Games & Learning – INTE 5320 – Book Review Peer Commentary

Peer Review Commentary for

Resonant Games Book Review

Commentary by Brianna Graves

According to what I just read, Klopfer arrives at several conclusions.  Overall, the author promotes using games for learning.  Some of  these conclusions include:

•  Learning and education are often confused with “schooling”.
• The games focus on a welcoming environment that engages and ignites a spark, leading the learner to ask questions, pursue a passion, and feel empowered to explore, discover, and learn
• A strong emphasis on learning is most effective when there is an underlying passion driving engagement.
• Games allow the player to retain a sense of self efficacy and a desire to return to the problem, quest, or challenge until they are successful.
• They also advocate for teachers to use the games as either an introduction to concepts prior to teaching in depth material.

The author seems to be a credible source on the topic of games and learning for

several reasons.  Some of them include:

• The authors describe themselves as a group of scholars and game designers working for the MIT’s Education Arcade.
• They also advocate for teachers to use the games as either an introduction to concepts prior to teaching in depth material, or to practice material introduced in class.
• The games are intended to supplement instruction in a way that draws students into play, encourages them to return and engage, question, and challenge themselves.

First of all, the author is a  game designer working for MIT’s Education Arcade, so he or she has experience in using games for educational purposes. The author also places emphasis on using games for supplementing instruction, rather than merely replacing instruction.  Finally, the author suggests that games are used to review and practice the material in class.  Between the author’s credentials and his/her understanding of games and education,  he/she shows credibility.  The reviewer does a good job at addressing  the author’s background and his/her credibility throughout the book review.

The reviewer discusses her own experiences as an online teacher and connects these experiences to finding ways to engage learners.  She is exploring the value of games for her own purposes.  While providing personal examples, she confirms the author’s main points.  She quotes,

• “The added concern with engagement in this online course challenges me to find a way to better connect with the learners to engage them and make the content relevant and interesting.”
• “I have just begun to explore the value of games and look forward to charting a course to revisions and the creation a resonant game.  My teaching experience is bound to private music lessons, music theory classes for private studios, and some training in the corporate environment. “

The reviewer suggests that the publication of the book is timely, due to the fact that students today are more exposed to digital technology.  As they go forth, they will recognize the value of educational games.

• “I feel that the publication of the book is very timely in today’s educational environment as it brings focus and a method to educational game design.  Students continue to enter public schools with more exposure to the digital world and digital games each year and recognizing the value of well-designed educational games…”

The reviewer provides analysis of the trend, games used for educational purposes.  As mentioned above, she comments on how this topic is very relevant today, especially since students are exposed to digital technology.  She also discusses a drawback in this theory. She mentions, ..”those looking to create games for their classrooms lies in the fact that their game solutions focused on digital games and for the most part did not integrate other learning opportunities, like blog posts, creating additional game tools or ideas, posters, etc.”  While the reviewer seems to agree with the author’s theory,  she would have also liked to read  summary page detailing learning concepts.  Overall, the reviewer seems to have a positive assessment of the book, but would have liked for the author to provide alternative methods for using games for educational purposes.  As a peer, I can see that the reader has analyzed this book thoroughly and is able to weigh the pros and the cons of the author’s statements.

Commentary by Brandi Casey

Identifying the key points made in the Book Review

• What are the conclusions reached or the position advocated by the author(s)?
  • The authors advocate for educations to honor the whole learner, honor the sociality of play, honor the connection between content and the game, and honor the learning context. The point that most resonated with me was connecting content and the game because of how important this will need to be moving forward in our education system. In order for people to start to truly understand the value of playful learning, they need to first see the connection between the game and the learning environment which will eventually act as the fuel towards real life engagement between the student and the world. Taking into account that fun is subjective, it is easier to understand how to include the entirety of the learner, which extends to their outside influencers.

Assessing the accuracy of the book in the review, including:

• What is the credibility of the author(s)’s credentials?
  • The author’s credentials are impressive, the range of both game developers and scholars is both necessary and promising as, in order for playful learning and thus gaming to permeate the classroom, both must work together in game development. In addition, their shared goal in through MIT provides a well known institution that is easily recognizable and creditable to audience members. Given the content of the book, it is clear that the scholars understood that the games need to be well designed and engaging, and the game developers wanted the games to be educational.

