Video TranscriptNow that you have made your way through the presentation content, let’s revisit the challenge I posed to you in the introduction video. What do Vygotsky's Theories have to do with video games?
As you played Super Mario Run you may have noticed that Nintendo provides a tutorial at the start of the game that slowly introduces new skills that you will need to be successful in the mushroom kingdom. Nintendo is using scaffolding. The tutorial is very structured and provides a lot of scaffolding. Once you finish the tutorial, Nintendo removes some of this scaffolding. You have more freedom to choose how you will run through the levels. When scaffolding is removed this is called fading (Obikwelu, et al., 2013). If you were to keep playing the game you might notice something else. The first level is very easy and the levels slowly increase with difficulty. The intention is to keep the player in their zone of proximal development. As an educator this is an important consideration. If you recall the page on scaffolding, Mariani (1997) discussed the importance of finding the right balance between challenge and support. For advanced running game players the first level is very easy to complete so Nintendo added sets of coins that players can collect to increase the challenge within that easy first level. Obikwelu et al (2013) stress the importance of strong scaffolding mechanisms to both guide and stimulate the learner in serious games. Serious games are games that are not primarily for entertainment and are used in various industries. Why should educators care about video games and Vygotsky? Let’s take a step back from specific games and think about the medium as a whole. Video games are everywhere. Home consoles have sold millions of units and infiltrated popular culture. The ubiquity of smartphones means many of us are walking around with video games in our pockets. Ritterfeld, et al. (2013) extends Vygotsky’s ideas about the use of cultural tools to develop higher mental functions to video games. Video games are tools provided by our culture that can influence our thinking and learning . Video games have become cultural artefacts and these tools can be used to develop skills. On this webpage there is a link to Padlet board. Please click on it and participate in a discussion about Vygotsky, video games, and what this all means to us as educators. |
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