Videos Games as Literacy

Videos games are not a new literacy but is a competency that requires fluency.  Video games are a universal form of conceptualizing virtual ideas.  As we have accepted an x and y axis to represent 2 dimensions, or how we accept east to be to the right or north to be at the top of a map, these are fluencies and an accepted form of conceptualizing the world we live in.  Video games have a similar effect.  Video games are representations of life and enable players to enact scenarios which they may have little or no contact with in a live setting.

There is a literacy in playing video games in how to manipulate a controller or adjusting settings.  In the example of Minecraft the player has to understand a world that is built from tabula rasa. Observing a 9 year old player, yesterday, he was able to build a school and purchase tools to build things and maneuver in that world.  That would suggest some type of fluency.  Fluency to the game is a part of that but the other portion is I believe this drives how players/users perceive the world.  How they may build things or construct ideas.   

Gaming in Education

Captures the essence of problem based learning.  Gaming allows for growth in the realm of strategy.  Gaming enables gamers to experience poignant situations and replicate them over and over.  Not only can a difficult scenario be captured, but due to adequate exposure, one can conceptualize a course of action.  It is the brain’s version of building muscle memory in certain situations.  Also, in relation to a static classroom where students are required to do homework may become discouraged when faced with a difficult problem.  The problem is too great to encourage further effort to adapt and overcome.  With gaming, level of rigor can be adjust to the level of the game or, as previously stated, the gamer can think through those situations to create a viable solution.

While the article speaks to the lack of adaptivity, I would suggest that it speaks to the possibility of building on existing knowledge to address this issue to create a solution.  In keeping with the Maker Movement tradition (Pappert) limited solutions can become more complex.  Computers are programmed to do what they are told.  The variables are probably too simplistic which suggests that perhaps more variables can be injected into scenarios to create that adaptivity.  The human mind works the same way.  More variables make scenarios difficult to predict in which, we train our brain to focus on just a few of them.  Often, we here of professional athletes speak of “the game slowing down” after several years in the league.  They have trained their brain to focus on cues.  I train my players to focus on trends and habits of the opposition.  I train my linemen to look at the footwork of the offensive tackles.  If their outside foot is back further than the inside (i.e. not perpendicular) more than likely the play is a pass.  If the linemen are in a 3 point stance, I tell them to expect the run.  Now, I can make that scenario very difficult to comprehend by using a standard distribution and creating a probability based on a myriad of variables (down, distance, score, personnel package, etc.) or, I can simplify the entire scenario by telling players, based on their position, what to expect and giving them “assignments” to create an entire defensive system created to defeat the most likely course of action.  With all of that being said, that all applies to gaming.  Raheem Morris speaks of how gaming has influenced his coaching (Toppo, 2015).

I disagree with Ron Smith on the “all in” concept.  Life just doesn’t work that way.  Games are based on real scenarios.  It has to be a blended “piecemeal” endeavor.  Gaming can be used to limit expenditures or usage of resources.  It can be used to address safety or inject experiences into novices in a discipline.  I would even suggest that an all in approach has its limitations and negative consequences.  A blended approach that can create associations to multiple worlds is the way to go.  In the realm of mathematics, educators have to lose the dissociative nature as it currently stands.  Formulas and theorems exist to address real world problems, however, they are taught in a box.  The learner cannot see the relevance of learning abstract ideas and applying it to a 3 dimensional world.    

What I find most interesting is the need for games and technology being burdened with proving its worth against a failed system.  Some call it failing, but education had failed out children.  The position in the Central Valley should be to embrace any and all ideas that instill interest and hope in this generation of learners.  Metropolitan centers in the Central Valley consistently lead the way in being under educated and impoverished.  What turf is any educator truly defending in the discussion of ideas to promote learning in our children?  Gaming, gamification, and everything in between needs to be on the table as a possible solution to do right by people in our society with a desire to learn.

