When reading the articles about obesity, violence and aggression, I definitely felt like I believed video game use does influence all three of them. As obesity becomes more and more of an issue with today’s youth, video game use and production increases. The article said that obesity has increase in the past 3 decades. I would say that in the past 3 decades the number of video game systems and available video games has also increased. The recent introduction of the Wii seems to be a change in the right direction, if the child is playing the sports games that gets them up and moving. It would be interesting to compare a child that only used the physical games on the Wii with those that played average video games only requiring the use of your thumbs.
As far as violence and aggression are concerned, I think this is also related. Even with my elementary students, they will play games at recess that look way to violent to be allowed in school. Sometimes they say it is from a game or TV show they watch. They are definitely imitating what they see and that is not always a good thing! One of the articles mentioned “intense engagement” which I think is a major factor. If the child can’t separate play from reality that will definitely cause some problems. Doing something in real-life that they would do in the game could be dangerous. The examples of the school shootings show that it can even be deadly, although those are the extreme cases.
So what can be done to prevent all of these things from happening? I guess that parents really need to monitor what their children are doing. They should also stick to the ratings on the video games. Games are rated mature for a reason and those that are younger should not play them. I don’t think simply following the rating is the answer, but it sure would help. One article mentioned how parents seem to screen what their children watch on TV on in the movies more than they pay attention to what video games they are playing. Parental involvement is key in keeping violent games away from young children. Having a conversation with their children about the games they play and the messages they send is also important.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Learning within games
While reading the first article this week, it really made me realized how useful games in the classroom could be. The example of the history class was very interesting. Personally, history was my worst and least favorite subject in school. If I had used a game similar to the one mentioned in the article, I would think I would have enjoyed it a little more. It does sound like that particular game would be difficult for someone who didn’t have knowledge of basic history terms and concepts, but once getting a hold on those, it would probably be easier. Of course, as the article mentioned, games don’t appeal to everyone and one game won’t appeal to an entire class.
Using games in the classroom sounds like it would encourage and facilitate critical and complex thinking. The games have students encountering problems, thinking about situations and working through them. If the students are really enjoying the game, they probably won’t even realize they are doing all that. Proper monitoring is needed so that the student does not become overly frustrated and might want to give up.
Being a Montessori teacher, I found the mention of the connection with Montessori education interesting. It is true that we urge the students to go in the directions they want with some limitations. Games allow students to “pursue questions of intellectual interest”. Within the game they have the freedom to pursue other activities and take the game in the direction they want. It does sound as if some games would fit nicely with the Montessori curriculum. I agree with the conclusion of the article though, when Squire stated that first there needs to be a good educational system in order for educational games to flourish.
Diner Dash update: I have had a pretty busy week with parent/teacher conferences and haven’t had much time to play, so therefore I haven’t made much progress. However, I was talking to my roommate, who is a pretty avid gamer, and she asked to download the game to her computer. She plays it much more often then me and she is already on level 28! She mentioned that she had a trial of Diner Dash on her laptop when she first got it but that ran out, so she had had some experience with the game before. Anyway, I’m not sure if the key to her success is that she had played the game before and is more of a gamer than myself, or the fact that she seems to play for longer stretches of time. She also happens to be a part-time waitress! It is funny because she said playing the game reminds her of work.
Using games in the classroom sounds like it would encourage and facilitate critical and complex thinking. The games have students encountering problems, thinking about situations and working through them. If the students are really enjoying the game, they probably won’t even realize they are doing all that. Proper monitoring is needed so that the student does not become overly frustrated and might want to give up.
Being a Montessori teacher, I found the mention of the connection with Montessori education interesting. It is true that we urge the students to go in the directions they want with some limitations. Games allow students to “pursue questions of intellectual interest”. Within the game they have the freedom to pursue other activities and take the game in the direction they want. It does sound as if some games would fit nicely with the Montessori curriculum. I agree with the conclusion of the article though, when Squire stated that first there needs to be a good educational system in order for educational games to flourish.
Diner Dash update: I have had a pretty busy week with parent/teacher conferences and haven’t had much time to play, so therefore I haven’t made much progress. However, I was talking to my roommate, who is a pretty avid gamer, and she asked to download the game to her computer. She plays it much more often then me and she is already on level 28! She mentioned that she had a trial of Diner Dash on her laptop when she first got it but that ran out, so she had had some experience with the game before. Anyway, I’m not sure if the key to her success is that she had played the game before and is more of a gamer than myself, or the fact that she seems to play for longer stretches of time. She also happens to be a part-time waitress! It is funny because she said playing the game reminds her of work.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Identity Play
I will be without Internet access this weekend, so here’s my post for Saturday, March 8th.
