DEJ 4
What Kids Learn That’s POSITIVE
From Playing Video Games
By Marc Prensky

 For whenever one plays a game, and whatever game one plays, learning happens constantly, whether the players want it to, and are aware of it, or not. And the players are learning “about life,” which is one of the great positive consequences of all game playing.

I think this is very true.  In a well designed game the gamer becomes invested in the game and are not really thinking about why they  are doing what they are doing but complete tasks to get further in the game.  The player learns skills and patterns as the game progresses and the gamer may not be aware of this as learning.  The second part of this statement is another one that I agree with.  The gamer can try out many different roles in games that they may not be able to experience in their everyday life.  In the education world real life connections to lessons is emphasized and authentic tasks and the format of the video game is one way to provide this authentic learning but in a different form.

In fact, as a learning tool, computer and video games may be the most powerful mechanism ever known.

I agree that the computers and video games can be a great tool to promote learning however they must be presented correctly and by a knowledgeable presenter.  I think that the acceptance of this statement will be met with much resistance as classroom teachers begin to switch the idea of the teacher being the sage of the stage to one of partner of learning.

 

players of computer and video games not only learn how to do things in terms of knowing the procedures, but they also practice the skills until the learning is internalized and becomes second nature

I agree that as the player continues to play the game they learn skills and with playing being the practice the skill becomes second nature.  When games allow the player to save their progress as they play then there is no pressure of failure and the skill can be practiced until mastered.  Think about asking a student to sit and practice spelling wordsl for an hour and I believe it would be met with great resistance but let the same student play a word game for example for an hour and that hour is over before they know it  and they would be spelling words to gain points and not realize it was the same task.