Gaming, Teaching, and Learning

Marc Prensky's article, What Kids Learn That’s POSITIVE From Playing Video Games, aims to counter the popular cultural belief that video games are a "mindless", fruitless choice of past time for many of our youth. There's also the argument that it may in fact harm them psychologically, as the messages are often claimed to be highly negative in that they instill violence or apathy. Prensky states that no matter the message, the act of learning is constant throughout as a player makes continual decisions during game play. The most important thing to focus on is the content of the game, what the child learning about. He divides the levels of learning during game play among How, What, Why, Where, and When/Whether. To begin with, learning how to use computers or other game devices is an essential and profitable skill that results. They also become aware, at this level, of the things they control and can thus recognize patterns. It allows one to play out reality, to try different scenarios they may choose to carry on into real life. In the What phase, the player is starting to understand the concept of rules, which often takes place through trial and error. This is directly related, as Prensky very aptly points out, to the scientific process. And, using the rules one lives in the game indirectly causes the player to also reflect on the rules that also exist in one's own life. Why can be explained through game strategy. This is one of the more obvious learning experiences; video games are even used by the military in teaching war tactics. Where is taught in the game through the cultural environment it places one into, especially in learning cultural ideals of leadership or achievement. When/Whether is entirely subjective and represents the moral decision making process of the player. A game allows several scenarios to take place in which the plaer must make a choice, often between evil and good, and to learn the consequences of those actions.

I have always had an intimate connection with strategy and time management games. Games like these- games that allow you to operate your own business, games that give you clues to lead you on your way to catching a criminal, hidden object games- have always been and probably always be very influential to my lifestyle. I can definitely see myself continuing to play these games well into the future, and gaining immensely from them. Strategy and time management games will help me to (1) understand time contraints and what is doable in a certain span of time, (2) learn that there are consequences to not meeting those deadlines, (3) push myself harder and learn to fend off procrastination, (4) simulate high stress situations without complications of reality, and (5) realize my true interests by allowing me to dabble in different environments according to various game themes. As the artistic profession is often self-motivated and overseen, it is immensely important to grasp the concept of having a deadline when there is no one there to constantly watch over you. And for that same reason, it is important to have a firm grasp on basic business skills. Most people are not going to advertise your artwork for you, or pay for your materials, or calculate costs versus benefits for producing a certain work. You have to learn to network, keep track of your own books, and find your own demographic to sell your 'product' to. I'm looking forward to strengthening my business and logic skills through the continual help of these games.

By far one of my favorite games as a child were the Nancy Drew games. The very real and terrifying situations that were simulated in these games offered a truly unique and intuitive learning process. One often had to work out elaborate logic puzzles, learn to ask the right questions when interviewing subjects, and come up with quick, clever uses of objects on hand (a la MacGyver). There were consequences to not being quick enough on your feet. You could not go on until you finished a particular mission or spoke with a certain suspect. And, as each Nancy Drew game is so artfully themed, you are allowed to experience different environments and develop particular interests through the in-depth simulations.