Transcriber: Roberta Ponti Reviewer: Dulini Mudunkotuwa
Good afternoon.
I would like you to take a moment
to think of a time when you were in school.
For some a few more recent than others.
And you were bored.
Why were you bored?
What seemed uninteresting?
And how did this make you feel?
It probably isn’t too difficult for you to recall a moment of boredom.
But when we step back and look at the content that students are learning
it’s utterly fascinating.
We’re learning about how the universe works,
about distant galaxies and intricacies of the human body.
We’re learning about ancient societies
and the prospects for future civilizations
So if it isn’t the content itself that is off-putting.
Why is it so easy for us to recall a dull lesson?
As it turns out,
textbooks and tests are a great way
to make students memorize and and regurgitate facts,
but not so much for actually fostering a love for learning.
Now imagine,
for a moment,
a normal school day where students come in,
hop into the computer and start playing video games.
Not sneakily under the desk when a teacher is not looking,
but rather as per their curriculum.
Imagine if students can use video games to have fun,
but also learn at a really deep level at the same time.
This is put simply what game based learning looks like.
It’s a powerful tool to raise in engagement,
and it's not some distant future utopia.
I just turned 17, and for the past five years I've been a student teacher.
I used the concept of game based learning to build creativity
and teamwork skills in primary level students in my afterschool club.
And I've done this through harnessing commonplace game called Minecraft,
in which you dig, mine and build craft different 3D blocks in
a wide open world of terrains and habitats to explore.
And this is what makes Minecraft so amazing.
Its versatility allows the user to do really anything they want,
including teaching diverse subjects ranging from math to history and beyond.
When I entered secondary school,
I started thinking about how I could further my own interests
and also help my school community.
I wanted to do something different, something special.
I wanted to start my very own afterschool club to teach my students Minecraft.
When the sign ups for my club opened,
it was filled out in minutes
and we actually had to restrict the amount of students allowed to join
because it seemed like everyone only wanted to play.
This was a huge deal to me and I was a little nervous.
So I planned out everything extremely carefully.
And as the club progressed,
we can really see the magic of game based learning unfold.
Our world started off as a dull, empty world,
just grass for as far as the eye can see.
Then the kids logged on.
They filled the world with their amazing ideas and creative thoughts.
There were statues and tunnels and pyramids and evil Lairs.
You see, Minecraft allowed the students to learn with the world mindset.
In history, we weren't learning about the ancient pharaohs.
We were the ancient Pharaohs ruling over the Minecraft world.
In math
we weren’t learning about architecture.
We were the architects laying the groundwork for epic mansions and castles
It’s been a few years now and Minecraft is a huge hit in our school,
expanding from beyond what I do in my class.
Teachers have become more receptive
towards using game based learning tools in their classroom.
I conducted a survey with educators all across Asia,
and as we can see
teachers are more optimistic about using game based learning tools
in their classroom.
In addition, we can also see that
teachers report an increased student engagement
and therefore increase student achievement
when game based learning tools were implemented in their curriculum.
To wrap up, think back to that hypothetical school day
where students come in and play video games,
where learning almost seems like a byproduct.
It doesn't have to be Minecraft.
Anything that makes learning a game is enough to raise student engagement.
And when we raise student engagement,
it leads to lifelong learners and better contributors to society.
So that makes me wonder
why wouldn’t we want to use game based learning tools in our classroom?
Block by block.
My vision is to create a real and virtual world
that fosters a true love for learning.
Thank you.