Reflection after reading:
A
50 Billion dollar a year medium seems to me like a medium worth
studying and researching instead of opinionating against. The article
does a good job showing how TV has seemed to skirt issues that fall
squarely on the shoulders of video games so easily. During the time when
the Supreme court was ruling on video game violence very little
parallel was being drawn to violent TV as a problem compared to the
barrage of words and opinions being fired at video games. Even further
those who have read The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri specifically
the brutal and violent portrayal of Dantes Inferno have come to
understand just the level of brutality even literature has demonstrated.
All of this absent from the fight against violent video games. What I
appreciated about this article is, it worked in a systematic way to
defend video games from a research standpoint,
specifically in the tenants of psychology and sociology. In place of
chastising what kind of people play video games we should be
researching the true effects video games have from both ends of the
spectrum. We should do this instead of branding every violent act with or without weapons an effect of
the video game revolution. If you visit the history of school shooting
in the United States wikipedia page you’ll see violence as an issue has
been discussed and debated as far back as 1760s. Clearly violence is a
human issue that cannot be pegged to one medium. Below I will discuss
further my takeaways from this article.
In
the article author Keith Stuart says “central to it all is a simple
theory- that games are fun because they teach us interesting things and
they do it in a way that our brains prefer-through systems and puzzles”.
This was very similar to a paper I read by Kurt Squire in MIT’s Comparative Media Studies Department who states
“In this paper, I argue that video games are such a popular and influential medium for a
combination of many factors. Primarily,however, video games elicit powerful emotional
reactions in their players, such as fear, power,aggression, wonder, or joy. Video game
designers
create these emotions by a balancing a number of game components, such
as character traits, game rewards, obstacles, game narrative,competition
with other humans, and opportunities for collaboration with other
players”(Squire, 2003)
Taking both thoughts further author Keith Stuart goes on and states
that games are more effective because failure is okay. This was
something that really struck me because I haven’t thought of games in
that context with education before. Yes, failing at a puzzle in a game
that is asking you to solve a history riddle IS fun. Failing a quiz that
is asking the same history problem, is ultimately less fun, and thus
creates the memorization of learning problem. The freedom to learn is a
great concept, but the freedom to fail without consequence is an even
more powerful concept that I picked up from this article. For years
gymnasts learned their trade first in a controlled environment with
safety nets, foam blocks, and spotters. This is an example of that
freedom to learn and fail without penalty or in this case injury. Then
they express what they’ve learned in an environment where those safety
precautions are taken away. Having an environment where every learning
assessment comes with the weight of a “grade” may be stifling to some
learners. In the article abstract of Its a Good Score! Just a Bad Grade
authors Canady and Hotchkiss list twelve common problems with how
student success is typically evaluated including: “varying grading
scales, worshipping grade averages, failing to match testing and
teaching, ambushing students with pop quizzes, penalizing students for
taking risks, and inconsistent grading criteria. The writers suggest
that if schools are going to help the ever increasing number of at risk
students there must be greater emphasis on providing opportunities for
students to succeed”.(Canady & Hotchkiss 1989)
The
shocking truth about this article is that it is a call to arms in 1989
years before and it could be argued the many in education have not
heeded the power of embracing a safe failure-friendly environment. Let
me be clear, I am not condoning failure for those who do not attend
class or have a myriad of other problems in the cause of failure (I am
speaking about failure not in a grade form but in a “trying new learning
ways form”, but I am arguing for an environment that is conducive to
innovation and learning with freedom.
The
article then goes on to discuss something that can give those who feel
out of control (which can lead to depression or learned helplessness)
the platform to take back control through the autonomy that games
provide. In the article they cite The Sims as a game that gives players
complete control over the lives of other people. My initial reaction
was music has been trying to do this for many years essentially letting
the listener bond with the lyrics and represent that bonding through
lyrically positive affirmations (think of the countless songs about
overcoming a breakup). Gaming takes this one step further by giving you
the actual control, and not just trying to get you to connect through
words that you may or may not connect with. This autonomy and power
doesn’t always present itself in real life as fast as you can acquire it
in video games. For example, I have been playing hockey for a couple of
years, and while I always want to out work my opponents and turn in the
best game possible sometimes the puck just doesn’t bounce in your
favor. When I log into NHL and play a couple of games that feeling of
control that can get lost in the real life actual game comes back to me,
and with it, a sense of hard work paying off. Even though it is in a
video game, I still feel like my hockey IQ lead to my victories, which
in return garnishes more confidence for me in actual games.
The
next thought I connected to the other with was that of
“disproportionate feedback”. Or the act of being rewarded for something
rather simple. It seems this speaks to our need for success more than
anything else real life can give us. It is nice to hear and feel you are
a success as often as you can. However, once you are at a certain point
in life that seems to happen less and less. For some people that
perhaps grew up with a poor support structure may have never felt it at
all. Thus, disproportionate feedback can be a potent tool used to help
these individuals overcome insecurity. A child that grows up being
verbally insulted instead of hugged will think verbal assault is the
prevailing way to demonstrate feelings. Imagine when they are in a
school system that only judges their success by their grades, which for
these student in this example aren’t that great for any number of
reasons. Now that child who has grown up believing everything about
themselves isn’t good enough has that same feeling reaffirmed by a
failing educational design. If that same student could be introduced to
gaming and instructional gaming design the disproportionate feedback
could be used to re-wire that students’ thought process by acting as his
or her new support structure. One that grows and changes with the
student.
Overall, I enjoyed the article and the authors look at a politicized industry from a different lens.
References
Canaday, R., & Hotchkiss, P. (1989.). It's a good score! Just a bad grade.. It's a good score! Just a bad grade.. Retrieved February 18, 2014, from http://openagricola.nal.usda.gov/Record/IND90007498
Squire, K. (2003.). Video Games in Education. Comparative Media Studies Department,.
Retrieved February 16, 2014, from
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdoczine.com%2Fbigdata%2F1%2F1369989846_0d2af3a0f9%2F39-squire-ijis.pdf&ei=1N0DU8_cBI7JsQSSnoGAAQ&usg=AFQjCNFESysmc8v64Dh9uwY8cRXdBxNNxw&bvm=bv.61535280,d.cWc&cad
Stuart, K. (2011, May 15). The seduction secrets of video game designers. The Observer. Retrieved February 18, 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/may/15/video-game-design-psychology
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