Gaming and Coding in Education

Hello everyone,

In this class we talked about different games and coding activities that can engage kids in learning in a hands on way.

We did some vibe coding with Elsa and Anna, and this was a good activity to see the potential of vibe coding. I could forsee it being used in a high school science classroom, where students try to summarize a scientific concept, and create a game that involves the components of the concept. For example, kids could try to vibe code a game that involves how DNA gets transcribed to RNA, which gets translated to protein. It is important to note that I feel this would be a supplementary lesson, not the main method of teaching. I feel that if kids were to receive this knowledge through direct instruction and specific activities, they could design a game after this learning happens, rather than being a replacement for the learning itself. Otherwise, kids might feel a bit lost in this activity, especially for a complex topic.

Gaming in education is an interesting thing to reflect on. I think the concept of digital games in the classroom is interesting, because I believe that as educators we should not be giving kids more screentime. So for digital games, and online assignments in general, I would keep to a minimum. However, I do think there is a place for in-person physical games.

In my subject area of science, there is a lot of terminology and processes that students need to memorize and be able to explain. Physical games could involve students listing all the terms they learned last class, and then getting points for how many terms they remember. It could also involve Jeopardy, for a fun review session before a test.

Overall, I think games are helpful for keeping kids engaged and mixing things up in the class. As long as games are used in a supplementary sense, rather than a replacement for learning, I believe they are a positive addition to the classroom.

Are there any games (digital or otherwise) that you would use in a science classroom? If so, let me know in the comments!

Cheers,

Rylie