Play and game are not only two fundamental concepts which allow us to be and to develop as human beings but also two components of education conceived of as a practice of teaching and learning. The importance of these concepts belonging both to human nature and culture has been stressed by many modern and contemporary philosophers and educationists (Schiller, Huizinga, etc.). In recent years, the Polish sociologist and philosopher Zygmunt Baumann, father of the so called liquid theory of society, has discussed about the role and function of play and game within postmodern society. Pedagogy as a theoretical and practical science of education highlights the importance of studying all the human games in order to identify those that can be better used as a means to promote education and its values in the context of recreation. This is a topic which sport pedagogy as a science of physical and leisure activity is also interested in. To be clear, this science is interested in studying sport as a recreational activity which always implies body actions, movement and play/game. For this reason, among the sciences dealing with the study of human games, the sport pedagogy point of view can be considered as one of the most privileged because able to explain what play and game really are and their meaning for the person and her/his education. The digital revolution we are experiencing in our everyday life has created new scenarios for developing new educational games and virtual ways to be engaged in sport. All these scenarios are constituent parts of a new digital era in which communication technologies give rise to new trends in education in which edutainment (a concept expressing both education and entertainment together) plays a fundamental role and function. For this reason, starting from this cultural analysis and using an hermeneutical methodological approach, our study will classify, first all, the different types of educational games showing their implications from a theoretical point of view. Secondly, it will stress the importance of sport pedagogy in studying the problems dealing with this research field. Our aim is to show that digital and virtual games are emerging as new tools to foster recreation and leisure and together with them also health, exercise and sport. We want to demonstrate that this type of games allow our pupils and children as digital natives to learn and to be educated in a true educational way: that is playing. In conclusion, because of their being wonderful tools to improve learning skills and promote educational values and sport in its different aspects, educational games have not to be considered with suspicion by educators and (physical education) teachers but a great opportunity to teach and learn. References Bauman Z. (1993). Postmodern ethics. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. Fernández-Balboa J.M. (2005). Physical education in the digital (postmodern) era. In A. Laker. (Ed.). The future of physical education. Building a new pedagogy. New York: Routledge. 137-152. Shields R. (2002). The virtual. New York: Routledge. Sutton-Smith B. (2001). The ambiguity of play . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Trifona P. (Ed.) (2011). Learning the virtual life. New York: Routledge. Zemliansky P., Wilcox D. (2012). Design and implementation of educational games: theoretical and practical perspectives. Hershey: PA: Information Science Reference-IGI Global.
Educational Games and recreation in contemporary society: the sport pedagogy point of view
Isidori E
2012-01-01
Abstract
Play and game are not only two fundamental concepts which allow us to be and to develop as human beings but also two components of education conceived of as a practice of teaching and learning. The importance of these concepts belonging both to human nature and culture has been stressed by many modern and contemporary philosophers and educationists (Schiller, Huizinga, etc.). In recent years, the Polish sociologist and philosopher Zygmunt Baumann, father of the so called liquid theory of society, has discussed about the role and function of play and game within postmodern society. Pedagogy as a theoretical and practical science of education highlights the importance of studying all the human games in order to identify those that can be better used as a means to promote education and its values in the context of recreation. This is a topic which sport pedagogy as a science of physical and leisure activity is also interested in. To be clear, this science is interested in studying sport as a recreational activity which always implies body actions, movement and play/game. For this reason, among the sciences dealing with the study of human games, the sport pedagogy point of view can be considered as one of the most privileged because able to explain what play and game really are and their meaning for the person and her/his education. The digital revolution we are experiencing in our everyday life has created new scenarios for developing new educational games and virtual ways to be engaged in sport. All these scenarios are constituent parts of a new digital era in which communication technologies give rise to new trends in education in which edutainment (a concept expressing both education and entertainment together) plays a fundamental role and function. For this reason, starting from this cultural analysis and using an hermeneutical methodological approach, our study will classify, first all, the different types of educational games showing their implications from a theoretical point of view. Secondly, it will stress the importance of sport pedagogy in studying the problems dealing with this research field. Our aim is to show that digital and virtual games are emerging as new tools to foster recreation and leisure and together with them also health, exercise and sport. We want to demonstrate that this type of games allow our pupils and children as digital natives to learn and to be educated in a true educational way: that is playing. In conclusion, because of their being wonderful tools to improve learning skills and promote educational values and sport in its different aspects, educational games have not to be considered with suspicion by educators and (physical education) teachers but a great opportunity to teach and learn. References Bauman Z. (1993). Postmodern ethics. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. Fernández-Balboa J.M. (2005). Physical education in the digital (postmodern) era. In A. Laker. (Ed.). The future of physical education. Building a new pedagogy. New York: Routledge. 137-152. Shields R. (2002). The virtual. New York: Routledge. Sutton-Smith B. (2001). The ambiguity of play . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Trifona P. (Ed.) (2011). Learning the virtual life. New York: Routledge. Zemliansky P., Wilcox D. (2012). Design and implementation of educational games: theoretical and practical perspectives. Hershey: PA: Information Science Reference-IGI Global.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
