What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Second Edition: Revised and Updated Edition Paperback – December 26, 2007

In this book I was enlightened to the in-depth world of video gaming. The only video games I remember playing back the early 1980s was Asteroids, so I had no idea about the complexity of the today's "good games" and the amount of cognitive strategy that goes on within the player's mind. In each chapter Gee goes into specific detail explaining selected game scenarios which correspond to a selected set of his 36 Learning Principles. He states that these learning principles, which are evident in video games, can be transposed to classroom learning. He is critical of the current state of the classroom which, in his opinion, still maintains a lackluster skill-and-drill approach to learning which is a very different strategy presented in video games. The principles Gee has developed while observing- and playing- video games is, as he says, " a plea to build better schools on on better principles of learning."He makes excellent points that I, and I am sure others, will relate to. Learning through hands-on experience can be so much more rewarding and long lasting, and the scenarios which video games players find themselves working within, activate situated cognition and social learning. In other words, Gee shows us how video games help players learn how to pick up on patterns, learn through the situations they engage within, and operate within a social network where they can synthesize their skills and strategies as a main character in the drama of the game. What I have learned from reading this book is how transformative video game learning can be as compared to passive or outside experience of, for example, listening to a teacher lecture, because players can actually become one of the characters and therefore activate higher levels of learning.He does mention the issues of violence and gender (how women are depicted) in video games (an area of concern for parents and educators), and in that chapter he briefly provides readers some research based evidence to consider on the effects of violence and gender issues on players. I understand that he is asking readers to re-consider pop culture's sometimes overblown concerns of video gaming, and take a good look at really what is really going on in video games.It is a fascinating read and it has caused me to reconsider the hours my teens spend on their video games. Although balance is neccesary, I am priming myself to not be so judgemental in my thinking that they are just "wasting their time" and not being productive. There is more going on than I ever realized!

There is not much critical theory out there on video games and James Paul Gee provides thoughtful observation on where literacy and learning intersects with video games. A lot of the book has to do with how video games as a new form of literacy, can construct our identities in ways unique to the medium and considers new levels of perception. He cites games like Half-Life, Tomb Raider, World of Warcraft and a handful of others and does a good job of keeping his analysis fairly close to the games.The only place I would ding the book is that his examples are slightly outdated and this can be expected considering how quickly the video game industry moves but his observations still hold up. Gee has some very interesting ideas about video games without getting too caught up in theoretical terminology, so even though it tends towards the academic, it is still open to more casual readings. It's a good resource for critical theory on video games and well worth the cost.

Good video games offer players strong identities; they make players think like scientists; they lower the consequences of failure; ... In short, good games provide an environment that is optimized for deep-learning. Best of all, all of these concepts are directly applicable to learning just about any skill - from how to traverse a virtual landscape, to basic science, math, and yes, even good social skills.That's not to say that every video game on the shelf will meet the above criteria, but as James Gee points points out: many do. After all, if they don't, they're out of business. In the meantime, our educational system could really benefit from picking up a few of the techniques described in this book - ever wonder why so many "ADHD students" can't sit still in class, but then spend hours concentrated on a video game? Perhaps it's not the students, but rather the method of delivery and the content itself? The book offers 36 principles that are often found in great games, and which can help us build both better classrooms and computer games -- or, even better, classrooms with engaging computer games.

Being a baby-boomer I have been a skeptic of video games but recognizing at the same time that the lack of extensive manuals and the encouraging of exploration in order to learn, as exemplified in video games is much closer to real life than the top-down, linear learning view that manuals represent.This books makes a great case for the principles of learning embedded in video games which are very very relevant in our knowledge intensive world.It is no surprise that recently the corporate world is beginning to talk about "gamification" and "user experiences".Highly recommended to anyone who cares about our education system!

My grandson who is very much into computers and video games wanted to read this book. He read a few pages and lost interest. It is very technical and not something for a young teenager, but if you are older, it might be a good read for you.

Commonsensical in an area where a lot of teachers are suffering from severe cases of crano-rectal inversion. Helps them understand why the kid who can't finish a short story at school will then go home and show he has all the 800 written documents in Skyrim memorized.S'cratchy the Khajiit: I'm more interesting that George Washington, teacher. That's not because Washington is boring. It's because you are.

If you want a good introduction into video games and learning, this is a great place to start. It's intelligently written and accessible.

Yo creo que es referente indispensable sobre el papel de los videojuegos en la educación. Gee no discute cómo usar los juegos en el aula sino que explica como los videojuegos son herramientas educativas que nos enseñan a resolver problemas difíciles.

A côté de Henry Jenkins, James Paul Gee est une des figures scientifiques anglo-saxonnes s'étant intéressées à la culture vidéoludique et aux potentiels des bons jeux vidéo. Je recommande également Marc Prensky pour ceux qui s'intéressent aux Digital Game-Based Learnings.

Gee provides a rather narrow and previously unheard perspective on games: The strategies of learning they employ to help gamers understand how to play each game.Surprisingly (at least to me), they - according to Gee - are very similar to the strategies that cognitive science and learnign science propose for active and critical learning. So, in the process of reading this book the reader gains not only insight in the functionality of video games, but also in modern learning theories:How for instance good learning about physics not only focuses on content (like physical principles), but also on the "domain of physics" itself: Understanding specific values, language, and goals practiced within the scientific community. Or that learning about a certain domain (natural or human science, music, games..) forms the identity of a learner.Certaing games (Gee labels them "good games") are very good at adressing these issues, and are therefore easy and fun to learn for the player, reward her at the right moment and so on.In the book, Gee describes a whole of 36 of such principles of good learning and analyses modern games of different genres according to these principles. He focuses on complex games that allow the player to enter a virtual wold or tell a complex story. Examples from the text include The Sims, Half Life, Halo, Picmin, World Of Warcraft, Arcanum, Time Machine, Castle Wolfenstein... (just to list a few).I found the book very interesting, especially from the perspective of producing educational and serious games. I also liked the structure of the book, where each principle is explained by different expamples from games or scientific studies. The text is easy to read, entertaining (when Gee talks about his own expieriences with games), and occasionally provocative (like, when he states that computergames are sometimes better at teaching than school teachers).However, the reader will not (or only marginally) find topics like violence in games, gender roles or video game addiction covered.About me: I studied digital media technology and design, have a lot of experience in playing video games and am reading the book primarily as theoretical background for creating an educational game.