james paul gee

James Paul Gee from New Learning Institute on Vimeo.


games are so complex, things a kid will never get in school
assessments drive school today. we're not going to change the paradigm unless we change the test.
why are we not tempted to test a person after playing 6 weeks of halo, but we feel compelled to test a person after 6 weeks of algebra 
you trust the design and learning of that halo game better than you trust the design and learning of that algebra class

design learning that is so rich and so deep, the idea that we let a test made in a different state, trump what happens outside of that learning will become primitive

not pushing digital media, but situated and embodied learning: being able to solve problems with what you know, just not knowing a bunch of facts, being able to do stuff

return to earlier age, 18-19th cent most scientists were amateurs, people wrote letters, instead of journal articles, helped each other, mentored each other
schools in america, for 1st time in history, have genuine competition, you can learn whatever, however, outside of school, some are doing it for profit
it's in some schools, library, and affluent homes
it's making skill and drill schools look bad
already operating by deeper forms of assessment, where assessment is integrated and used to customize learning

Henry Jenkins interview with Gee
Like many new ideas, the idea of games for learning (better, "games as learning") has been often co-opted by entrenched paradigms and interests, rather than truly transforming them. We see now a great many skill-and-drill games, games that do in a more entertaining fashion what we already do in school. We see games being recruited in workplaces--and lots of other instances of "gamification"--simply to make the current structures of exploitation and traditional relationships of power more palatable.

situated embodied learning: that is learning by participation in well designed and well mentored experiences with clear goals; lots of formative feedback; performance before competence; language and texts "just in time" and "on demand"; and lots of talk and interaction around strategies, critique, planning, and production within a "passionate affinity space" (a type of interest-driven group) built to sustain and extend the game or other curriculum.



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