Computer games as a way to develop and educate the younger generation. The use of computer games in the educational process

Approaching learning through play is a very old pedagogical concept. At all times, adults have tried to convey information to children through a favorite, understandable and age-appropriate form: fairy tales, nursery rhymes, fables, which have existed as a literary format for many centuries, performed the same function for parents as for modern teachers- educational games. Over time, only gaming media change, moving from one-sided paper media to increasingly interactive audiovisual, and then to digital.

It should be noted here interesting thing. New media of the XX-XXI centuries were not immediately allowed to children - one way or another, they were first “tested” on adults. For example, one of the first educational training video series was the animated series "Private Snafu", produced during World War II for internal training of the US armed forces.

The first television show aimed at children appeared only in the 70s. It turned out to be the legendary Sesame Street, which ushered in the era of children's television educational programs.

Computer games They have also gone (and are still going) a long way towards their right to take a full place in the list of pedagogical technologies. For example: the era of video games opened in the 60s, after the stunning success of the game Spacewar in US universities! , and simple arcades began their victorious march in the 70s along with the table tennis simulator Pong.

A few years later, along with the official computerization of schools with the Apple II computer, the first educational computer game came to American schools - Oregon Trail, which taught children the basics of the history of American independence. The developers were then still students who wanted to create a game that would help 8th grade students study history. Subsequently, this game became an icon of educational video games, and was re-released many times and received sequels.

Screenshot from the same Oregon Trail. Source: metropotam

Today, the market for computer games is much more diverse and wider, including those created specifically for educational purposes.

But today, together with the author of the Edudemic portal, we will look at three live examples of how popular computer games of the most entertaining genre can serve a good purpose in your lessons. So let's get started.

Civilization IV

In this “Civilization”, each player creates and controls his own civilization, chooses places to build cities, recruits hired workers, works on infrastructure, cultivating land, building fortresses, and extracting minerals. As cities grow, players assign different roles to them - more major cities become fortified centers, providing protection to small settlements. Roads under construction become a support for the distribution of extracted resources. Players strategically approach the economic component of life in their civilization in order to then expand their cultural and religious influence and develop social policy.

The game simulates ancient historical civilizations based on characteristic features- agrarian society, division of labor, strict social hierarchy, army as a condition for a strong state, the presence of a highly educated stratum, trade exchange between countries, religious and ideological foundation. Studying the centuries-old experience of mankind in an interactive gaming environment becomes a strong building block in understanding how we came to the stage of civilization at which we stand now. Of course, one cannot do without a deep theoretical background, but it is the game form that will provide high involvement: it is one thing to read about the Phoenicians, and quite another to control their army with your own hands.

How can this happen in the classroom? It is quite possible to split into groups and begin to create the same civilization - for example, the Neolithic era. If each group makes different decisions, in the end it will be possible to compare the paths of development of civilization and fantasize about what the world could be like now if our ancestors had chosen a different path of development.

Such gameplay provides an opportunity to develop the necessary interdisciplinary skills - leadership qualities, strategic planning, problem solving skills.

Minecraft

And here is Dan Bloom, a high school biology teacher in one of the New York schools. For him, the challenge to use a computer game in the classroom was laboratory work by DNA extraction. He wanted to do a real research experiment with his students, but first he wanted to make sure that the students really understood the essence of the process. Knowing about the students’ passion for the cult and most ingenious sandbox game Minecraft, he built giant biological cells. Students invited to the game had to use the right tools to get into the right cell structures to access the DNA. If the student used the wrong tool (for example, salt to overcome cell membrane), the gameplay came to a dead end for him.

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"Belorussian state university computer science and radio electronics"

Department of Philosophy

Abstract topic:

"The use of computer games in the educational process"

Completed by: Mukamolov Andrey Andreevich

student of the Department of Engineering Psychology and Ergonomics

group No. 510101

Plan

Introduction
Using a computer gameMinecraftin educational institutions around the world
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Computer technology are actively used in the educational process around the world. However, debates between teachers about the benefits and harms of computer games still continue, which limits their use in the educational process. Among the most serious disadvantages of computer games are damage to the health of the student (curvature of the spine, deterioration of vision) and deformation of socialization skills. But, nevertheless, the global industry of computer and mobile games is actively working to eliminate all shortcomings and expand the expansion of the educational market.

According to the definition, a game is a type of meaningful non-productive activity, where the motive lies both in its result and in the process itself. In turn, a computer game - computer program serving for the organization gameplay, connections with game partners, or acting as a partner herself.

Object of study: educational process in different countries

Purpose of the study: to study the facts of the use of computer games in the everyday educational process in preschool and secondary education institutions and to consider the prospects for the introduction of computer games in higher education.

