Education and Gaming

The digital world of gaming unarguably has great potential to as a developmental tool for young people on many different levels. We already established yesterday that if the appropriate type of game is used the social and team building components of a game combined with a system that rewards ethical behavior can be a very valuable tool in developing a stronger, more ethical character. Today's readings assert that with a few tweaks, games with sound moral content, such as WoW, may be used to help effectively teach students, who are living in a digitally--immersed world, a variety of invaluable subjects.


Students may study the expected schoolroom subjects, such as math, as well as social studies, science, and may even obtain valuable computer and digital social skills, which is vital for success in this day and age. As the readings mentioned, just as is usually the case, this emerging teaching tool is just that: a tool. It is not intended to replace a parent or teacher's guidance, and should be done as a parent or teacher/ student activity together. There is no teaching tool that could possibly match the human contact and attention that children require, and the student has much less of a chance to learn to their full potential without these things.

I happen to have to pre--teen sons who have been playing versions of RPG games-- not online until recently-- since they were four and five years old. When my son David started to play Age of Mythology he obviously did not understand certain aspects of the game, but with my help, he played the game for hours. (He still does on occasion.) As the years wore on, and he continued to play, his knowledge and appreciation of the game became more sophisticated, and he fully understands this game along with others such as Age of Empires. This particular pastime sparked an interest in history that spread to science and even math, and both of my children having reading levels that exceed many high school children and can tell me stories about Attila the Hun's battle techniques. It would seem that their gaming activity has had a very positive effect on their learning experience, and if used properly, gaming applications could become very useful in the classroom.

Games and Learning

I think that having online gaming, in school for maybe once a week or something wouldn't be a bad idea. It does help in ways, but I don't think it should be an every day thing, or that it should be done for long periods of time during the school day. I still think that other things should be done other than them playing a game to learn. It does help with hand eye coordination, learning how to help others, and you also learn how to complete things. Even though parts of the game maybe hard, you don't give up and you have people to help you. It shows you how to help and support one another. It would be benifitial in ways, but I don't think it should be a childs whole school day.

Learning Games

I think that using online learning games is very useful for kids. I think that it takes something a child may like (video games) and can help them learn new skills such as problem solving or reading. I think that games that help with counting or math are also beneficial. I see online games as learning tools being most effective for pre-school and elementary school children as opposed to high school students, but I'm sure that a game could be designed to encourage education in teens as well. I just see how beneficial games are for teaching younger children.

I learned how to type through playing games. It helped me to be able to practice the skill. I also learned how to do math problems because the game made it more fun and was a great teaching tool. I think that as technology progresses that incorporating it into teaching and learning will help students to keep up with other kids and also be a fun interactive way of learning. I find that for some kids its useful to actually do it and not just take notes in class.

Ethical Consideration in the Online World

Based upon what I have read in the article as well as from my own experience with some online games as well as the use of forums, I would say that I believe online games do create ethical communities. There seems to be two apparent factors behind this. One factor, which was mentioned in the article, would be rules that are in place. The second factor is based on personal observation of online interaction between people.

Whether it be an online game or a forum, most reputable online communication has some sort of monitoring or filtration. As for online gaming, as noted in the article, players of WoW must communicate with respect to fellow players. If this rule is abused, the person is banned from the game. Furthermore, the same thing applies to those who use forums. Posters are allowed to express their opinion and make jokes, but only to an extent. Use of cursing is blocked, and the repetition of insults or disrespect for other posters generally leads to the person being banned.

In addition to this, what I have noticed personally is that, for the most part, is that online communication does well to promote community spirit and the sharing of knowledge. Most forms of identity, such as gender, race, name, educational background, and location are able to be private. Because of this, some people feel more comfortable sharing their ideas and advice. Individuals present themselves mainly through their writing, leaving little room for distraction of other details. Also, by nature, people like to be recognized and respected for what they're good at.
Therefore, when the online gamer helps a "newbie", or a retired auto mechanic helps a young gearhead get his or her car started on a forum, they can sign out feeling good about themselves for both their knowledge and for helping someone out.

