Prensky’s 7 Games
May 7, 2008Marc Prensky is an acclaimed public speaker who focuses primarily on education and learning. He is also an author and producer of several different types of educational software games. Read his article titled, “The Seven Games of Highly Effective People,” .Comment on what you found interesting and important in the article, and then tell why. Also, dare to disagree with something, giving your opinion and reasoning for this discrepancy.
~Ashley
I guess I remain unconvinced that gaming is THAT beneficial for other, unrelated areas. The author says, “Is there evidence that game playing actually makes people highly successful? Indeed there is. Among other sources, hospital studies show game players make better surgeons 1, articles highlight the military’s conviction that game players make better war fighters 2, and an upcoming book, Got Game: How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Business Forever (from the Harvard Business School Press) concludes that game players make better business people 3.”
This does not really make much sense to me. Is my gamer friend going to end up a better English teacher than non-gaming me? I guess this just doesn’t make sense. I need more convincing…
I thought the article was worth reading. I also think he makes some good points. Especially on team work and having an end goal in mind. Both are two skills that English teachers and future employers (our students) will need. But for me the down side of gaming comes from its violent nature and content. I don’t think that that sort of violence helps make anyone a better citizen. Overall, the author made a few good points but I, like Khardter, am not conviced.
heres another artcile which talks about the same things:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2943280.stm
I don’t 100% agree with the artcile. I think that some of the skils he was talking about like, having and end goal in mind and team work, are beneficial. They are skills that us, future teachers and our students could use to get ahead in the world. I don’t like that video games are so violent in nature. I dont think that watching people die and helping to kill people is a skill that ANYONE needs. I also think that the violence could out weight any possible benefit. Here is a website that deals with the question as well:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2943280.stm
its not allowing me to post anything?
Okay, Ive written this three times and it keeps deleting when I try and submit it, so…
I agree with some of the skills that the article talks about, like team work and having an end goal in mind. I think that as teachers we could use these skills in our lessons. I also think that we could teach these to our students to help make them better employees. But I do not agree with the violence in the video games. I don’t think that that sort of violence will help anyone become a better citizen and in fact, may outweight any possible benefit. Here is an arrticle from BBC that discuss this same issue:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2943280.stm
Okay, Ive written this three times and it keeps deleting when I try and submit it, so…
I agree with some of the skills that the article talks about, like team work and having an end goal in mind. I think that as teachers we could use these skills in our lessons. I also think that we could teach these to our students to help make them better employees. But I do not agree with the violence in the video games. I don’t think that that sort of violence will help anyone become a better citizen and in fact, may outweight any possible benefit. Here is an arrticle from BBC that discuss this same issue:
:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2943280.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2943280.stm
I agree with these skills. Although, from my perspective kids who play video games more often tend to have a little better self control. I never play video games so when i suck at them i get really angry. I am a firm believer though that neither tv r video games make a person violent. I do not think playing a violent game is goign to make you a murderer. I do think there should be age limits and you need to be mature enough to pplay certain games. I think there are so many other factors that lead to a person becoming violent that outweigh video games.
I can understand alot of what Prensky is saying, however, I have to wonder with Krystina about how not being a gamer myself could be seen as a negative. I don’t think that gamers are necessarily smarter or more capable than non-gamers. Prensky pointed out, “You have to be there making decisions, testing strategies, defending, attacking and pulling information from the players and characters you meet.” This seems a bit silly to me. In regards to video games: it’s not real life. It’s just a game! “Testing strategies” does not mean that these strategies or ideas would work in the real world. Especially in some of the crazy war games that my brother plays. I can see how video games could help with hand and eye coordination and educational games from the last blog post would be great for kids. However, I think Prensky takes it just a little bit too far. I am not a gamer and I don’t think I am at a disadvantage because of it. Would any of you gamers disagree with me?
I can see how some gaming can be positive in a person’s life but I think that article may be taking it too far. Many of the things said could possibly be very true for some people but I don’t think these ideas are true for a large percentage of people. One aspect I really couldn’t grasp was the proactive part.
“This is the habit of doing, rather than waiting. Any game player soon learns how important this is – you don’t beat a game by waiting around for things to happen to you. You have to be there making decisions, testing strategies, defending, attacking and pulling information from the players and characters you meet. There are many Windows games that can help hone these skills. Whether you are flying a plane in Flight Simulator, running an historical world in Rise of Nations or building a theme park in the Roller Coaster Tycoon series, in games, as in life, the world is constantly changing. Those who don’t learn to anticipate proactively don’t succeed.”
I can see where this information can apply in a small attribution to these skills and definitely in the “gaming world” because it makes sense. But, the picture I get in my head is that when people are constantly sitting home playing games like this and playing different character roles they are sort of just living vicariously through these characters. If someone is spending all of their time perfecting their skills on games such as these it seems as though they may not have much time to be proactive in their own lives.
I really liked Prensky’s idea of “Beginining with the end in mind.” I think having a clear goal in mind is so essential for completing anything in a classroom. So often, you start a project and shortly lose a direction or any kind of end in sight. Our imovie project was a good example of having the end in mind and by doing so, kept us on track and made it easier to complete the project.
One thing I disagreed with was Prensky’s idea of “synergize.” Of course, it seems like a wonderful idea to figure out different ways to do things, but I think that gaming may contradict this, since games usually only have one way to win. It seems harder for someone to (just an example) use their imagination, versus writing a poem or short story. Perhaps games could be a step backward for using their imagination?
http://www.rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/mo2491sep.htm
That is an excellent journal about gaming in the classroom. It discusses the use of games and their pros and cons.
I enjoyed this alternative approach to the positive aspects of gaming. The idea that video game skills can buils skills for success is similarly related to Pink’s idea of building relationships and “symphony”. In his novel, A Whole New Mind, he explains the importance of taking subjects that seen unrelated and finding ways for them to relate to one another. Prenksy’s point about gaming are very innovative, espcially the one that mentions being proactive. It is true that any task will not get completed unless you strive to finish it, and beginning with the “end in mind”, as Jessica mentioned, is a great way of having a goal to reach.
I think this approach to gaming is interesting to discover. I don’t really see the true and life changing benefits that these games have in the classroom. I am aware that their are some students that will respond more to gaming than others. I think it is important to keep in mind that we address all the aspects of gaming before incorporating it into the classroom. When you are a teacher you get to know your students and become familiar with their wants and needs. This is important.