Specialized educational and developmental computer games in preschool educational institutions

When working with preschoolers, teachers use mainly developmental games, less often educational and diagnostic games. Among the educational games we can highlight development games mathematical representations: "Baba Yaga learns to count", "Arithmetic Island", "Luntik. Mathematics for kids"; games for the development of phonemic awareness and learning to read “Baba Yaga learns to read”, “Primer”; games for musical development, for example, "The Nutcracker. Playing with the music of Tchaikovsky." The next group of games aimed at developing the basic mental processes: “Animal Album”, “Snow Queen”, “The Little Mermaid”, “Save the Planet from Garbage”, “From Planet to Comet”, “Little Seeker”. The third group is applied tools created with the aim of increasing the level of artistic and creative development of children: “Mia the Mouse. Young Designer”, “Learning to Draw”, “Magic Transformations”. As educational games, we can give an example of the games "Form. Secrets of painting for little artists", "World of Informatics".

The choice of computer games is important for the use of information and computer technologies in the educational process. Currently, the choice of computer games for preschoolers is quite wide. But, unfortunately, most of these games are not designed to implement software tasks, so they can be used only partially, mainly for the purpose of developing mental processes: attention, memory, thinking.

The main manufacturers of educational and educational computer games are the company " New disc", "Media House", as well as "Alisa Studio" and the company "1C".

Using the computer game Minecraft in educational institutions around the world

IN lately among school teachers around the world it is becoming popular to introduce into the educational process special versions of the Minecraft game developed by by Microsoft for all platforms.

Minecraft can be classified as a “sandbox” genre: such games give the user greater freedom of action and do not require the mandatory completion of certain tasks. The world of Minecraft consists of cubes different types- sand, stone, wood, earth, iron, etc. From them you can construct unusual buildings and mechanisms, which, by the way, is what made the game famous. There is no specific goal in the game, but there is a wide range of tools that allow you to show your imagination: build ancient cities, breed cacti, and even program Minecraft inside Minecraft. The game costs 20 euros, you can buy it on the official website.

MinecraftEdu is a special version of Minecraft for teachers, as well as an online community for teachers. The platform was invented by Joel Levin, a computer science teacher from New York, and Finnish teacher-programmer Santeri Koivisto. The Edu version differs from regular Minecraft by having a special (50% discount) account for teachers, which allows them to control what is happening in the game: for example, receive unlimited resources or protect constructed buildings from destruction. Currently, the MinecraftEdu community includes teachers from 400 schools, mainly from the USA, Finland and Sweden. With their encouragement, Minecraft is used in the study of history and geography (models of cities of the past are created), physics (probability theory, electrical conductivity), chemistry (experiments are carried out with chemical elements) and biology (the structure of the human body is modeled). Thanks to its flexibility, Minecraft easily adapts to different disciplines.

computer game educational process

For 13-year-old students at Viktor Rydberg School (Stockholm), Minecraft has become compulsory academic discipline. The year-long course uses play as a way to teach children about the most different topics. Students train creative thinking, while building their own cities, they study ecology using the example of deforestation and soil changes in the game, and also learn the basics of network security. The school management chose Minecraft because of its popularity, ease of learning, and consistently high level interest that the game arouses among schoolchildren. The experiment was successful, so the number of Minecraft lessons in the school schedule will increase.

Computer games in higher education

Based on the examples above, computer games can be successfully used for the training and development of preschoolers and schoolchildren. But can they be just as successfully applied in higher education institutions?

The process of introducing game mechanics into any area human activity called gamification. Based on modern practices of conducting the educational process in higher education institutions, we can assume a scenario for the gamification of the educational process in higher education institutions.

Since September 1, 2012, first-year students of BSUIR have been studying using a modular rating system for assessing knowledge, and since 2015 this system has been functioning digitally. Its peculiarity is the division of disciplines into modules - logically completed sections that combine a number of topics. Each item is divided into at least three parts. Each module has a separate assessment, which will be taken into account when assigning the final grade. If previously the level of knowledge of young people was determined by the grade received in a test or exam, now its significance is only 30%. The student gains the remaining 70% through activity in lectures and practical classes, as well as participation in conferences, seminars, and research work. But, as practice shows, students are not very interested in improving their rankings, because the financial incentive in the form of an increased scholarship is not available to everyone, and for those who have it, it is not attractive. Since many students, according to research, play computer games, it is likely that students will perceive the gamification of the module-rating system for assessing knowledge positively.

