Today’s world demands more of our students than traditional education methods can provide. No longer are factory workers required, but a new iteration of workers we have not produced consistently in the past.
Australia is moving in the right direction!
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The next generation needs to be equipped with the universal competencies of creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, character, culture and ethical citizenship, and competence in computer and digital technologies (Shifting Minds, 2012).
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The question becomes; how can we hone these skills in the classroom?
In a Social Studies context, games can be deployed in making sociocultural history appealing through abstraction, exploration and manipulation of multiple variables, collaboration, and interaction (Cuenca López, J. M., & Martín Cáceres, M. J., 2010)
Through the course of this project, we explored digital gaming and its impact, in terms of benefits and challenges, on classroom learning and assessment. We examined in detail three specific games that we felt related well to specific areas of school curriculums, and explored what grade levels we felt each game related to best. For primary/intermediate in elementary (grades 1-6), we have analysed Minecraft, a game which allows students to build structures using blocks, and to go on adventures as they build. For middle school (grades 7-9), we have researched Civilization V, a game which allows students to create and develop a civilization from its initial stages into a complex society. For secondary school (grades 10-12), we chose Civic Mirror, "a simulation that turns classrooms into countries, students into citizens, and teachers into 21st century educators" (The Civic Mirror, 2006-2016). To address online gaming more generally, we explored coding and social sciences, looking specifically at Scratch, a coding software program that can be used by all ages.