Learning from an Extra Life (Via This Is Not News.) Dave Thommer shares some excerpts from David Bennahum’s book Extra Life, including one touching on how the paper and dice roll playing game Dungeons and Dragons helped him to develop skills and abilities that school didn’t. Dave alerted me to his post via email. This was my response to him – and something I thought I should post here, if for no other reason than it might commit me to writing more about it later:
Thanks for the link, Dave! I’ve been following This is Not News via RSS, but must’ve skimmed over this entry. (I’m subscribed to over 400 feeds.) I particularly appreciated the excerpt about D&D. I was never terribly interested in that particular game, but played many paper and dice roll playing games growing up – and absolutely credit them with developing my problem solving, team work, and creative skills. I’m still searching for a way to bring a similar experience to more people – particularly students. I am hopeful about modern video games and simulations, but really, they’re not there yet. I definitely need to write more about this… it’s probably what I should be doing my dissertation on. ;)
Thanks again.
Mark