Response to "Our Virtual Worlds"

Entering the virtual world of a well-designed game is a motivator to learn the intricacies of that world. Video games are designed to teach you mastery while you play.  The disappointments are not so degrading as to make the player give up, and the rewards feel real.

I had one experience with a video game fifteen years ago (SuperMarioLand) on my then young elder son's GameBoy.  I fell into the chasm of obsession, and played the game every night until well past midnight--until I could beat the "Big Boss" and save Daisy.  I then put the game down and vowed to never play another video game again, as I had an actual life to live.  But it gave me a window both into the addictive nature of games, as well as into the constructs of the game that modeled and encouraged systematic learning. Each time I played the game and "died," I learned a little more about the virtual world I inhabited.  Situations that were previously unpredictable death-traps became filled with enemies I could jump over, duck under or destroy.  I was adapting within MarioLand and becoming a master of all I surveyed.  How clever were the designers of the game to give me enough success each time to make me want to "live" again, in order to get a little closer to saving Daisy! The learning curve was steady and inexorable--until I mastered the game, beat the big boss and saved Daisy.

Isn't this what we as educators want to accomplish for our students? We want them to be excited to come to school to master skills that will allow them to feel mastery in their world.  Can well-designed educational video games accomplish this goal? Undoubtedly. I personally observed my younger son, at the age of eleven master the game Runescape.  He said it taught him the essentials of economics and commerce.   Is this the only way to achieve this goal?  Absolutely not.  There needs to be a balance between virtual worlds and actual worlds--as we are flesh and blood humans living in a world of animals, vegetables, and minerals.  We need to test our mettle by handling and pressing against more than just zeros and ones.  Video games can facilitate our grasp of worldly principles in an engaging and pleasurable way, but so can sculpting, playing music, dance, drawing and just playing real-life games.