A Blogger's Reflection

 Now I wanted to add a short post to completely reflect on this blog, and not only on reflect on the questions the blog creates, but on the feelings of the blog itself.

 Starting with literal questions relating to the blog, how do you feel about the evidence that is provided for using games in other areas? Honestly, people have heard about games trying to be used for other purposes but are never given specific examples. To find those specific examples one must search vigorously to find them.  Of course this may be like saying why don’t people talk about a horrible movie that came out.  The next question that has made me think about this whole blog is how long these ideas like Foldit will or neurotherapy will last. It brings up the thought, have these examples of gamificated gold mines struck it rich, in the sense that it is helpful by social standards, by chance or will people continue to spread great ideas through video games? Well, what do you think?

 Guaranteed, researching this blog has made me have an inquisitive feeling about what can video games do to help in any circumstance. I’ve thought of precise surgery cutting with the use of game like technology to control the machinery (I have no idea if this exists or even if it can exist). What can you come up with?

 This blog has taken me some different places, and I must say this project has gone smoothly so far. Finding resources for driving simulations have been hard to find, but I have also discovered that many people have begun to ask questions on how video games will help us progress through our future. At this moment from what I have been writing, whether or not my essential question is positively or negatively answered, I do believe video games will be here stay and for the better not the worse.

Let's keep playing together

Research with Research

 Hello everyone, this week is going to be a somewhat different then the usual post. I want to not only take this post to recap so far on the findings from previous posts, but also introduce you to the research website that I am building. It will discuss some of the topics already talked about on this blog, but you'll find new material as well.
 The site is going to be what my teacher has described as, "A research paper for the twenty-first century," meaning the viewers go to the site and read, watch videos and listen to podcasts (if I find something interesting to do with it). The website is going to start off by giving background information on games, which will be neat because the content has not been posted on my blog. Topics that will arise are evolution of games, reaction to visual stimulation,  and something more familiar, gamification, that will be talked about more in-depth. To access my website please go to website. Currently though it is under management, and it will not be a site worth going to at least until Monday the 25. 

 Now, time to summarize my findings. If you are just starting to read the blog and you don't feel like reading everything that was made since February, then this is a great jump in point. For the rest, I hope it may create reflection upon this topic of video games. Remember my findings are all for the question "will video games serve other purposes besides entertainment?"
 I have read about medicine and games like neurotherapy for but not limited to ADHD (neurofeedbacker, 2007) and Foldit (look for writers at the bottom of the page, 2011). Foldit has made a video game out of building proteins and biofeedback has taken a approach that is more enjoyable by using games to train the patients, both resulting in more success.
 Anything that helps students learn is a wonderful tool, and according to James Paul Gee PhD in his book What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy, video games can be used to develop receptive learning minds inside the classroom and outside of it.
 A video game developed by Codemasters has shown that there is a driving simulation that is actually extensively detailed and precise. Armies are using game simulations for training like Virtual Battle Space 2, and have become quite popular especially because using a game gave the users the ability to analyze and see mistakes (Tim Cross, 2011).



One of things I found in all of these examples is that they all implement gamification. "Gamifiers try to capture that sense of engagement by providing rapid, continuous feedback, a clear sense of progression and goals that are challenging enough to maintain interest but no so hard as to put players off" (Tim Cross, 2011) So whichever game made that isn't solely for commercial use, must have certain characteristics in order to succeed. Understand though that just because there are success stories, it doesn't allow me to jump to the conclusion that yes, video games serve other purposes besides entertainment.

   

Game Playing Equals Brain Training

Did you ever think that video games may help people with stress or concentration rather than the games being the cause? Well that is exactly what is happening. I watched a video that tells the watcher that a program that was previously used for NASA pilots is now being used in the form of therapy used especially for people diagnosed with ADHD so as not to use medicine that may or may not cause side effects. This therapy is known as biofeedback but since the video is a bit older, today's term is known more specifically as neurotherapy. Children go through therapy and also get to enjoy it.

