532: Games Can Make the World Better

I watched Jane McGonigal’s TED talk called, Games Can Make the World Better: http://vimeo.com/10236710

Here are some points that I took away from the talk:

• There is a parallel track between the amount of hours that individuals are spending gaming and in school. Students are spending as much time playing games before age of 21 as spent from 5th grade to high school graduation. This is over 10,000 hours. They are spending time learning what it means to be a good gamer. They are getting that constant feedback that provides positive reinforcement. Leveling up, plus one, plus twenty are awards they are receiving for accomplishing a goal. People are trusting them to save the world thru tasks at their ability level. If we spend ten thousand hours studying something, we will master it. We will become virtuoso at it. Let’s have them master something else in the real world by having them spend this much time studying it.

• There are four ways that games make us virtuous.  
• Urgent optimism - extreme self motivation. Gamers always believe that an epic win is possible and they have hope of getting it.
• Social fabric - build bonds with the people we play with. It takes trust that someone will spend time with them, follow the same rules as them, and go for the same goals as them.
• Blissful productivity- we are happier working hard than relaxing. Gamers are willing to work hard if they are given the right task.
• Epic Meaning - gamers have a sense of meaning. World of Warcraft wiki is the second largest wiki. Gamers have added over 80,000 articles about the game. They are building meaning that is purposeful to them.

We are using games to get away from real world suffering. To get away from everything that's wrong in the real world. What if we can take that motivation, engagement, and interest and use it to solve real-world problems?  This makes me think about the possibilities of using games in my own classroom.  I am a second grade teacher, and I can use games to raise awareness for my students.  I can use games to get them to see what is happening in the community and how the can get involved to help out.  What if they watched videos about pollution?  What if they participated in a simulation that shows them what happens to the earth when we litter?  They can complete tasks to get them motivated and interested in helping out the community.  They can come up with a plan to help out.