Basic concepts of gamification of a modular-rating system for assessing knowledge:

introduction of incentives for increasing ratings in the form of discount coupons for any service or coupons for free lunch in the student canteen. This will lead to increased interest in learning among students;

creation of a system of interactive tests in various disciplines to prepare for exams and tests. Completing such tests with a certain frequency leads to an improvement in the rating score and, accordingly, to an incentive award, as well as to more successful completion test or exam;

creating opportunities for students to jointly solve problems increased complexity in various disciplines. Such tasks will bring students more valuable rewards, and will also allow students to establish interpersonal contacts and establish close acquaintances with each other in the process of completing the task, as well as better prepare for exams in complex disciplines, for example, higher mathematics:

creation of a system of achievements received by students for active work at seminars, lectures, for participation in scientific and social activities university, as well as

Creating a system that implements the above concepts will require significant material costs, but these costs will be paid off by increasing student achievement and increasing their competitiveness in the labor market.

Conclusion

Computer games are gradually being introduced into the educational process as available technical feasibility, the interest of teaching staff and research results at all levels of education.

For preschoolers, special educational games are developed with the participation of psychologists and teachers to help develop their mathematical and creative thinking, ability to read and write.

Students and teachers of educational institutions around the world actively use computer Minecraft game because of its accessibility, ease of learning and flexibility. In Minecraft, you can simulate physical and chemical processes, as well as build buildings and full-fledged logic circuits, which makes the game very useful for explaining school curriculum.

I also proposed concepts for introducing computer game mechanisms into the educational process of higher education. educational institutions, allowing to combine the entertaining nature of computer games and traditional higher education in order to increase its effectiveness.

Based on this, we can conclude that computer games are already actively used in the educational process around the world, and this use will expand over time.

References

1. Antonenkov, E. (April 15, 2014). Minecraft V education. Retrieved from Edutainme - The future of education and the technologies that change it: http://www.edutainme.ru/post/minecraft-v-obrazovanii/

2. Dobrovidova, N. (2010). Features of the use of computer development programs in education.

3. Kamalova, T.A. (December 13, 2010). Article " Usage ICT V conditions preschool educational institutions". Retrieved from the CPKS IMC of the Kolpinsky district of St. Petersburg: http://cpks-kolpino. spb.ru/index. php? option=com_content&view=article&id=139: - q------q&catid=62: 2010-12-13-07-29-01&Itemid=59

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Practice shows that the use of computer games in the educational process

Arouse children's interest and desire to achieve their goals;

Help them better master knowledge in different types of activities;

Develop positive emotional reactions in children;

Identify gaps in certain types educational activities;

Ensure that students reach a certain level intellectual development, mastering the completed material necessary for further educational activities.

The use of educational computer games as opposed to other computer games

(“Shooting games”, “Sports simulators”, “Racing”, “Strategies”, “ Role-playing games", "Adventures", "Adventure games", "Logic games"), under the guidance of a teacher, do not cause computer addiction, since:

firstly, in the educational process, games are used strictly regulated, taking into account age and individual characteristics;

secondly, the scope and role of the game in the lesson is strictly verified;

thirdly, if computer gaming activity is combined with practical, real activity, then computer gaming activity does not lead to addiction.

The simplest computer games are various simulators, and children clearly prefer computer training to working with a textbook; specially designed educational games will be useful to everyone.

In our history, geography and social studies lessons, and in extracurricular activities, we use intellectual computer games. When creating them, we gave preference to Microsoft Office applications, using the program Power Point. This application provides conditions for productive work of students with the possibility of self-testing, self-control and mastering theoretical material. These are exactly the tasks we set when creating computer educational games, using templates computer presentations Internet networks, creating their own on their basis, filling their content with studied or studied educational material.

Our methodical piggy bank contains the following games: game - geochance "Hydrosphere"

(Appendix 1), geo-chance game “Atmosphere”, geographical game “Lithosphere”, historical lotto “Era of Peter I”, intellectual game “Moscow Rus'”, game-quiz “Basic Law”, game-quiz “Elections of Deputies in State Duma Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation".

The use of well-designed and adapted educational games for age groups brings a positive emotional coloring to the lesson and increases its effectiveness by intensifying the educational process.

Students, initiated by the teacher, can play computer intellectual games not only in class, but also at home, for example, on the Internet.

In 2011, from January 5 to February 5, students of Monchegorsk took part in the First International Intellectual Internet game “BATTLE OF CITIES - 2011”, which was also played by teachers, parents and schoolchildren from Russia and foreign countries.

