What Video Games Have To Teach Us

About Learning and

LiteracyBy James Paul Gee

Summary

The author of this book goes into

detail about how video games are

great tools to teach learning &

literacy.

He also “coins” the term

SEMIOTIC DOMAINS…..

“Collective consciousness shared by people with

similar interests, attributes, or skill sets

including: images, words, sounds/gestures.”

Response

This books gives me a “new”

perspective about Video Games!

oI used to play video games

up until High School

My

husband

still plays

video

games

oI used to feel like video games were just for “youngsters” (maybe someone up to the early 20’s)

oNow……..I’m a little on the fence

• The author describes in detail 36

principles of learning that are

built into playing video games.

The 36 Learning Principles Active, critical learning

Design

Semiotic

Semiotic domains

Metalevel thinking about semiotic domains

“psychosocial moratorium”

Committed learning

Identity

Self knowledge

Achievement

Practice

Ongoing learning

“regime of competence”

Probing

Situated meaning

Intertextual

Multimodal

“material intelligence”

Intuitive knowledge

Subset

Incremental

Concentrated Sample

Bottom-up basic skills

Explicit information on-demand & just-in-time

Discovery

Transfer

Cultural models about the world

Cultural models about learning

Cultural models about semiotic domains

Multiple routes

Text Amplificati

on of input

Dispersed Affinity

group Insider

Semiotic DomainsActive, critical learning principleDesign principle Semiotic principleSemiotic domains principleMeta-level thinking about semiotic domains

Those who play video games may learn to experience the world in a new way and gain the potential to join (collaborate) with a new group.

They may develop new resources for new learning & problem solving and learn how to think as they are engaged.

Learning & Identity“psychosocial moratorium” principleCommitted learning principleIdentity principleSelf knowledge principleAmplification of Input principleAchievement principle

Video games provide the opportunity for players to take risks with low consequences.

Video games also provide the players rewards for their effort. This in turn may be very motivating for the player (learner).

Learning & Identity

PracticeOngoing learning“regime of competence”

Students learn when they have a chance to practice and interact with whatthey are “learning.”

Video games involve learners in an engaging way and also provides many practice sessions.

Situated Meaning & LearningProbing principleMultiple routes

principleSituated meaning

principleText principle

Video games provide experiences for learners to draw on. These experiences allow the learner to have a greater understanding of the content. The learner can draw from these experiences when learning new content.

A student could read a passage about weathering & erosion, but if they are unfamiliar with these terms, then there can be a disconnect & hinder new learning. Video games help to fill in some of those gaps.

Situated Meaning & LearningIntertextualMultimodal“material intelligence”Intuitive knowledge

Learners can use the language of a “genre” (fantasy, etc) of a game and apply it to new situations. Multiple modalities are used in video games to help communicate different meanings which are helpful to survival in that game.

Those who play video games benefit from “material intelligence” because they do not have to remember all of the knowledge because objects within the game can store some of this knowledge which they can tap into at a later time.

Video games promote and encourage intuitive knowledge and not just book knowledge. Many schools and teachers fail to realize the importanceof this type of knowledge.

Telling & Doing

Video games pull from prior knowledge. They provide pertinent information on a need to know basis as well as on-demand.

Video games provide the opportunity for the learner to experiment and take chances which allows the learner to make new discoveries on their own.

Subset principleIncremental principleConcentrated Sample principleBottom-up basic skills principleExplicit information on-demand & just-in-time principleDiscovery principleTransfer principle

Cultural ModelsCultural models about the world principleCultural models about learning principleCultural models about semiotic domains principle

Video games allow learners to reflect on cultural models of the world and what these means to them. Words and actions have different meanings based on ones’ cultural. Video games give learners the opportunity to reflect on these and appreciate other perspectives.

Video gamers prefer “hard” over“easy.” Video games would be a way to engage students and even may excite them about learning. Imagine students asking for “harder” questions, assignments, or projects!

The Social MindDistributed principleDispersed principleAffinity group

principleInsider principle

Video games provide opportunities to learn new material individually or collaboratively. Learning is very social and video games allow individuals to play with each other in a competitive and engaging environment.

What is the link to society, culture, and technology?

Video Games & Learning

o Learning and Literacy mean different things to different groups of people.

o Video games are a type of technology that today’s learner would find engaging and fun!

o Video games are popular in our society and used by many(young & old).

Video Games are part of our society and are valued by some

cultures within our society. They are also a type of popular

technology in our society.

The 36 Learning Principles Active, critical learning

Design

Semiotic

Semiotic domains

Metalevel thinking about semiotic domains

“psychosocial moratorium”

Committed learning

Identity

Self knowledge

Achievement

Practice

Ongoing learning

“regime of competence”

Probing

Situated meaning

Intertextual

Multimodal

“material intelligence”

Intuitive knowledge

Subset

Incremental

Concentrated Sample

Bottom-up basic skills

Explicit information on-demand & just-in-time

Discovery

Transfer

Cultural models about the world

Cultural models about learning

Cultural models about semiotic domains

Multiple routes

Text Amplificati

on of input

Dispersed Affinity

group Insider

What Video Games Have

To Teach Us About Learning and

LiteracyBy James Paul Gee