process of producing it.

I think in the future I ‘d like try this technology  with my students. This will help them to view the English language as a tool to produce something really meaningful. Furthermore, this kind of activity is a great shift from traditional language learning. This is something that the “digital youth” will definitely like doing. I think as teachers, we should help our learners use the target language in a context that really appeals to them.  

WIKIS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES

Nowadays wikis are becoming more and more popular. They can be used to create entire communities where people can get together and create and store a whole bunch of interesting activities, stories, discussions, etc.

 According to an article named “Educational Wikis; Features and Selection Criteria” (Schwartz, Clark, Cossarin, and Rudolph , 2004), wikis are already used by some universities for educational purposes and they  seem to be quite helpful. For example, they can be used by teachers to create interesting activities for their students, or to present the course material. They can also help teachers to monitor and evaluate the students ‘ progress through their discussions in wikis during the course.

Wikis are often compared to blogs in terms of sharing information and bringing people together. However there is an essential difference between the two. One of them is that once you have created a post in your blog it cannot be edited by others, whereas in wikis you have such tool. For example, students can create a story and the peers can continue or edit each others’ stories. From my personal experience I can say it is really fun. Besides, such activities build up a sense of collectivism and collaboration among learners. Another difference is that blogs are structures whereas wikis are more flexible in terms of internal and external hyperlinking.

In my view wikis can be used not only for creating in-class but also extracurricular acivities. In this way the teacher can indirectly engage his/her students in the learning process outside classroom. For example, students can use their knowledge of English to get or create information about any topic they are interested in. Through wikis they can create their own community or even connect to other communities sharing the same interests.