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What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy
 
 
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What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy [Hardcover]

James Paul Gee (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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"[Gee is] a serious scholar who is taking a lead in an emerging field."--Scott Carlson, Chronicle of Higher Education
"Am I a bad parent for letting [my child] play video games at 4? Not at all, according to Gee."--Jim Louderback, USA Weekend Magazine
"Rather than be reined in, today's successful game designers should be recognized as modern masters of learning theory..."--Mike Snider, Cincinnati Enquirer
"...an astoundingly insightful manifesto on teaching and learning..."--Michael Hoechsmann, McGill Journal of Education
"Gee astutely points out that for video game makers, unlike schools, failing to engage children is not an option."--Terrence Hackett, Chicago Tribune
"Gee...says the most challenging games prod players to push the boundaries of their skills and to adapt..."--Shannon Mullen, Asbury Park Press
"These games succeed because, according to Gee, they gradually present information that is actually needed to perform deeds."--Norman A. Lockman, USA Today
"...Gee suggests that...schools...are 'in the cognitive-science dark ages.'"--Jeffery Kurz, Meriden-Wallingford Record-Journal


"Gee.says the most challenging games prod players to push the boundaries of their skills and to adapt.." (Shannon Mullen Asbury Park Press )

"Gee astutely points out that for video game makers, unlike schools, failing to engage children is not an option." (Terrence Hackett Chicago Tribune )

"These games succeed because, according to Gee, they gradually present information that is actually needed to perform deeds." (Norman A. Lockman USA Today )

Product Description

A controversial look at the positive things that can be learned from video games by a well known professor of education. James Paul Gee begins his new book with "I want to talk about vide games--yes, even violent video games--and say some positive things about them." With this simple but explosive beginning, one of America`s most well-respected professors of education looks seriously at the good that can come from playing video games. Gee is interested in the cognitive development that can occur when someone is trying to escape a maze, find a hidden treasure and, even, blasting away an enemy with a high-powered rifle. Talking about his own video-gaming experience learning and using games as diverse as Lara Croft and Arcanum, Gee looks at major specific cognitive activities: * How individuals develop a sense of identity * How one grasps meaning * How one evaluates and follow a command * How one picks a role model * How one perceives the world This is a ground-breaking book that takes up a new electronic method of education and shows the positive upside it has for learning.
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"I WANT TO TALK ABOUT VIDEO GAMES-YES, EVEN VIOLENT VIDEO games-and say some positive things about them." Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars Teachers and Administrators should read this book., Nov 9 2003
By 
Marjee (BURKE, VA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (Hardcover)
As a science teacher, I have asked myself (as Gee points out...many teachers and parents do) why it is that the same students who sit listlessly in my classroom will go home and spend upwards of 8 hours engaged in frusterating video-game play.
Gee effectively answers this question and makes a strong case in favor of video games being agents of learning (like recreational reading) as opposed to mindless entertainment (like really dumb movies).
I would strongly advocate teachers and administrators reflect on the question posed by the title of this book...and check out some of the answers Gee offers.
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3.0 out of 5 stars Good theory of education, vague video game argument, Jan 31 2004
By 
Will Jordan (New Haven, CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (Hardcover)
The book is primarily a criticism of 'traditional' school-based learning methodologies, using observations of children playing video games and the author's own play sessions as representative examples of the 36 principles of good learning he describes. He uses primarily 3d shooters and RPGs as his examples of 'good' video games (meaning that they encourage learning things about and within the world of the game). The author defines and conceptualizes his principles of learning and contrasts it with the school-based education process, noting the vast differences between the two. On this topic of criticism of school-based education, the author makes a strong argument.

His second argument, that these principles missing in school are demonstrably present in video games, is very vague and unfulfilling. The author often stresses elements of learning that can easily be found everywhere in life and social activity and in other forms of media, not just in video games. One point he makes in the middle of the book about incremental difficulty and the player's dynamic 'regime of competence' was a good topic consistent with video game design (although easily found in other places, such as golf handicaps), but it was not good enough to warrant his emphasis on video games in the other ~150 pages of the book. He repeatedly mentions that kids enjoy playing video games but don't enjoy learning in school and suggests that school should be like playing a video game, but he leaves it at that. Because he focuses on the process of learning and assumes videogame content and classroom content to be of an equal nature, the burning question of how to make learning calculus equations as fun and desirable to learn as advanced combat strategies to annihilate your friends in Starcraft remains unfortunately beyond the scope of this book.

If the intention of the book was to show that video games have the capability to encourage learning of arbitrary content, it succeeded. However, watching TV or movies or playing non-video games with your peers can be just as conducive to learning (and, depending on the content, just as mind-numbing). Having been weaned on Mario and Zelda myself and already appreciating the incredible complexity and carefully tuned learning curve of videogames, this book was somewhat interesting for its general theory of education but not as thought-provoking regarding video game theory as I had hoped.

This book is probably a better read for older generations that didn't have video games as an integral source of learning during their formative years and have as a result never taken them seriously.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious attempt, Sep 18 2003
By 
Simon Egenfeldt-nielsen (Copenhagen, Denmark) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (Hardcover)
The book is well worth a read but for researchers/academics within games and learning it lacks references to important research. Still the book has interesting discussions and draw on educational theory that is well used.
The book seemed a bit weak to me in the sense that a lot of the principles apply to all areas of human life, and is not as such a special property of computer games. Also it shines through that the author likes certain game genres (adventure, RPG, action).
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