You know if schools could get together with the gaming industry and create games that teach us even as we are enjoying a quest or a killing spree think of all the brilliant Americans they could produce! A lot of learning happens in our unconsious mind when it is relaxed thinking about something. Couldn’t the game community find a way to have a visually stimulating game that tapped into our mind at the same time? What if we learned on a higher level as we played? If both sides-gaming and education pulled their ideas together gaming could become a powerful learning force instead of a time killer.
What also needs to be done is involving women in the process of enjoying games. the industry is too man centered with the images of half naked women with twenty pound boobies. Someone needs to regulate what the content is within games and make sure women are not being objectified within them. I wonder if the abuse of women has gone up with these games that simulate beating or raping? Maybe part of the problem within our society concerning how people treat each other has to do with these online communities which are teaching people poor skills on behavior.
Games are being allowed to run free with ideas and behaviors, now is the time to curb some of the violent content before it hurts our society more. Why can we go back to games like Oregon Trail which taught values and was a cool journey. Do we as a society need games they trash others in our society? I think not. They are created to feed ideas that should be put out.
Alex Janney
November 18, 2009
I really like how you mention the Oregon Trail in your blog. It reminds me of when I was in elementary school and we played this game to learn about what settlers in the United States went through as they were establishing their lives here. Your mention of that made me realize the lasting power that games can have. With this lasting power I think comes a great benefit to students; they can retain information long after the game is over. I think you bring up some good points about how games objectify women and how some modifications would need to be made before games are implemented into classrooms.
I agree with you that the idea of incorporating games as learning tools is a good one, but what games are incorporated needs to be considered. You also have an interesting point about how learning happens when people are relaxed. Games could help ease some of the anxiety students may have in a classroom which would really encourage learning. Great points!