Tonight I revisited Video Games and the Future of Learning by Shaffer, Squire, and Gee. It was packed with quotable excerpts that I’ll be using in my next paper. (I’ve planned a similar post for several other Squire articles, which I hope to post for you in the coming days.) Here are a few quotes in their entirety, categorized by the sections of my paper they might appear in. Please pardon the formatting, I just dragged and dropped directly in from my outliner… and Eva is calling. Gotta go. I look forward to any comments I might get on this post, and to returning to these quotes in a more complete narrative soon.
Intro
– [ ] “How can we use the power of video ames as a constructive force
in schools, homes, and workplaces?” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee,
2005, p. 105)
– [ ] “school is increasingly seen as irrelevant by many students who
are past the primary grades” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p.
110)
Constructivism
– [ ] “There is a lot being learned in these games. But for some
educators, it is hard to see the educational potential of the
games because these virtual worlds aren’t about memorizing worlds
or definitions of facts. But video games are about a lot more.”
(Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 107)
– [ ] “A century ago, John Dewey argued that schools were built on a
fact fetish, and the argument is still valid today.” (Shaffer,
Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 107)
Context embedded
– [ ] “video games are important because they let people participate in
new worlds” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 105)
– [ ] “the virtual worlds of games are poweful because they make it
possible to develop situated understanding” (Shaffer, Squire, &
Gee, 2005, p. 106)
– [ ] “The virtual worlds of games are rich contexts for learning
because they make it possible for players to experiment with new
and powerful identities.” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 106)
– [ ] “games take advantage of situated learning environments”
(Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 108)
– [ ] “this is situated learning at its most profound – a transfer of
ideas from one context to another that is elusive, rare, and
powerful.” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 109)
Socially Negotiated
– [ ] “Look at video games because they create new social and cultural
worlds – worlds that help us learn by integrating thinking,
social interaction, and technology, all in service of doing
things we care about.” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 105)
– [ ] “game playing can also be a thoroughly social phenomenon”
(Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 106)
– [ ] “the virtual worlds of games are powerful… because playing
games means developing a set of effective social practices.”
(Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 106)
– [ ] “part of the power of games for learning is the way they develop
shared values… the situated understandings, effective social
practices, powerful identities, and shared values that make
someone an expert” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 107)
Social Change
– [ ] “we need to build games that devolp for players the epistemic
frames of scientists, engineers, lawyers, political activists,
and members of other valued communities of practice – as well as
games that can help transform those ways of thinking for
experienced professionals.” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 111)
21st Century Skills
– [ ] “gamers… become critical consumers of information” (Shaffer,
Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 106)
Role of the Teacher
– [ ] “video games thus make it possible to ‘learn by doing’ on a grand
scale – but not just by wandering around in a rich computer
enviornment without any guidance” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005,
p. 108) more on this page.
– [ ] “but even if we had the world’s best educational games produced
and ready for parents, teachers, adn students to buy and plya,
it’s not clear that most educators or schools would know what to
do with them. Although the majority of students play video games,
the majority of teachers do not.” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005,
p. 110)
Conclusion
– [ ] “The epistemology of a practice thus organizes (and is organized
by) the situated understandings, effective social practices,
powerful identities, and shared values of the community… a
coherent epistemic frame.”” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 107)
– [ ] “evn if we sanitize games, the theories of learning embedded int
hem run counter to the current social organization of schooling.
The next challenges for game and school designers alike is to
understand how to shape learning and learning environments to
take advantage of the power and potential of games and hopw to
integrate g\ames and game-based learning environments into the
predominant arena for learning.” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005,
p. 110)
– [ ] “But classrooms have not adapted. Theories of learning and
instruction embodied in school systems designed to teach large
numbers of students a standardized curriculum are dinosaurs in
this new world” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 110)
– [ ] “Our students will learn from video games. The questions we must
ask and answer are: Who will create these games, and will they be
based on sound theories of learning and socially conscious
educational practices?” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 111)
– [ ] “Video games have the potential to change the landscape of
educatoin as we know it.” (Shaffer, Squire, & Gee, 2005, p. 111)
Reference
Shaffer, D. W., Squire, K. R., Gee, J. P. (2005). Video games and the future of learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 87 (2), 105-111.