VIDEO GAME Chapter 2

The first thing we had to figure out is what semiotic and semiotic domain meant. Semiotic simply means "signs." Semiotic domain means something like "an area or set of activities where people think, act, and value in certain ways." For example, you don't think, act, and value the same ways when playing video games as you do when bird watching.

So, what can we learn as educators from watching kids play video games?
1. It's active learning.
2. They learn to experience the world in a new way.
3. They get the potential to learn and collaborate with others.
4. They develop resources like "cheat codes" and watch videos for future learning and problem solving.
5. Encourages using texts, video, and images to solve problems and reflect on the design of the game and design of both real and imagined social relationships in the real world.

Active learning involves three things:
1. experiencing the world in new ways
2. forming new affiliations
3. preparation for future learning

It's not always about the content...it's about the problem solving skills students gain. Why do so many people feel that no "intellectual content" equals no learning? No one would want to learn about basketball using a textbook with never having played or watched the game. "But we do this sort of thing all the time in school with the areas of math and science." Hmmmm...how true. (hanging head in shame...)

Need we say more...stay tuned for more "shame."

Posted by Heather, John, and Kelly