One of the trends in instructional technology that I found interesting
in my field of early childhood special education is gamification. One way to define gamification in education
is to understand it as a strategy to maximize motivation, engagement, and
learning by using elements of video game elements. I think this is an important element in
general to embed in education as schools are plagued with high drop-out rates
and a sense that current approaches are not effective in reaching today’s
students. Furthermore, I think it is a
particularly important element to embed in special education in order to
provide students with a sense of control, choice, progress, feedback, and
perseverance.
Gamification in special education has been shown to impact
learning outcomes as a reward system, as an equalizer among students, as a way
to differentiate learning outcomes, as a venue for cooperative learning, and as
a way to adapt to and accommodate student learning needs. Games can address
multiple developmental domains including literacy, math, communication skills,
and social skills. With the use of
avatars it has been demonstrated that games can even improve socialization
skills for children with autism due to the motivational component of play the
games. These skills have historically
been difficult to enhance and to generalize for students with disabilities.
As an instructional technologist, teacher trainer, and
special educator, I want to keep up with this trend by initially attending
conferences that are focused on the topic and subsequently networking with
others in the field who are finding and using apps in this area. I am not a game developer, but with exposure
to and awareness of what is available, I think I can find ways to adapt games
for different populations of young children in order to address their
educational and social challenges. I can
be a conduit to teachers in the field who may be too busy to explore the
relevant apps for the children in their classroom.
Provide
three resources (an article, web url and a video) that provide more information
on this trend and explain why these resources stood out to you.
In
this video, researchers are explaining the development and utilization of a
video game that uses facial recognition to improve the social skills of people
with autism. By developing avatars who
express various emotions, the gamer matches that emotion with their own facial
expression. The software then provides
feedback to the gamer as he/she learns a sense of emotional empathy.
This
website provides evidence for the impact of specific therapeutic video games
for
children with autism. I particularly
liked the discussion about the best tools to use, the strategies used, and the
skills that can be enhanced by gaming.
Bosseler,
A., & Massaro, D. (2003). Development and evaluation of a computer-animated
tutor for vocabulary and language training in children with autism. Journal
of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33, 653-672.
This
article provided background about the topic of gamification in promoting
learning outcomes for children with autism.
I particularly liked it as it detailed a specific game in terms of the
elements that addressed skills in vocabulary and grammar. For example, it reviewed several studies that
used different experimental designs to investigate outcomes in using gamified
visual cues to encourage children with autism to attend longer, to actively engage
in the activities more frequently, to enjoy interacting with the game, and to
subsequently strengthen reading and communication skills.
Design one activity using this trend that can be applied for
teaching and learning. The activity that I would use in the area of
gamification would be one of the more social forms of gaming for the population
of children with autism. I would like to
work with teachers and invite them to use something like “What to Choose” or
“Faces” where students are presented with social dialog and visuals on the
topic of human responses to sad and happy interactions, and identify the
avatars expressing the correct emotion.
This would meet the IEP goals of many children with autism in the area
of social communication and social-emotional development which are otherwise
difficult to teach and transfer.
Children in inclusive settings could be paired with typical peers and an
iPad. Parents could also be included in
terms of information about the game so that they could reinforce its use at
home.
Re-use
information that you shared for your main post in the discussion forum
(educreation, voki etc)
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