The Role of Games

“James Paul Gee on Learning with Video Games” is the podcast I will be looking at now. Video games are often controversial in general and definitely in education. Gee is a major advocated of video games in the classroom.

Gee explains that today’s video games are much more than just the game. Games have become a social phenomenon. Role-playing games have become increasingly popular, which are played with other people.  The main example he uses is World of Warcraft. In this game players make groups of 5 where they all specialize differently, yet must maintain a big picture view to do well. This has obvious overlap with the modern successful business strategy.

It is really interesting to me, a non-gamer to the core, that video games can integrate skills that would be really useful in the real world. When seen from this perspective, teachers can use the games that students play for fun to help the student understand content collaboration and business strategy.

Another example Gee gives is the game of Portal. In Portal players make orange and blue “portals” where they enter one and come out the other to get to different places to complete missions. However, the game follows the laws of physics. This game could be a fantastic way for a physics teacher to pull in the students’ interests to help them understand the material. Playing the game would likely be an advantage to better understand concepts taught in class.

Gee offers many other examples. However, the main takeaway for me is that as teachers we need to be intentional about understanding the culture and interests of our students. It is their interests that give them experiences. A person’s experiences is what helps them to learn, really learn.  We need to give students the opportunity to really use the knowledge that they are being taught in the classroom. While at the same time realizing the depth of their current hobbies and relate that knowledge to their academics as well. This is a distinct two-way street.