Gaming and School

This might not seem to address the subject at hand, but......

when I was around 6 years old, my parents bought me a Sega PICO system, which is like a pre-cursor to the Leapfrog system. To me, it was the greatest toy ever; my parents set it up in the living room, and I was allowed to play 1-2 hours a day. Like today's playstations or XBoxes (the playstations were popular then too, but not age appropriate in my parent's opinion) the console plugged into the television, and educational games could be played. I remember that my favorite ones were based on the Disney characters. The object of the games were to teach preliminary skills like reading comprehension, spelling, math, colors, shapes, and other school-type lessons through the use of games and animated characters. Now the Leapfrog system has replaced the system and is a big hit with parents.

So I do believe that games could be used to teach children....but the game played also has something to do with it. Games that are just mindlessly violent (like fight games) seem pointless to me, but some could argue that they teach skills like strategy. One thread that seems to run though most video games, though, is cultivating the skill of persistence. Like solving a difficult math problem, successfully playing a video game requires persistance; obviously, it isn't so easy to get to that next level if you don't keep trying! So if anything, games can teach the importance of continuously persisting in not only the game, but in school and life.

Games/School

I'm not real sure that online games should be in the school curriculum for everyday, but maybe monthly or even bi weekly. I know that children today need to be motivated to do their best in school,but I guess I'm old school and feel that having them play games is almost like letting them eat desert before their dinner. I have read that it's good for coordination, problem solving,etc, so I know it has it's good points but not in everyday school hours. I know about motivation, my son Collin is thirteen and loves to carp fish,but hasn't cared for social studies until his social teacher motivated him by telling him to keep his grades above a ninety and he'll go fishing with him this summer,so far so good. I don't think I would have approved if the motivator was to play games during school?

Day 3 Game Journal

I had little information about the game before I began playing the game. All I figured that the game was about was war in some sort from the name and what some of the characters looked like from the commercials. Some of the primary tasks for the game is to select a realm, explore the lands, running around and fighting all sorts of monsters, completing missions or quests, or to interact and talk with the computer and other players all in a third person setting. I spend most of my time running around trying to kill random monsters that are walking around the level. The tasks that the game gives you arent that tough so far and they actually make me engage more in the game instead of just running around just looking for things. I have only done maybe two task and it was by myself and not against any other players. My personality has nothing to do with the way I play or approach the game.

gaming school

I think that games should be a part of school. They interact with students and give them a task in which to accomplish. Sure not every game is great but it does get kids attention. I came froma small school where we ahd to share books sometimes. And the old way of riting on the chalkboard needs to be weeded out! Kids do not pay attention! Why should they when their phone does more to engage them than there teachers are that are paid tax dollars do. Gaming helps with hand eye coordination, thinking skills and it can be on a personal level instead of having kids competing. There can also be self esteem issues. School games can promote self esteem because the kids are more interested so they are more engaged and want to succeed. I find it to be a positive experence and think that as the funding becomes available it should be more widely used.

Day two Game Journal

The geographical world for World of Warcraft is huge. It might be the biggest world that I have played on for an online game. I didn't know where I was going half of the time I would just be running around the map trying to kill these birds or these prairie dogs and usually got killed by the dogs. I'm not sure where the map represents but it looks realistic with hills, trees, and mountains. The tone/mood for the game is pretty violent but the game is pretty cool. I am thinking about maybe buying the game just to explore and do things that I am sure you cant do in the free trial version. The music in the game represents action. It is like suspense music in movies. Yes the music enhances the game because it draws you into the game and makes you think about what is going to happen next in the game. You can interact with the game world a lot but I haven't really interacted with other people yet but I see that there is a message bar and a chat bar that maybe allows you to interact with other players. I definately don't feel at home in this game world because I never really play games like this ever so I feel kind of an outsider and it is alright because it still hasn't effected my experience so far with the game.

