Good Video Games and Good Learning by James Paul Gee
How interesting. This guy
just broke apart what makes a video game good into sections and described why
they were good and what they had to do with learning. He was pretty organized
in doing so, numbering his principles good games incorporate. For this reading,
I would take notes in the margin. Once I got about half way through, I realized
I was summarizing each paragraph with a concept we learned in a MAC class.
Scaffolding, praising effort, individualization, the importance of practice and
mastery, literacy, social and personal dynamics are all notes I wrote down in
the margins relating to each one of his principles. Those relations all came
from a videogame. I’m always happy to read something good about what most
people perceive to be bad (for something I think to be neutral or that should be
used in modesty). It reminded me of an article I read a couple of years ago
about his son and video games. (It's a good read, a short one, I recommend it My Four-Year-Old Son Plays GTA). So what
is it about some things that make us jump to conclusions? I like this little
read, made me open my mind just a little bit more. What other possibilities are
out there?
TED
Talk – Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world
I’ve heard of the 10,000 hour theory of success,
and I think it was related to The Beatles, why they were so good, but I never
thought of actually applying it to anything. I think Jane is brilliant for
using this theory to something that already exists, just shift it in a
different direction. I don’t know if it will work, but I think it’s worth the
attempt. I think she has a newer TED talk, she got into an accident and damaged
her brain and she invented a video game to cope with the pain, and more or less
healed herself. I guess there are studies into that. Don’t quote me on that… I might
be mistaken. Either way, I have mad respect for her.
Digital Portfolios and Curriculum Maps
I read this last, and honestly, it was tough to
get through. The ideas were drawn out and it was in your typical textbook like
organization. However, the information was pretty good. I like the ideas of
portfolios, especially for the reason for the student to invest in something
that they can be proud of. Let’s face it, how many times did we not put the
extra effort in because we’ll just turn it in and that’s that? At the same
time, I felt a little overwhelmed. Teaching is so hard as it is, and so time
consuming. There is never enough hours in a day, or days in a school year to do
everything you want to do or the curriculum wants you to do, and classes are
getting bigger and the staff is getting smaller, and there’s all these other
ideas out there too that you can incorporate in your classroom. A lot of them are
good ideas, but really? Does anyone consider time when they come up with these
fabulous ideas? Maybe I’m overwhelmed in general and can’t look at this quite objectively;
maybe it’s not so bad time wise. I guess it’s one of those things that I’ll
place in my toolbox and save for later. We’ll see...
Shaza, I just need to say that your last paragraph is hitting so much about what I feel right now. I read part of the digital portfolio/curriculum map article and I just had to stop to try to reorganize my thoughts. It was overwhelming because this (and by this, I mean the collective "this" of all elements of this program) is overwhelming. What I want to do at times is so different from what the state curriculum says I have to do, which means that I automatically lose. It's frustrating. And the time factor just seems to get lost. Things take time. We only have X amount of time a day with our students and Y hours of time to ourselves to make something amazing. How do we get that amazing when all the hours and time have been used up?
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those things that makes me feel very, very small and just whisper that it's sorta kinda really hard.
Abby, I'm glad you can relate. But just remember, even if we are small, we can still make a difference. I couldn't but help chuckle at your "sorta kinda really". I know the feeling.
DeleteShaza, I am so glad you pointed out Jane's other TED talk. I hadn't seen it before, and her top five regrets of the dying are wonderful. A few years ago, when my son was in 8th grade, he and I started playing WoW together. I wanted to be online with him, be able to talk to him about appropriate conversation, who to interact with and who to avoid. We helped each other, explored together, and in this virtual world, he was always better than me. As he matured, I started nudging him to do more homework, and eventually, we stopped playing games, and we spent many evening hours working on math and later physics. Now, most parents are unlikely to help their high schooler with math or physics. Or history. Or Spanish. But how cool would it be if there was a game that parents could play with their kids where they learn together?
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking the TED talk! That is the one I'm talking about, and watching it again, I was off about what I had remembered, but it was still a good message. I REALLY like your idea of parents helping students as well. Further collaboration. I like the way you think Pete. Thank you for sharing your story about you and your son with me.
DeleteShaza and Pete: What great thoughts and ideas. Shaza, I too love seeing video games being addressed from a positive perspective! They can be valuable tools... just how Pete used them! What an amazing idea to actually play with your son, relate to him on that level and use the collaborative aspect of WOW in order to make your relationship stronger. It's very much like what Gee and Jane spoke about, how in video games you automatically are trusted in those games to accomplish an objective, or how you trust others to work with you to solve a problem. And it really shows how that aspect of the game is successful because it helped Pete and his son build a better relationship. I really like Shaza's comment, about creating a video game specifically for parents and their children. And in that sense, what if there was a game made specifically for teachers, parents, and students? One where everyone worked together? (It's aspirational right? But plausible)
DeleteAmen on feeling overwhelmed by all the information! I've felt the same way you did multiple times this sememster "That's really good information, and I'll put it in the back of my memory to use later cause I just don't have time to think about it now" I definately felt that way about the didgital portfolios paper, nice way to sum it up. You stated that when you were taking notes on James Gee's piece you were using classroom topics, this is something I explored in my blog too, and I'm wondering what you're thinking about it. What came first? Did these ideas get origionated for teaching in classrooms then integrated in video games or vice-versa? And once you consider the similarities between Gee's paper and the information we've already learned, what about Gee's article is helpful information and what is not? I'm really hoping you respond to this because I have a gamers opinions about this and I'd love to hear a non-gamers.
ReplyDeleteAsk and you shall receive! To answer your question about my notes:
Delete#2 - interaction: I noted feedback, #3 - production --> engaging, #4 - risk taking --> creating a safe environment, #5--> individualized. #7--> scaffolding, #8--> practice, I've also used the terms language, ZPD, critical thinking for #10, 11, 12, respectively. I could go on... but I think you get the idea. I'm sure you had some of the same stuff I had too.
As for the rest of your questions... I don't really have any data, studies, or history to back any of it up, but I can tell you my opinion. I don't know which came first, but I think they are deeply intertwined. I think they may have developed separately but used each other, kind of like feeding off each other. Gee's article is helpful in that he brings a whole new light for for games as a learning too, especially for non-gamers. I feel like we could expand our thoughts of games in the classroom and use other games, or even develop our own. As I recall, he does say these are the good games, the ones that are thought out. So there are still games that are not really useful. What I took away from Gee is that although we already know all these things one by one, we can incorporate all of it into one big game. Sure, we're already taught to scaffold for the student, but this puts in a bigger perspective and it can become a game for the teachers too. I think the part we tend to miss in the classroom is that it needs to be rewarding for the student too (other than the grade). What didn't work for me in his article is just how to go about that. It's the easier said than done thing. Sure it's a graet idea, but how are we going to do it in a way that works? I wish he would have elaborated on that. I assume that it would still be a game, but a different type of game. I think I'm starting to confuse myslef, but I would love to discuss this with you if you're still curious at all. And I'd love to hear your point of view as a gamer (I never got past Duck Hunt and Tetris).
Exactly! My curriculum maps are in my resource folder with the WAC activities from 402. It is a good resource to know about but not to use right away- I dont need another Taxonomy!
ReplyDeleteYes, the possibilities are endless! I plan to use video games some way!