"The roots of the modern school system lay in the nineteenth century management ideas developed for factories, huge halls of efficiency born in a "highly practical age" and designed to turn out standardized products as quickly and cheaply as possible." (Toppo, 2015)

From the perspective of the Central Valley, education has failed.  Not failing...but failed.  The statistics are so abysmal that I can not understand why we view the solution within the current system.  Reconstruction (Gorbachev) seems to be the answer.  We need to blow the thing up and try something radically different.  As an educator, I think all options must be explored.  As a parent, I don't have time for this shit.  I think putting my kids into high school is probably a waste of time.  I'll either enroll my kids directly into the local junior college or I will move (to another region in the US or leave the country).  By virtue of accessing the local K-12 system, my children are destined to work the agricultural fields, oil fields, or work in the service sector.  They will leave the K-12 system with no professional skills and will be required to incur a large amount of debt to have any chance at upward mobility.  Fuck that.  As a parent I'm not having that.  As an educator, I believe by being highly critical of a failed system will require leaders to look at the shortcomings and look for viable solutions.  I also believe that I can offer solutions.

Dr. Mullooly bought up an interesting point at the Fresno State colloquim, last Saturday.  In his research as an Anthropologist, he saw a link between highly educated youth and unemployment which seems to cause civil unrest.  Unemployment exist (he calls them displaced youth) but the lack of education perhaps keeps the prospects of civil unrest low.  In the valley, however, the amount of undereducated is higher then in other parts of the country which perhaps conditions the populace to more adverse outcomes.

Perhaps we can maintain a model that prepares students for the workforce.  In 2015, IT is the new vocational trade that ensures employment.  A high school graduate that can program code and repair hardware in a desktop has more options and marketability than a high school graduate that can ace the SAT.  What value does the SAT have in the Central Valley?  What about a high school diploma?  What does it really matter?  In Coalinga, only 8% of students are prepared for Freshman English and 3% for Freshman Algebra according to the EAP. Tangible life skills are more important than acing standardized tests with such horrendous scores.  How can any educator view these stats as promising or a level from which to build on?

Games in education

The ideas of using games in education is supported by Vygotsky's theory of education psychology in that children mimic the behavior of adults.  When you look on a playground, you will see kids mimicking professional football players or playing Cops and Robbers.  Even the toys available to children mimic some type of adult behavior.  In video games, this is also a present theme.  The beauty of games is that it allows children to strategize real world situations that could not be captured or perpetually recreated as they could in the game.  In The Game Believes in You (Toppo, 2015) former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Head Coach Raheem Morris mentions how playing the Madden series, it has altered how he coaches games.  By practicing game situations in a virtual setting, it enables thinkers to address issues that were once considered as rare as seeing lightning strike the ground.  Knute Rockne could not analyze the probability of attempting a 2 point conversion if his team just scored a go ahead touchdown to be up by 5 points.  Kicking an extra point puts a team up by 6 but a 2 point conversion puts a team up by 7.  Before the era of gaming, football strategy was more steeped in intuition but players and coaches can have a higher "football IQ" to think the game and not just rely on athletic ability  simulating situations that could not be replicated in a practice or enough game time situations.

In Ender's Game (Card, 1985) the protagonist, Ender, is recruited at a very young age to play a "game".  He is in a class with his peers but quickly advances to higher levels of difficulty until, unbeknownst to him, he is fighting a cyberwar (how prophetic) and saving the world from total disaster.  Ender was a child utilizing his ability to conceptualize a virtual world  which enabled him to interpret life and behaviors of a being that he never actually saw.  This concept is not much different from the methodology used to train and teach Field Artillery soldiers in 2015.  Educational technology is used to reinforce fundamentals and master concepts that in a prior time (i,e, the Napoleonic era) required many resources and time that made it impossible to have similar levels of mastery.  Cyber warfare was not a part of the English Vernacular in 1985, however, it is an actual discipline in the are of military strategy.