Describing the purpose of the book and assessing how well the book accomplishes that purpose:

• How does the review assess the author’s(s’) primary purpose?
  • The review first introduces the “connection between content and the real world”, which I found to be a predominate point throughout the review. They further advocate for teachers to act as mediators that introduce concepts and education into the students life that they can draw on through their experiences outside of the classroom. By creating a direct tie between the digital world and the real world, students are encouraged to become more deliberate learners and seek deeper engagement through outside stimulus. The authors further argue that emphasis on player choice is important because it drives deeper engagement in the digital/learning world, which further translates into the real world. The idea of the authors is very cyclical, with each learning point of the student translating to deeper learning and further development of the student.

Discussing the reviewers’ position on the problem, issue or trend:

• How convincingly does the reviewer indicate whether and on what grounds they agree with the author(s)’s evidence, arguments, predictions and conclusions?
  • Shawna ties the author’s evidence and arguments to her own trials and tribulations in her classroom. She acknowledges the need for engagement of students to pass a class that they frequently express little interest in. Shawna agrees with the authors that in order to encourage deeper, more deliberate learning, the students need to become more actively engaged in the class and its content. She also points to flaws regarding internet access, which is likely to remain a point as long as there is a digital divide between those with internet at home and those without. This points to a large, ongoing social issues that will need to be addressed over the coming years so students do not begin to fall behind.

Commentary fro Stacey Adams

Key Points

Shawna gives a very informative and insightful summary of the key points in the book Resonant Games. She describes principles of valuable game design and defines the author’s meaning when referring to games that “resonate” bridging the gap from home to school and beyond.

Accuracy

Shawna does a great job presenting the authors’ credentials and work in the field of game design. She discusses their experience and relates that experience to the principles found in the book itself highlighting it as a worthwhile professional resource.

Success of the Book

Shawna considers this book to be timely in today’s educational environment and notes its value in real-world application. She also notes its limitations pointing out that the authors’ focus is on digital games limiting opportunities for application to non-digital games in the classroom.

Reviewer’s Position

Shawna offers a concise synopsis of the information contained in this book while successfully connecting the information presented to her own experience. She includes her own journey to a better understanding of the relevance of games in learning and gives a strong recommendation for this book to educators as a tool for curriculum development.

Commentary from Jenn Shelden

Identifying the key points made in the Book Review:

What are the author(s)’s professional and/or academic credentials, evidence or research methodology, theoretical commitments, and stance toward games and learning?

Shawna succinctly described the the backgrounds of the authors at the beginning of her review. She informs that the authors are part of the MIT Education Arcade, but also includes how that influences their research. She explains that the principles that are a part of the MIT Education Arcade core are integral to the authors’ game design process. By informing the audience of the authors’ background, it sets the review up for one of credibility, rather than skepticism, and made me as a reader primed to agree with the authors’ assessments/ideas.

Assessing the accuracy of the book in the review, including:

How does the reviewer place the book’s arguments in relationship to personal experiences?

I really enjoyed the way Shawna incorporated her own experiences into the review. She drew on not only her experiences as a parent of children who played games, but also as an educator. I think her comparison of her children learning through play really backed up what the authors seemed to be arguing, but she also balanced this with pointing out that the corporate world’s “just in time” stance doesn’t seem to fit with the much more lengthy process described in the book, giving the readers a good context as to “can this apply to me” or “how easy would it be to apply this to me,” rather.

Describing the purpose of the book and assessing how well the book accomplishes that purpose:

How does the review assess whether the conclusions and recommendations are timely, premature or dated?

The review clearly states that Shawna finds this study timely. With students being more exposed to digital technologies than ever before, and there being little research on educational games considering how long they’ve been around, she seems to have found the book valuable.

Discussing the reviewers’ position on the problem, issue or trend:

How does the reviewer state whether they found the material interesting and worthwhile; that is, would the reviewer recommend the book to colleagues and – as a colleague – are you convinced?

