Introducing Play into Education

The capacity to experiment with the surroundings as a form of problem solving is a new media skill that has emerged since the development of the Internet, under the term of PLAY (Jenkins, Purushotma, Weigel & Clinton, 2006, p. 36). I believe this new media literacy is imperative to start at a young age as it stimulates a young mind’s imagination and stimulates problem solving. It is a new way of learning that has been developed since the creation of technology, and utilizes technology to its fullest potential. Personally, I remember using different programs on the computer in my younger years of elementary school that simply seemed like games to me, but in actuality they were games involving math and other learning activities.

There is an innumerable amount of examples where technology is used in education to further an individual’s knowledge. Whether it be a specific game particularly designed as an educational tool or using social media as a game by simply collecting as many “likes” or “retweets” on a tweet posted. Some of this playing may involve hard work, but at the end of the day, individuals playing these games consider them to be fun unlike schoolwork (Jenkins et al., 2006, p. 37).  

One game I will always remember playing in computer lab in grade 1 and 2 is called “Math Circus”. This game provided me and many others with hours of fun while teaching me how to do simple math. This game may be slightly outdated but there are newer games that provide the same education, for example “Leap Frog Math Circus”. Here are several pictures illustrating different fun games that could be played to further education.

A more updated idea of playing in the classroom at the University level could be seen when using TopHat. This is a interactive teaching platform that helps professors create an interactive lecture experience (Buckler, 2013).  This quizzing platform allows professors to quiz the students and can create a competitive atmosphere to see who can get the most answers correct. 

Play is an essential part of learning and is a new media skill that everyone should pay attention to.

References

Buckler, G. (2013, June 4^th). Toronto start-up top hat’s software boosts student participation. Retrieved from http://www.itbusiness.ca/news/toronto-startup-top-hats-software-boosts-student-participation/35618

Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Weigel, M., & Clinton, K. (2006). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21^st century. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.