What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy
Researched Argument Paper
In his What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, James Paul Gee strives to prove that video games lead to “good learning of hard and challenging things”(Gee 4), and does so rather successfully. He supports his claims with many examples from his own personal experiences as well as a few research experiments he has done in classrooms. The results of these examples in addition to other professional journals clearly agree with his main assertions.
When it comes to credibility of this book, James Paul Gee is very qualified to be speaking about the topics he addresses. Not only has he studied linguistics and philosophy in college, but he has also taught for many years in classrooms. This background is evident in What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy and his first book, which relates more to language. He makes many literary references throughout this novel, which were influenced by his college studies and his previous book. Gee has played many different kinds of video games as well, so he has first hand experience with the ideas he discusses in his book. With all of the examples of different video games he said he enjoyed playing, he could have an ulterior motive of advertising these particular games. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case since these games are very diverse in genres, brands, and creators.
In his What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, James Paul Gee uses logical reasoning and explanations of ethical issues as his main strategies to convince people today that video games are a good source to learning challenging concepts. The logical points Gee focuses on are also supplied with detailed examples of his own experiences, what he has learned when teaching, and what he has learned while studying linguistics. He starts off by explaining that people are “learning a new literacy” when they play video games (Gee 17). He then moves on to “semiotic
In his What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, James Paul Gee strives to prove that video games lead to “good learning of hard and challenging things”(Gee 4), and does so rather successfully. He supports his claims with many examples from his own personal experiences as well as a few research experiments he has done in classrooms. The results of these examples in addition to other professional journals clearly agree with his main assertions.
When it comes to credibility of this book, James Paul Gee is very qualified to be speaking about the topics he addresses. Not only has he studied linguistics and philosophy in college, but he has also taught for many years in classrooms. This background is evident in What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy and his first book, which relates more to language. He makes many literary references throughout this novel, which were influenced by his college studies and his previous book. Gee has played many different kinds of video games as well, so he has first hand experience with the ideas he discusses in his book. With all of the examples of different video games he said he enjoyed playing, he could have an ulterior motive of advertising these particular games. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case since these games are very diverse in genres, brands, and creators.
In his What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, James Paul Gee uses logical reasoning and explanations of ethical issues as his main strategies to convince people today that video games are a good source to learning challenging concepts. The logical points Gee focuses on are also supplied with detailed examples of his own experiences, what he has learned when teaching, and what he has learned while studying linguistics. He starts off by explaining that people are “learning a new literacy” when they play video games (Gee 17). He then moves on to “semiotic
Cited: "Boys play Grand Theft Auto IV." Image. AP Photo/Paul Sakuma. Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society.ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 19 May 2013 Gee, James. "James Paul Gee." CGPublisher. n. page. Web. 19 May. 2013. . Ivory, James, D. "Violent Video Games: If You’re Looking for the Causes of Serious Aggression and Violence in Society, Stop Playing Around with Video Games." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 19 May 2013. Reutter, Vicki. "Morality play: cheating is good and sharing is bad. No wonder digital ethics have kids confused." School Library Journal Aug. 2006: 36+. Academic OneFile. Web. 19 May 2013. Sparrow, Norbert. "From call of duty to surgical simulators." European Medical Device Technology. 4.2 (2013): n. page. Web. 19 May. 2013. . Stager, Gary. "Edugaming--a bad idea for all ages: the edugaming craze is based on ignorance." District Administration May 2007: 80. Academic OneFile. Web. 19 May 2013. Gee, James . What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2007. Print.