Shawna suggests that the book is good for those looking to include games in their teaching, but that the book can be tough to get through after the first two chapters. Not because the material is uninteresting, but because there is so much to unpack! I appreciate that addition because sometimes books are worth the read, even though they may take longer than other books with less heady content. Overall, I would say that, were I a grade school educator, I would be convinced that this book is a must-read, but because I’m in “corporate America,” it may not be the first book I pick up when looking for ways that I personally could include game based learning in my trainings.

Commentary from Heather Walker

In her review of Resonant Games, Shawna Stushnoff begins with a quote that the authors began their book with that exemplifies the notion of teaching people how to think and learn for themselves rather than simply provide them with all of the answers. I found it to be an effective way to begin.

The authors of Resonant Games are learning scholars who work at MIT. To most effectively describe their credentials, Shawna quotes the mission of MIT’s Education Arcade. I agree with this decision as I would not have been able to paraphrase the mission in a manner that properly addresses the mission as well as emphasize the credibility of the authors to write such a book. Their work in the Education Arcade to develop learning experiences gives credence to the statements of the authors.

Throughout the review, Shawna recognizes that the focus of the authors and their work is on classroom learning for young people, excluding adult learning principles used in the corporate world. She states that the authors acknowledge that some of the principles of resonant games can be used in corporate learning environments, but there may need to be a lot of creativity and “outside of the box” thinking by the person(s) designing the game.

One of the aspects of Shawna’s review that I appreciated is the way that she ties many of the principles the authors of Resonant Games to readings that we have been assigned throughout the semester. The use of the readings helps to tie things together well and reinforce the author’s points. Particularly, she points out how our reading and her chosen book reinforce the fact that games can build social skills, problem-solving skills, leadership skills, and motivation in learners. Her use of the readings and incorporating them into her review add credence not only to the authors of Resonant Games but to Shawna’s thoughts as well.

Thoughts from Kevin Nichols

Identifying the key points made in the Book Review:

• What are the author(s)’s definition of games, learning, and related issue or trends?

Resonant Games as a literary piece postulates that as future games are being designed, they need to encompass the characteristics of an effective game. The authors of this book have made it their mission to help sculpt the future of game based learning experiences by providing a framework with which these structures can be created. One of the key aspects of effective game design that is mentioned in this review is that the game must give the player the ability to stir the passions of the player, create connections with other people, and have a real world connection.

Assessing the accuracy of the book in the review, including:

• What is the credibility of the author(s)’s credentials?

Shawna briefly mentions the credentials of the group of authors and game designers. She explains that they are a team from MIT and that they have a significant amount of relevant experience. There is not much of a dive into the background of each of the contributors or analysis of their potential financial ties that might create bias in the creation of this book. I do not think that this detracts from the review though. In order to participate in such a prestigious institution they must have some significantly impressive credentials.

Describing the purpose of the book and assessing how well the book accomplishes that purpose:

• How does the review assess the book’s predictions and/or implications, and how does the review assess recommendations as either feasible and/or desirable?

Shawna asserts that the authors of this book embrace some of the limitations for large scale implementation of these game design elements. She continues that the authors seem to be complicit in the fact that in most settings there is not a team of designers with the programming skills required to create some of these experiences. It seems like the content being put forth in this book further reinforces companies that provide these services. As with most things in our society, when there are new areas of growth, there are companies lining up to take advantage of the opportunity. This aspect slightly undermines the goals and messaging of the book.

Discussing the reviewers’ position on the problem, issue or trend:

• How does the reviewer assess the readability of the book, including aspects of tone, style, general accessibility, and other features of the book?

Shawna mentions that she really enjoyed reading this book and that she would definitely recommend it to her colleagues, designers, and educators in general. She stated that the book was a pretty easy read but that it would have benefited from more explanation of each game to better digest the key components and how they could be applied to the design of other games. Shawna credits this book with having some significantly relevant and helpful resources to help shape the future of game design to best foster the growth and development of the next generation of players.