Do you learn from video games? That is the major premise of a course I am taking called, Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds for Learning. So far I have been amazed and surprised at how much you actually can learn from a video game.
First, you learn the basic controls. You have to teach yourself what the various buttons, clicks, shakes, and pushes do in the game.
Second, you learn the how to do things with in the game itself. For example, you learn how to select a play in a football game or you learn how to zone for residential in Sim City.
Third, you start to put those actions together to solve problems. The nice thing about games is that those problems are easy at first. They scaffold you as you advance through the game into deeper and deeper levels of problem solving.
Fourth, you learn about the story of the game. Some games have very complex stories, while others like Sim City are pretty open ended.
Fifth, you learn the values of the game that are defined by its story and its rules. For example, in one of my readings for the course I came across a quote from a child who had played Sim City. That child had made the connection in the game that raising taxes leads to riots. While not directly true in the real world, that idea certainly conveys a value about taxes to the child.
This is just scratching the surface. Stay tuned for more learning about video games. I am really excited to explore how video games can help me be a better teacher.
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