What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy

by James Paul Gee

• ISBN13: 9781403961693
• ISBN10: 1403961697
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2003-05-16
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

"In this completely updated and revised edition ofacontemporary classic, one of America's most well-respected educators considers more than thirty new video games in his provocative examination of their positive effects on learning. Gee includes recent games such as World of War Craft and Half Life 2 and analyzes new theories of cognitive development, such as how individuals develop a sense of identity, grasp meaning, evaluate and follow a command, pick a role model, and perceive the world. This is abook that will open your mind to the possibility that video games are the forerunners of instructional tools that will determine how we learn in the future."--BOOK JACKET.

Author Biography

James Paul Gee is one of the most well-known professors of education in the United States. He teaches at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and is the author of several books.

Table of Contents

Introduction: 36 Ways to Learn a Video Game	1	(12)
Semiotic Domains: Is Playing Video Games a ``Waste of Time''?	13	(38)
Learning and Identity: What Does It Mean to Be a Half-Elf?	51	(22)
Situated Meaning and Learning: What Should You Do After You Have Destroyed the Global Conspiracy?	73	(40)
Telling and Doing: Why Doesn't Lara Croft Obey Professor Von Croy?	113	(26)
Cultural Models: Do You Want to Be the Blue Sonic or the Dark Sonic?	139	(30)
The Social Mind: How Do You Get Your Corpse Back After You've Died?	169	(30)
Conclusion: Duped or Not?	199	(8)
Appendix: The 36 Learning Principles	207	(6)
References	213	(8)
Index	221