Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
James Paul Gee begins his classic book with "I want to talk about video games--yes, even violent video games--and say some positive things about them." With this simple but explosive statement, one of America's most well-respected educators looks seriously at the good that can come from playing video games. In this revised edition, new games like World of WarCraft and Half Life 2 are evaluated and theories of cognitive development are expanded. Gee looks at major cognitive activities including how individuals develop a sense of identity, how we grasp meaning, how we evaluate and follow a command, pick a role model, and perceive the world.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Boring
Customer Rating:
I haven't finished the book yet, but so far it is boring and full of semantics and long video game descriptions. I would not recommend it.
not fun.
Customer Rating:
assigned this book for class and not having a good time reading it. have no interest in the subject whatsoever, book is over-repetitive and redundant. get to the point! i agree that learning should be active though, but this book could be a lot shorter.
I'm buying everything Gee is selling here
Customer Rating:
What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (2007) by James Paul Gee might be one of the most valuable and timely titles I have read in recent years. Coming to video games late in life, initially to "help" his son with gaming, Gee began to see connections to his professional life as an educator in the virtual worlds created by video games.
Specifically, Gee identified 36 learning principles often found in the best (most challenging, most fun, best designed, most popular) video games that are often lacking in contemporary schools that favor the skill-and-drill approach to deeper, more immersive learning. In discrete chapters, Gee identifies individual games (Tomb Raider, Half-Life, World of Warcraft, Sonic the Hedgehog to name a few) and the principles found in those games that could be applied to school learning.
The ideas Gee outlines in What Video Games Have to Teach Us will not be shocking or revolutionary to anyone who already plays video games. Gamers know that it takes more to play a video game than hand-eye coordination. As Gee underscores throughout this book, gaming is a multifaceted process that requires planning, reflection, strategizing, and even community interaction. In other words, it's impossible to play a video game without learning how to do so.
The key difference in learning a video game is that the learning is more strategic and immersive. Gamers learn by doing and through experimentation. They also learn in strategically effective ways. Instead of having adjust to the difficulty level of a game, the game--through its very design--often adjusts to the competency of the gamer. Schools have not found an effective way to do that yet. The main argument of this book is that video games create active, critical learners while schools often create passive learners.
There is a lot to like about this book. Gee keeps the book grounded in actual anecdotes and experiences and carefully avoids the hypothetical by using his own life as a gamer to explain the principles found within the book. The game play is described as carefully as the learning principles to create a book that gamers and non-gamers will be able to embrace--and understand.
Finally, this book isn't just about playing video games in isolation or even about schools. Rather Gee also looks at the community aspect of video games through their use of shared knowledge and, especially, through the creation of game related affinity groups (communities of sorts formed organically around shared interests). This multi-faceted approach to the subject creates a well-informed and thorough examination of video games, players, and how the ideas found in good video game play and design can be adapted to traditional learning environments to create a more engaging and enriching learning environment for every student.
Great book for the right reader!
Customer Rating:
Great book for class. Recommend to anyone interested in learning more about gaming in society and education.
Taking games seriously
Customer Rating:
Gee's background in linguistics and current interests in education inform this discussion of video games, as he clearly outlines over thirty good learning principles that teachers can glean from the practice of gaming and apply to their classrooms. Gee's book should be commended for its detailed analysis of particular games--too often, theorists discussing games tend to shy away from minute description of their own interactions with games and go straight for lessons learned or abstract ideas garnered from gameplay. Gee also has a talent for talking openly and humorously about his development from non-gaming baby boomer to avid but still sometimes inept gamer.
If you're already convinced that video games are cultural objects worthy of study, Gee will only confirm your opinion. However, if you look at the book's title and can't contain a derisive snort, give Gee a chance. According to Gee, good video games (and yes, not all video games are good) model active, participatory, and embodied learning, a kind of learning often scarce in traditional school curricula. Good games demonstrate the effectiveness of pattern recognition over rule-based or rote learning, and they encourage players to reflect at a meta level not only about their own identity but also their practices, often via the formation of affinity groups both within and outside of the game world. At their best, gamers become producers, creatively "modding" their own gaming experiences and sharing information with others who take play seriously.
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