In The Game Believes in You (Toppo, 2015),  there is also mention of the NeuroRacer game.  My son underwent an experimental therapy using similar technology.  My son has learning issues and was presumed to be autistic.  While we never received an official diagnosis, I knew there was something wrong.  After taking him to several specialists, I decided to focus on using a Multiple Intelligences (Gardner) approach and focus on his strengths in hops of it addressing the shortcomings.  I found an Occupational Therapist in El Paso, Marco Rodriguez, that created a gaming system for his son, who has ADHD.  The game consists of two electronic wires attached to the head of the player in which they steer a vehicle.  The game requires the player to concentrate on maneuvering the vehicle.  While driving, there is also the sky which can be bright and sunny to signify a happy or focused disposition or lightning and storms which suggests anger or a lack of concentration.  When my son first played the game, his vehicle was erratic.  At times he'd drive into the ocean or spin and circles with a sky that rainy or lightning.  Over time, he mastered the ability to drive straight for long periods.  Anecdotaly,   I saw his ability to focus long enough to sound out words and start to grasps concepts that took hours of late night homework sessions for him to grasp.

To address the dissociation in education, specifically mathematics, gaming should be an integral part of the curriculum.  It leads to the higher learning (critical analysis and strategic thinking) that  educators aspire to instill in their students.  It also captures the interest of their students.  Whether it is sports or a board game, education should be fun and engage the learner.    

Maker Movement Holy Ghost

Since reading Pappert and exploring the Maker Movement, I have tried to rethink normal ways of doing things.  Essentially we become beholden to the past, customs, and tradition.  We begin to do things although the action has no relevance and may actually be counterproductive.  

When I was in the army, we did reveille every morning.  By custom or tradition, reveille was design to wake soldiers up out of bed and to signify the duty day.  The bugler would come out at 5:55am at every post and play "First Call" to signify that "Reveille" would be played 5 minutes later.  In 2015, there is no need for a bugler or for Reveille to be played.  In current practice, every soldier in a garrison environment meets in a military formation to hear Reveille being played at 6am while saluting the flag before starting duties (usually physical exercise). The origination has lost its relevance.  Every soldier has synchronized watches and...soldiers are already awake by the time they hear it!  It is mostly now done out of tradition and custom.  It has no functional utility.

I have the same epistemological quandary as an Technical Support Specialist in the IT department in my organization.  Voice over IP (VoIP) was a significant advancement in how we utilize land line phones.  By custom and practice, the only reason an actually block phone on anyone's desk exist is mostly out of the idea that professional organizations have one on each desk.  VoIP runs the voice signal through internet lines.  You can have a communication telephonically utilizing a desktop/laptop device with proper hardware and software interfaces at a fraction of what it cost to still have an actual phone but we are still prisoners to custom.

In my organization, we have not replaced VoIP phones in over 10 years.  They are starting to have functionality issues.  Inside each phone is a handset wire which, in most phones, has reached fatigue.  It probably is time for new phones or a solution other than currently using broken phones.  I decided to take a phone apart to reverse engineer any broken or defective parts.  I am not an administrator with the ability to make large purchases so I use the old Marine Corps mantra of "adapt and overcome".  By taking apart a defective phone, I was able to observed a wire that no longer enabled signal flow to the handset.  

My solution was to use a paper clip.  By straightening out a paper clip then shaping it into the shape of a handset wire, it made the phone functional, again.  The metal of a paper clip has a longer fatigue life than the existing hardware.  As an IT specialist had to think outside the box to come up with a functional solution.  Although we still use phones, I can at least come up with cheap solutions to keep my organization functional even if they're beholden to outdated customs and traditions.  

Rethinking the two dimensional abstract

Graphing paper is slowly going the way of the abacus.  It still works but why use it when there are more efficient and accurate models to use?  I find myself stuck in the 2 dimensional vortex when tutoring students in math.  Their first method of action is to refer to a graphing calculator or a software application that instantly will graph a function.  Technology can do functions that were something we could only think of in a past generation.  As educators, we can take this level of teaching to...well, another level.   

Prior to working in IT, I always thought of mathematical functions in terms of plotting ordered pairs on graphing paper and running a line through them to represent a straight line.  But what does that really mean? 

 I try to think in terms of the modern day thinker.  To simplify, a pair of variables can only have one function.  That applies in computer programming.  If you give a set of variables more that one function, you have essentially confused your computer.  It can not carry out a command that gives them two options.  Explaining algebra in terms of computer programming or language may be a way to bridge the gap with kids that do not see the relevance in graphing lines and plotting functions on paper.  

