Six years ago, James Paul Gee announced at the beginning of his book, What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy, “I want to talk about video games—yes, even violent video games—and say something positive about them.” It was not quite as provocative as Martin Luther nailing his ninety-five theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, but it was nonetheless a bold statement at a time when few scholars promoted the educational value of video games. Gee’s book not only declared that video games help players learn but articulated clear ways in which they do so.
Gee has continued to publish on the subject and is today perhaps the foremost scholar exploring the ways that video games promote good learning. We’re pleased that this Thursday, September 17 at 7:30 p.m., he will speak at Strong National Museum of Play (the home of NCHEG). In his talk, entitled “Gaming beyond Gaming,” Gee will examine ways gamers, especially girls and women, not only play games but “mod games, design things for games, write fan fiction, or design new rules of play.” This sort of participatory play, Gee asserts, is a hallmark of 21st-century learning. Don’t miss this chance to hear this thought-provoking presentation.
You can find more details about James Paul Gee’s talk this Thursday, September 17th here.
Hope you can make it!