Using Games to Teach: Introduction from John Dillon
The Truth about using Games as a Teaching Tool
Believe it or not, many instructors/managers do not see games as a serious teaching tool. It may be hard to admit, but, in some ways, they’re right! In most cases, their beliefs have been influenced by a variety of factors, the most common of which is their personal experience seeing how games are used in a classroom. To make matters worse, many instructors who use games are unknowingly reinforcing the negatives that so many have about using games.
In a four post series, I will show you why it is not the game’s fault; it really comes down to how instructors are using games. Think about this, when you see a poor PowerPoint presentation, you don’t blame PowerPoint do you? Of course you don’t, because it’s not PowerPoint’s fault. The fault lies with “how” it’s being used or misused. We know PowerPoint can be used for good, but unfortunately many users go to the dark side…sorry about the analogy but it is so true. Regardless of whether you are using a game or a PowerPoint presentation, you need to remember that these are simply tools that can help you deliver your information. Once you’ve learned some basics for use, you can truly leverage the power of these presentation tools.
To help us understand how a game can deliver information, we need to take a look at the misconceptions many instructors have about games. In three upcoming posts – scheduled for each Wednesday in August I will present what I believe to be the three most common misconceptions. By understanding these misconceptions, we will have a clearer idea of how we can use a game to effectively deliver content. Check back each week to read about each of these misconceptions.
Misconception 1: The game contains the material that I am teaching, so therefore it is educational.
Misconception 2: My class loved the game, therefore it was a success!
Misconception 3: Dammit Jim, I am an educator not a computer programmer.
Tell me in the comments area how you use games to teach emergency responders.
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About the Author: John Dillon has been a Paramedic for close to 3 decades, and has been an instructor for just as long. John currently works as a paramedic and educator for Woodbury Public Safety in Woodbury MN, and is the founder of C3 SoftWorks located in Minneapolis. John currently educates instructors on how to use game to teach core content in seminars and conferences around the country. John can be reached at johnd@c3softworks.com or www.c3softworks.com.
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