(Appendix 2)

We plan to continue working on the use of Intellectual computer games in our teaching activities in the future. (Appendix 3)

there is a lot of controversy for two main reasons: harm to vision and large number cruelty and violence in game plots. Having studied many monographs and reports of modern scientists, we will highlight the main topics of discussion among teachers regarding games and the educational process.

Types of educational games

Computer games are not clearly divided into genres. For example, researcher Nicola Whitton, based on the motive for which they were developed, divides games into 4 types:
1. Entertaining, modified for learning (Example: MineCraftEDU);
2. Special educational ones, from major developers;
3. Games created by teachers and students themselves.

The budgets of educational games, compared to commercial ones, are simply meager. And this has quite a significant impact on them. appearance. Entertainment games compete for the gamer’s attention, which largely stimulates the development of the industry, but educational ones are most often distributed exclusively and purposefully to schools. Issues of aesthetics of educational games have even been studied in a separate one dedicated exclusively to this topic.

Commercial games tend to be quite complex and unpredictable. As for educational ones, on the contrary, they should be predictable and simple, so that their external form, plot, and additional information do not distract from the educational material.

How to choose the right educational game?

An almost ideal option, according to experts, are those games that students create on their own. The fact is that in order to come up with something like this, you need to study the topic in detail. In this case, the teacher directs students to sources necessary information and prevents errors from occurring. But the idea itself and the entire process of the game are completely a child’s creation. The material being studied will thus be remembered much better than if the child simply reads or hears it.

What genres of games are most suitable for pedagogical purposes? John Collick gives examples such as: High school students would be best suited to strategy games in real time. As an example of a successful educational game, he cites the strategy “Europa Universalis” as a successful platform for studying history and geography.

One more interesting options for older students it is educational game, in which limited resources need to be distributed. An example here is the simulator spaceship"FTL: Faster Than Light". And, of course, various MMORPGs that perform socialization tasks are not losing popularity.

Computer games and emotional intelligence

The unique ability to distinguish and understand a variety of emotions and feelings, using this information for one’s own purposes, is called “emotional intelligence.”
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A person’s emotional state greatly influences what actions he takes. In games, various variations are developed for cases where the player may experience complex emotions. Some researchers in this context highlight such a key component as “ crucible experiences" It's varied stressful situations, through which a person grows personally. Thanks to games you can survive important points and unpleasant circumstances.

There are other options when they become a wonderful illustration for students moral dilemmas that exist in the real world. We are mainly talking about situations where there is a choice between what a person is obliged to do and breaking the rules for the good. A classic game based on dilemmas and choices is Dragon Age: Origins.

Computer games and theory of pedagogy

Of course, computer games cannot be called real pedagogy. But even the world's most popular commercial games have something in common with learning theories. This topic was studied by the Schoolnet corporation, which promotes the development of modern developments for education. Representatives of this organization compare computer games with the educational cycle according to Kolb. When a player cannot pass this or that test, he thinks about the reason for the failure, then plans the sequence of actions that need to be performed to win. As a result, the gamer independently evaluates the correctness of the choice made or the falsity of his assumptions.

Something similar is observed when dividing the game into complex and simple levels. At first, the game involves performing simple tasks using additional information. Afterwards, when a person is already fully familiar with its rules, he is encouraged to become more independent and smart in order to successfully complete more difficult levels. Thus, computer games motivate a person to take responsibility for self-learning.

The basis for preparing a child to use computer technologies in the learning process are the principles of didactics, which determine the requirements for content, methods, organizational forms and teaching aids, focused on achieving the learning goal. From analysis general properties information, its types and functions, influence on the development and education of a person, the requirement follows: information circulating in the educational process must be effectively used at each specific stage of the educational process, at each moment of the activity of the teacher and student. This determines the choice of methods, organizational forms and teaching aids that should ensure activity cognitive activity students, when all their attention is focused on the essence of the phenomenon or process being studied, and not on the computer, which acts as a learning tool.

The main task of using computer technology is to expand human intellectual capabilities. Currently, the very concept of learning is changing: the assimilation of knowledge is giving way to the ability to use information and obtain it using a computer.

The use of computer technologies in the modern educational process is a completely natural phenomenon. However, the effectiveness of their use in teaching depends on a clear understanding of the place they should occupy in the complex set of relationships that arise in the “teacher-student” interaction system.

The use of computer technology changes the goals and content of training: new methods and organizational forms training. Updating the content of training is associated, first of all, with increasing the role of humanitarian training and the formation in students of a consistent natural science understanding of the world around them.

The introduction of computer technology creates the prerequisites for intensifying the educational process. They make it possible to widely use in practice psychological and pedagogical developments that ensure the transition from mechanical assimilation of knowledge to mastering the ability to independently acquire new knowledge. Computer technologies contribute to the disclosure, preservation and development of personal qualities of students.

