Double Entry Journal #8

10 Things Schools can Learn from Video Games:

1. Interaction
2. Production
3. Risk Taking
4. Customization
5. Ordered Problems
6. The Cycle of Expertise
7. Context
8. Within the Regime of Competence
9. Taking Relationships into Consideration
10. Exploring


Taking Relationships into Consideration:
     When first skimming over this subheading, I almost scoffed. Before this article I found no hard evidence that proved video games to be a good source of communication. Since video games first became a major component of the lives of 21st Century children it has always been said that video games encourage anti-social behavior and seclusion. How is it possible that children are able to have successful interaction with a screen, whether television or computer? As I read further in the article I discovered that gamers do not have a relationship with the screen itself, but the characters that are included within the game, as well as the individuals that control the characters' actions.
      "In World of Warcraft players are encouraged to join guilds, raids, and take on an active and unique role within raids and other tasks. Each player contributes to the solution based on their abilities and skill. This encompasses the relationship between players working together to solve a problem, or asymmetrical co-operation" (Learning in Gaming, para 9).
In games like World of Warcraft and Civilization, players have to successfully complete a task as a team in order to survive! After reading such evidence, the skeptic that I am, had to change my mind on video games and their ability to create social relationships. Even though the interaction is not face to face and therefore not as personal, it is still a relationship centered around group work.

"An Educational Approach to Video Games". Learning in Gaming. 20 January, 2012.
     http://www.learningingaming.com/10-things-schools-can-learn-from-video-games/

I included this picture from the Video Game, World of Warcraft. It is a picture of a small guild made up of nine or so characters. These nine characters represent the nine players behind the scenes that allow these characters to work together and defeat any possible enemies.
(the picture was found on MMosite.com)