Virtual Worlds
One
of the elements that is lacking in the current educational system is that the
information students learn does not have real-life applications. However, virtual
environments (VE) meet this need. Stanton, Foreman, Wilson, Duffy, and Parnell
(2002) stated that “Numerous studies using VEs have demonstrated that spatial
knowledge can be effectively acquired from virtual exploration alone, and that
such information can be readily transferred to real equivalent environments”
(p. 13).
I
think the online virtual world could be used to develop educational tools for
educators who do not have technical knowledge about programming. Thanks to its
visual tools, creating an educational environment is easier than programming. Young,
Franklin, Cooper, Carroll, and Liu (2012) stated that “Compared to other
programming languages, the native tools in Second Life speed up the development
time needed to create educational modules for the classroom, which is why it is
the largest programming environment” (p. 59).
In
their article, “Envisioning the Educational Possibilities of User-Created
Virtual Worlds,” Antonacci and Mondaress (2002) stated, “Educational games and
simulations can engage students in higher-level cognitive thinking, such as
interpreting, analyzing, discovering, evaluating, acting, and problem solving”
(p.1 ). I think this means that the knowledge acquired through playing games
and in simulations is equal for all learners, regardless of how much money they
have or where they are in terms of their education level and location they live.
Therefore, the use of games and simulations could be a big turning point in
educational history. For example, the multimedia platforms used in games and
simulations would provide students with access to different learning styles.
In
the video titled Your brains on action games: Daphne Bavelier at TEDxCHUV from YouTube
website , speaker mentioned how gaming helps enhance various skills, such as
better attention to detail. She also mentioned that she could not believe how playing
games, such as war games, or shooting zombies could make gamers more intelligent.
However, parents find it great if their children play Sudoku or read Shakespeare.
However, she alleged that playing shooting games had both positive and negative
effects. She talked about the impact that playing a video game has on the brain
and gave several examples. We believe that watching a video screen makes our
eyesight worse. However, according to some surveys, it does not. Interestingly,
playing these kinds of games makes us more careful drivers. She also rejected
the belief that playing video games could lead to attention deficit disorder or
problems with distractibility in children. However, when the attention span of
gamers was measured the in labs, they found that “action video game play enhances
attention control.” She also mentioned multiple-object tracking. There is no
doubt that gamers would be better in traffic, such as being able to keep track
of obstacles such as running dogs. Another interesting point mentioned in the
video is spatial rotation. I received a scholarship to obtain a master’s and a
doctorate abroad by passing a tough intelligence exam. Some of the questions
were about spatial rotation. This is not the type of exam for which you need to
study. The speaker stated that after playing an action game, people are better at
mental rotation. Lastly, she questioned as to why the gaming market does not create
games that produce only positive effects. She believed it was because the
market has two sides, which she called the broccoli and the chocolate side: to
be able to eat broccoli, it needs to be covered with chocolate because if a
game is not fun, it cannot be engaging.
As for the Lumosity web site, it is a
resource for developing short-term memory and attention skills. After selecting
different aspects in all categories on the web site, it created a personalized training
program. It was amazing!
The first game I played was Speed Match.
It was easy. The only thing I needed to pay attention to was whether or not the
symbol matched the one that came immediately before it. The second game I
played was Memory Matrix. It was about one’s ability to remember an item’s
location. The last game I played was Eagle Eye, which was related to visual
attention. The only thing I needed to do was to find the bird to build my
collection. It was easy at first, but the game added some distractions, and it
became more difficult. After experiencing these training programs, I agree with
the web site: “The personalized training program helped me achieve my goals for
a better life!”. For instance, I am a little bit better in remembering an item’s
location thanks to this training program. I believe if I keep my training on
the website, I will be better.
I found the information in the short video
titled “Neuroscience, Games & Learning” to be really interesting. The
speaker stated, “When players viewing images from internet games, similar
neural activities as when addicts of drugs or gambling view images of cues.”
As for the information in “The Science
Behind Lumosity,” Hardy and Scanlon stated that “Scientists once believed that
mental ability was fixed after childhood. But over the last few decades,
neuroscientists have discovered that adults’ brains are constantly changing—growing
new neurons and connections—in a process known as neuroplasticity” (p.1 ).
Therefore, the Lumosity training
programs could efficiently be used to develop short-term memory and attention
skills in all ages. The most interesting thing about the Lumosity training
programs was that they provide a personalized training program because the
percentage of skills in a brain are not the same for all people.
References
Antonacci, D. M., & Modaress, N. (2008). Envisioning the educational possibilities of user-created
virtual worlds.
AACE Journal, 16(2), 115–126. Retrieved from http://etpt5980.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/61532371/antonacci_VR_possibilities.pdf
Hardy,
J., & Scanlon, M. (November 2009). The science behind Lumosity. Retrieved from http://www.lumosity.com
Stanton, D., Foreman, N., Wilson, P., Duffy, H., &
Parnell, R. (2002). Use of virtual
environments to acquire spatial understanding of real-world multi-level
environments. Paper presented at the 4th International Conference on Disability,
Virtual Reality and Associated Technologies, Veszprém, Hungary. Retrieved from http://etpt5980.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/61693630/stanton_spatial.pdf
Young, W., Franklin,
T., Cooper, T., Carroll, S., & Liu, C. (2012). Game-based learning
aids in Second Life. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 23(1),
57–80. Retrieved from
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