Positional changes from video and presentation

The video "Your brain on video games" presented a variety of information that I had not previously read. Mostly the lecturer's busting of myths of games leading to attention deficit and vision problems.

I also had not seen the "Are video games making kids smarter?" information on the increase in problem solving and IQ gains from video gaming.

I already agree most of the information in the Teens, Games and Civics section. Games can introduce students to new subjects to help in their general knowledge of how the world works. I do believe that the numbers are a bit dated because of subjects like dial-up internet and limited reference to massively multi-player online games (MMOs).

Response to Teens, Games and Civics

3 things you learned
Only 55% of parents screen what games their children play.
50% of students lack basic civil knowledge.
70% of teens play civic style games.

2 things you agree or disagree with.
I believe that some of this information is dated because of the lack of dial-up internet connections in modern households.
I agree that civic style games could better the public's knowledge of government and could help with also understanding the basics of law.
1 question you have:
How were some of the numbers collected?

Response to Are Video Games Making Kids Smarter?

3 things you learned
Gaming helps with multi-tasking.
Problem solving intelligence is helped by video games.
The Flynn Effect is that IQ is rising every year.

2 things you agree or disagree with.
I agree with his video game classroom that learning can be fun and multi-player. Games that require teamwork become social experiences.
I also agree with the lecturer's stance on violent games. Violence has been part of the human experience forever. I "played" guns with my childhood friends and now kids have simulators to do the same thing. Our culture in general needs to address violence - in movies, books, TV etc. before pointing any fingers at video games.

1 question you have
What part of the Flynn Effect is attributed to video games vs. education in general?

Response to Your Brain on Video Games

3 things you learned

Average age of gamers is 33.
Gamers vision is better than non-gamers.
Gamers don't have less attention span than non-gamers.

2 things you agree or disagree with.
I don't like the attention span questions because they are set up like a game, not listening and learning.
I don't like that the lecturer focuses on action games without addressing other genres of games.

1 question you have
Where did the lecturer get the numbers for her facts?

Double Journal Entry #1

A quote that I strong agree with in the article at http://www.academiccolab.org/resources/documents/MacArthur.pdf is:

"So the video games in which I am interested, the ones that I think are most
interesting for learning, are digital simulations of worlds that are “played” in the sense that a player has a surrogate or surrogates through which the player can act within and on the simulation and that have “win states” (reachable goals that the player has discovered or formed through his or her surrogate)."

I agree with this quote because simulations provide a background into the working of a real life system. Students learn the rules and advantages to be had within the game just as a scientist would use a simulation to address a problem. I found some justication for simulations at the website: http://www.creativeteachingsite.com/edusims.html

The reasoning I agreed most with is: "They simulate an activity that is "real", and so it can be said that they are "virtually real". They simulate the activity so well that there is little difference between the simulated environment and the real one, and the same kind of learning experience can take place."

I always believed that simulation style games could teach a student how a system works but these articles reinforce and give me better understanding of how the games benefit students. Students are informally introduced to the work that scientists have to do to understand a new system.

First post for EDUC 6814

a. Where you are from and what do you do.

I am from Clarksburg, WV and I work software development contracts.

b. What do you want to get out of the class.

I would like to learn more about creating games to teach adults.

c. Are you a Gamer? What Games do you play? Why do you like playing games?

I am a gamer and I play computer strategy games and MMO's with online friends. I like playing games because they are more entertaining than television in my opinion.

d. What is your position on kids and video games? (ie time wasters, socially isolating, moral corrupting, new ways of learning, conflicted)

Games can play an important role in teaching children on a variety of subjects, yet developers mostly make violent games that have little bearing on how the world really works.

e. Link to a video, podcast, online article or blog posting that is related to the effects of video games on children's learning, sociability or character development and explain why you have selected to resource.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110510101504.htm
I picked this site because it was the first to not be negative towards gaming when I did a search on the subject and I enjoyed reading it.

f. List three major world events that happen during the year you were born.

The Bi-centenial of the United States.
The Election of Jimmy Carter.
1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada.

Updating my Resume into Google Docs

I completed the assignment of publishing my resume onto Google Docs on the date it was due in January. The link to my resume is at this link.

For some reason this assignment just got saved as a draft when I created the blog post. I am lucky in that I found it in doing quality control on my blog at the end of the semester.

This assignment most reflected ISTE NETS T Standard 3 in my opinion. This was a transfer of new technology for the students that were involved in this assignment.