After reading Gee’s chapters about identity play in video games, I’m not sure if I find it completely beneficial or completely harmful. I think there are pros and cons to it, but it is not entirely good or bad. First of all, it was surprising to me to read about how deep into the game some people get. I know people who play a lot of video games and they seem to consume a lot of their time. I never really thought about how into the game they might actually be.
As far as identity play being beneficial, I think it is an interesting creative outlet. Being able to enter a new world while playing a video game, shows that the player is really involved in what they are doing. Personally, I’m not sure I’d be as invested in the character in the game and what was going on. While playing Diner Dash, I don’t feel like I am really Flo. I feel as if I’m playing as her, but not that I myself am the one waiting tables. The games mentioned in Gee’s book seemed like they would allow the player to feel as if they were actually IN the game more than the game I’m playing. If things were more complicated and intense, I guess it is possible I’d feel more of the connection. Another beneficial thing that might come from identity play would be that the player gets to experience things they wouldn’t normally. If they were really into the game, say as a police officer fighting crime and keeping people safe, it would give the person a chance to do something they wouldn’t get to do in real life. It can also be a form of expression or a chance to do something out of the ordinary.
As far as identity play being harmful, I feel this could be the case if the person gets too involved in the game and can’t separate the game from reality. Realizing the game is only a game is very important. If the game causes the player to lose sight of reality, then that is definitely not a good thing. Overall, I do not see identity play as being entirely beneficial or harmful. It definitely has its positives and negatives.
When comparing identity play to taking character perspectives in novels, I feel that the games allow the participant to take a more active part. They really seem to be the character. The player is able to act as the character and be more involved, actually taking on a role and not just connecting with ideas.
I think that about sums it up for now. In my game news, I have finally beat level 5 and boy did it feel good! I was watching my score as it got closer and closer to the 7000 points needed to move on. I was so excited as it saw it go above that! I tried the next level and didn’t get the necessary points, but figured I’d rather end on a happy note for the night. J
After reading Gee’s chapters about identity play in video games, I’m not sure if I find it completely beneficial or completely harmful. I think there are pros and cons to it, but it is not entirely good or bad. First of all, it was surprising to me to read about how deep into the game some people get. I know people who play a lot of video games and they seem to consume a lot of their time. I never really thought about how into the game they might actually be.
As far as identity play being beneficial, I think it is an interesting creative outlet. Being able to enter a new world while playing a video game, shows that the player is really involved in what they are doing. Personally, I’m not sure I’d be as invested in the character in the game and what was going on. While playing Diner Dash, I don’t feel like I am really Flo. I feel as if I’m playing as her, but not that I myself am the one waiting tables. The games mentioned in Gee’s book seemed like they would allow the player to feel as if they were actually IN the game more than the game I’m playing. If things were more complicated and intense, I guess it is possible I’d feel more of the connection. Another beneficial thing that might come from identity play would be that the player gets to experience things they wouldn’t normally. If they were really into the game, say as a police officer fighting crime and keeping people safe, it would give the person a chance to do something they wouldn’t get to do in real life. It can also be a form of expression or a chance to do something out of the ordinary.
As far as identity play being harmful, I feel this could be the case if the person gets too involved in the game and can’t separate the game from reality. Realizing the game is only a game is very important. If the game causes the player to lose sight of reality, then that is definitely not a good thing. Overall, I do not see identity play as being entirely beneficial or harmful. It definitely has its positives and negatives.
When comparing identity play to taking character perspectives in novels, I feel that the games allow the participant to take a more active part. They really seem to be the character. The player is able to act as the character and be more involved, actually taking on a role and not just connecting with ideas.
I think that about sums it up for now. In my game news, I have finally beat level 5 and boy did it feel good! I was watching my score as it got closer and closer to the 7000 points needed to move on. I was so excited as it saw it go above that! I tried the next level and didn’t get the necessary points, but figured I’d rather end on a happy note for the night. J
Saturday, March 1, 2008
New Literacies
Having had a class with Dr. Knobel, I was familiar with the term “new literacies”. On a little bit of a side note, while taking her class and writing my paper, the word ‘literacies’ wasn’t even in the Microsoft Word dictionary. It kept telling me it was spelled wrong so I finally added it to the dictionary. I guess that is just one indication of how new the term is.