There is also an art to math and its usually rigid rules.  If a pair of variables can only have one function, then how do you explain programming for video games?  Are the functions algorithmic?  Do variables have an implied irrationality to them?  The art of math allows for variance or unpredictability.  When I was an artillery officer, I performed calculations for accurate targeting.  The science of math allows for accuracy in a world with no external variables.  No air, no terrain, no humidity, no human error.  In the real world those all exist which require an art to mathematics.  The Earth is not flat.  It rains.  There are mountains.  And humans are...human.  With modern technology, it is possible to add the art of mathematics in virtual graphing and conceptualization.  Death to 2 dimensions!

Last week I went over to Mountain View to see the Computer History Museum.  It was a great testement to the human spirit to learn and innovate.  I was also impressed with the ability of the human mind to envision something that is not even there.  One of the first machines I saw was the Babbage Differential Machine used to compute algorithms and polynomial functions.  Prior to this invention, mathematicians referred to tables with this information.  Some human finally had the idea of creating a machine to perform these calculations to allow for further advances in knowledge.  

Communication barriers

About 2 weeks ago on a trip over to Cayucos, I came across an NPR segment about an English speaking young man that could not communicate with his Chinese speaking father.  It reminded me of my relationship with my father.  He passed away in 2013.  Whenever I was in town. I spoke with him often, however, we were unable to truly communicate our feelings.  As the father was able to tend to his son's basic needs (food and shelter) he was unable to connect on a more personal level.  Thanks to an interpreter, they finally were able to have a more personable conversation.
 
December 31, 2012 was the last time I saw my father.  It was a magical day.

We spoke for hours...about nothing in particular.  But I knew it would probably be our last time.  His health had been failing yet he was too proud to tell me.  But I could see him wasting away yet keeping his standard routine of hanging out with his friends or meeting me for breakfast whenever I came to town.

On that day, I tried my best to soak in everything and cherish it.  We both knew our time was numbered and we stayed up and talked and talked and talked.  I spoke about the hurt he had over not being able to tell his mother goodbye.  I also listened to him voice his frustrations with his siblings over the years.  I even got to see his "snitch box" that he spoke about so often.  My dad hated cell phones.  he always spoke about how he had one but never used it.  I didn't believe it until I actually saw it with my own eyes...his snitch box

My mother even came over and we all spoke.  And even in that moment, we were unable to communicate those true words.  I love you.  Why could I not ever say this to him.  Why could he not say this to me?  It was awkward.  Even as I left and we both said out goodbyes, we good not even engage in a final embrace.  We just stared at each other and held in our tears.  We shook hands.  I looked down.  And held in my cries and emotions...I needed an interpreter

Critique of the Maker Movement

The Maker Movement consists on the premise of academic freedom and innovation from intellectual curiosity.  The decentralized nature of the movement spurs the ability to explore and learn.  The internet as the medium to test and explore ideas allows for others to build on previous knowledge.  As a "Maker", it allows for the amorphous nature of the Maker Movement.  The idea is an answer to the stagnant state of education but such decentralization raises the question of how does one codify it or if that is even possible.  There are examples of "Makerspaces" being created in local libraries or groups (Dixon & Ward, 2014).  The Louisville Free Public Library created makerspaces with little to no equipment but was able to gain the interest of the local community (youth and adults).  The Maker movement is more about process and tapping into the mind of leaners (thinkers) than a rigid system for innovation. (Barrett, 2014).

The Maker Movement has the potential to be the modern day liberal arts education.  By combining a myriad of fields and finding their interconnectedness (i.e. interdisciplinary) in innovation and learning.  For example, one will not necessarily have to be a doctor to make contributions to the medical field or a "non-techie" can make advances in computer sciences in the Maker Movement.  It strips the constructed barriers to technology and allows for those that think outside the proverbial box to pursue their interests and make small (or large) contributions which can positively effect the broad base of knowledge.