tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041401714407470668.post7892557378177848146..comments2023-10-23T10:59:43.634-05:00Comments on J676: Video games and mass communication: David Williamson Shaffer and James Paul Gee Reading SummaryGreg Downeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09154543464555817869noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041401714407470668.post-17220240557091286022008-06-27T14:49:00.000-05:002008-06-27T14:49:00.000-05:00I think that when I said in class this article fel...I think that when I said in class this article felt "bleak," I didn't explain myself fully. While I do feel that they are painting in the reader's mind a future where the American Education System has failed the country, I mainly came away feeling bleak because of the way they went about doing this. The word "crisis" is used a lot, and while I think there is a crisis in the public school system, I don't think that this is anything new. In fact, I think that it is a problem that has existed for a very long time. And again, I have to agree with Adrian's post. Maybe if we were willing to pay teachers what they deserve, and fund the schools properly, huge advances in the way that kids are being taught would be seen.Jonathan Gelatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04401389126033117427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041401714407470668.post-13000814782470774432008-06-27T14:40:00.000-05:002008-06-27T14:40:00.000-05:00Something that I didn't mention in class that I th...Something that I didn't mention in class that I think deserves some contemplation now is the last several pages of the article. Its almost seems to get over-sold near the end in my opinion, as rather than explaining how epistemic frames could actually be integrated into the curriculum, the authors seem to talk more about its possible outcomes, with lofty sentences bloated with (perhaps, over-stated) possibilities. I feel like this article represents the equivalent of saying, "oh, come on World, just give peace a chance already!" Of course this sounds like a great solution, but it's just not the way the world works. Until there is an actual system for integrating these games, I remain skeptical to the authors main argument.Marlon Heimerlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16038436219563339071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041401714407470668.post-8717067482102442342008-06-27T13:12:00.000-05:002008-06-27T13:12:00.000-05:00Ya know, I'd love to add something to this discuss...Ya know, I'd love to add something to this discussion, but I think it's been said... Go Adrian!Jasunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678999861981038638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041401714407470668.post-38508842505196352072008-06-26T23:37:00.000-05:002008-06-26T23:37:00.000-05:00Reading this article and then the discussion we ha...Reading this article and then the discussion we had with Greg made me wonder if this "crisis" really even exists. It seems there is always something we as Americans need to be worried about. I do think it is unfortunate that some jobs are being outsourced, but the chances of a majority of jobs being outsourced doesn't seem feasible. I do, on the other hand, think we need to look into our education system. I recently saw an article from something where schools were paying their students for good grades. Are you kidding me!? The only way I ever got paid for grades was when i brought my report card into chuck e. cheese.Nick Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01905187886343516157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041401714407470668.post-56510619753050577792008-06-26T17:44:00.000-05:002008-06-26T17:44:00.000-05:00Once we started talking about this article in the ...Once we started talking about this article in the context of its intended audience, I had better feelings toward it, although I think everyone's right to be skeptical of games and gaming as an sort of panacea. It's obviously just one piece of a very complex puzzle. Also, one thing that the article from today got into that I was thinking about when I read this one is, essentially, "who is watching the watchers"? In other words, these games have rules that are totally constructed. The way the worlds operate, the way the systems behave - there are people controlling and programming that. So just because a complex simulation can be created and run doesn't mean there's anything inherently organic or authentic about it, necessarily.<BR/><BR/>Maybe an obvious point, but just wanted to add that.Sarah. R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13495338005089494192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041401714407470668.post-26574123839018998452008-06-26T16:36:00.000-05:002008-06-26T16:36:00.000-05:00This article was very critical of the state of our...This article was very critical of the state of our education system and justifiably so. I've never been a fan of the NCLB and still can't see what good it is doing. However, the epistemic games could be an viable alternative to learning, but how effective it would be in enhancing our future job force, I'm not convinced it would be. As stated by my fellow classmates, funding is the critical issue here. NCLB sees that because funding is cut for schools that underperform, if I recall correctly. The problem is that our education system is drastically under-provided for and it's scary.Eric Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00198361987589659236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041401714407470668.post-3408538811286869312008-06-26T16:04:00.000-05:002008-06-26T16:04:00.000-05:00Since I've already expressed my opinion that educa...Since I've already expressed my opinion that educational video games may be mostly useless in education, I don't believe that the solution to the education crisis is video games. It's obvious that the disparity in economic wealth between school districts is probably the most likely source. Obviously more funding means more computers and a lower student to teacher ratio, but computers are unimportant to basic learning once Word, Excel, and reserach skills have been developed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041401714407470668.post-56007346286527940502008-06-25T21:10:00.000-05:002008-06-25T21:10:00.000-05:00Most of my comments about this have a lot to do wi...Most of my comments about this have a lot to do with the state of education in general. I know that as I've seen things like No Child Left Behind come out, I get more and more frustrated with the state of education. Unfortunately, I really feel like the big part of what is going wrong can't be saved by some panacea like video games that are educational, but rather, by actually FUNDING education a lot more than we do. As much as I like where these guys hearts are, I don't think that the solution is anything more complicated than GIVE THE SCHOOLS MORE MONEY.Adrianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838262810164443856noreply@blogger.com