What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee

'Games are the most ancient and time- honored vehicle for education. They are the original educational technology, the natural one,... It is not games but schools that are the newfangled notion, the untested fad, the violator of tradition. Game-playing is a vital educational function for any creature capable of learning.' - CRIS CRAWFORD, GAME DESIGNER

James Paul Gee, Ph.D. Professor of Learning Sciences Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin Ph.D in Linguistics from Stanford School of Education at Boston University – Department Chair Hiatt Center for Urban Education – Professor of Education Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin at Madison – Professor of Reading Literacies Institute (sponsored joint teacher and researcher research on language and literacy) – Co-director Published widely in journals in linguistics, education, and psychology. Authored eight books.

Examines popular video games from the cognitive science perspective Video games are “learning machines” Identifies 36 learning principals built into “good” video games The book does NOT cover “educational” games Discusses the social environment of gamers

There is very little existing research on the topic. Most literature is from the business perspective The gaming industry now makes more money then the film industry Gee was considered “crazy” by other academics when he began researching gaming, three years ago. Now, there is a “gold rush” to study gaming.

How and why do people play games? How can games be practically used in learning? Should schools use video games as a learning tool? What sorts of learning principals are built into video games? How does learning outside schools contrast with learning inside schools?

Qualitative “My method of research is a form of discourse analysis that seeks to explicate the inter-related cognitive, social, cultural, and political aspects of language-in-use and learning within specific domains.” - Dr. Gee

Children who play video games. Parents of children who play video games. The author

Interviews and Observations Data collected over two years Interviewed children gamers and their parents Observed children playing games Researcher played games and recorded reactions

36 Good Learning Principals Built Into Good Video Games 1.Active, critical learning 2.Design 3.Semiotic 4.Semiotic Domains 5.Metalevel thinking about semiotic domains 6.Psychosocial Moratorium 7.Committed Learning 8.Identity 9.Self-knowledge 10.Amplification of input 11.Achievement 12.Practice 13.Ongoing learning 14.Regime of Competence 15.Probing Principal 16.Multiple Routes 17.Situated Meaning 18.Text 19.Intertextual 20.Multimodal 21.Material intelligence 22.Intuitive knowledge 23.Subset 24.Incremental 25.Concentrated sample 26.Bottom-up basic skills 27.Explicit Information On-demand 28.Discovery 29.Transfer 30.Cultural models about the world 31.Cultural models about learning 32.Cultural models about semiotic domains 33.Distributed 34.Dispersed 35.Affinity Group 36.Insider

Games give verbal information “just in time” and “on demand” as needed by the learner. Good games create a sense of “pleasurable frustration” by challenging the players growing competence. Good games create a “cycle of expertise” by providing challenges and letting players practice strategies to overcome these challenges then “raising the bar” with new challenges. Good games promote character investment in a virtual identity, allowing players to think and learn in new ways.

Con Rush to publish Highly theoretical “semiotic domains” theoretical grounding Not the “scholarly” approach expected Lack of referencing Data not clear Pro Makes the case that video games provide a richer learning environment then the typical classroom. Insightful reflections on the learning experiences provided by popular video games. Explores the collaborative aspect of gaming. Focus is on learning to learn not content. Points out that educational game designers “don’t get it” Calls for marriage of “informal” and “formal” learning in schools

Recent collaborative efforts by movers and shakers in the gaming industry and university and civic groups worth noting: · The University of Texas at Austin - The Digital Media Collaboratory · MIT & Microsoft – The Games-To-Teach Project · The Woodrow Wilson Center’s Foresight and Governance Project – “Game Based Learning Models & Simulations: Expert Blueprints for Project Success” Conference Each of these projects represent serious efforts of institutions of higher learning and gaming industry experts to examine the future of digital game-based learning in education and public policy.