Are Video Games Good for Learning?

Abstract

Video games as "action-and-goal-directed preparations for, and simulations of, embodied experience" video games are good for learning but not just because they are games. simulation-based games are much more interesting. embodied empathy for a complex system. taking the perspective of an agent within the system. when specialists talk about complex systems, they often speak as though they are inside them. "humans think and understand best when they can imagine (simulate) an experience in such a way that the simulation prepares them for actions they need and want to take in order to accomplish their goals" "the mind is a simulator, but one that builds simulations to prepare purposefully for specific actions and to achieve specific goals (i.e. they are built around win states)" "for humans, effective thinking is more like running a simulation in our heads within which we have a surrogate actor than it is about forming abstract generalizations cut off from experiential realities" distributed intelligence via the creation of smart tools. can allow "performance before competence." cross-functional affiliations. basically teamwork among people with different skill sets situated meaning. games allow language to be put into the context of dialogue, experience, images, and actions open-ended goals. marriage of personal and in-game goals is highly motivating Video games are good for learning because, among other reasons, they have the following features: 1. They can create an embodied empathy for a complex system 2. They are action-and-goal-directed preparations for, and simulations of, embodied experience” 3. They involve distributed intelligence via the creation of smart tools 4. They create opportunities for cross-functional affiliation 5. They allow meaning to be situated 6. They can be open-ended, allowing for goals and projects that meld the personal and the social