What's up with the World of Warcraft
Abstract: Video games are often deemed a waste of time, blamed for acts of violence and the corruption of American youth. As a former critic of video games, I never considered the potential of games to increase and enhance learning until I read Gee’s (2007) What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy. The book discusses 36 learning principles related to the skills individuals acquire through gaming. To investigate further, I interviewed a 34 year old gamer about his experience with World of WarCraft. What I found was surprising. Gaming has provided him with the opportunity to socialize, build relationships, relate to others and utilize and build skills such as reading, comprehending, strategizing, team building and task management. This paper investigates how gaming is related to learning and how video games, when used properly, might serve as a tool to increase student engagement and facilitate learning in the classroom.
Presider: Anne-Marie Armstrong, Freelance Instructional Designer