Double Entry Journal #1

I would have to say the article “Why are videogames good for learning?” by James Paul Gee made me really think about video games.  The author made a lot of good points that I had not thought of.  For instance the pattern recognition in games such as the one we are playing for class Gardens of Time.  He also mentioned that many games are goal oriented which is something else I had not considered.  In a roundabout way he also mentioned the coordination involved in playing certain games.  These points are defiantly pros for gaming and learning.

I like the author’s analogies because they really hit home to me.  For example the following quote, “So, though video games and scientific simulations are not the same thing, video game can, under the right circumstances, encourage and actually enact a similar “attitude” or “stance” (Gee n.d., p. 6).  I chose this quote because this section intrigued me.  As a scientist I have used a virtual simulator to mimic results I might obtain in the lab.  I had never thought about the relationship between a virtual lab and games.  After reading this article I have a new understanding for gaming.  I can see the usefulness and would love to play a game where I could do science experiments without some of the mess.  I also feel this type of game or simulator would be great for a classroom.  It would allow the students to perform more difficult experiments without the danger they present.  There would also be reduced cost in materials.

The related blog post I chose is from a news blog called Scientific America and is titled Using Virtual Worlds and Video Games to Teach the Lessons of Reality.   This article relates to the assigned article because it discusses a school that uses a “multi-user virtual environment” in its classrooms.  One simulation portrays diseases and simulates how they can be spread.  While another portrays and alien visitation and the students have to work as a team to investigate.  These methods are praised because many low-performing students do well on these assignments because they are able to immerse themselves in the digital world.   

Gee, J.P. (n.d.) Why are video games good for learning? Retrieved from:             http://www.academiccolab.org/resources/documents/MacArthur.pdf

Greenemeier, L. (2009, Jan. 1). Using virtual worlds and video games to teach the lessons of        reality. Retrieved from: http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=using-  virtual-worlds-and-video-game-2009-01-01