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Week 11 Journal, Kimberly Nelson (Play (Alberti, 2008, p. 260) (Definition…
Week 11 Journal, Kimberly Nelson
Play (Alberti, 2008, p. 260)
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Authority (Alberti, 2008, p. 265)
Definition: The ability to control one’s own actions and their surroundings, sometimes others as well.
Facts/Characteristics: Authority is based on the ability to make decisions. It’s an active role. If you cannot make decisions, do you really have any authority?
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System Thinking (Gee, 2005, p. 36)
Definition: The ability to think critically about how your actions influence the entire story, not just directly in the moment when you make that decision.
Facts/Characteristics: In this video, Gee speaks of how system thinking works in video games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4gVHSz9ujw
Example: In the video game Bioshock, you have the choice to free prisoners after you defeat bad guys, or you can kill them. The choice to make later affects your character’s role within the larger part of the game.
Question: Are there studies that show the importance of teaching young learners about system thinking? Do they understand their actions affect other aspects of their life and their surrounding environment?
Situated Meanings (Gee, 2005, p. 36)
Definition: Being able to decipher the function or meaning of the word based on the way it is used and described in the surrounding text/sentence.
Question: Do we really need video games to teach individuals about the form and function of a word and how it’s used, or is this just another way that might help?
Risk Taking (Gee, 2005, p. 35)
Definition: The act of trying new actions/options without the fear of failure. In video games, there is a checkpoint or auto save feature that allows you to start from the previous save instead of starting from the beginning, which allows users to explore different outcomes.
Facts/Characteristics: Risk taking allows users to explore different scenarios and learn patterns to achieve a goal. Users of video games normally rely on the ability to auto save in order to test out different outcomes and learn about how their character interactions with their surroundings.
Example: Any boss battle within a video game usually sends you back to the beginning of the fight instead of the beginning of the game. Some games have variations of this.
Question: When we cannot use video games in the classroom setting, how can we teach students about the importance of risk-taking without it affecting their grade? I feel like many of my students are willing to take risks in their assignments, but they don’t succeed and therefore don’t try again, even though I give them pointers in my comments (in a writing class with writing techniques).
