Video games inside the classroom!

Being a child of the 1990's I grew up with a love and appreciation for all kinds of video games.  I got my first video game system, a Nintendo 64, when I was in second grade in February of 1997.  To this day it was probably the most exciting purchase I have ever made.  I could hardly wait to get the new state of the art system home before opening the box and reading the manual.  I attribute the birth of my intellectual curiosity to this purchase and playing video games at an early age.  I didn't particularly like to read as a young adolescent, but that all seemingly changed when I began playing video games on a regular basis.  I always read the manuals of each game I bought an played, and remember becoming markedly more inquisitive in how I went about playing the games.  This intellectual curiosity further moved into the classroom where I begin studying more and attacking problems at a more metacognitive level.  I feel that video games at an early age helped increase my vocabulary in the same way that reading from a book can increase your vocabulary, just in a different way.  I also feel that by playing video games, which are often challenging, my cognitive ability and problem solving ability increased and became more advanced. 

            I would love to use video games as much as I can, within reason, inside the classroom.  I really enjoyed the article "Good Video Games and Good Learning" by James Paul Gee.  I thought the article did a great job of looking at some of the brief learning principles good games incorporate.  I believe video games do a great job of interacting with the player and allowing the player to make decisions that will influence his/her game play experience.  I also think it's cool how video games encourage its players to take risks.  Video games lower the consequences of failure and therefore promote risk-taking.  I believe education should also reward students who take academic risks in engaging in new and more challenging academic coursework.  Also, video games are customizable, allowing players to customize a game to fit their learning and playing styles.  Education should also consider further allowing this concept, for the simple fact that students enjoy learning more when they feel it is something they can personalize and control. 

            I hope to implement some forms of video games into my history classes, at least a few times each semester.  I think video games can provide a very practical learning opportunity for students who enjoy engaging in them.  Moreover, I also think the use of video games in the classroom will keep class fresh and interesting, allowing students a break from the standard monotony of a history classroom.  I feel that History in particular could really benefit with the use of video games in the classroom.  I really want to try and relate the importance of history to my students and how it is all around them, and I feel that a video game will help me in making history more fun and practical.  I enjoyed playing some of the history games on the BBC website and plan to use this cite when I enter the classroom in September, to give my students a new medium for increased comprehension and understanding.