VIDEO GAME Chapter 3

Lessons we can learn from video games about teaching and learning:
1. Learners must be enticed to try, even if he or she already has good grounds to be afraid to try.
2. Learners must be enticed to put in lots of effort even if he or she begins with little motivation to do so.
3. Learners must achieve some meaningful success when he or she has expended this effort.

Video games provide an environment where learners can take risks, but real-world consequences are lowered. Children cannot learn in a deep way if they have no opportunities to practice what they are learning. Yet, at the same time, children must be motivated to engage in a good deal of practice if they are to master what is to be learned. However, if this practice is boring, they will resist it.

Passive learning-rather than active, critical learning-will not lead to much power and empowerment in the contemporary world, however much it may suit one for a low-level service job. Learners need to try skills that are challenging, but not "undoable."