What educational and social roles do you think games play in society?
I would first of all distinguish between online games and games that you play in real life with real people. So, what I'm trying to say is that I certainly accept online gaming as a way of playing and learning, but it cannot replace the experience you get from playing or learning in the real world. Important senses you use in the real world are not at all required online. If a highscore is the only thing you are after, then online gaming will certainly be for you. You try to master the routines required to win and improve the results by constantly repeating the routines. But what if you would like to involve your physical abilities? You will be required to excersise, which is a physical routine. Waving a Wii device certainly cannot replace real life physical experience. You cannot learn to drive a car, play golf, sailing, flying a plane or even playing football by using a computer game. What a computer game can do is to give you a theoretical understanding of physical action, but to master physically challenging games real world experience cannot be replaced. It's the same with education. Education that involves haptic experience or body co-ordination in general will not be achievable online.
On the other hand, concepts and routines can be learned online very well.
Having worked as a workplace trainer I always asked myself, where is the edge between a lesson and a game? Can a game replace a lesson? Can the game have the same effect or even improve the learning experience? What about the social aspect of replacing a lesson by a game? My experience tells me that it works. I believe the edge between playing and learning can be very blurry. If I try to explain something by using PowerPoint slides, engagement of audience is very low. It is almost a one way communication. If I convert the learning experience by playing a game instead of providing a speach supported by a powerpoint slide show, the audience gets involved and the basics for social interaction are established. The audience and I are exchanging thoughts and making experiences rather than being mouthfed.
My experience is, games are essential for society. They help learn (educate) how to function socially, which is a learning process in itself.
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