Come on Baby, Light My Fire: Lessons From Guitar Hero

Like most Americans who have any contact with videogames, I have played Guitar Hero, badly.  And not too long ago, after an evening out with some of my teacher friends, I was invited back to their house to play Halo.  I did that badly, too.  I think I just don't have enough hatred brewing in my blood to want to kill animated little warriors on a TV screen.  But as I sat there watching my friends communicate with people from all over the world while teaming up to decimate both man and machine, I began to think that there was quite a bit we could learn from videogames that are relevant and applicable to our classrooms. 

Like my friends, the teenagers I teach love videogames.  Bring up any current videogame, and they are qualified to offer an opinion on its virtues and vices.  As a teacher, I have long thought videogames have little to offer me in regard to my teaching.  But that night with my friends, I began to think about what was happening they played their electronic game.  There were a number of valuable skills that were being developed in the course of play and I believe, granted wtih a little creativity, we can utilize the skills required for successful videogame play into our classrooms.  Here's a list of videogame skills that I think teachers might think about incorporating into their classrooms:

1.  Videogames require varied skills.  You cannot be successful in any videogame without mastering a number of different skills.  The ability to climb imaginary mountains, annihilate the enemy, and communicate with someome living in Scotland are all required for Halo.  This is something we should think about when we are teaching. Do the activities that we require of our students demand varied skills?  As teachers of language arts, do most assignments challenge our students to communicate with others, pre-write, revise and edit?  Is a task completed with one simple skill?  If so, we might take a hint from our videogame counterparts and think about how we can integrate various skills into many of our lessons.

2. Videogames require repetition until a skill is mastered.  How many times have you given an assignment, waited for the student to complete it, collected it, graded it, handed it back, and then moved on to the next assignment?  Task done, you think, let's move on.   We all know that some of our students are completely capable of mastering a task the first time.  But like most videogames, many of our assignments require some students to try it multiple times.  And that's not a bad thing.  Slow down, provide advanced practice for those who finish a task after one shot at it, and allow those who need more practice the opportunity to repeat their efforts until they have mastered the task.

3.  Videogames involve music, visual stimulation, and, sometimes, kinesthetic ability (think Wii).  Utilizing differentiated instruction well and allowing students to learn in a variety of ways takes a great amount of work.  But, if done correctly, the effort will yield a great payoff.  There is a reason kids enjoy videogames and you would be wise to question what makes it enjoyable.  Can you integrate music into your lesson?  What about movement?  Is there a video clip you can show to reinforce the concept you are teaching?  Be creative, have fun, and challenge yourself to go far beyond paper and pencil!

There are myriad elements of videogames that can be applied to our classrooms.  Think about the competition involved, and the scaffolding of skills and knowledge necessary to master level after level of a game.  The feeling of accomplishment a child has when doing well might also be taken into consideration.  It would sadden me to believe that someday children will learn all they need to know through educational videogames.  I will always cherish the value of relationships--both between teacher and child and child and peer.  I am hopeful that what we as teachers have to offer will always trump a joystick and large screen TV.  But videogames are not an educator's nemesis, either.  With a little creative and a willing spirit, we can learn much from videogames.  It just might be fun to see how we can incorporate that newfound knowledge into our classrooms!