How will I use Video Games in my Future Teaching Practice?

After many hours of reading, looking at data and gathering my thoughts, I now believe that I have enough knowledge to consider using video games in my teaching practice. Video games are motivational, engaging, support cognitive development, ICT development and higher order thinking skills. Lenhart (Teens, Mobile & Games) discovered that in the USA, 97% of children aged 12-17 play computer games and in the UK, 78% aged 16-19 play computer games. Computer games are now as much a part of the media culture young people are growing up in, as television, film and music.
The Games and Learning Educators Report argue that there are four big ideas around games based learning that prepare young people to be successful workers and citizens in the 21st century. They believe games are a 'persuasive medium' with the capacity to influence players thoughts and actions, they offer ideal environments for practicing skills, they are an important format for consideration in media literacy studies and they support the construction of knowledge.
This all sounds pretty good, but I know that there will be barriers that lie ahead. From cost, lack of teacher knowledge, licensing agreements, young people not seeing the connection between gaming and learning to more ethical issues, such as violence, gender representations and social isolation.
This is why I spent some time becoming familiar with the Film, Television and New Media - Senior Syllabus (QSA). As I work in a primary school, I will have to adjust these ideas to suit my context. The focus is on five key concepts that are used to study moving image products (in my case video games) and there contexts of production (Nintendo) and use (to influence children). For student's to design, produce and critique their own and others' products, these concepts apply. The five key concepts are: languages, representations, technologies, audiences and institutions. When applied to games based learning, they encompass both game study and critical literacy.
After studying each concept (with some help from Michael's notes), I came up with some ideas as to how I could incorporate them into my teaching and learning.

1. Languages - Design a game using narrative and symbolic codes used by familiar video games taking into account the features of the game and the ways in which they communicate with players.
2. Representations - Choose three different games and identify the different roles males and females play. How are they represented (appearance, emotions, ideas)? Misrepresented? What sorts of social and cultural assumptions underlie these portrayals?
3. Technologies - Evaluate the effectiveness of two different game consoles (eg Wii and Xbox). How will people access and play them? Which one is what the market wants and why?
4. Audiences - Design a game for two different audiences (eg mainstream and alternative). What is the relationship between the game and the players? Who has the power? How are you going to sell your product? What strategy will you use to target your audience (eg merchandising, product placement)?
5. Institutions - Investigate how the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) regulate the content for games. Which companies dominate the production of video game consoles? Why or why not? 

Another great resource I found is the Games in Learning (EQ) project through Education Queensland's The Learning Place. The project recognises that games hold an important part in learning by engaging audiences, challenging imaginations, developing life skills, actively engaging student's in the learning process and developing social skills as student's become involved in the teaching of others. The project focuses on four areas - game study, game making, game play and game innovation.

To date, one of the most successful programs that has come out of the project is, Integrating Xbox into a Critical Literacy Unit, taken on by Kurwongbah State School in June 2006, incorporating platform games into learning through investigating and evaluating Xbox games. A program I would like to consider taking on myself at school in the near future.

Similar, in some ways, to the five concepts model, the Games in Learning project teaches student's how to think critically about games without becoming disengaged. To do this, as Michael Dezuanni has also mentioned, 'para-textual' practices are used. These involve online chats, 'walk-throughs', forum discussions, blogging, games mashups and more. In addition, through game making, student's experiment with modding, machinima, game design, making 2D games and some aspects of 3D games. They gain higher order thinking skills such as problem solving, teamwork, communication, technical skills, engage with ethical issues and have an opportunity to expand their creative and artistic abilities. 

Although problems may arise, like hype around a product, poor teaching pedagogy, lack of teacher confidence and time, accessibility and budget constraints, I am now willing to take on this challenge and believe that I can start to offer student's an avenue to 21st century learning.