Research Scientist Dr. Alan Pope thought of using his program for keeping pilots alert for biofeedback using different brain waves. Flight simulations were replaced with video games to add entertainment and make it easier to train the brain with motivation. How does this game therapy train involuntarily functions? ADHD patients can train their brains to have the waves that are associated with focusing. Patients learn to increase their beta waves and decrease their theta waves. When a patient's waves aren't in tune, the therapy addresses those specific problems. So far, do you think children could perform this task easily without games or does it help that they are motivated to participate in the therapy because of the games?

This therapy works with the controller. The child's waves connect with the controller which sends out frequencies while the child plays the game. For example, when playing a racing game, the waves control the speed of the car. The car goes faster when the child actually uses the brain waves he or she needs, and the car goes slower when the child has waves that aren't wanted. This drilling makes the child have the power to change the involuntarily waves that do not allow for concentration. Have your previous thoughts changed about neurotherapy? Think about how people can use games to change what was thought to be uncontrollable. What other methods could this be used for?

Hopefully this may have interested you. If you would like to watch the video then please click here. Also if you are interested in neurotherapy then I have looked up a website to find a local center. Click on neurotherapy.

Let's keep playing

neurofeedbacker. (2007). Nasa video game training for adhd [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S26Kk-ueWjQ 

To play or to learn? Why not do both?

 This week's posting is about a book called What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee, who is distinguished in many areas including linguistics. He has taught courses  from psychology and linguistics to video games and education. Obviously, I will not go through each part the book, but give a summary of what it is about. If it inspires you in anyway, then by all means please read the book.

  Gee begins by telling the reader what he means when he says learning and literacy. He says students (from elementary school to college) when learning in the classroom are not truly reading because they do not understand the background of what they are reading truly is. He gives the simple example of the sentence: the guard dribbled down the court and passed the ball. If a student does not actually know what basketball is then how can he or she truly grasp the context of this sentence. The student has the ability to say what happened to the ball like was it dribbled or bounced, but the student will never actually visualize what the sentence was portraying nor will the student reflect on the topic and apply it elsewhere. Of course, this example is extremely simple in order to make one understand, but now put physics in place of basketball and you may get the bigger picture. I've recently discussed with some of my peers of how many college students have had trouble with college level reading due students' lack of reflecting over what they have read. Gee says students would be better engaged if they would build ideas on the topic before hand when they read a text book or even watch a movie. Do you think educators should stress more attention to making student's think about what is being studied or is it better how it is by simply teaching the material?

  By now you've probably said something along the lines of "what could this possibly have to do with video games?" Well if you have not, then congratulations. I on the other hand did while reading this book. But what James did was pretty interesting. He would talk about education or build up a point or theme he wanted to make. He then would relate it to video games and how good games can teach the certain points he was trying to make. Each chapter talks about a different way of thinking, mainly for educational purposes, and then ties it in with how video games can help teach that. If you have ever played a video game, think about it for a minute, and then ask yourself what you could have learned from that game or what kind of obstacles did it throw at you in which it forced you to truly think in order to leave the game victorious. In a way, couldn't this be similar to how someone has their view changed or how someone reflects because of a book or a movie?

  An example I will give about how the book fuses ideas for education and video games relates to the second chapter. The chapter made readers ponder questions about how our identities influence the way we learn. Identities,such as someone who is not intrinsically motivated, shape the way we choose to learn. If young students a get mind set that scientists take risks or that they never give up, it may change the way they study or pay attention in class. How does a video game teach having an identity? The game would be a role-playing game where one gets to choose the story, character, and choices made throughout the game. If you have ever played role playing game, haven't you made decisions based on what you think you're character should be? It's similar when applying this to real life saying students should make choices of how they will go about understanding a subject and teachers and professors should be the ones guiding them.

   There is a grand amount of ideas and principles in this book that are quite fascinating, but unfortunately I can not discuss every single one with you. Click on this website to see the Gee's 36 principles of learning to read more, and to read more about James Paul Gee click here. If you do read the book it does include even more ideas and more fundamentals to understanding education, and  bonds  them with video games well.

  I did also later discover that there is a second, more refined edition than the one I have been reading and looking through, but the main ideas should be the same.

Let's keep playing!


Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. (1st ed.). New York: Palgrave MacMillan.