Being that “new literacies” seems to refer to all the new technologies that are changing the current definition of literacy, there are examples all around us. The chapter we read referred to fan fiction, Manga, online chat, and blogs. (As I type this in Word, blogs and Manga aren’t in the dictionary either.) Other forms of new literacies could be text messaging, using the Internet, and email. Those are all examples I encounter every day. I am online frequently, chatting with friends, emailing my family and also looking for information. I also text message often and prefer that form of quick communication to actually talking on the phone.
All the new forms of literacies are constantly changing what it means to be literate in today’s society. Before they were around, being literate meant being able to read, write and speak in a way to get by on a daily basis. Now, with all the new technologies available, so much more is involved in functioning in today’s society. Being unable to navigate a webpage or email someone would be a disadvantage at the present time. Most jobs involve some form of technology, whether it be using the computer to make Excel spreadsheets or finding information online. The inability to do those things could cost someone their job or the opportunity at a new job.
Literacy can no longer be seen as simply the ability to read and write. That definition would leave out the ability to navigate the Internet, interpret a text message or IM, and post a blog entry. These are all aspects that are greatly influencing literacy today. These issues need to be addressed in schools so that the students are capable of functioning in today’s highly digital society. Teachers need to embrace the changes taking place and incorporate them in their classrooms so the students leave informed and as ready as they can be for the ever-changing world.
An article I read for a class last semester seems to sum this all up. It stated that, “We expect that students in the future will achieve levels of literacy that are difficult to imagine today, and that definitions of literacy will be different from those now in use.” It also said, “What is clear is that literacy will no longer be an end state; instead, it will become a continuous learning processes for all of us. Being literate will be an anachronism. Becoming literate will be the more precise term, since each of us will always be acquiring new literacies as new technologies for literacy regularly appear.”
Just a quick note about Diner Dash. I have played it a few times and seem to be stuck at level 5. I know I haven’t made much progress since my last post but I can’t seem to get enough points to move on to the next level. Once, I was about 50 points away and I found that very frustrating! I figured if I played it once more I could get the points needed but then I did even worse. At that point, I decided to give it a little break and try again another day when I wasn’t feeling as frustrated and could make a fresh start. Hopefully the next time goes better! I read some online tips, thanks to Christin, so I will have to try them.
Being that “new literacies” seems to refer to all the new technologies that are changing the current definition of literacy, there are examples all around us. The chapter we read referred to fan fiction, Manga, online chat, and blogs. (As I type this in Word, blogs and Manga aren’t in the dictionary either.) Other forms of new literacies could be text messaging, using the Internet, and email. Those are all examples I encounter every day. I am online frequently, chatting with friends, emailing my family and also looking for information. I also text message often and prefer that form of quick communication to actually talking on the phone.
All the new forms of literacies are constantly changing what it means to be literate in today’s society. Before they were around, being literate meant being able to read, write and speak in a way to get by on a daily basis. Now, with all the new technologies available, so much more is involved in functioning in today’s society. Being unable to navigate a webpage or email someone would be a disadvantage at the present time. Most jobs involve some form of technology, whether it be using the computer to make Excel spreadsheets or finding information online. The inability to do those things could cost someone their job or the opportunity at a new job.
Literacy can no longer be seen as simply the ability to read and write. That definition would leave out the ability to navigate the Internet, interpret a text message or IM, and post a blog entry. These are all aspects that are greatly influencing literacy today. These issues need to be addressed in schools so that the students are capable of functioning in today’s highly digital society. Teachers need to embrace the changes taking place and incorporate them in their classrooms so the students leave informed and as ready as they can be for the ever-changing world.
An article I read for a class last semester seems to sum this all up. It stated that, “We expect that students in the future will achieve levels of literacy that are difficult to imagine today, and that definitions of literacy will be different from those now in use.” It also said, “What is clear is that literacy will no longer be an end state; instead, it will become a continuous learning processes for all of us. Being literate will be an anachronism. Becoming literate will be the more precise term, since each of us will always be acquiring new literacies as new technologies for literacy regularly appear.”
Just a quick note about Diner Dash. I have played it a few times and seem to be stuck at level 5. I know I haven’t made much progress since my last post but I can’t seem to get enough points to move on to the next level. Once, I was about 50 points away and I found that very frustrating! I figured if I played it once more I could get the points needed but then I did even worse. At that point, I decided to give it a little break and try again another day when I wasn’t feeling as frustrated and could make a fresh start. Hopefully the next time goes better! I read some online tips, thanks to Christin, so I will have to try them.
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