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Denver, 12:24 PM
Wed Dec 9
64 posts in the last 24 hours
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07/15/09
Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner!
I hated public/government school.. ever loving minute of it. Boring and .. really just a big waste of time as far as I am concerned.
I really did not start "learning" until I wanted to. And the only reason I wanted to learn was so I could have pride in myself. And be a better person. My intentions are to be a student forever. Always new things to learn.
Surprisingly enough this point where I wanted to learn was after I graduated. And met a mentor who introduced me to Robert Kiyosaki's book "rich dad poor dad"
Now I am going to a technical college as well as taking a vocational course on small engine repair on top of this.
Truth of the matter is this. Government schools are never going to be fun. There not meant to teach you anything, there just there to fill you up with what the state/federal government wants you to know. Nothing more nothing less. Now I do not say this in some conspiracy type way. Its just a fact.
Now there are teachers who are passionate about education and really want kids to learn and expand there mental capacity's, but those are far and few.
I guess to sum up what I am saying. Is he makes a great point. You can't force anyone to do anything, you can only motivate them.
I am more likely to work when I know I am going to be given adequate compensation for my work, then when I know I will get nothing in return.
07/15/09
Public school has a purpose, which isn't to teach children about "subjects". It's about how to read, write, count, think, socialize, and work. The subjects themselves are negligible. Schools are more development centers than learning institutions.
07/15/09
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devanagari_script
This is relevant to my interests.
Also, I like how he said "play is a fundamental educational technology", and that "as a culture, we've forgotten that".
Scientists and researchers have been echoing this sentiment for years now, but none of them are willing to stand up and say that this applies to video gaming as well.
07/15/09
Just like how white boards are used to allow graphics I think gaming could be done that way too but I probably do think they should stay out of the class room. When I volunteered as a teaching assistant for a maths and computing class I found that computers made it quite hard. You have to make sure everyone is computer literate, personally help anyone who falls behind etc. You can't just tell them the maths, you have to tell them the maths and show them how to use the computer too.
I like gaming but I see it more as an aid to learning outside of classes if you choose to rather than a way to make learning more fun.
07/15/09
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07/15/09
Now that he's not there anymore, he may be harder to pin down, but hanging out in the Bay Area would be a good first step!
07/15/09
07/15/09
I do like references (I'm one of the .1% who knows what the Sephrioth is) and quotes in load screens.
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07/15/09
I like this idea. It'll also allow developers to say "No, see, we're teaching the kids about urban planning and traffic flow patterns in GTA V."
07/15/09
The video is well done and well written, but suffers from the single greatest drawback that most erudite gamers (and readers, viewers, etc...) encounter. This, again, comes from the inversion of instinct that people learn as they grow intellectually. Because so much of higher thinking requires discarding what one thought he knew, it becomes a pattern to which one blindly adheres. In this case I am speaking specifically of his comment that making the "points," metaphors or symbols obvious and straightforward is "tacky." Consider for a second, is there really any benefit to obscuring the meaning of something just to make it more subtle and "tasteful"? What makes subtlety tasteful? Nothing except that it gives people a sense of pedantic pride in deciphering something that need not be ciphered in the first place. Here I am talking about games that are more in the motivational category as compared to the teaching category. These games usually have some type of comment or critique on that which they are motivating one to learn, but they pretentiously hide their analysis of the issue or subject as if the mere addition of the "hidden" qualifier makes a "hidden message" any more meaningful or relevant.
Of course, the people who took the time to find the obfuscated analogies and metaphors and allegories come out of the process with a vested interest in maintaining the perception of the inherent credibility of the vague and ambiguous. The enlightened also see benefit in telling their friends about their accomplishments, who in turn have the same interest in discovering hiddden meanings and extolling the authors/designers/creators. This forms a kind of iron triangle where everyone benefits, except the unlearned, in promoting any given creator's work. I'm just a little disappointed, though not the least bit surprised, that this is happening with such frequency in games.
Honestly, if you have read 1984, tell me, from which did you learn more, "the book" within the book or the rest of the actual novel 1984? I'm willing to bet it was the former, because Orwell specifically explicates much of his theory of government's nature and potential evolution. No other symbolism or imagery in 1984 even compares to the wealth of learning and knowledge that can be had in those few pages of the book alone.
Anyway, I'm a true believer in games as a motivator, but they can also be the educator themselves; there is no reason that they cannot be both at once. This is especially easy with games dealing with history, as opposed to, say, physics, where specific instruction would seem more intrusive and out of place.
07/15/09
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01/13/09
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01/13/09
In GTA IV they forced you to drive drunk for points or "coins" if you will, in gamer lingo, while running down children who were having fully nude lesbian alien sex.
This game the army wants to buy has absolutely no lesbian sex. None whatsoever. So it's OK.
01/13/09
You aren't forced to drive drunk in GTA IV.
And you aren't rewarded for it. Also you are highly likely to get chased by the police making your trip more of a hassle than anything. You have the option to get drunk. And from that point you have the option drive or to take a cab to any location.
There are no children in any GTA IV. Which is a shame.
I'm assuming that this is totally sarcastic.
01/13/09
The "drunk driving for points" thing was actually said at some point by some idiot, and MADD was accusing GTA IV for glorifying drunk driving.
The nude lesbian sex is just a reference to Fox news' piece on Mass Effect.
01/13/09
What the fuck is that shit? If they were a good soldier, they wouldn't be out getting DUI.
01/13/09
01/13/09
Instead of putting all this money on what I am sure will be a laughable concept to all/most returning Veterans, why not put the money into something of better use:
Post Tramatic Stress Disorder
"!"
PTSD is on the rise, and drinking is a residual of "self medication". Add to the fact that drug abuse is also on the rise, and you realize a little too late that YOU DON'T HAVE A VIDEO GAME FOR THAT!
Granted, I would probaly play that game. The trippy colors might make a good screensaver or something...
I wish I could meet the Colonel that came up with this idea... Only a person "reaching for a star" would come up with this BULL-SHEEEAT!
01/13/09
01/13/09
Get this man a 3-piece drum set!