The Hero's Journey

Joseph Campbell popularized the subject of mythology with the PBS series The Power of Myth. The video you watched was the first in the series of films which explored mythology and it's meaning on our lives today. The Hero's Journey or the Monomyth is the form that Campbell came up with to explain hero stories from cultures worldwide.

If you take my course in Mythology we spend at least a month on hero stories because, whether we realize it or not they occupy an enormous part of our imagination and our literary culture. From the ancient Greeks to modern Hollywood films, the monomyth gives us a way of connecting the mundane to the spiritual.

Essentially the hero cycle is about passing into a new realm of experience in order to discover more about yourself an your world and then returning to your normal life with this new found experience/knowledge/gift to put it to use.

Modern video games really make use of this model to a great extent, complete with spiritual advisers and all. In fact the premise of many online games follows exactly the cycle given us by Campbell.

Usually thee is a bad guy who changes the balance of the world from creativity and productivity to desolation and sterility. Inmost games the player figures as the hero with humble origins who must leave his/her home full of comfort to travel into the unknown in order to restore he balance of powers to the world/town/universe.

My hope is that in contemplating Campbell's ideas regarding the monomyth that you may connect the mundane world of gaming to that of the spiritual adventure. While i won't assert that gaming is good for your soul, it can be a cathartic experience helping us to relieve tension, relax and channel our daily frustration in a positive way through engaging in quest.

All of us need to put ourselves in uncomfortable situations in order to discover things about our selves. For some of you the past few days may have amounted to as much as you introduced your selves to the world of online gaming. Part of this course, since it is humanities, is learning about yourself to some degree. While most of our reading and assignments deal with things outside of ourselves it is important to track our own reactions to our experiences as well. I hope this course helps you learn something about your self even if it is that you don't like online games. At least you can make a decision based on experience and sound reasoning instead of prejudice and ignorance. (not implying that you are either of those)

With that i give you Fridays reading assignment: Anthropologist Digs into WOW
and

Fear and Humiliation as Teaching Methods

Skool Daze

When i was a kid i never saw the point in doing my homework. I was too busy running around with my friends to spend any time as boring as math. While i did read quite a lot in my free time, school was completely separated from the world i knew and lived in. I got on the bus every morning and was transported to a world of boredom, and when i hit puberty awkwardness. Much of modern educational theory focuses on engaging students in activities that challenge their minds but engage their interest. You can't make in education, outside of Florida or Texas, without really working to be creative about student learning.

Personally i had never thought of video games as potential tools for learning but when presented with the information in the article we read for today in addition to some of the lesson plans from the WOWinSchool website i must concede that it shows promise.

Comedians know that a good joke depends on the context in which it is told. The situation is everything. Writers also know that what is appropriate for one audience will not be appropriate for another. Clearly video games have contextual value to teach and entertain depending on the context in which they are presented and used.

Any good lesson includes specific objectives. Take a look at the math lesson objectives and you find standards and objectives with a clear purpose. DPS is a common statistic that people use as part of almost any online game environment to compare the value of different weapons or items. The question of how DPS is calculated will eventually occur to anyone who plays these games long enough. A good lesson will satisfy that curiosity.

How much should you use these tools? It is clear that these tools cannot be overused. I can see this as a laboratory type activity that might run once a week over the entire school year.

Inevitably the questions of violence comes up in any discussion of video games and it may be made more poignant by their use in a classroom setting. Research shows that young kids and teenagers can differentiate between real and imagined violence and that playing games that include fighting does not lead to further violence. While this question continues to rage around the subject, it has a history of being used as a political tool to incite voter rage in rampant censorship of media which threatens our ability to make informed decisions.

While the censorship debate is a topic for another day it is a part of the bigger issue regarding stereotypes of game players and the culture which is slowly being debunked.

For tomorrow please review the video on the front page regarding the Hero's Journey and we'll discuss it in tomorrows forum post.