Sure, there are a lot of reasons that a teacher will want to use digital games in their classrooms. Students are motivated, there is a shared base of experience to use for discussions, the program often keeps yummy statistics for you, etc. But we should also be aware that sometimes there are darker issues that we should think about.
Today I wish to blog about the way children celebrate. There seems to be a default, almost Pavlovian desire to celebrate when students have “won” something in a game. I should mention that this is not restricted to just digital gaming, I have noticed this come up when students are engaged in a programming task and they figure something out. Celebrations have quite a range, and here are some of the reoccurring celebrations, often at the completion of a level in a game. Not a particularly hard level, just the completion of any level.
1. Polite Golf Clap
Sometimes this is followed with a quiet, “Yay”, this celebration (most frequently done by girls) involves a quiet set of claps for about 5 seconds. Often there is a coy smile, a smile that says, “Ha, game designer. I got that one beat.”
2. Happy Feet Dancing
This celebration is similar to the Polite Golf Clap. The celebrator uses only their toes and rapidly touches them to the floor, in a quiet yet rhythmic pattern. This normally goes on for about 5 seconds.
3. “Yes” with a clenched fist punching.
Similar to what a professional sports player does when scoring a goal, this is a loud short celebration. Mildly disruptive.
4. The We Are the Champions Holding A Trophy Above Our Head
Miming holding a sports trophy, the player using this celebration raises their hands above their heads, nods and smiles while looking around the room. Sometimes this celebration will include actually standing up. Another similar celebration is the giant “Y” shape with arms raised above the head and gentle shaking of the hands.
5. Casual Coolness
This celebration involves the player’s hands coming off of the keyboard and the player stands up and simultaneously pushes their chair back. The player slowly raises their hands in the air, in a way that is reminiscent of stretching after a work out, the hands interlock above the head and are thrust upwards. Occasionally, the celebrator will let out a sigh or a low whistle.
6. Howling like a Wolf or Wounded Animal
It is amazing how disruptive a celebratory “yowl” or “howl” can be in a classroom. Tilting their head up at a 45 degree angle and holding on to their desk, these celebrators look like a wolf that is telling the world that they just caught their dinner.
7. The F-Bomb and Other Impolite Words
I am consistently amazed by how often playing video games in school results in swearing. This is often accompanied by one of the other physical celebrations. This is not just in my classroom, but when I have been working in several different schools. There are always a couple of cussers. And I have noticed this is not necessarily gender specific. Perhaps it is because it is a common video game celebration for the adults and older siblings? Sometimes, when the player has been engrossed, they seem to forget they are at school. Volume has been from the quiet whisper to the out bellowing of a cuss word. Every once in awhile a player will catch themselves half way through the word and realize where they are. Almost always, it is followed by embarrassment and sheepishness, as if they never realized they were doing it.
8. The Studio Audience
I have only witnessed this celebration once. I had been trying to convince some colleagues that their Grade 4 students would not only enjoy the game Crayon Physics on their new classroom Smartboards, but that they would learn something of the Science curriculum. Having tried the game themselves, they universally declared that the game was too hard for their kids. So I installed the software in the Kindergarten (4 and 5 year olds) classroom and used the program during center time.
At first, I just let them use the pen to draw on the first level of the program. All manner of shapes were drawn and then allowed to fall to the virtual ground. After four or five students had had their turn, a shy quiet boy went up. He drew his first shape, which accidentally dropped onto the blue ball, and unexpectedly made the blue ball roll into the yellow star. This is, in fact, the goal of each level in Crayon physics. The game made a tinkling noise, and the startled boy looked like he had broken something.
Almost as one, the entire class stopped what they were doing and looked at the screen. “It’s a game, Mr. Martin,” one little girl whispered in awe, “he got to the next level.” Then everyone in the class started clapping and smiling and dancing! The boy who had made this serendipitous discovery was a hero. Next, they all sat down watched the screen and waited for him to “do it again.” They offered helpful hints and applauded when he completed the next level. THIS WAS DURING FREE CENTER TIME . . . 100% of the students sitting and watching the Smartboard.
It took them a week (according to their Kindergarten teacher) to finish the demo levels to the game. They also never interacted with the game as just a “draw things and let them fall to the ground tool.” Once they knew it was a game, it changed how they interacted with the program.
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Have you seen other video game and programming celebrations in the classroom? And why is it that beating a level on a video game brings out a celebration that is larger and more spontaneous than going up a reading level on a diagnostic test?
Little Old Me and a Video Game 