"We're witnessing what amounts to no less than a mass exodus to virtual worlds and online game environments." -Edward Castronova
Yikes. I had a really hard time with the TED talk assigned for Friday's class. Although I appreciate Jane McGonigal's enthusiasm and her desire to use gaming skills to solve real-life problems, I really can't accept that what we need in the world is more gaming. I keep thinking about the picture she showed of the boy with the "epic win" face. According to McGonigal, that face represented the kind of deep concentration and optimism we should all aspire to. All I saw, though, was a pale teenaged boy sitting by himself in the dark, the picture of loneliness. I think there's a real danger in advocating that we devote more of our time to playing video games. Although technology does offer us novel ways to connect to other people, I think we're fundamentally more isolated than ever before. I have these horrible visions of a dystopian future in which everyone just "plugs in" and lives an entirely virtual life. The more realistic video games become, the more I worry that it would be all too easy to slip into a future like that.
So the TED talk got me pretty anxious. I started breathing normally again, though, toward the end of the video, when McGonigal explained that while the increase in gaming was "rational for now," the ultimate goal was to take what we've learned from gaming and use it to enrich the real world. (I also dug the Herodotus story.) I can understand the point that was made in the TED talk, as well as in the Gee article, that we can learn something from games in terms of how to create stimulating learning environments. I liked Gee's phrase "pleasantly frustrating"- this relates to what we've been learning in our 606 class about the "zone of proximal development," where learning is challenging but not impossible. When we tackle a problem in that "sweet spot" of difficulty, we really enjoy it, and it doesn't feel like drudgery. I think that is a great thing to keep in mind as we prepare to become teachers.
I'd like to hear our professors' take on the relationship between video games and learning, and I'm hoping to learn more about the online portfolios discussed in the Niguidula article. I'm interested to see what kind of discussion arises in Friday's class- it should be a good one.
I think you make a great point in your worry that the future with just "plug in." I too wonder how technology will influence the classroom. Will students want to even have discussion in class or will they prefer everything to be online? I think there is a lot to say about being present in a classroom--that is, no technology and a lot of interaction with others. How do we keep this interaction at the center of our class but also incorporate technology? I too would like to learn more about how gaming--and technology can be aspects of the classroom but not consume everything.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree- I'd like to figure out a way to strike a balance, to incorporate technology without sacrificing real-life social interaction. I'm encouraged by the attitude our 504 profs take with regard to technology- we keep hearing things like, "if technology won't make a learning activity better, don't use it." I get the feeling they are pretty savvy about when to use technology and when to leave it out, and I'm looking forward to learning more about that.
DeleteMs. K,
ReplyDeleteI also like the idea of "pleasantly frustrating" learning problems. The advantage of a video game with different levels is that it will allow you to change the amount of difficulty you encounter until you're "just right". The Willingham reading speaks to this, right? Students don't like thinking as much as they like challenges. I think this is definitely a lesson we can bring with us into the classroom as we try to engage students by giving them low-risk, high-reward assignments that are challenging but don't require too much thinking.
Yeah, I thought of the Willingham reading too. I'm kind of daunted by the prospect of attempting to teach in a way that corresponds to every student's optimal level of challenge. Video games might actually be a really effective way to address that, because like you said, they adjust to your current level of ability.
DeleteI think that while the idea of us sitting in our rooms alone plugging into society is indeed scary, technology has brought us closer in a lot of ways. For example,texting and the cellular phone has been very important to keeping in touch with my family who are in a different state. Things like skype and facebook have also aided me in communicating with my loved ones who are not close enough to visit. I agree that it could lead to anti-social behavior, but as society changes, so does communication. I have actually met a lot of friends an dbeen able to do more in the real world because of the digital one. I can organize study groups, figure out assignments and plan outings with friends in a quick and less intrusive on my other activities. As far as problem solving in video games goes, they do provide logic puzzles in many of the most popular video games, which are popular because people like the challenge, which can inspire logic that can transcend to the real world. I agree we need to be careful, but technology can be very useful.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with you, Colleen, with regards to the exact sort of isolated futures we hope to avoid. Certainly, technology has brought us closer together than ever before, but in doing so there's also been the formulation of a subtle...detached tinge to our every day lives. I can't count how many people I know who are 100x more interesting on their Twitter or Facebook than they are in real life. That's not the sort of learner we want to encourage when teaching with technology in the classroom. Usage of technology in the classroom should encourage students to work more closely together so as to avoid the dystopian scenarios you predicted - do you have any ideas to go about the best way of expressing this?
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