Historically, pedagogy has always used information means (means of storing, processing and transmitting information) in its activities; their improvement increased the effectiveness of learning. Therefore, the use of a computer as the most advanced information tool, along with the use of a book, pen, TV, calculator, VCR, etc., in studying educational subjects naturally entails improvement of the learning process. The evolution of computers and software led to a sufficient ease of development for the most unprepared users, including even preschoolers.

In modern pedagogical literature The concept of “computer education” is increasingly being used, i.e. development, education and training of a person in a computer environment, in conditions where the computer is a subject of study, a tool of activity, a means of self-realization.

With this approach, the goals of computer education are clearly defined - the development of higher mental functions, the formation of personality qualities - education, independence, criticality, responsibility, reflexivity. The types of activities in a computer environment are also more clearly represented: the student learns, develops, communicates. Computer in modern conditions not just an electronic computer; it is a source of information, a tool for its transformation and a universal communication system that ensures the interaction of all subjects of the didactic system, including those with whom communication occurs indirectly through a computer program.

The computer has been used as a working tool for a long time and is recognized by society as a necessity. In the field of education, the computer is gaining a strong position. The idea of using computers in teaching children belongs to Professor Seymour Papert. Working with J. Piaget. To develop abstract thinking, you need an environment that allows you to actively create a product, using and creating new abstract concepts. Such an environment could be a computer. The theory of J. Piaget, according to which a child learns by playing with the objects around him, had a strong influence on S. Papert. Recalling his childhood fascination with cars, S. Papert, for example, concluded that it was his interest in them that revealed to him the “object-thought” connection and facilitated his subsequent comprehension of mathematical abstractions. A child, being by nature a very gifted student (S. Papert is convinced of this and finds the basis for his conviction in J. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development), may gradually lose the taste for learning. S. Papert sees one of the reasons for the development of a child’s fear and reluctance to learn in the adopted modern society dividing all people into those capable and incapable of learning, into those inclined towards mathematical sciences and “humanists”. S. Papert believes that it is not a matter of ability, but of the organization of the learning process. For S. Papert, a computer is, first of all, a tool that can give the learning process a natural, unformalized character. In his opinion, a computer can change the nature of learning - not something specific, but learning in general - and make it more interesting and effective, and the resulting knowledge deeper and more generalized. In fact, S. Papert proposed the concept of the school of the future, the starting points of which are the natural curiosity of children and the means to satisfy this curiosity. S. Papert is not trying to transfer the functions of a teacher or textbook to a computer. The main idea is microworlds, which are some models real world, which the child himself creates with varying degrees of detail. If a child is the “architect of his own intellect” (J. Piaget), then he should have at hand everything necessary for work, and first of all, “transitional objects” that serve us as metaphors with the help of which we transform the experience of bodily manipulations with things into conceptual generalizations and abstractions. But how do you find out what can serve as a “transitional object” for a child? The progress of computer technology has made such an idea not so fantastic. Now a computer can cope with this task, the essence of which is its versatility and ability to imitate. Because it can take on thousands of faces and perform thousands of functions, it can satisfy thousands of tastes and demands.

A wealth of experience in using computers as a teaching tool has been accumulated in the USA, Canada, France, and Bulgaria. Despite different approaches to the organization and content of computer activities, the results obtained are largely consistent:

1. Sustained attention during computer activities and great interest in it are noted. French researchers state that the greatest interest is observed in children when they achieve the best results in computer gaming activities; children are more passive when faced with difficulties in solving assigned tasks.
2. All older preschoolers exhibit perseverance and patience, which are not usually characteristic of children of this age.
3. Several types of motivation for children’s activities at the computer were identified:
- a) interest in a new, mysterious subject - a computer;
- b) research motive (desire to find answers to questions);
- c) the motive for successfully solving cognitive problems.
4. The use of computer games develops “cognitive flexibility” - a person’s ability to find greatest number fundamentally different solutions to the problem. The abilities for anticipation and strategic planning also develop, and visual and effective thinking operations are mastered.
5. Children prefer to play together at the computer, finding general solution. Adults only help children with advice. Joint computer games can relieve a number of difficulties in children’s communication.
6. The role of computer games as a diagnostic and rehabilitation tool is increasing: currently, computer games are used as a means of helping children with impaired writing skills, due to difficulties in learning to count, to improve coordination, and diagnose spatial abilities. The computer can be effectively used for speech and vision correction, and in working with children with mental retardation. Computer games help anxious and shy children to openly express their problems, which is important in the process of psychotherapy.