What are your initial thoughts and concerns about game-based learning?

First off, let me say that I can't complete the reading because -- living in Canada -- I am still waiting for my textbooks to clear Customs and wend their way to my house. Unfortunately this has happened before, and the arrival is unpredictable at best. Doesn't matter how much in advance I order . . . it never seems to happen the same way twice. I've had at least two shipments never arrive, and never knew why.

So -- my initial thoughts and concerns about game-based learning. Thoughts first -- I can really see the applicability in my content area. In fact, this would have been really useful for Shakespeare last term, when we were doing Macbeth. I could see setting up a VR based in Scotland during the time of Macbeth, so that the students could take roles and see how the characters' lives were impacted by the political, social, and economic environments. I can also see its applicability and huge value in social studies -- for the same reasons. Much easier to "live" the life than to just read about it. Learning sticks with you when you can experience it. I need to learn more about how it all runs, though, before I could even begin to approach being able to design and implement my own "world".

My main concern with game-based learning, however, comes from my recent experiences in dealing with my current district's tech department, and the complications the lack of technology caused for my students. Our district does not support wi-fi, and the computers they have in the schools are for the most part slow and tired. Streaming video and gaming bogs down the system to the point of being cumbersome; in fact, bandwidth can be such an issue that even if you aren't gaming, sometimes all the students can't access a particular website if you have more than a set number of students in your class. I started a wiki for my students last term. Initially they had difficulty with it, because the browser in place at the school was outdated, and wouldn't allow all the functions of the chosen wiki site. I couldn't download and install the newer version of the browser myself (which would have taken a little time, but not much!) because all the computers are in "deep freeze" -- no one is allowed to download and store. I understand the reasoning behind this, but when your tech department takes months to respond to requests for technology, it can be a bit much. However, they did install the much-needed browser update during Christmas break, which did help. So my first concern in game-based learning is the technology, hardware, and software available in our school.

Secondly, certain sites are blocked at the district level, so I would have to gain clearance for use of game-based sites if they had been deemed unsuitable by the district tech department for whatever reason. Individual schools as well block certain sites -- Facebook, for example -- so there is a second level of clearance that needs to be addressed before I could institute game-based learning.

My final concern would be access to the technology outside of class time. If I were to require game-based learning and assign homework based participation in the game, it would create serious issues for some of our students. Not all of our students have home computer access; some that do still only have dial-up service, which is unable to cope with the demands of online gaming access. I ran into this problem with my wiki as well, as some of my students could only work on their wiki pages at school, due to home computer issues. And though I would love to be able to accomplish all of the computer-based learning during class time, the problem arises of limited computer access at the schools. Most of our high schools have at best one or two computer labs, and a handful of computers in the library; during certain terms and certain times of the year, the labs are virtually inaccessible, as there is competition among the teachers for lab time. Certain courses -- particularly those which are computer-based such as Info Tech -- take precedence over academic courses which don't necessarily "need" the computer.

So although I am intrigued by the concept of game-based learning, I am hesitant to commit to incorporating it in my instruction, because of the concerns I have over its viability in my current system.