I teach the TED talk "Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world" to consider the potential of gamers to solve problems. New vocabulary includes on the verge, virtuoso, and epic. What are some positive and negative effects of video games?
My student A. completely disagrees with Jane's argument and gives personal stories of the negative effects of games on personal development. For example, his children and their friends go outside for fresh air not to kick a football or run around for hide and seek, but to sit on the green grass while playing video games. Growing up in Turkey, A. did not have any games or toys. He made his own ball out of fabric and read Milliyet children's books. Today he does not play online games as he considers these a complete waste of time. Although he likes the ease of communication with the iphone, he also feels this convenience opens him up to constant interruptions and loss of productivity. At the end of the day, all of this technology shortens attention spans and makes it more difficult for technology savvy people to communicate well in person. All of those epic wins in the game world might just result in an epic fail in real life.
How do these boys play together?
http://loewenstein.blogspot.com/2010/11/epic.html
My student A. completely disagrees with Jane's argument and gives personal stories of the negative effects of games on personal development. For example, his children and their friends go outside for fresh air not to kick a football or run around for hide and seek, but to sit on the green grass while playing video games. Growing up in Turkey, A. did not have any games or toys. He made his own ball out of fabric and read Milliyet children's books. Today he does not play online games as he considers these a complete waste of time. Although he likes the ease of communication with the iphone, he also feels this convenience opens him up to constant interruptions and loss of productivity. At the end of the day, all of this technology shortens attention spans and makes it more difficult for technology savvy people to communicate well in person. All of those epic wins in the game world might just result in an epic fail in real life.
How do these boys play together?
http://loewenstein.blogspot.com/2010/11/epic.html