Go play a video game!

          When we were first told in Educ 504 that we would be exploring video games that could be used to support learning, I must admit I was skeptical.  My initial reaction was that video games are for fun and I couldn't figure out how one could use these in a classroom setting.  Grand Theft Auto (GTA), which is definitely one of my favorite games, involves theft, weapons, murder, and general rule breaking, among various other things.  There is no way that this game would be appropriate for the classroom!

          Despite my skepticism, I remained open-minded as I began to read "Good Video Games and Good Learning," by Gee.  I realized that one doesn't have to necessarily bring the video game directly into class for it to support learning.  (Would any school actually be okay with students playing GTA in their building?)  A few ways that video games can influence learning are as follows:

• Players learn problem solving skills
• Games give feedback and new problems
• Lowers the consequences of failure
• Forces thinking about relationships between actions and skills
• Performance before competence

There are a variety of other ways that video games can influence learning, but I think one of the most important take home messages is that video games can help students gain problem solving skills.  The games can challenge players because they might encounter problems that they have not experienced before and might never experience in their lifetimes.  Players must figure out what the problem is, what skills they need to solve the problem, and the procedural knowledge of how to execute the solution.  Though the problems one experiences in a video game might be drastically different form the problems one must solve in school, the underlying thinking skills are the same. Gee helped me realize that video games are therefore an awesome way to influence learning by helping students solve problems.  If they can transfer these skills to the problems they face in their assignments, I think playing video games could be a fun way to supplement the objectives that are taught in school.

         Transitioning back to the video game I explored, GTA is an open world action-adventure game in which players take on the role of a character of their choosing and must navigate around the city to complete missions in order to gain points.  The successful completion of a mission allows players to challenge themselves with more difficult missions.  These missions require that players solve problems, take risks, and think about consequences.  GTA can also be converted into a multiplayer game in which one can play with friends or other players over the Internet.  This game also helps players increase their decision making skills because they must decide which weapons to use, which cars to steal (I like the fast ones), how to steal cars (beat people up!), and which direction to go in order to avoid the police.  Though is is unlikely that students will need to make these decisions in a school setting, the skills necessary to make decisions can be transferred to the types of problems students encounter in school.

          I don't think incorporating GTA into the curriculum or allowing students to play this video game during class time is a feasible, but I do think that it is a good way for students to learn many strategies that they can use in school.